My only real goal (besides relaxation....) is to find an article for my class. I do one every week. I try to find something that relates to some type of behavior and how it affects society or a consequence for an individual that occurs due to a behavior. I also realize that as teenagers, they are very focused on themselves and their own little world. I try to help them see that there is a whole big world out there waiting on them, and that world is NOT concerned with an EBD eligibility or what they think is fair or unfair. There are real consequences for actions, and in some way I hope these articles at least make them stop and think about it occasionally. I also try to keep the relative to their interests and age group.
The pictures I have are from the first one we did together. It was an article on negative comments made by Kanye West. The article outlined his less than favorable behavior (ie: Taylor Swift fiasco - I mean as a mom, I wanted to smack him for stealing that moment from her....) in the past and some other disparaging comments that he had made. I use a very specific format to guide the discussion, otherwise I imagine crickets as being the only sound I would hear. One sided discussions are not very productive...
I write the following on the board: E (Event), S-T (Self Talk), P (Perception), F (Feelings), B (Behavior), and A (Actions). **Disclaimer: I completely, 100% borrowed/tweaked/stole this from another EBD teacher that I observed last year. If you have seen this and it is from a book, please message me so I can give credit to the source. It looks like this:
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| Not a great picture, sorry. The ones that follow are close ups. |
Event - This is where I post the article, paraphrase or read it depending on length, and write a tiny summary blurb.
Self Talk - This is their first impression. I literally write the first things they say. Sometimes, they are instantly angry about an action or consequence. Other times, they are incredulous (a 15 year old was denied a heart transplant because of his history of non-compliant behaviors related to therapy and medication.... I WISH I had recorded that discussion....talk about incredulous/angry/sympathetic/hard core....they covered it all!)
Perception - This is where they give me their perception of the person or topic. After our discussion, this is usually the one that has been changed based on what has been said in class.
Feelings - Just what it says, how they feel about the topic or situation.
Behavior - We identify the behavior that is being exhibited. They always love when they can label it as something we have talked about in class (a word from our word wall).
Actions - Here they get to identify what they think is an appropriate consequence for the behavior.
The one pictured of above, as I said is the first we did. The discussions have gotten better every time, and now they actually look forward to them every week. I schedule it for Wednesday so they know when it's coming. These last two pictures are from other periods that day discussing the same article. Those classes went even a little farther than 2nd period.
Some of the other articles we have done: Code of Conduct on MARTA (our rail system) that was being fought by the ACLU, the heart transplant teenager (he got it after all), Jail Time for Truancy, Heroin Deaths in the Rise in Georgia, Rap Lyrics Under Fire.... you get the idea. Each have resulted in great discussions and moments that have caused them all to stop and think.
Like I said - please let me know if this is from a source I need to cite. I am always happy to give credit where credit is due.
Happy Fall, friends!
Mrs. Beck
