98 Degrees: 90s Boy Band

I grew up listening to boy bands. They were one of the most popular types of bands in the 90s. I particularly loved the Backstreet Boys, but for this assignment, I wish to conduct some research on another popular boy band known as 98 Degrees.
The band, 98 Degrees, is made up of four singers, 2 of which are brothers, all from Ohio. They are Nick & Drew Lachey, Justin Jeffre & Jeff Timmons. After deciding to create a band, they moved to Los Angeles, and waited for their chance at fame. At a Boyz II Men concert, the group finally received that chance. The R&B group saw talent in these 4 boys, & they were invited to tour with Montel Jordan. In 1997, 98 Degrees signed with Motown Records (98 Degrees Official Website). The band had created five albums together, before splitting apart to pursue their solo careers. In 2002, they had reached 10 million records sold for their album, The Collection (Wikipedia).
As you can see, the boy band was rather successful from 1997-2002. They had numerous songs that landed in top positions on many musical charts. Some include, Invisible Man, Because of You, I Do (Cherish You) and Thank God I Found You with Mariah Carey and Joe (Billboard Charts). All of these songs are expressions of love – either those they have lost, or those they currently have. I know when listening to Backstreet Boys back in the day, I loved hearing how sensitive boys could be when it came to loving or caring for a girl. I think this is why so many girls adored these boy bands. Also, with each song being played on the radio, a girl somewhere was able to relate to the feelings 98 Degrees was confessing in their songs.
After reading “Bread and Butter Songs: Unoriginality in Pop” by Ann Powers, I remembered this being an issue while growing up. Many of my friends refused to listen to pop music, specifically boy bands because they were unoriginal and did not write their own lyrics. 98 Degrees actually did this same thing. They took the country song by Mark Wills, titled I Do (Cherish You). As Ann Powers states in her article, in the pop music industry, it is ok to take others’ song lyrics, as long as they present it in a different manner (Powers 238). This is what 98 Degrees did. They turned a slow, twangy country song, into a pop song with some R&B smoothness in the beat. It makes the song more appealing to many people, especially the teen girls.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4wirSuglyc
^I Do (Cherish You) By 98 Degrees

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdEKMZybABk
^I Do (Cherish You) By Mark Wills

I have always loved boy bands, some a lot more than others. I knew many people thought the unoriginality label made them the worst type of music out there, but I still enjoyed listening to them. How they presented themselves in concerts and/or on their music videos goes along with the lyrics in the song – and 98 Degrees did a nice job of putting these two things together. They performed and carried themselves in a way that made them appealing to their young teen audience. I know this, because at one point, I was one of those teen girls who loved these boy bands. I too was experiencing all these feelings. Each one of their songs expressed how I felt at many turning points in my young life.

Lesson:
I had an interesting assignment in one of my high school English classes that I really enjoyed, and I hope to use it in my classroom some day. I had to choose a song where the singer was expressing their hardships within an environment they could not escape from. The song I chose was, Fast Car by Tracy Chapman. We had to use some main ideas given to us, and show where in the song these ideas were being expressed and why. I really enjoyed this assignment because my song really nailed the overall idea. This assignment pertained to me, and what type of music I liked, which made it more worthwhile for me to do.
I would do a similar assignment here with my students. I would have them choose a song and write about how this song affected their life in some way. They should be able to reference a turning point in their life, where they felt happy, sad, etc. and turned to music as medicine. It would be a short 2-3 page paper, in a journal type format. This assignment could be used as an introduction for me at the beginning of the year to help me learn about each of my students.

Popular Culture & the United States Home Front during WWII

For my final project, I would like to incorporate popular culture into a unit designed to teach students about the United States Home Front during World War II.

I am going to research this area, & I have done so a little bit already. I would really like to focus on rationing, the role of women (employment, housewives, "Baby Boom", etc.), and the role of minorities. I have found some background information on Wikipedia so far, but I need to look for other resources still.

To give you some background on the 3 areas I intend to cover, here is a brief overview. Again, this is from Wikipedia, so I will be able to go more in depth once I gather more information.

Rationing - Many products were not being made/built during WWII such as vehicles, and new homes & appliances. Other products like meat, butter, sugar, coffee, gasoline, tires, shoes & clothing were all rationed. Each person received a coupon book. Many people supported this idea, but there people called the 'black marketeers' who were buying these items without their coupon book. These people were prosecuted by the government.

