1st week reflection

Entering high school is a big change for an adolescent. They start noticing changes everywhere around them. I guess high school is when I started noticing inequality and technology. The classes I attended had computers, which at that time cost an average of $1000, not including a printer. There was no way that my family could afford a computer, especially with my mom working at a junior high as a teacher’s assistant. When it was time to type up an essay, it was hard for me to find scholarly articles on whatever subject I was writing about. Of course I had a public library in my home town, but what 15-year-old kid wants to go to the library to study. Plus it was on the other side of town and I didn’t have a bike and couldn’t drive either. All I had to work with was an old typewriter. My fellow classmates had computers at home along with the internet to help them with scholarly articles. Their essays were full of pictures and color while mine was not. The result was my classmates receiving better grades for their cited material along with great colored pictures while I received a lower grade.

            Working at Sears during my teens helped my see the inequalities that came with technology. As an electronics salesman, I sold such things as camcorders, big screen TV’s, car stereos, home audio equipment, and not to mention computers. Most of the people I sold computers to were of the Caucasian descent. Rare were the times that Mexicans came into the store to purchase a computer. When white people came to purchase a computer, usually the child accompanied by their parents were the ones present. It was a whole different story when a Mexican family came in to purchase a computer. The father, mother, son, daughter, and the cousin they picked up on the way, grandmother, and uncles were all there when a computer purchase was being made. I am not downgrading anyone. Being Mexican myself, I know that making a big sacrifice like purchasing a computer was a big deal. It is some kind of accomplishment. For the Caucasian family, purchasing a computer was not such a big deal.