I’ve been
pondering reflections, but not the ones in mirrors. I’m more interested in
societal reflections. I’ve had a theory that the news and media do less to
shape events and attitudes than they do to reflect them.
Tired of
that celebrity scandal on the news? Everyone claims they are, but the reality
is that people keep consuming it. They hungrily devour it every chance they
get. Nothing worthwhile on TV or in the theater? Someone thinks it’s worth it,
or the forces behind them would not keep producing them. Low opinion of the
types of books being published? The publishers have numbers that state those
are the books that sell, despite your beliefs.
I think
this also goes into our classrooms where the students are a reflection of a
school’s expectations and policies. Students aren’t performing up to standards?
Well, the reality is that they are performing to the implicit expectations of
the school. If students who underperformed were held to standards, then all
students would eventually reach those standards.
This isn’t
scientific by any means, but it’s something I’m going to keep an eye out for to
see if I can derive more from it. Any sociologists want to take up the study?
Go for it.