Snavely,+Elizabeth



Hi everyone,

My name is Liz Snavely. I'm 28 years old and originally from Pennsylvania. I'm currently in my 5th year as a classroom teacher, but my first year at International College in Beirut, Lebanon. So far it's been an overwhelmingly positive experience, but living in this area of the world has certainly led me to think much more about conflict resolution on a daily basis. Previously I worked in the Dallas Independent School District and at ASFM in Monterrey, Mexico. My current passions are attempting to learn Arabic and sampling every bit of delicious Lebanese food that I can.

__Assignment 1__

When I started to think about what the course should be about, I first thought about a situation that arose recently with a student in my classroom. When my students misbehave, I talk to them about what happened and I ask them to complete a reflection sheet about their actions and how they will approach the situation differently in the future. One of my students was talking during a fire drill, and he and I discussed how dangerous this particular behavior could have been in a real emergency. As it turned out, there had been some kind of disagreement about line order and he and someone else had argued about who had to stand in line next to a girl, which had led to some pushing. What I heard was an argument following the pushing. He completed a reflection sheet after we talked, we both signed it, and off it went to be signed by his parents as well.

The next morning, he nervously brought me the signed reflection sheet. The source of his nervousness immediately became clear when I read the paper. It had been signed, but now his reflection read differently. It now said that in the future if someone pushed him (as he said the other boy did), instead of telling an adult, he would in return push the other student “until they fell down.”

I was so floored that I couldn’t even respond. He quickly and repeatedly told me that his father has specifically directed him to write this exactly. When I asked him why, he didn’t know. Now much more confused, I emailed his parents to confirm that this was indeed the case. Expecting to receive a message indicating a misunderstanding of some sort, I instead received an email confirming that this was exactly what his parents had instructed him to write and that they stood behind the sentiment 100%. I went to my principal for advice. We ended up having a meeting where we all sat down together to discuss the situation. I should note that the student’s parents were very polite and courteous in all of their interactions with me and with the administration at school. However, they steadfastly held on to their view that pushing the other student until he fell down was absolutely the best course of action. While things remained civil, we essentially ended up having a very heated argument about the ethics of teaching a student to use violence to “solve” a situation. In the end, I was angry and felt that these parents were irresponsible in their actions.

I left the meeting disheartened and confused. I’d simply never had an experience of this sort before. Thinking about it over the next few days, it occurred to me that there are probably a great many people in the world who would absolutely agree with those parents. They just either choose not to express their views so openly, or I’ve just never had occasion to encounter them. It struck me how unprepared I was to deal with this situation. I didn’t have a clue how to proceed, because I had never met anyone whose belief and value system had so differed from my own. I wondered what the student though of this. He was clearly confused as well, hearing one message at home and another at school.

I guess this very long story just serves to illustrate my idea that this course will hopefully give us some tools and strategies to use in varied situations. While I could never have anticipated what happened, perhaps I could have proceeded differently had I reflected beforehand on this type of conflict and what my role and responsibility is.


 * 1) How do we teach children to value peace and solving conflicts peaceably when they’re being given a different message outside of school?
 * 2) Where I currently live, I see these conflicts arising most often due to racial and/or ethnic tensions. What is the role of the teacher in facilitating understanding and acceptance of others outside of school?
 * 3) How can we keep minor conflicts minor, instead of allowing them to escalate into more serious situations?
 * 4) What is the role of parents and family members in making school a safe and conflict free place?
 * 5) How does the news media contribute to the real or perceived conflicts around the world?

__Assignment 2__

I think that this movie is overwhelmingly a strong argument for how nurture influences our choices and actions. While Derek eventually realizes this, Danny only begins to. That said, Danny ends up following the path that he does in large part due to the influences of those around him, not because of some inherent belief that he was born with. Likewise, Derek comes to hold these beliefs due to the influence of his father. In fact, his father actively sways him away from his initial and natural attitude of openness and curiosity. One tragic event and the switch is flipped for Derek, maybe because he needed someone to blame for the unbelievably awful events of his father’s death.

Cameron becomes a type of mentor for Derek, and draws him into his organization fairly effortlessly. Surrounded with so many like minded people, Derek feeds off of what he is surrounded by and becomes a kind of ringleader. Violence is encouraged and rewarded all around. Seconds after murdering two people, Derek is clearly proud, believing that what he has just done is completely justified.

