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Yi, Gloria
Professor Altman
English 115 Th 4:00pm-6:45pm
13 October, 2016
Space: Ethnography
Space, it affects ones behavior and interactions amongst others. Depending on the space,
it can influence how one acts. A classroom is an example of a space that influences actions,
having unspoken rules that everyone follows. The classroom represents an institute of learning,
in a school, or in a university, and in a society within the U.S.; education is a huge factor which
can determine jobs and social hierarchy placement, in a competitive society such as the U.S.
A basic classroom has a whiteboard or a chalkboard which the teacher can use to write
down lecture notes, problems, and homework. A clock would typically be placed in back of the
class so the students are not distracted by the passing of time. Class starts and ends on time, with
the teacher dismissing the students. Students are required to take notes, pay attention, and ask
questions if they are confused. Tests, class work, homework, and note-taking are essential to the
systematic workings of a classroom, which would determine grade, the ability to study, the bias
of how smart you are, and how well you follow the set rules.
The problem about classrooms is that they set a biased standard of how smart an
individual can be, whether or not the individual can succeed now and later in life, and how one
should work hard to earn a passable grade in the class. Education becomes a gloating tool, where

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people can show off how well they achieved their grades or degrees, though that becomes
pointless unless they can utilize their learned skills in the real world. To some education is a tool,
to others it becomes a passion they want to pursue.
Within a classroom there are rules which one has to abide by, face forward, listen intently
to the teacher or professor, stay quiet and ask questions, do and understand the class work or
homework given, pass the tests, and overall, succeed. While a person may be loud, and friendly,
and very interactive with others, the space will affect the interactions. A classroom affects the
person, causing them to act in a more docile or aggressive behavior, pertaining to the desire or
dislike to learn.
Behavior is determined by space, everyone acts differently depending on where they are,
in the library or at a park, in a classroom, or at an arcade. Spaces give people the ability to
choose how they act, whether they conform to the spaces rules or break the rules. Rules of
interaction change within the confines of a specific space.