Ruthven,+Mary+Leah

Course Assignments: Module #1 Write a brief - 2- page (500 word+ or -) report describing the influences you observed and discussed. Put you first reflection on your individual wiki page. After watching the movie //American History X// our group had a discussion about the influence of nature verses nurture, also the role the mentor had on the boys and the influence the teacher had on the boys. At first we had to determine what the difference was between nature and nurture. Nature is the way we are biologically born with. No matter what happens to us in life we are genetically going to respond a certain way. Nurture on the other hand is based on how we are raised and the values we have based on our experiences. Nurturing can be both positive and negative depending on the influences we hold more important. Derek was at the beginning of his life he not as violent and full of anger that was something that occurred later in life as different experiences began to shape his life. We see this strongly during the flash back to when his father became so upset about the African American unit Derek was learning in history class. His father had a negative view point of blacks in the world, he had said that because of the equal opportunity law, 2 African Americans were hired over two white men even though their test scores were better. Then after his father was killed Derek found council from a man who continued to nurture Derek’s dislike of minorities. But through it all Derek was able to change that way of thinking due to another nurturing relationship he had with Mr. Sweeney. For Derek, Mr. Sweeney provided positive nurturing which allowed Derek to see how he could change his viewpoint. Danny was struggling with how deal with the different influences on his mind-set. At the beginning of the movie he was acting the way Cameron, his mentor from the skin-heads gang, had his brother Derek act. But you could see that he did not completely believe in what he was saying and the way he was behaving. It was not until he listened to his brother about how he had changed. For Danny, he was still looking for the someone to help guide his decisions. He finally was able to learn that he did not have to be like his brother and that he could make his own decisions. The one character who really made it clear that you are not a product of the experiences that happen to you, was the sister. She grew up in the same house hold and home environment that Derek and Danny did but she did not shape her life to be filled with hate and anger towards others. This was very important for me because it proves that you tend to take on the values of those you respect. Mr. Sweeney had a strong influence on Derek has a mentor because he never gave up on him. He was very persistent in staying with Derek and always being there when things got rough and it seemed like everyone else was giving up on him. Mr. Sweeney taught Derek that you can always change and make things better. I believe the most important thing that Mr. Sweeney did for Derek was to make him really look at his life and think about what he had done then how that affected everyone around him. The line when Mr. Sweeney asked Derek, what you have done in your life, has it made anything better? This was a turning point because it forced Derek to find the answer and he was not given the answer. Because of this relationship Derek was able to really look at what he had done with his life and make a change for him. Mr. Sweeney did the same thing for Danny. When his history teacher was ready to count Danny out as not worth helping, Mr. Sweeney said that he is a good kid, who has learned the undesirable behaviors, which means he can unlearn them. Then Mr. Sweeney gave Danny an assignment that made him reflect on his life and his brothers in hopes that he can learn something. This assignment, like with Derek, made Danny look at his own life and make a decision. Overall, I think that this movie shows that nurturing and the influence of others is so much more powerful then we sometimes allow ourselves to believe. We, as teachers, should never just give up on the student. We should be more like the mentor who never gives up and always show the students that we will not give up on them when things get tough.

Module #2 V iolence - Prediction, Prevention and Intervention - Myth vs Reality - Write 5 Sentences about your reaction to the statistical data showing the trend below. (Remember your initial estimate on violence in the last 30 Years.) I was shocked about the rate of violence in the states and in the world is decreasing. I had thought the opposite. Maybe that is due to media coverage which generally only shows the crimes that are committed. The data shown with the break down of the different types of violence especially the change in reported cases and the documented cases by the police how those switched was interesting. I was also impressed that, we has a world are becoming better at conflict resolution.

Module #3 Hearts and Minds Describe three things you plan to do in your teaching practice to reduce stress and win the Hearts and Minds of your students and co workers. 1. I will continue to work on the relationships I am building with my students. To show them that I am interested in what they are doing outside of the classroom. Also to connect with them in other ways like eating lunch with them or go out and play with them during recess to make those connections.

2. I will try to add different opportunities for the students to act out or show their understanding by working in groups and teaching each other what they have learned.