Danny watches, horrified. Up until this point, Danny has been surrounded by family members who hold polar opposite beliefs. But now he’s just seen Danny do something heinous, but with unwavering conviction. While we don’t know exactly what happened in the interim, by the time Derek is out of prison, Danny is following in his footsteps. No matter what, Danny looks up to Derek and wants to emulate him. Somewhere along the way he seems to start believing the hate. No doubt Cameron and Seth have both been instrumental in this.

On the other hand, there’s Bob Sweeney, who recognized glimmers of brilliance in both of the Vinyard boys. He somehow manages not to give up on either of them. He knew Derek both before his father died and after. Sweeney believed that Derek had become the way that he was because of his experiences, and cared enough to help him try to find himself again. He believes the same thing about Danny, maybe because by the time Danny turns in the paper on Mein Kampf, Sweeney has already seen Derek change his views and prepare to walk out of prison a different man. While it’s taken Derek years to come to this understanding, Danny begins to change literally overnight.

While maybe there’s not a lot of love between Sweeney and the boys, there’s certainly respect. Overall, it seems quite clear that nurture has more profoundly shaped in the lives of the two.

__Assignment 3__ A.


 * What would a peaceable school or community look like?

Mutual respect in all areas. Everyone in the community feels comfortable expressing their thoughts and opinions without fear of judgement or reprisal. They also feel comfortable asking questions. General rules and structures are in place for the safety of everyone. These expectations are followed by everyone, and if a conflict arises, it is dealt with in an open and reflective manner.


 * What elements of communication would be included?

Problems arising within the community would be brought to the group for discussion. Decisions must be approved by the group, but there is no consequence for respectful disagreement.

B.
 * What would be tolerated and what would not be tolerated?
 * Differences of opinion, discussion, and disagreement will be tolerated. Purposeful disrespect, attempts to encourage disagreement, and any kind of violence will not be tolerated.
 * What would the rules be?
 * The rules will depend on what the community members want and agree opon.
 * Would would the expectations be?
 * The expectation would be that everyone within the community follows the agreed upon expectations and treats others with respect in all interactions.
 * What would the responsibilities be?
 * Everyone has a responsibility to be respectful towards others in all interactions. They must keep their area neat and tidy and alert the other group members to any conflicts so that they can be discussed promptly.

[|__http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1987/arias-bio.html__]

[|__http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/67202/oscar-arias/culture-matters__]

D.


 * Every morning we start the day with a community meeting. We discuss classroom and school concerns and discuss the actions that we need to take. Students also create their own rules for the classroom as well as the consequences for not following the rules.


 * What evidence would he see?
 * Respectful interactions between teachers and students
 * Active listening
 * Students following the rules and holding each other accountable
 * Students and teachers helping one another
 * How will you promote peace in your community?
 * I think that the best way to promote peace is to truly understand the conflicts that we face. I devote time to discussion of current events, particularly relevant is this area of the world, and peer mediation.

__ Assignment 4 __ First I think about why someone would be driven to homicide in the first place. Money? Resources? Protection? Power? Pure, blind anger? Perhaps the first two are no longer in such short supply for the majority of the world’s population, and there’s thus less reason to resort to violence. Perhaps the stakes are also higher in some ways. The advancements of science have made it much more likely that one who committed such a horrible crime will be discovered and punished. Underestimate While they generally thought that violence was increasing rather than decreasing, we were still shocked at the overall numbers for each measure of violence. Perhaps this is due to the overall way in which crime is reported in the US. 24 hour news means that they have to talk about something, preferably the most shocking topic available. I think that this was an interesting activity as it challenged our perceptions. However, I don’t feel like I’ve gained insight into how to help my school or my classroom become a more peaceable place. Scores:
 * 1) Why do you think the rate of homicide violence has gone down in the last 800 years?
 * 1) Did you over or underestimate violence in the United States?
 * 1) What did your 4 subject colleagues think about violence in general?
 * 1) Why?
 * 1) What did you think about this lesson.


