Benton,+Kara

=Benton, Kara= ====Kara Benton has been a teacher since the age of 5. She had the best educated bunch of stuffed animals in California. To make her work legal with the human population, she graduated from the University of Texas in 2002. She has taught grades 1-8 with a focus in reading and science. Benton has refined her early skills while working in Germany, Oklahoma, Texas, Kenya and South Dakota. In the coming school year, she will assume a new role of intervention strategist/educational coach.====

====Along with teaching, Kara is a dedicated military spouse and mother of three. She enjoys traveling, cooking, hiking in the hills, and playing with her family. Benton and family completed a food tour of the Northern Midwest this summer. Here is a recent picture of during her food tour during one of her pitstops in Pennsylvania:====



=**Assignment # 1**= ====Differences in opinion are inevitable. How individuals respond to and resolve that conflict is a choice. There are ways to resolve conflict that are respectful and productive. These strategies can be taught to all age groups, even down to preschool. A course in conflict resolution/peaceable schools should be about learning how to facilitate productive discussions to resolve conflict, at age appropriate levels, between all stakeholders in the school. The stakeholders include the students, parents, teachers and administration. With a peaceable school as the goal, all stakeholders should learn the skills and strategies to resolve conflict as part of daily interactions to maintain a peaceable school.====

Five specific topics I would like to see included in this course are:

 * 1) ====Identify the conflict and its causes====
 * 2) ====Developmentally appropriate strategies to help resolve conflict====
 * 3) ====How to facilitate and maintain a peaceable school====
 * 4) ====How to promote collaboration and teamwork among faculty members as well as faculty members and parents====

5. Conflict resolution and management skills for the classroom
=**Assignment # 2**= In American History X, Mr. Sweeney asked Daniel to analyze and interpret the events that led up to his brother’s incarceration. This reflection highlighted the impacts of nature vs. nurture throughout the film and how profound of an impact nurture can have on a person. The flashbacks in the movie illustrated how the nature of both brothers, Derrick and Daniel, was without hate and prejudice, but due to the nurture they both received, prejudice and hate were brought into lives of both boys.

Both Daniel and Derrick, white males, started out without the prejudice and hate that is prevalent throughout the movie. Derrick, originally, was in awe of the type of person and teacher that Mr. Sweeney, an African-American male, was. Derrick was inspired by the work and readings he was exposed to in Sweeney’s classroom. However, during the flashback scene to dinner with his father, his father told him to do what he had to do in order to make an A in the course, but not to take in any advice or teaching that Sweeney had to offer, which started to nurture the view Derrick had about people of different races and religions.

The role of the school and the town where Derrick lived facilitated the environment for these ideas of hate to grow and develop. No one helped calm the interactions between the two groups, which led to the conflict on the basketball court and throughout town. After Derrick’s father’s death, Cameron, a leader of a neo-Nazi group became a mentor to Derrick and continued to fill his head with words of hate. Cameron blamed the death of Derrick’s father on race relations. Through his loss of his father and the words of his mentor, Derrick became filled with hate himself, as he became a leader of neo-Nazi group. Perhaps, it could have been different had he turned to the guidance of Mr. Sweeney instead. However, the nurture he received from his father tainted his view of Mr. Sweeney.

Following on the heels of Derrick, was his younger brother Daniel. From a young age, he received only the nurture from his brother, Seth, Cameron, and the rest of the neo-Nazi group. He proceeded to model the behaviors and attitudes he saw put before him because he was accepted into the group and looked after while his brother was in jail.

The school continued to be a place that fostered that animosity between different groups with no interference or guidance from the teachers. The scene in the boys’ bathroom showed how the students were allowed to pick on each other because of race. Daniel brought his attitude of hate into his paper and the teacher responded with anger and kicked him out of the class. At this point, Mr. Sweeney attempted to step in because he saw the good in Daniel and knew what he and his brother were both capable of producing quality work and ideas. Mr. Sweeney could see past the nurture and into the nature of both boys. The understanding Sweeney had should have been channeled into relationships between peers throughout the school.

During his time in prison, Derrick met a black friend. He was exposed to the goodness that was in his heart instead of hate and lies. Through exposure to different cultures, he returned to his true nature and he became friends with his prison mate. This friendship helped break down stereotypes for Derrick as he left prison. Derrick went back to help change his brother and the past mistakes he made, but due to the toxic nature of the school and community, he was too late save his brother.