Roles of Women - Women started working more, & this is when the "Rosie the Riveter" was first introduced. The women were now working jobs that were usually only held by men. Being a housewife was becoming difficult while certain products were being rationed, and many women found it difficult to juggle both the housewife role and a job. The "Baby Boom" also came around in this time period, since many couples waited to marry until after the war. From 1941-late 1950s, is considered the Baby Boom era.



Role of Minorities - The FEPC was created, which stands for the Fair Employment Practices Committee, which allowed for minorities to hold jobs, regardless of their race or religion. The Japanese Internment Camps were being held in the United States, however this ended later when the Roosevelt stated, "Americanism is not, and never was, a matter of race or ancestry."

These ideas I would like to touch upon & use to create my unit. I may go more in depth with some areas more so than others. This is just a general idea of the information I wish to include.
I will then relate these issues to popular culture today, by the activities we do in class, after learning these lessons.

Some ideas for activities:
1. Rationing - I will have my students ration what they use today on a daily basis within the home & classroom. I will give them a ration book, just like during WWII, with coupons they are able to use. I am still thinking as to what items I would want them to ration.

2. Roles of Women - I will have my students compare and contrast the jobs today, with the jobs women held during WWII, and write a paper about this. This area could also get into more issues regarding appropriate dress and behavior of women during this time.

3. Roles of Women - I would like my students to create a blog of a typical male/female's life during WWII, up until their age of about 12 or 13 years old. I would like them to compare what the child does in their life, with what the student does in his or her own. (This activity is still in the making. I'm not sure where I want to go with it yet!)

4. Minorities - I think it would be fun to hold a simulation in class, of what it would be like to be in an internment camp, to a certain extent. I would have my students go through things, not torture, but other forms of punishment. Like, no recess, staying in their seats for a certain about of time, etc. (This activity is still in the making too.)

These are a few activities I have in mind. I hope to think of others as I start doing more research. This is the schedule I hope to follow in the next few weeks:

Week of March 24th-28th: Look for/get resources online & in the library.
Week of March 31st- April 4th: Think of lesson ideas for each content area.
Week of April 7th-11th: Work on Lessons for Rationing
Week of April 14th-18th: Work on Lessons for Roles of Women
Week of April 21st-25th: Work on Lessons for Minorities
April 28th-29th: Put bibliography together & do any final touches to the paper.

Hopefully I'll be able to follow this schedule somewhat. I will try to start my research next week, but this is what it will be like once Spring Break is over.

West Side Story & Pop Culture

For my paper, I specifically focused on the musical West Side Story & Pop Culture.


I feel as though the musical, West Side Story, has made an impact on many generations. I remember loving it growing up as a child. I think this is due to a few reasons. One is that teenagers are performing in the musical, two, love and revenge are two main emotions being expressed among the gangs and their friends, and third, an association within a group brings about closeness and unity. All of these aspects within the production bring all the age groups together, and this is why I feel the musical, West Side Story, is still being performed in High Schools today.
With teenagers playing the roles within the musical, viewers are able to relate to this awkward stage in their life. Teenagers bring a sense of innocence and infatuation. As a viewer, you are able to see this between the young lovers Maria and Tony. People of all ages are able to relate to this time period in their life, when love seemed so definite in your life.
Love and revenge are emotions that every one has felt at one point in time. Even though this musical was created back in 1961, issues regarding love and revenge are still the same as today. This allows children and young adults viewing and performing the musical today, to understand that decades ago these same events were still occurring. Love between two individuals is still the same feeling in 1961 as it is in 2008.
Revenge is another emotion seen throughout the musical. Throughout life, people will wish to seek revenge on an enemy. People relate to the part of the musical where the Jets and the Sharks fight. Revenge is an inevitable emotion. It’s a natural feeling when someone has been betrayed. I would hope however, it would not lead to killing anybody. This musical again, is able to reach all ages through this aspect of the production as well.
Groups are a part of life that every one strives to be in. As human beings, people want to feel included and make contributions they feel are important to their every day lives. The Jets and the Sharks are gangs, but they are also a type of group. They are like a family, always there for each other. All generations of people have been apart of a family, biological or not. Therefore, people have been able to express feelings and find support within some type of group that they belong to.
All of these ideas give me reason to believe that this musical relates to pop culture and grasps the attention of all age groups. I also wonder, however, why many people do not know the history behind this musical. I personally remember watching this musical in my 5th grade classroom and having no recollection of my teacher explaining to us that this musical was referring to the increase of Puerto Ricans moving to the United States just after World War II (127). I had no idea it was causing so much turmoil within the United States, but I do see as to why.
As an educator, I do not want to make this mistake. I would like to be able to give my students a history of something we are studying in class so they are able to understand why we are learning about a certain subject. It only seems fair. Nowadays, I feel as though showing children that interracial couples are more prominent now than before, would help them to see how times have changed as well. This is one idea to focus on when telling them about the movie. Diversity is such a key issue today, so tying in this movie about the Puerto Ricans moving to the United States, and Maria and Tony falling in love, could lead to a discussion about acceptance and decreasing stereotypes and prejudice.
I now wonder as to why my teacher did not give my class and me a history lesson on these issues behind this musical. Is it because people relate to this musical on so many levels, that there is no need for an explanation on the reasoning behind its creation? I do not know this for sure, and I am not saying we as educators should continue this, but it is just a thought. If not for reading this article, I would not have known that it is so important to look into the history of everything you wish to incorporate into your classroom.