 * Correct Responses || T || F || F || F || T ||
 * 1 || F || T || T || T || F ||
 * 2 || T || F || T || T || T ||
 * 3 || T || T || F || F || F ||
 * 4 || T || F || F || F || F ||
 * 5 || F || T || F || T || F ||

Everyone who completed the survey was shocked when they saw the actual trends. Some admitted trying to play to the survey, thinking the mere fact that they were being asked these questions suggested that their correct answers would not be what they expected. However, all 4 others (as well as I!) were shocked to see the graphs. The idea of decrease of total violent crime in the US was particularly mind blowing, given the news stories being reported. At the same time, the raw numbers are still higher than I would ever have guessed. That says quite a lot about human nature.

Waterboarding:

For this reflection, I watched an absolutely horrifying video of Christopher Hitchens being waterboarded several years ago as part of his research for a Vanity Fair article. You see exactly what it looks like, and hear the “interrogators” discuss how they’ll begin with 15 seconds, then continue for 15 seconds if he hasn’t already asked for the demonstration to stop. Mr. Hitchens is able to endure waterboarding for only a few seconds. Clearly he is greatly distressed and he goes on to discuss the experience in a terrifying way. While I am not well versed in the theories behind the use of these tactics, I simply can’t think of a situation where using waterboarding could be justified. It’s torture. While the argument exists that these tactics can be used to extract information needed to keep others safe, it’s illogical to think that any information obtained under these circumstances could possible be reliable. Pretty much any human would say anything to make this treatment stop. It’s barbaric and it makes me feel physically ill to think that the US condoned this for so many years.

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__Assignment 5__

One of the most difficult things that I've ever had to watch was seeing a teacher lose their temper completely with a student. As most teachers know, playground duty can be stressful. Trying to make sure that every kid has picked up their trash, is included in games, and hasn't climbed any trees can be just as challenging as delivering a solid lesson. Though it's been a number of years, I saw remember this incident pretty clearly. Corralling hundreds of excited little ones after playtime is job in and of itself. On this particular day, when the whistle blew there was one boy who was simply not ready for recess to be over. He was still kicking the soccer ball in the opposite direction of the school when one of the teachers on duty caught up with him. Even though I was hundreds of yards away, I knew that this teacher was far beyond irritated. Her body language showed pure fury. I couldn't hear what she was screaming, but I could see the way her face was contorted and tell from the reaction of the student that he was genuinely scared. I walked toward the two of them as quickly as I could without actually running. By the time I had made it all the way across the field, she was still screaming and he was still cowering. Had I not noticed this situation playing out and gone over, I'm honestly not so sure that she wouldn't have struck him. Why did someone, who in every other interaction with a student that I've ever observed was nothing short of wonderful and encouraging, behave in such a way?

TED Talk

I thought about showing this video to another adult, but I ended up deciding to show it to my students, who are fifth-graders. I knew it would be a little above their heads, and I discussed this with them beforehand. I basically told them that I had something really cool to share with them and that I thought it would really be helpful for the presentations that will be happening in the coming weeks. Multiple times throughout the video I stopped it and we discussed. I was actually really surprised by the level of engagement and the way they responded to the video. Afterwards one student actually told me it was the most interesting video he had ever seen. While I had a few students who couldn't really follow, I witnessed the majority of the class adopt power poses while they watched. This was clearly somewhat intentional, but I noticed it throughout the day as well. One student even went home and researched more on his own. Students asked me if they could sit for two minutes in power poses before an exam, so we all did it together. I'm not entirely sure it actually had any significant impact on the outcome of their math quiz, but it couldn't hurt. I myself have started to be more aware of my posture and body language, and it has made a difference in the ease of my classroom management.

__Assignment 6__

Conflict is any problem or disagreement that needs to be solved in order for all parties to feel safe.

Conflict resolution is any step towards a conflict either not existing or no longer being relevant.