3. Allow the students to create more artistic options to help them show how our classroom is a community and that we are always learning and growing and changing; also to help use the curriculum to manage the class. One way to do that is do use more of the inquiry based learning style of teaching and really making the connection to the relevance of the skills in their daily lives.

Module #4 Do the Personality Prototype test with another person. Discuss what the results mean. When you Teach you learn. Tell us on this site what you learned by sharing PP Results with another person. I learned that when the other person's personality scores were rather close I had to go over all the different personality categories because that person did not completely fit into the general norms for her top choice. It was interesting because I gave the test to my mom and her scores were very different from what I was thinking her scores would be. It turned out that her order of strengths to weakness is the same as mine.

Module #5 Moral Dilemma - Develop a MD for use in your teaching practice. Outline it here. Use any lesson plan style or outline that you might have for your class / subject / or grade level. Describe your audience, age, demographic and what you will do.

My audience is a second grade class with students between the ages 7 to 9 years old. Middle to high economic families mostly Colombian. **Dilemma**: You have a really big test at school today and instead of studying last night for the test you went to go see a movie with your best friend. But now that it is the day of the test and you really need to get a 3 or 4 on the test just to pass the class. While you are walking to recess you find a copy of the test with the answers on it. What do you do? 1. Keep the test during recess and memorize the answers. 2. Don’t look at the answers just read the questions and try figure out my own answers. 3. Take it to the teacher, without looking at it. 4.Take it to the teacher and say that you didn’t study for the test, you wanted to look at it but you did not. 5. Keep the test and copy down the answers. 6. Without looking at the test, throw it away. 7. Leave it alone on the ground, doing nothing. 2/5, 3, 4, 6, 7 Given a chance to change most of the students in the cheating groups left and went to the groups that gave the test back to the teacher without looking at it.
 * Focus Question**: What do you do with the test and answers that you found on the ground?
 * Generate positions:**
 * Group by positions**:
 * Present compelling arguments**: I had each group give one good reason why theirs was the best and there were well thought out.
 * Comments "have you considered?"**: The group that had the most have you considered comments was the group that ending up choosing cheating. That was also the group that had the most people change their position later.
 * Allow position change**:

Module #6 Post 2 eye messages - (positive) comment on the reactions. Post 1 "I" Message (negative or corrective) 1) When you listen to me vent, it allows me to think through what is bothering me and that makes me feel relieved. My mom felt happy about being thanked and told how just by listening she is helping me feel much better. 2) When you work productively with your science partners, you get a lot of work done. It makes me feel proud. My students were very pleased and worked very well on their projects that day. 3) When you emailed Duyen about one of my students without my knowledge I felt caught off guard when asked about it.

Module #7 1. Open a copy of the book IN STEPP. Read the Chapter on Time Management. Including Ben's Story. 2. Go to this Web Site. [|Values and Stuff] Explore the links that you find on the page. 3. In the upper left of the page, under the heading of tools look for the Mission Statement builder. Click on the link. 4. Then when the MSB page opens click on the link on the far right of the page (Your Values) and build a mission statement. 5. Post a copy of your mission Statement on your wiki page.

You can continue to write and revise your mission statement until you feel it reflects what you live for. You could also try going through the Freewrite section of this site to help you refine your mission and values, or you could visit the Get Inspired section for more ideas.

I am at my best when I am being challenged in an accepting environment and when I am with good friends and family.. I will try to prevent times when I do not feel all that I have done is being valued, I am all alone, and very stressed.. I will enjoy my work by finding employment where I can I really love to teach a new concept to my students and then see the light bulb to come on and they understand what they just learned.. I will find enjoyment in my personal life through I love to read, sing, run, play soccer, and be with friends and family.. I will find opportunities to use my natural talents and gifts such as Music, being a friend, good listener. I can do anything I set my mind to. I will travel the world, help out doing different missions around the world.. My life's journey is about inspiring those around me to be the best versions of themselves. I would be doing this for those who know me and those who I may have encountered for brief moments, but mainly I would do this for my students and my family. I am doing this because some times we just need to see a person take action to do help change or inspire others to be the best person we can. The results of this journey is that I would be able to have inspired or help change someones life for the better.. I will be a person who My brothers, my husband, children, and friends. The tribute statement would be how I always gave my best to any situation I was found in and always trying to be the best version of myself which then allowed those around me to be the best version of themselves as well.. My most important future contribution to others will be If you have a dream to go out and fulfill that dream. Also that I am teaching the next generation of leaders to be the best they can no matter what they do..