The movie draws a connection to the events that are happening in today’s world with Dylann Roof. How many mentors, friends, and community members fostered his beliefs? How many said something to him or tried to step in? Who helped to nurture these ideas of hate that he carried in his heart? Furthermore, what could have been done to help prevent this horrible tragedy? =**Assignment # 3**= A. Remembering the film we just watched describe what the elements of a peaceable community or peaceable school might be. A peaceable school or community would be one where the members of the community are understanding and tolerant of each other’s race, religion, and beliefs. With the culture of understanding in place, there would be a conflict resolution plan to address conflicts that arise. Peer to peer communication. Peer or adult mediation if needed. Conflict resolution/Problem solving protocol and guidelines to follow would be implemented. Discussion, talking, expressing frustrations and working through the problem would be tolerated. Violence, aggression, name calling, and avoidance would not be tolerated. Be respectful. Think about how you would want to be treated and strive to treat everyone that way. Show respect for people in your words and actions. Speak kindly to each other. If you are upset, tell the other person and discuss the problem. Try to find a solution to the problem that everyone could agree with. Apologize if you were wrong and upset someone. You are responsible for being respectful of other people and treating them kindly. If you are upset, or have upset someone else, follow the conflict resolution protocol. If you still get reach an agreement, get someone to help you.
 * What would a peaceable school or community look like?
 * What elements of communication would be included?
 * What would be tolerated and what would not be tolerated?
 * What would the rules be?
 * What would the expectations be?
 * What would the responsibilities be?

In our school community we follow three guiding principles. They are: All three are essential elements of peaceable schools. The students are creating a safe learning environment for all students to come and actively participate. They are safe to express their ideas as well as physically safe by following the rules and making smart choices, such as walking in the hallway and keeping rocks on the ground outside. The students are caring about each other’s feelings and allowing all students time to learn. They are respectful of all of the differences in the classroom with individual learning styles and race and religion. In my classroom, we apologize by naming the behavior that upset the students, why it was wrong, what we will do different in the future, and then asking for forgiveness. This focuses on respect and caring about the other person and how student behaviors can and should be changed. He would see anchor charts posted in the classroom and around the school to remind students of what a peaceable school community looks like. The anchor charts remind students and teachers of the three major principles, but also have more detailed description of what each behavior looks like in different places such as the lunchroom, bathroom, and hallways. He would see students and teachers implementing and following these rules. He would see students and teachers reminding each other of appropriate behavior. Should an infraction occur, he would see students working out the behaviors with each other, and asking for adult help if needed. I will promote peace in my community by being caring and respectful of my students and coworkers. I will follow the guidelines that we have established as a school and model those behaviors for my students. I really enjoyed reading Oscar Arias’ Nobel Peace Prize speech. Peace is such an important value to teach students and he makes a really great point about making this a value that they leave me knowing. I will incorporate those thoughts into my lesson plans and seeing how we can use the students to move the thoughts of peace into our community through their actions. =**Assignment # 4**= I think the rate of homicide violence has gone down in the last 800 years because we have moved to cities and are living with each other. While not perfect, crimes are easier to solve and prosecute. I also think that when you live among people and in communities, you have a sense of belonging and that results in less violence. People in today’s society are also not trying to protect their land and materials physically from being stolen as in it was in the past due to increased persecution of theft.
 * Describe how if Hank (your professor) came to your classroom or community he would observe the elements of a peaceable community.
 * 1) Be Caring
 * 2) Be Safe
 * 3) Be Respectful
 * What evidence would he see?
 * How will you promote peace in your community?
 * 1) **Why do you think the rate of homicide violence has gone down in the last 800 years?**

2. **Did you over or underestimate violence in the United States?** I had violence in the U.S. pretty much where it is with a slight bit over. I did think that fewer people would be arrested for violent crimes, but I guess if the rate remains constant, but there is an increase in population, there would be more arrests.

3. **What did your 4 subject colleagues think about violence in general?** The results of my colleagues were fairly split on this quiz, which is interesting. Two of colleagues had military experience. One was prior military member and the other was a military spouse. They did not think the U.S. was in a period of extreme violence, while the other two that had remained stateside for their entire lives, thought that the U.S. was in a period of extreme violence. Although the results were split on the true/false questions, all line graphs showed a sharp increase in serious violent crime total.

4. **Why?** Those that thought the U.S. had increased extreme violence was due to the news reports that they had heard. The other two have advanced degrees and have probably studied things similar to this course along with their experience outside of the United States.

