Isn't it weird how one simple change of the norm can really rattle someone? How that one change creates changes that were upredicted? When I first got the email about defying the cultural norm of being on time for class and waiting with my fellow students to walk in, I was like there is no way this will actually take place. A classmate and I talked about it the day before and both decided "together" that we would not participate. It wasn't until I got to my first class of the day and told a few Paideia students that I really began to see what assimilation is like. After telling my classmates that I did not want to participate, they almost immediately were able to peer pressure me into the activity. As a result, I texted my friend and she also decided to participate.
So, what did I actually learn from this experience? That assimilation is all around us and that even when a group of people tries to not assimilate to cultural standards, we assimilate to not assimilate. Doug's email also got me thinking about how much time I put into making my decision based on what was actually happening in the situation. I definitely thought about how Jim would react as well as the fact that I was going to be late for class, a first in my college career. Overall, I found this experience to be quite teachable and it has really made me think about what we come to expect from our schools as well. Are we teaching students to put aside their individuality to become the people and citizens we expect them to be?
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The thought process which you went through to decide to be late to class or not is very interesting. I decided to be part of the "late" group because a teacher told me to do it, and therefore I didn't even think about what I would do. I also thought about how Jim would react, but that was not part of my decision process, it was just an afterthought. I'm glad that you didn't automatically conform!
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