It takes a lot to really upset me and I almost never raise my voice. I tend to be pretty calm and positive overall. I think my fellow teachers would agree with me in saying that this is really important when you're in charge of a classroom on an everyday basis. I really love the fact that nearly every student who have ever had the privilege to teach has said that they feel comfortable telling me about a problem, whether it be with understanding or with someone else. Of course, there've been a few exceptions. Several years ago, I had a student my class who I just didn't see eye to eye with. We were constantly butting heads, leading to mutual frustration. I felt she was deliberately disrespectful, and she felt like I wasn't being patient enough with her. It all came to a head one day, but I can't even really remember over what. I had asked her a question. For whatever reason, her response was a shrug of the shoulders. Who knows why she answered that way, but I perceived it as disrespectful. In my mind at that moment, I couldn't just let this go. I felt if I did it would set a dangerous precedent with the other students who were watching this interaction. Suddenly I was assigning her a detention. She immediately burst into very noisy tears and my classroom became is strangely silent place (my classroom is never quiet). I don't think anyone in that room had ever really seen me upset before. It took me a moment to calm down, but at that moment I suddenly realized what a gross overreaction it was on my part. Why was I punishing a 10-year-old because I didn't feel that her nonverbal response was appropriate? Ridiculous. Luckily, this silly incident made me realize that I had to make a greater effort to change something in my attitude toward my student, because I wasn't being fair to her. I was the adult in charge, but I wasn't acting like it. She and I had a really long talk, something that probably should've happened much before this point. She and I still had a pretty difficult relationship, things improved after this. But, I don't know if it would've happened if not for this incident. Perhaps my overreaction helped in the long run.

__Assignment 7__


 * 1) Delivering “I” messages

When you talk during my lesson, it makes it tough for others to concentrate and I feel frustrated because time is wasted. - Students stopped talking and refocused.

When you use the literary techniques that we’ve practiced, I can clearly understand your writing and the mood that you wish to convey. It makes me feel proud of you. - This student, who I probably don’t praise enough, just lit up. She was much more motivated throughout the class.

When we speak English during our meetings, I can understand the discussion. It makes me feel included and part of the team. - The reaction here was stony silence. I think that this might have been something that the other team members hadn’t considered, so they seemed to resent my pointing it out.

2. Gigi, when you enter my house without my permission and go through my personal belongings, it shows that you don’t value my privacy, which does not make me feel safe or respected.

Gigi, when you respect my personal space and belongings, I can keep track of my things and I don’t feel nervous about leaving my personal things unlocked in my own home.

The link to “You Stink!” doesn’t appear to be working.

__Assignment 8__

My real life student is in danger of failing the year due to poor academic performance. While her academic performance is inhibited by not being able to focus and her lack of participation,there are also many other factors. Her poor behavior seems to stem from her difficulty in learning, and not the other way around. She repeated 1st grade, and so needs to be meeting expectations in all areas in order to continue in middle school. This is extremely stressful for her and for her family, and she reacts by zoning out in class. She doesn’t feel confident participating, since processing of information takes her longer than average. She tends to be a step behind everyone else during most discussions.

I chose to include the parents in this behavior contract, since these have been behaviors that we’ve discussed in our frequent meetings throughout the year. This particular student needs extra reinforcement to feel successful. When she has a good day, I think that it’s very important for her parents to know this and to praise her hard work. Likewise, I know that these parents in particular will talk with their daughter when she has not participated or given her best effort during the day in class. While they won’t punish or reward her with things, I know that they will discuss with her either their pride or the fact that they know she can improve and perform at a higher level.

After the first week, I can already see the difference in her performance. She has now stopped coming to me and asking, “Miss, how did I do today?” but has begun to instead say “Miss, I think I did really well today in class discussions. Can I put a check plus?” Not only does she have more tools to self monitor and keep track of her own behavior, but she performed well on a quiz this week. I brought this up in the meeting that included the student and her mother, and we all had the chance to talk about how effort and focus impact her academic performance.

Contract Goals:

Participate at least twice per discussion. Finish class work during class. Follow along during lessons. No side discussions during lessons.

I then have a calendar where both I and the Arabic teacher note the student’s performance each day.

__Assignment 9__

My scores came close for People Person and Learned Expert, but Learned Expert was 5 points higher and the highest score overall. There are aspects of the results that I both agree and disagree with. I am certainly not a creative problem solver. Being told to “be creative!” stresses me out like almost nothing else can. I also certainly do not possess the gifts of the typical Practical Manager, although I do have Practical Manager needs and problems.

I’m a People Person in the sense that I am disorganized, overly sensitive, and need for the people around me to get along and be in harmony. However, I’m not so colorful or dramatic, and I’m much more introverted than extroverted.

Learned Expert was my highest score. I can definitely be sarcastic, but I’m not argumentative or a strong debater, perhaps simply because I cannot handle conflict of any sort. I love to be surrounded by learning and activity, but I can’t necessarily think in a linear enough way to strategize during games and such.

