Reference no: EM133777553
Description
In July 2023, in the middle of a sweltering summer five children squeezed through the closed gate of the Patterson Park swimming pool in Baltimore City and went for a swim. In better times, this public swimming pool might have been open, but the seventy-year-old pool was closed for the summer due to mechanical failures and the stagnant water was green with algae. Later, an investigation would reveal that Baltimore City had received more than $2 million in state funds to repair the pool, but for a variety of reasons had made no progress for more than two years. The children attracted the attention of the Baltimore City police and one of the city's three police helicopters was deployed to hover over the pool, videorecord the children, and make an announcement from a loudspeaker asking them to disperse. The children were never contacted directly by the police or anyone else and they remain unidentified. The police helicopter video later appeared in a tweet posted by WBAL news. Many complaints about the news report followed with viewers objecting to the tone of the news report that suggested the children were criminals despite the failure of Baltimore City to provide safe recreational options in their neighborhood. This incident provides a good opportunity to practice applying some of the core concepts of sociology. Sociologist C. Wright Mills defined the "sociological imagination" as the connection between personal troubles and social issues. He observed that many of the things we consider to be "personal decisions" are connected to larger dynamics within society. While the children did make the personal decision to break into a closed pool, if we want to understand that decision from a sociological perspective, we need to consider how their actions were connected to social structures. In this assignment, you will evaluate data about the social conditions that exist in the neighborhood of Patterson Park where the pool is located and apply what you have learned about sociological theories to interpret the children's actions sociologically.
Instructions
There are three data files for you to review.
School Report Card for Highlandtown Elementary/Middle School
School Report Card for Paul Laurence Dunbar High School
Baltimore City Police Data for Patterson Park
2. After reviewing the data provided as well as chapters 1 and 2 of the textbook, answer the following questions. Your answers should be approximately one paragraph each.
1- Based on what you learned from the school and police data files, how would you characterize the social environment that exists in the area surrounding Patterson Park? Do you believe the public schools in the neighborhood are providing a high-quality education? Does crime appear to be a problem in the neighborhood? Please explain the reason for your answers by referring to some specific examples from the data files.
2- Structural functionalism theory focuses on how society is affected by its structures, which are also known as social institutions. Examples of social institutions include families, education, government, and the economy. Based on the data you reviewed, are the social institutions in this neighborhood contributing to stability or dysfunction? Explain the basis for your answer.
3- Conflict theory focuses on the tension that exists within societies between the wealthy and the poor. According to this theory, the wealthy and the poor compete with one another for power and economic resources and the wealthy usually win. What role do you think socioeconomic inequality played in the incident at the Patterson Park pool?
4- Symbolic interaction theory focuses on the way we interpret the world by assigning meaning to things. The children who entered the pool were seen by some as criminals and others as victims. What do you think might have contributed to differences in the way the children were perceived?