Aha!

Now I’ve got it.  When people are talking about “logical consequences” half of the time they’re using it as a code-word.  It means a child is illogical. We don’t trust him/her to perceive the natural consequences of an action (which can be more subtle, and of course are often both positive and negative).  So, we beat them over the head with the consequence we want them to attend to.  I’ve had it with this method, and I’ve had it with adults using “logic” to trump the kid’s own logic and will.  Where I come from, we call dictating what it is.  All hail the rise of natural consequences!

One student’s responses to short story/bullying unit

THE IDEA

The idea for this humanities unit (and many of the materials I used) came from the awesome Scholastic book with the purple cover, Enactment Strategies That Work.  I’ve typed up this student’s work just as he wrote it.  Most of the written reflections were Do Nows.  The written components give an idea of the students’ thinking and learning, but the heart of the unit (application, in an enactment context, of the ideas re: bullying that students were wrestling with) is not represented here.  Of course the best part of the unit was the enactments, but I didn’t have the foresight to take video. 

Written Reflection- Imagine that you are a social worker meeting with Rachel [the bullied student]. What questions will you have about her situation? What will you say to her?

• Why they was laughing at her? • Did the teacher do something about it? • What did she did? • Do kids laugh at you? • Do you like that knew school? • Would you like a transfer? • Do they teach respect in that school? • You should inord [ignore] them and tell the teacher.

Written Reflection- Why do kids get left out?

• Cause they act immature • Cause there snitchest • Cause there not “cool” • The way they dress • Because the whine and ruin the moment • Because there embarrassed with who they hang out with • Cause of there personality • Because people don’t like them

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