Today you read the "Belonging" in class. Please answer the following questions:
How important is it to you to "look right?" To "act right?" To "fit in?" How do you feel when you don't belong? How does it affect your self-esteem? When in a child's development is he or she most vulnerable to issues related to "in" and "out" group behavior? Are adolescents more or less vulnerable than young children? Would you have joined the Hitler Youth if you lived in Germany at the time? Why or why not?
13 comments:
I wish that I didn't but I do care about looking right and feeling like I fit in. When I feel like I don't belong I get very self conscious and I worry about what other people are thinking about me. My self esteem definitely goes down when I feel like I don't fit in. I think that adolescents are more vulnerable to issues with group behavior because we seem to care more about what other people think about us. I would have joined the Hitler youth group if I was a kid during that time. I know that I would have wanted to fit in and avoid any conflict, so I would have done whatever it was that the government wanted me to do. I would like to think that I wouldnt cave in to the Nazis so easily but I know that I would have.
I think it’s important to everyone that they feel like they fit in by looking and acting right. Anyone would feel upset if they don’t belong because it lowers self esteem. I think children are vulnerable to feeling left out starting in elementary school, and from there it escalates (so, like Molly, I think that adolescents are more vulnerable than younger children). I think I would have joined the Hitler Youth because almost everyone else was already in it. Not only was it encouraged but it was required for children to join, it wasn’t like you would have had an option. I don’t think that there are many children who would be willing to rebel by not joining the group in support of different beliefs.
I found that the title of this article, "Belonging", allowed me to understand how much people wish to conform and fit in with society. Of course some do not attempt to fit in, but I am not one of those people. I would like to be someone that would be able to say that I didn't care what others thought about me, but I do. It is important to me to fit in because I care what other people think to an extent. When I don't feel like I fit in my self-esteem is lowered and I feel like an outsider. Like the other two posts before me (Molly's and Kristen's) I agree that adolescents are more vulnerable to issues that have to do with fitting in. I think back to the middle school years when everyone was trying to wear the latest fashions and acted much in the same way. That is drastically different from young children, as I feel like they are less aware and more care-free when it comes to those issues. I am usually a follower and am against breaking the rules, so I believe that I would have joined the Hitler Youth if I was a child during that time. It is hard for me to make that realization, but it makes me even more aware of why all these children supported the Nazi party. It was simply the "in" thing to do.
I think everyone tries to “look right” or “fit in” at some part in there life, it’s different for everyone. I think everyone subconsciously or consciously tries to fit in some way, although I don’t think it’s as important as others might. I think trying to fit in can hurt a child’s development and their self-esteem because there not happy with themselves. I think adolescents are more vulnerable because young children don’t try to fit in as much; they are too young to even have those thoughts. At the start of the Hitler Youth I think for me it would have seemed very appealing specially when all my friends would be joining and I think it would be hard not to join. I think I would be too young to realize what Hitler might do and therefore think it might be a good idea to join.
The article "The Belonging" was very interesting in the fact that it showed how much peer pressure was involved in the Hitler Youth. I believe that most people in the world do care about fitting in with others and that affects their behavior. I agree with Molly. I also think that I would have joined the Hitler Youth at the time. It would have been what one what to do to "fit in" and be the norm.
I agree with this article a lot. I think almost all people try to fit in with everyone else to some degree. It is natural for someone to feel uncomfortable if they do not fit in or look right to everyone else. Because of that people are constantly trying to fit in. I do think that this caused the Hitler youth to become so big. It was what everyone was doing at the time, so wether or not someone really believed in what they were doing it was right. I agree with Molly when she says that it would have been hard not to join the Nazis back then.
I think it is normal to want to fit in, however I think it is very dangerous if it is done without thinking and compromising your own morals. It is natural to want to fit in with everyone else and takes a very strong and confident person to resist this urge to want to just be an individual. I know that I would have joined then because I wouldn't know the things I know now. My morals, my attitude, my beliefs would all have been shaped by Hitler and his regime.
@ Brian Leslie
I completely agree on all points. Everyone tries to fit in, just some do it more than others and some sacrifice more than others. It's something that has to be taught to you, you don't normally have it.
I think that a lot of people, especially teenagers will do whatever it takes to fit in. Most people that are different from the group feel awkward and uncomfortable and change to become part of the group. I think that I would have joined Hitler's Youth group for these very reasons and because I do not know what I do now about Hitler and the Nazi's.
When I was in middle school, I cared a lot about fitting in and looking right. I dressed the same way all of the other girls dressed just to fit in, even though I hated the clothes. Now, I can say that I don't care as much about fitting in but I would be lying if I said I didn't at all. I think I probably would have joined Hitler youth when I was anywhere from 11-16 but I don't really know what I would do now in that situation at age 18. I think adolescents are much more likely to conform to the group than younger children because they care so much about fitting in.
I believe that almost all adolescents want to fit in with their surroundings. I know for a fact that I did, and still do. I have done in the past, and still find myself doing things that I don't believe in, just to fit in with my surroundings. Only the strong people, who are completely secure with themselves. This being said, I do think that I would have joined the Hitler Youth Group as an adolescent. I would have done anything to fit in with my friends. Although I never have believed in Hitler's policies, I believe that if I grew up in that time period, the influence of my peers would have convinced me that it was the right thing to do.
I think that the younger generation of kids around the middle school age are much more likely to be worried about fitting and blending in with everyone else. At that age you dont know what your identity is yet, and so you go with the trend. When i was younger i deffinitly tried to be like my friends and not stand out as much or be an individual. Now i believe that I am comfortable in my skin, and I think that at seventeen i wouldnt have joined the Hitler Youth, but i probably would have when i was younger.
I was absent.
Post a Comment