I will stop procrastinating and start working on:
 * I really should find a church here in my new home town.

I will strive to incorporate the following attributes into my life:
 * compassion
 * friendship
 * faithfulness

I will constantly renew myself by focusing on the four dimensions of my life:
 * excising
 * Going to church, reading my bible, and praying to God all the time.
 * reading more books that push what I normally would read
 * speaking and hanging out with good friends and family

Module #8 Select any one additional chapter to read. (Not Time Management) Describe the Chapter you read and your reaction to the chapter. Pick one activity from the book and describe how you will use this for Conflict Resolution [|InSteppPrintedVersion.pdf] I did module #11 instead

Module # 9 Watch this youtube video [|Taught to Hate] Or view it below.

You've got to be carefully taught!
Describe one element of this class that you will do to teach the reciprocal Hate and Fear. How will Conflict Resolution continue to change the world? (250 words or less). or: Post two new resources for conflict resolution on our Wiki site under Video / other resources. Give your self credit. I posted two sites for conflict resolution on the video page.

Module #10 offers an alternative of two assignments. You can do either A or B.

A. Beg, borrow, rent or steal a copy of the 1999 film October Sky. You may watch the movie as a group or individually but all work must be done individually, and posted on your own individual wiki page.

After watching the movie compare and contrast that film with the film American History X. Use specific examples from each of the two movies to explain.

> The role of the family for Homer was also a source of strength for him as well. You could tell because every step of the way Homer was trying to get his family involved in what he was doing and even though his father and brother did not agree with what Homer was doing, Homer continued to draw his family to him. The family especially his father was also very important to him because even while they did not understand each other, Homer’s father still allowed for Homer to discover for himself what was truly important to him. At the end of the movie when Homer said that his father was his hero not the scientist that was when you really understood how important Homer’s family was to him. > Homer’s mother was strong of will than Derrick’s mother. When Homer’s father would give his opinion and the mother did not agree with it she would let him know about it. This was definitely seen when Homer needed a new piece made for the science fair, because his was stolen his mother went to the father and made a demand for her husband to help him. His mother was strong enough to state that her son was more important to her than her marriage and was ready to follow through with that threat to leave. Because Homer’s mother was stronger and willing to stand up to his father I think that allowed Homer to do the same thing and stand up for what he believed. > Whereas, the teacher Miss Reilly was nurturing and helping Homer gain the confidence needed to complete his project for the science fair. Miss Reilly could see the potential in Homer and was willing to help in any way so Homer could also see his potential. Miss Reilly was there cheering Homer and his friends on when no one else was and because of that Homer continued to work on the rockets even when it seemed that nobody else cared. > Homer’s principal at first was more like Murray was for Derrick. The principal did not see or want to see what those boys could accomplish because Homer and his friends did not fit the typical model of what boys should be doing. The principal, unlike Murray, had a change of mind about Homer and then was more willing to help him out and help Homer become the best person he could be. > > The community that Homer lived in at first was scared and in a way rejected Homer and his friends because they were doing something that was not “normal”. But has Homer and his friends continued with making the best rockets they could more and more members of the community started to help them by lending their own knowledge and even goods. In the end the community was urging the boys on in their quest to get the rockets perfect. The science fair project helped bring the town together in a single goal at the end. This was very clear when Homer called home and told his mother that someone had stolen all the pieces of the project. What you saw was an entire community pulling together and overcoming obstacles to help Homer.
 * 1) The role of nurture by the families of the two main characters, Derrick and Homer. The role of the family for Derrick was a source of strength for him especially after he got out of prison. Derrick felt very responsible for them in his need to protect them from those he use to hang out with. You could see this when Derrick ordered Seth out of the room when they were having the family meeting and when he went to go announce that he was out of the neo-Nazi group. But the major point in that scene was that Derrick made sure that his little brother would be left alone. Now the role of the family for Derrick grouping up was one of the reasons he was more susceptible to dragged into the neo-Nazi group in the first place.
 * 1) The role of the mother in the development of each of the two main characters Derrick and Homer. For Derrick his mother was very mick and timid. She would try to state her opinion but because his father would make it very clear that anyone who thought differently than he did was not acceptable she would quickly back down. Because of this Derrick never got a different point of view that could have helped him form a different view of the world. Even when she went to see Derrick in prison to tell him about his brother, Derrick said he did not want to hear and she simple let the matter go.
 * 1) The role of the teacher Murray in Derrick’s life and the role of Miss Reilly in Homer’s life. The teacher Murray for Derrick was another person who at times challenged him to try to think beyond his prejudices still gave up on him and counted him as one of the lost. Murray never really tried to work past his own dislike of Derrick to try to make a difference. This was very clearly stated after his dinner with Derrick and his family when Murray told the mother that Derrick was a lost cause and she should not keep stay with him.
 * 1) The role of the two principals in the lives of Derrick and Homer. Derrick’s principal was much like Miss Reilly for Homer. When Derrick at rock bottom in prison it was Mr. Sweeny who was there helping Derrick see a different way of viewing the world. Mr. Sweeny challenged Derrick to see the world not as blacks and whites but as a world with people. Mr. Sweeny was such an important mentor to Derrick that if it weren’t for him the huge change that occurred would not have been as strong or long lasting.
 * 1) The role of the community in the lives of Derrick and Homer. The community that Derrick lived in was one of fear and misunderstanding. Everyone was afraid of looking like a weakling and so would go to extreme measures to prove that they were not weak. It was due to this need to be perceived as strong that it was so easy for the neo-Nazi group to gain members. Because of the culture that the neo-Nazi group had it promoted violence in an extreme way. This was proven at the very beginning when Derrick smashed the head in of the black kid that stole his father’s car, and then reinforced when Derrick got out of prison and went back to the group and everyone was praising him for what he had done.
 * 1) Once you have finished this assignment and all of the other 9 assignments on our Wiki site send Hank an email letting him know that you are completely finished. He will then email you your grade. It may take a few weeks from your submission until the grading is completed.