5. **What did you think about this lesson?** I am very intrigued by this lesson, especially when looking into the research, which compared the U.S. with other western nations. Why is our rate of violence so high? Why is it so high when compared with Canada?

Looking at the Monkkonen article, it was interesting to see the differences between the state governments, which have different levels of persecution for each state. The consequences across states are not consistent. The article also showed the effects of racism, which is still prevalent today when we look at the crimes across the country where criminals are not prosecuted for committing violent crimes as in the case of George Zimmerman. Is America’s history with slavery and the violence that permeated the South to allow such conditions to exist the cause of our increased violence?

Could it also be something as simple as America’s gun ownership and lack of gun laws? Is it the regulation on permits for gun ownership?

While there is a decrease in our overall crime rate, it is worth noting that our crime rate significantly higher than other western nations.


 * Torture or other ‘enhanced’ interrogation techniques**

The interrogator stated that waterboarding is not torture, but it is invoking and existing fear (drowning). He said he views torture as whipping, invoking blood; actual physical pain. The subject stated after his brief exposure to waterboarding that it was in his brain – a panic and fear that could not be quieted. While he isn’t really in actual physical pain, he is being forced to get his brain to think he is the actual physical act of drowning. If your brain is thinking you are in a state of torture as described by the interrogator, is it not actually torture? I think it is. An article from NewsWeek on the results of using torture to obtain information stated, “It's become the conventional wisdom that the tortured will say anything to make the torture stop, and that "anything" need not be truthful as long as it is what the torturers want to hear. … Prolonged and extreme stress inhibits the biological processes believed to support memory in the brain.” The prisoners talked to get out of being water boarded, but did not give correct information. They just wanted to the torture to stop. Science illustrated that it doesn’t work, so why does the U.S. continue to use these techniques? Is this connected to the U.S.’s increased use of violence in our history?

Source: []


 * What did I observe from the session?**

I observed that even though the U.S. crime rate has decreased over the last 30+ years, it is still higher per capita than other western nations. The concern to me is there is no clear reason or explanation as to why. With out a reason or a cause, it is difficult to help change this mentality. This summer I went to Canada. We crossed the border three times during our trip. I happen to have a Texas license plate on my car. Every single time, the Canadian border patrol wanted to know if we had weapons in our car because they are illegal to carry in Canada. When we said no, they wanted to know why. They said everyone in the U.S. carries handguns, especially those of us in Texas. While our rate of crime is decreasing, what the world sees from the U.S. is violence. As in the movie Bowling For Columbine, is this violence what we are showing the world, or ourselves? Is that the choice that media is making for us? Is what we are seeing in our media daily, guiding us to make the choices that are being made? There are so many questions, but no answers to solve this problem. Yes, I do think it is a problem, even though it is in decline. I would like those European numbers some day to be the same for the United States.


 * Extra Credit: Fighting Back.**

The pros of using this strategy are very limited for me as this is an unrealistic strategy. However, it will allow the children to feel safe in school because they have some form of protection and they will be able to do something in case of an emergency. In our school, we practice where to hide in all the different locations throughout the school, including the bathrooms (feet up on the stool so they can’t see you) in case of an active shooter. In the video I watched on YouTube, the principal said that the drill his school ran would allow the school to be informed of what they didn’t know and what they needed to improve on. Running drills and practicing will help the students feel more comfortable about this type of situation and practicing will provide automaticity in the event that a real attack should take place. As the principal in the video said, it is creating a culture of safety.

The cons of this strategy are numerous. Weapons are far reaching. There is no guarantee that a student throwing a canned good would reach the intended target while the student is in fact making himself a target. Are the students engaged in can throwing practice? The video that I watched had another student and he said that it is a bit unrealistic because you would not have access to the cans or wads of paper in the event of a real emergency because you would not be prepared. In the link where they brought in canned goods, where are they keeping the goods? Are they accessible? Are the students practicing what to do?

The idea behind the canned goods is positive. The school is attempting to create a culture of empowerment for the students. Do the students feel empowered? Or do they feel scared looking that their canned good weapons every day and thinking what if I am attacked in a place where I am supposed to feel safe? If they don’t feel safe, are they really learning? I think spending time finding the safest place to hide and lock the building and classrooms down would be more effective than teaching students to throw cans at an armed intruder.