I asked a friend to complete the profile as well. His highest score was Learned Expert as well, though he and I both agreed that he better fit the qualities of a Practical Manager. Reading back through the article and the attributes proved to spark an interesting discussion, though.

Whether I agree or disagree with the results overall, it was interesting to take the test. I automatically started to imagine my students who fit perfectly into the different categories. This exercise was a great reminder of what some of those kid’s needs are that I should be planning for.

__Assignment 10__

1 &2. Derek and Homer both have difficult homes lives. Homer's father is not exactly encouraging, but he isn’t this way for malicious reasons. His only frame of reference is rural West Virginia, and the only thing he knows is coal mining. He's afraid of what he doesn't understand and he doesn't understand his son or his son’s desire to be successful in something other than football. He values hard work, not academic achievements, so he shows nothing but disdain for his son’s interest in science for the better part of the film. Homer’s mother on the other hand is mostly supportive. While she’s initially indifferent ( “Don’t blow yourself up!” ) and doesn’t seem to think that he’ll do much more than amuse himself for a few hours, she eventually comes to support and encourage Homer. She wants him to finish high school no matter what and is championing him the whole time he’s at the science fair. While he doesn’t necessarily see eye to eye with either of his parents, their love for Homer is never in question.

For his formative years, Derek has a supportive home life. He enjoys time with family, and appears generally happy in the flashbacks. He excels in school and his parents and family members are encouraging. His home life appears to continue this way until his father's death. Derek resents any attempt by his mother to move on, particularly with someone like Murray. Derek's mother continually tries to bring him back to his former life path until the day prior to the incidents that end up sending Derek to jail. This is her breaking point, and understandably so. However, the relationship between Derek and his mother appears somewhat mended upon his return for three years in prison. It's difficult to know if this is because of some events that have transpired during this time, or if it's just because he has returned after so long away.

3. Murray and Miss Reilly have quite different roles as educators. Miss Reilly is liberal compared to many of the other characters in October Sky. Knowing that the most important thing that she can do is inspire her students to dream of a world bigger than Coalwood, it’s Miss Reilly who teaches the students about Sputnik and eventually brings the whole town out to see it. She encourages Homer to pursue his dreams, though not without a bit of (hopefully) calculated caution. Her initial skepticism about Homer’s math skills leads him to seek help and study on his own. In a still largely patriarchal society, Miss Reilly isn’t afraid to stand up for what she feels is the right thing to do and refuses to cow to what others, particularly the principal, think.

Murray on the other hand doesn’t take quite the stand that Miss Reilly does. He starts out by braving the difficult waters of a relationship with Derek and Danny’s mother. He’s quickly scared off by Danny’s actions. In later years, Danny continues to antagonize Murray, knowing that he is easy to intimidate. Writing the paper on Mein Kampf was clearly meant as a personal insult toward Murray, but it seems to be only the latest in a string of conflicts. If anything, Danny seems to get a rise out of how easy it is to push Murray’s buttons.

4. Principal Turner is the polar opposite of Miss Reilly. He is close minded and inflexible. He actively discourages the boys, allows their arrest on school grounds, and doesn’t seem to want Homer to be able to prove his innocence in relation to the fire. Like Homer’s father, he doesn’t have malicious intent, but he is scared of what he doesn’t know. When the boys can prove that they didn’t start the fire, his attitude changes completely. Sweeney, on the other hand, never doubts the ability of either Danny or Derek. Even when his attention is unwanted, he remains a steadfast supporter of the two. He maintains that they’ve learned to hate, and can thus unlearn to hate as well.

5. Derek’s community is made up of Neo Nazis who see him as a kind of leader. Derek and Cameron plan and encourage violence on a regular basis, and those surrounding Derek feed and feed on his energy. Hate breeds hate, and it’s probably really easy to fall into the trap of thinking that just because the people around you share your beliefs, that somehow makes them true or correct.

Homer’s community is made up of people who don’t know much about life outside of West Virginia. People think that he and his friends are weird for pursuing this project with such enthusiasm. Even Homer’s peers seem to be in complete disbelief that they could hope for anything better than life as a miner. But when things really start to take off and the boys make it into the competition, the town rallies around them, even turning out en masse to see them fire off their last rocket.

The overall experiences of Homer and Derek are about as opposite as possible. It’s no wonder that their lives followed such different paths.