lesson plan changes

Consumer products provide evidence of cultural diffusion in many households. Analyzing the items that are found in a home's cupboards and closets can tell us much about the residents' cultural heritage and what cultural influences affect their lives. This lesson will help your students to identify some of the cultures new to their part of the world and to understand more about cultural diffusion.

Connections to the Curriculum: Geography, math, language arts

Connections to the National Geography Standards: Standard 10: "The characteristics, distribution, and complexity of Earth's cultural mosaics"

Time: Two to four hours

Materials Required: Blank Xpeditions outline maps of the world, one for each group and colored pencils.

Objectives: Students will be able to locate on a world map the places of cultural origin of many of the items in their homes; and analyze the cultural diffusion that explains how those items got where they are today.
i'm not sure if the students are looking at actual maps of the world first or not, but i would make sure that happens first. then i would have them find the country on a blank map and draw different colored lines connecting all the countries to the united states

Geographic Skills: Acquiring Geographic Information, Organizing Geographic Information, Analyzing Geographic Information.

S u g g e s t e d P r o c e d u r e :

Opening: Have your students bring from home ten things that they feel represent their culture. These items could include foods, apparel, music,religious items, decorative objects, and so on. If you know a student's cultural background, help him or her to select something especially significant to that culture. Each student should bring the items in an opaque bag. (You may want to discourage your students from bringing extremely valuable items to school for this exercise.) Introduce the concept of cultural diffusion—the spread of elements from one culture to another. This was a slower process in previous eras when cultural groups typically had less frequent contact with each other than they do today. How have the increased speed of communications and easier international travel affected cultural diffusion?
i would show a video or have the students read an article and introduce the topic this way. then i would have them bring in at least 5 things that represent their culture. they can bring more if they want, but ten things seems very overwhelming, especially for younger students.

Development: Number each bag and then number and letter each of the items in the bag. Divide the students into groups of four or five. Exchange bags among the groups so that every student has another student's bag. Have the groups open the bags one at a time and examine the items they contain. Students should note their best educated guess at the place of cultural origin (which may not be the same as the site of manufacture!) for each of the items in the bag. The groups should map the location of origin for each item by sketching the items on blank outline maps of the world.
having the students sketch is a good idea, but if that takes too long, they can write it too. the students will have to have cultural backgrounds of a few different countries in order to make an educated guess. i would want to make sure the video or article i show at the beginning will touch upon that. i think talking about where these items are manufactured and their cultural origin may become confusing, so i would want to focus on cultural origin OR manufacturer location, and then switch. when doing the maps, they can have 2 then, one for cultural origin and one for manufacturer location. then at the end they can look at both maps and tie in all of their ideas. they can use corresponding colored pencil colors on both maps to represent the same item.

Closing: Groups should discuss the movement of each item to their local communities and draw this diffusion with colored pencils. When did each item (and the culture with which it is associated) reach their community? Did the item come with a group of people that moved to the area? Did the product come by way of modern retailing, including advertising? Do the items typically reflect the cultural roots of thestudents who brought them in, or a smorgasboard of world cultures?
colored pencils is a good idea as i said up above. i would want the students to do more of an opinion analysis. they can look at what they use from other countries, and see how we need these other countries to make these things for us. it could also lead to a discussion about different cultures around the world. maybe i could relate it back to the video or article i was showing as my introduction to the topic i did a similar assignment to this in my college geography course, and it was very interesting. it can definitely be used in elementary schools, on a simpler level.

