Sociology project gives students a voice

Have an issue with society that you want to let your peers know about? Want it to get to people outside of your reach? If so, take Mr. Francis’s Sociology class.

The class is a great opportunity that allows for student’s opinions and concerns to be heard especially through the final video project.

As credit for the final project Mr. Francis’s students created Public Service Announcement (PSA) videos or documentaries to inform the public about different issues within society. The topics of these videos ranged from political correctness to teen pregnancy.

“The project was to pick an issue in American society: what the issue was, how it can be fixed, and what causes the issues,” said Senior Abigail Francis..

The students worked either in groups or independently to present informative videos of society’s issues.

“My topic was microaggression, and political correctness when people are offensive without realizing it,” said senior sociology student Julia Horne. “My video was poking fun at the people who are easily offended. I think it is an important project because free speech is important to everyone and we need to be more thoughtful about the impact of our words, and how much our words should be restrained.”

Mr. Francis has been assigning this project for many years.

“I started teaching Sociology in 2004, that is when I started this project,” said Francis. “It’s been around for 11 or 12 years.”

“I was just trying to apply what they learned to real world examples,” said Francis about his inspiration for the project. “It’s easier now for kids because everyone has a camera on their phone.”

A few projects have stood out more than others.

“There are some that I still remember,” said Francis. “The one that had the biggest impact was when a couple of students went to the homeless shelter and they talked to the people. They didn’t allow themselves to be filmed but they did the interview.”

Many students enjoyed the project and felt it was more interesting than an exam.

“They were all very funny, serious but done in a way that they could be funny,” said Abigail Francis. “It was one of those projects you do to learn something, but you are able to have fun.”

For more information about Sociology class, and the final projects see Mr. Francis in room 2215.