My problem with this entire strategy is that we are not addressing the problem. Why are there school shootings? What can we change in our culture to prevent these tragedies from happening? There was a school shooting in Australia. The government responded quickly with gun control laws to prevent another incident from happening. However, here in America, we continue to allow these things to happen while never changing our laws or addressing the cause of these attacks. What will it take to get all Americans to address the problem?

=**Assignment # 5**= The **amygdala** is an almond-shape set or neurons located deep in the brain’s medial temporal lobe.

It is shown to play a key role in the processing of emotions. It is linked to both fear responses and pleasure in humans and animals.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/terms/amygdala.htm

Daniel Goleman – ‘Hijacking of the Brain’ The amygdala regulates the fight or flight response. When threatened, the amygdala can respond irrationally. A rush of stress hormones floods the body before the prefrontal lobes (regulating executive function) can mediate this reaction. This is why, according to my Newsweek article, waterboarding does not work. The power of emotions overwhelms rationality. []

Goleman calls this eruption an "amygdala hijack." The amygdala is the center of the brain that controls this response, and also controls empathy; when it feels threatened, it can respond not just irrationally, but destructively. "When Mike Tyson bit Evander Holyfield's ear, it was a very bad business decision - it cost him $3 million. It was an amygdala hijack."

Here are three signs of an amygdala hijack: strong emotional reaction, sudden onset, and "when you reflect later, you realize it was inappropriate". []

Example: Aside from the Holyfield/Tyson example, a young male in my second year of teaching is an example of an amygdala hijacking. At the age of 12 he was a very frustrated reader and struggled in our reading intervention class as well as his mainstream classes. He, unfortunately, was over all academically low and did not qualify for any special education services. We were sitting in small group having a lesson that he did not understand. He watched his classmates grasp the concept, but it remained out of reach for him. He stood up and threw his chair across the classroom. As he calmed down and we contacted his mom, he was very embarrassed and did not want to tell his mother about his behavior. When she showed up for the conference, she said there is no way her son would do such a behavior. He had his head hung in his hands and admitted that he did indeed throw the chair. Throwing the chair was the strong emotional reaction, it was sudden as no one was expecting it, and later, when he had calmed down, he regretted his actions. It never happened again.


 * Amy Cuddy Ted Talk**

Upon reflection, I noticed that I usually start out in a new group in a closed position and make myself smaller. During this time, I am usually taking in information about the group around me to know how to respond to the individuals in the group. As I become comfortable with my surroundings, I usually put my self in power positions. I was not aware that these were power positions and just thought of myself as getting comfortable in a situation, which I am. It is interesting to know that there is a science behind my body positions. I shared this with a friend who also found it very interesting and she says she usually holds the power position in most settings, especially where she has to defend herself or her family. We both noticed that at home these dynamics don’t seem to be at play, or at least not as much. What we both liked about the talk is the saying, “Fake it until you become it,” and your hormones will actually modify to make this true for you. It doesn’t have to be who you are to start with but you can train your brain to become the person that you want to be or to hold the position of power that you would like to have in a situation. I will be watching from here forward the positions of other people around me and how my position changes, or doesn’t change, other people’s body position. =**Assignment # 6**= [|www.merriam-webster.com]
 * __Conflict (n):__**
 * a struggle for power, property, etc.
 * strong disagreement between people, groups, etc., that results in often angry argument
 * a difference that prevents agreement : disagreement between ideas, feelings, etc.

Conflict resolution is the process of resolving a dispute or a conflict by meeting at least some of each side’s needs and addressing their interests. Conflict resolution sometimes requires both a power-based and an interest-based approach, such as the simultaneous pursuit of litigation (the use of legal power) and negotiation (attempts to reconcile each party’s interests). []
 * __Conflict Resolution__**:

Example: I am my own prime example of an ‘amygdala hijack.’ I feel strongly about doing what is right for kids and the long term effects decisions made will have on them, especially when it comes to their education. I was sitting in a meeting discussing unit plans, and the direction my colleagues were going was going to punish more students than it would help. Suddenly, I was letting all of my emotions fly out of my mouth onto my colleagues about why and how they were so very wrong. After the meeting, I embarrassed by my actions that did not result in a positive outcome. It didn’t help with the curriculum planning, best interest of the students, or my colleagues’ perception of me.

