Light,+Benjamin

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.

__Conflict Resolution in American History X __  The film did not give the viewer a chance to know the background of many of the characters; to which, the discussion I had with a classmate centered on the role of nurture. I bring the point of background up since not knowing how someone was raised, and in what environment they were raised, does not give enough evidence as to determine which side of the coin they are. It is evident that with Derek and Danny their attitude was nurtured. The nurturing started with their father´s open prejudice towards minorities, and it continued with Cameron taking on the role as educator. The extent to which Derek and Danny´s lives would have been affected by their father if he remained living is unknown, but one can infer that the boys would not have been as derailed as they were. Both Derek and Danny´s regression back to the mean of society shows us for a fact that their changes were nurtured based. Their sister not showing signs of racist aggression, while an argument for nature, does not necessarily prove nature, since we had such a limited view of how the father treated his family.  The educators featured in this film give us two strikingly different viewpoints. We have Dr. Bob Sweeney, a strong male leader who sees the good in the Vineyard brothers; and Murray, a teacher who lets things—rightfully so in some aspects—get personal. I must interject one thought at this point that I did not talk to my classmate about; just as I typed the word Vineyard I couldn´t help but think of an actual vineyard and the making of wine. Certain grapes are going to do better than others based on their genes; however, without the proper nurturing, no grape will become a great tasting wine. Having had this thought, I can not help but think the writer did not accidently name this family, and I may have overlooked some evidence that indicates nature having more to do with the brothers personalities.  Getting back to the educators—Dr. Sweeney truly believes that the Vineyards are not lost to society. He knows the reasons why Derek changed, and he knows who Derek was before the change. He looks at the individual as a whole, and not just their actions. Murray is cut from a different cloth. He had a horrible encounter with Derek and has let that, and Derek´s brutal killings, color his attitude towards Danny. Instead of viewing Danny´s caustic writing of Adolf Hitler as a cry for help, a cry for someone to come in and help him come back into the fold, Murray just sees Danny´s actions, and gives up on him.  I have thought at lengths about these ideas of nature vs. nurture and the role of educators (especially men) for today´s youth. Too many times we focus on the what and not the why. But the question that bothers me is… what can we do about the why? 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.)



The information left me hopeful for the future of our planet. One item that came to mind is something that I read in a Michael Crichton book a few years ago, which had to do with the over-reporting of violence on the news. The turn happened during the early ´90s, and it happened because of the fall of the Soviet Union. People watched the news during the Cold War, because we were scared. After the Soviet collapse, people weren´t as scared, so the news needed to scare them again!

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. My students will use Voicethread to create a audio/visual autobiography/ family biography about the choices and consequences that had them come to be in our class! 2. Students will create murals and collages showing their knowledge about the different areas we´ve been studying. 3. During our opinion writing unit coming up, students will have to find articles that show different perspectives on the same topic. We will talk about those perspectives and share our own opinions.

Module #4

I decided to give the PP to my fiancee's daughter, a sixth grader. She scored extremely high on Learned Expert and Creative Problem solver (37 and 31 respectively). We went over the results and talked about her probable strengths and weaknesses. It was an interesting experience for all parties involved. Their were several revelations that made perfect sense. She is an avid reader, she loves asking questions, enjoys debating, and is a very creative person. One big point that really hit home was the fact that high learned experts can have a tendency to not understand how they represent themselves to others. My fiancee's daughter has oft times had conflict at school, and this idea may well be the core of the problem. We will continue to track this idea and implement some of the strategies that were mentioned in your article.

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.

I came up with this Dilemma as an continued introduction to our social studies unit on the West African Slave Trade. The day before we watched a BrainPop video on slavery. I activated prior knowledge by playing sound ball with "One thing I remember from the movie" as the ball. After this activity, the children sat at their desks. I asked them to close their eyes and then I told them to pretend they were an 11 year old African child playing with their family during the 1600's. I told them they were playing hide and seek, and that they had found a great hiding place and were waiting to be found. As they stuck their head out to see what was going on, they saw their family being lead away in chains to a slave ship. At that point I stopped the activity and we brainstormed what all of their choices were and continued to the activity as you showed us. The culminating activity was two fold, first they created a skit as to what happened next (not very good) and then I asked them to create a poem (much better).

Module #6

1. When I hug you after a long day, and all the stress melts away, I feel like the luckiest man on Earth. When we work quietly, and I see learning and growth, it makes me very proud to be your teacher. The first statement I made towards my fiancee. A huge smile broke out upon her face, and she gave me a great big hug! The second statement was made towards my class (5th grade) and the kids smiled and looked at each other and then thanked me.

2. When you disagree with me, and it stops my lesson and keeps the other students from learning, I become irritated. I have not given this statement yet. It is directed towards three of my students who love to disagree about everything!

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.

Family: Put family first. Intelligence: Crave information, yet be aware of what you do not know. Generosity: Help those who have tried, but who can not help themselves. Diligence: Do all work to your uptmost ability. Love: Treat all with resepect and love. Liberty: People have the right to choose for themselves what they want to do, until that choice infringes upon the liberty of others. Humour: Find laughter every day. Embrace silliness until it is time to be serious again. Listening: We have two ears and one mouth, hence listening is twice as important as talking. Steadiness: Be a port in the storm. Humility: Never take yourself too seriously. Hubris is deadly! Patience: Be slow to anger, understand the people around you. Loyalty: Friends and family are worthy of your support.

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.

I chose chapter 3, "Are you out of Alignment or Staying in STEPP?" The chapter talked about the importance of self-awareness and putting yourself in situations that support your **S**trengths, **T**alents, **E**thics and values, **P**ersonality prototypes and your **P**assions and interests. The chapter outlined the idea of the Alignment Theory and how destructive it could be to in a constant situation that goes against your STEPP. It then took a look at personality traits, your ethics and values, setting and evaluating expectations, and the highs and lows of perfectionism. I was struck by the thought that I may be creating an environment for some of my students that is not conducive to their STEPP. I am not saying that the environment is a bad one, just that what is best for some is worst for others. I need to keep in mind the STEPP of all my students and make sure I am meeting their needs. One other thought I had was questioning if it would be best to find out which STEPP a teacher's style is better for, and try and align students in that way.

The activity I will do with my class is the Business Card activity. My class has been suffering from too much cliquishness, and I have planned to do some team building exercises. This activity will be a great way for students to understand the similarities and differences they share with the entire class, not just their little group. I may then have them make group business cards as well, showing the strengths and talents of their desk groups that I assign.

Module # 9

I posted two resources.

Module #10

Working with my fifth grade class, we created the following website using weebly: []

This first issue of the website was created as a review of the third quarter. It will be updated every two weeks hereafter. The only page I made any changes on, or was responsible for, is the main page. The other pages were created by teams of 2 or 3. The class also worked together to give one another ideas and feedback (more pictures, details, advice, etc.) My hope behind it, was for each student to using their talents and passions in development of their page. This was also a way we could all celebrate one another. We will continue to make tweaks in an effort to ensure each child is in STEPP with their page!