barbie, fiona, avril, & lil' kim

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTpvjNn2BUM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2eUCfREAbw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrDIlVsUmK4



after watching these videos, i was a little disturbed with some of the images i saw. first off, i thought fiona apple looked very sickly, almost like she had an eating disorder or a drug addiction. i feel like she was giving the impression to girls that being this skinny will get the boys to notice you. i also feel as though it is telling boys girls that are considered 'attractive' are indeed this thin. i personally thought it was disgusting. i have never been considered fat in my life, but never skinny either, & i have never had a problem with my body. but after watching this video, i can see why girls might want to be this thin. i also thought she was being rather provocative. she was in bed with what appeared to be a naked man, moving around in a sexual sort of way, trying to get attention from the viewer. she also does some stripping, not revealing her naked body, but showing her taking off different layers, down to her undershirt. gross. she looks like a slut in this video. i never really liked her music either.

avril's video, i thought, was the most tame. i like her music, and i like how she is different from most girls in the way that she dresses & carries herself. she is not coming off as a slut, to me, however she too is in bed with a boy. she is showing herself fighting with him too, which can give the wrong impression to young couples. they might think it's ok for them to hit each other... until someone gets hurt. i would hate for boys to think it's ok to hit their girlfriend, when she is pissing them off. the violent parts of this video were the only parts that made me nervous.

now on to the lil' kim video... oh man. the only words i can think to describe this video are disgusting, appalling, slutty, sexual, and vulgar. she is swearing left & right, showing off her boobs & opening her legs in sexual manner, & i find all of this inappropriate. i don't think kids need to see this type of behavior, because it will give girls & guys the wrong impression. girls should not be acting like this in middle school or high school. in college, you are an adult, & you can what you please. but if a young girl were acting like this, i would be mortified. this behavior is wrong to me, & needs to be spared from children.

a point that stuck with me from the barbie article, was the fact that the magazine depicted girls as being the typical 'housekeeper' role, by giving them craft ideas like cooking, sewing and needlework. i loved these type of crafts as a young child, & my mom was never worried about me. she never thought i would be doing only these activities for the rest of my life. i was still a very athletic girl, participating in softball & cross country. i never restricted my activities to those that were only for girls. i tried to do boy things as well, it was just that i loved many of the girls activities. i don't think this should be taken too seriously, if girls like doing them. obviously it is a different story if they feel they are forced to due to their gender.



i have also heard that the image of barbie gives the wrong impressions to girls. first of all, that she is white & blonde, which is telling girls that this is what they should look like. if barbie is another ethnicity, she is not just barbie, but native american barbie, or hawaiian barbie. it's frustrating for many girls. i also think they put the stereotypical dress on these barbies.
i also think her body image is telling girls they are only desireable by guys, only if they are thin. her measurements (38-18-34) are not even possible if you were to put them on a actual human person. i have heard barbie has caused many girls to develop eating disorders, which makes me sad. girls should be happy with the bodies they are given... since each & every one of us is beautiful in many different ways. :-)

facebook & myspace

i have realized that in my college career, i have always been able to rely on facebook or myspace to get in touch with my friends. i really don't know what i would do otherwise, if i didn't have their number or e-mail address. it's very easy to look anyone up by just typing in their name. it's crazy how technology has made such advances within a few years. i enjoy browsing these sites to see what my friends are doing, & i'm sure they do the same thing. but i really enjoy setting up my page to reflect my personality. i find this easier to do with myspace than i do facebook, but i love both.

facebook is the site that all of my friends use, and pretty much everyone i know has. myspace is what a lot of my friends call 'stalkerspace' and the only reason i had one was because facebook was only letting people who were attending a college or university join. some of my friends did not attend college after high school, so in order to keep in touch with them, i joined myspace. now that anyone can join facebook, i decided to keep my myspace page because i enjoy expressing myself with pictures and quotes, as well as doing surveys, something that is harder to do on facebook. although i must say, facebook is becoming more intense with all of the applications you can add to your profile, & i love it.. because you are able to find out even more about people.

i feel people feel more comfortable expressing themselves behind a computer. there is almost that saftey wall that protects them from what people really think. & i have also found, that if someone expresses what they like through their page strongly, others will often follow & do the same. it's very interesting, & i know that i am one of these people as well.
there is also a whole new language that goes on with facebook & myspace. the abbreviations people use is something that easily confuses those who are not exposed to it on a regular basis. sometimes i find myself not understanding what my little cousins are telling me, & it scares me! i hope i'm not already considered "old" at the young age of 21!
all in all, i do love both myspace & facebook as a means of keeping in touch with people, posting photos, and expressing yourself through words, quotes, and pictures. if i didn't have something like this online, would pay more attention to my quote book/scrapbook that i have.
yess.. i still like keeping a diary so to speak. at ACTUAL one with a binding filled with pages & everything.
but i'll talk more about that some other time.