I remember sitting there sharing ideas and feeling frustrated that they were not honoring the standards and wanting to increase the expectation beyond what the expectations for students were for a 3. I said if we wanted to make that the expectation for a 4, I could agree to that, but developmentally, that is not where the students were and I was not going to punish the students because we couldn’t agree. More disagreements between my peers ensued, and I remember feeling angry at the long-term effects this was going to have on students because they were young and this wasn’t fair for them to be assessed this way. I had a strong emotional reaction about the impacts that teachers would have while educating students. With a sudden onset, I raised my voice and insulted the ideas of the few naysayers at the table and furthermore explained my point. The rest of the table went quiet after I said my piece and they all looked down at the table. Someone finally spoke up and we agreed to research the standards and come back the next day with an answer, which would be fair to all students. My emotions and amygdala were preventing me from coming to a peaceable solution with my colleagues that would benefit our work together and the education of our students. Immediately after, I reexamined the situation and felt immature and unprofessional about my outburst. I apologized to all and we left for the afternoon.

I don’t think that emotions always hinder conflict resolution. I think they often drive us to do what is right and guide us towards an appropriate resolution. If both sides can present their concerns and solutions, then both parties can work towards a resolution. When we allow our amygdala to take over, I think it does hinder conflict resolution. It is not a calm, thought out decision, just like my son raising his fist when his brother scares him. It doesn’t allow for rational discussion to allow both sides to reach a conclusion. It results in further frustration and anger because those that didn’t have their amygdala hijacked are wondering what just happened to the discussion.
 * Do the involvement of emotions and the amygdala always hinder conflict resolution?**


 * Cursing Reduces Stress**

I agree with this statement and the articles that I read. The video showed an article, which stated men curse more than women, unless they are in a sorority. I lived with a group of 20-30 throughout college. We used more swear words than a group of sailors. I find nothing wrong with using swear words. In this article about the book //Holy Sh*t, [],// the author of the book, Melissa Mohr, (viewed here: []) stated, “They (swear words) are the most powerful words we have to express emotion whether negative or positive. … (Swear words provide) Catharsis as responses to pain or powerful feelings.” I often use words to emphasize a point I feel strongly about or a powerful emotion I feel. It gives it a clear description of how one feels. I agree with the author of the blog about the book //Holy Sh*t//, “Getting rid of words will not get rid of hatred or joy that makes us want to use them.” =**Assignment # 7**= 1. **When you ignored me after I received a new job, I did not understand why and I felt sad and confused.** This person was apologetic and explained why she behaved that way. We discussed it further and moved forward with our relationship.

2. **When you mailed me your flash drive full of materials, I had a direction to go in when writing science curriculum, and I felt relieved about the work ahead of me.** She was thankful of my compliment and said, “Anytime! If there is anything else I can do to help you, please let me know.”

3. **When you emailed me your data collection sheet, I could see how it would be benefit our students, and I am excited to implement it next year.** She was happy to contribute to the direction we are working on for next year. She said if I needed help reworking it for the different grade level standards, she would be happy to help me out.


 * Dear Gigi,**

Gigi, when you come over and go through my items when I am not here, I am having my privacy violated, and I feel frustrated that you won’t stop invading my space.

Gigi, I have noticed that you have been respecting my privacy all week. I enjoy having my privacy and I feel happy that you are respecting my space.

4. **When you complain about the extra responsibilities for this year, I see you are not willing to contribute more to the extra workload placed on all of us due to budget cuts, and I feel frustrated.**

5. **Thank you for stepping up to the plate on this event. It really helped all of us be more successful and provided a great opportunity for our students and our families, and I feel thankful of your contribution.** =**Assignment # 8**= This first grade student was having difficulty transitioning to the requirements of a traditional classroom setting. When focused on the task at hand, the course work was not difficult for him and he contributed to classroom discussions and brought a flair of creativity to all of his assignments. However, if he was not interested on the task at hand, he would be out of his seat disrupting classmates, making noises – such as shooting aliens or pretending to be Batman and rescuing the words off of his page.
 * Do describe the behavior issues you are working to change.**

The goal for this young man was to get started right away on his work and minimize distractions for his classmates around him.



Advantages:
 * Advantages/Disadvantages of Parent Sign Off**
 * Parent/Teacher collaboration shows the student that everyone is working together to his benefit.
 * The student is held accountable for his behavior in both the home and school environment.
 * Provides parents and teachers a tool to monitor and collect data on student behavior.
 * Parents are able to see daily progress of the student.
 * Parents are able to provide school insight into home situations that may affect student behavior.