Module #11 offers an alternative of any one of the 10 modules above. Watch the movie Emperors Club. Then write a reflection of 250 words (+-) describing the values choices that Mr. H made and discovered through the end of the movie.

The Emperor’s Club was a good movie that showed how some teachers feel about students that we know can do so much if they were motivated to do their personal best. In the movie Mr. H had very high standards and was very unwavering in what he would accept in terms of behavior and respect (both educational and personally). When he encountered Sedwig he did not want to believe that he could not continue to teach and interact with the students in the same way. Sedwig challenged him at every turn and Mr. H was learning how to get Sedwig to really try his best. In his quest to convince Sedwig that learning was a valuable quality Mr. H had to bend some of his standards and at the time he was seeing the change in Sedwig, which made the change of values important. But as the movie continues we learn that Sedwig’s change was not as deep and permanent as Mr. H was hoping for. When Mr. H caught Segwig cheating everything changed for him. He realized that he should not have given in and bended what he believed. At the same time Mr. H had seen a small change and was still hopeful that one day Sedwig would finally become the man Mr. H knew he could be. After the second round of the games and Sedwig still was cheating, Mr. H finally stepped up to the plate and admitted what he had done and sought out forgiveness for what he had done from the one person who could give it. When that forgiveness was accepted Mr. H had learned what he held so dear to him and that was honesty.

Describe your alternate choices or support his.

Mr. H at time did what he thought would help Sedwig the most. If I were in his place I am not sure I would be able to alter the grade as much as he did to make sure Sedwig was one of the top three contestants. I understand and agree that Sedwig made huge amounts of improvements. Before I placed Sedwig ahead of another student I would have tried to make the option of 4 contestants instead of 3.

For What would you walk the "I" beam? For me walk the “I” beam it would have to be the fate of someone I love. As tempting as a lot of money would be I don’t think it is worth my life, but to save the life of someone I love would be the only thing that would get me to walk the “I” beam.