Disadvantages:
 * Parents tie home rewards into behavior plan, which ties external motivation to the contract.
 * Parents may punish the student harshly based on the results of the behavior contract causing fear in the student.
 * Parents may not believe in the contract, which will make the plan null and void when the student sees his parent does not believe in it.
 * Student could lose the paper between home and school.
 * Parents may work the night shift or have other responsibilities that do not allow for them to look at the sheet nightly.


 * Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation**

Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Motivation has been the chicken and egg discussion of the teaching world. As teachers, there is the lofty goal of wanting our students to be intrinsically motivated, and that is often met with, “That’s a great sentiment, but how to you go about achieving that? How will you get all students intrinsically motivated?”

I found the article to be an interesting read. It provided some good starting points, such as choice and relationships to get the students intrinsically motivated. We are all more motivated when we are working towards something that we want to do. The problem, which was voiced well in the article, is that students will be searching for a bigger and better prize for continuing to do the behavior that we expect from them.

I have received various trainings on using both methods, with a larger chunk of that training focusing on extrinsic motivation. The point of extrinsic motivation is to get the students to quit wanting or needing the carrot once they see they are capable of completing the behavior without extrinsic rewards. It’s a slippery slope because even as adults we will initially do more work for the rewards, but in the end, it’s the intrinsic motivation that keeps us going. =**Assignment # 9**= I agree with my results on the Personality Profile. I scored People Person – 26, Learned Expert – 28, Creative Problem Solver – 28, and Practical Manager -18. I do think that I am about even on PP, LE, and CP. The characteristics that I do agree with are:

Learned Expert: Before the invention of the iPhone, I used to sleep with a dictionary beside my bed so that I could find words and argue my point with my husband as we went to sleep. I enjoy opportunities to research, discuss and hypothesize, and often continue researching even after the need for information is over. My research often leads me to research new ideas.

Creative Problem Solver: I am quite disorganized, however, the chaos usually makes sense to me. I dislike routine and repetitive tasks. I don’t usually come up with the original idea, but I can take an idea and generate different ways to approach it. I think I was raised to not embrace this characteristic in myself, so I did not start displaying a lot of this characteristic until I was in my 20’s. My room used to be very organized with everything in its place, but somewhere along the way, my creativity has started to ooze out.

People Person: I think I identify with this one more than the creative problem solver, however, that is not what my score showed, although it is only off by two points. I am happiest when I connect meaningfully with others. I spend the majority of my time making connections with people throughout the day. I become stressed when there is conflict and try to preserve personal relationships. I am sensitive, but I do no melt down or exaggerate events. However, I tend to make my own path doing what I would enjoy even if it differs from the group. This personality is also disorganized … I agree with that as well.

I am not a practical manager. I do not love deadlines, timelines or punctuality. I enjoy the many shades of color in the world and flexibility. However, I do appreciate and follow a good rule. =**Assignment # 10**= The role of nurture in both families is most clearly shown by the fathers. Both fathers try to get the boys of the family to fall in line with their beliefs. Derrick’s father tries to get him to hate the black community exhibited by his interaction at the dinner table where he tells Derrick to get his school work done, but don’t believe everything that Mr. Sweeney has to say. Homer’s dad tries to convince him to leave his dreams of college behind and that the mine is good enough for his future. Through a series of events, both boys deny what is shown in their nature and end up following the nurture provided by the fathers. Derrick becomes a leader of the Neo Nazis, and Homer, at first, decides to continue with life in the mine instead of returning to graduate high school.
 * 1** **The role of nurture by the families of the two main characters, Derrick and Homer.**

Derrick’s mother tried to lead her son down the right path, but she was not in a place to be strong enough to lead the boys in that direction. She tried, but Derrick had other influences and support in his life so he did not follow her advice. She was dealing with the loss of her husband and fallout from his death that she could not provide a strong, stable presence in his life. When Derrick was acting out and spouting his new beliefs, she did not try to help him and guide him back on the right path. She told him to leave.
 * 2** **The role of the mother in the development of each of the two main characters Derrick and Homer.**

Homer’s mother was the rock in his family. As with Derrick’s mother, she didn’t always tell the father no and fight for Homer’s interest in building a rocket. However, she was a strong and stable presence that stood up, eventually, to Homer’s father. She was present at his rocket launching and allowed the boys to use the basement to build rockets. When Homer quit school to support the family by working in the mine, she pushed for him to return and finish high school. When Homer’s science display was stolen, she got his father to end the strike so the community could help get him the pieces that he needed to compete in the science fair. She was the constant positive force in the family and helped Homer achieve his goals.

The role of the teacher Murray in Derrick’s life was very small. They must have had more interactions than shown on screen, but at the dinner scene, Murray tried to guide Derrick into a correct way of thinking, but when Derrick continued to make racist comments, Murray left. He did not continue to provide guidance. He did not go to rallies and events in the community to try and get Derrick back on track.
 * 3** **The role of the teacher Murray in Derrick’s life and the role of Miss Reilly in Homer’s life.**

Miss Reilly, along with Homer’s mother, was a driving force in his success designing the rocket. She was firm but fair from the beginning of the film. She did not tolerate teasing or taunting in the classroom. She told Homer that he could dream all he wanted, but if he didn’t get his math skills together, he would not be successful. She bought him a book to help him continue building the rockets. Miss Reilly also stood up to the building principal when the boys had their first rocket and school and when they were arrested. She gave Homer the dream, hope, and vision to help him achieve his goal of getting out of the coal mining town.

I am struggling with comparing the support of the two teachers. Derrick was full of anger and hate. He was prejudice towards Jewish people, which Murray was. Derrick responded in angry violent ways. Homer wanted to build a rocket. When that goal was being crushed, Homer was not violent or angry; he just worked harder. It seems it would be easier to fight against people denying his right for education than it would be to fight against people instilling hate. There is less danger and fear present for Miss Reilly than Murray. She was not going to be hurt or physically attacked by the community for her help with Homer. Homer had a drive for education, while Derrick had the drive for hate. What could Murray have done to ultimately change the situation for Derrick?

The roles of the two principals are as contrasting as the roles of the two teachers. Mr. Sweeney was originally Derrick’s teacher and Derrick admired him and the direction he provided. Sweeney believed in Derrick throughout the film even through his transgressions and murder of black males. He worked with the city police to bring down the Neo Nazi group that Derrick was a part of and used Derrick after his release from prison to go back into that community. While he believed in Derrick and saw merit in his work in the classroom, it was not shown how he provided support for Derrick to leave the life he was currently living.
 * 4** **The role of the two principals in the lives of Derrick and Homer.**

Homer’s principal did not believe in him. He felt that the mine was where the majority of the school population would end up and they should be happy to have a job. He wanted to confiscate the rocket without even asking what its purpose was. The rocket boys were accused and arrested based on claims that one of the rockets started a fire, even though it was later proven their rocket was not the cause. The principal did not defend the boys to the police and did not protest their arrest on high school property. When Homer quit high school, he told him it was respectable job. When Homer returned to high school and they boys won the county science fair, the principal came around to respecting the boys and their work. He then rounded up funds to send one of the boys out of state to the national science fair. In the end, he came around to support the boys, but he didn’t always believe in what they were doing.

I think the role of the community was a large part of the dynamic that determined who these boys became. Derrick’s community, a large city, was broken and struggling from the beginning. The racial tension and prejudice was prevalent throughout the community, as seen on the basketball court, and in the schools. The two different groups of people, black and white, did not get a long. The groups could not agree on how to co-exist in the same space. There was a lack of respect and a lack of trust in both groups. This was magnified when the groups were forced to exist in the microcosm of the school. Mr. Sweeney could have been successful here if there had been a focus on getting the two groups to blend in a small space and work on race relations within the school. Perhaps that would have filtered out into the community. There was no focus in the community on working together and being one city working together.
 * 5. The role of the community in the lives of Derrick and Homer.**

In Homer’s small town community, it was homogenous. The majority of people living and working in Coalwood were white. The entire town was built around the coal mine and the people working it. They were of similar socioeconomic status. Even though there was conflict in the town, shown through the strike, they were all committed to being a community and coming together. When the boys needed help, the entire community came together. They were there to support each other, despite differences.

I found this to be a good correlation to what is happening in American public schools. We look at places such as Finland and think, they are doing it, why can’t we? The study breaks down how, in Finland, most people are the same. They are not fighting against different cultures and backgrounds to come together. Most people earn a similar amount of pay and very few people are in poverty. They also have a smaller population than the U.S. It is easier to get along when there is something in common. So the question I am left with, is how do we draw communities together despite these differences to help the students succeed in education? How can we get more Miss Reillys and Mr. Sweeneys? What programs can be put in place within a school system to get the students to form bonds across differences and reduce conflict?