Board 8 > Would anyone be willing to try out an activity for me?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I'm doing a teaching portfolio for young adult literature and I was hoping someone could try out one of my writing prompts. You don't need to have read any of the novels, it's a pre-reading assignment.

The assignment is going to be students responding to the writing prompt with a paragraph or two, complete sentences and correct punctuation/grammar/spelling in mind. It is a pre-reading assignment to Identical by Ellen Hopkins so that students can keep one of themes in mind as they read it.

The prompt:
What responsibility do we have to friends who we may suspect are being abused by one of their family members? What factors (how close you are as friends, how bad the abuse may be, whether or not they've actually told you, etc) weigh in to the perceived responsibilities?

Any input on the assignment itself is also welcome.
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I don't have the time to do this in detail or polish it until it sparkles, but here's a brief version (something that should be expanded - I would ordinarily go for two paragraphs):

Good friends always have your back. If you suspect something is going on, it is your responsibility as a good friend to make sure everything is okay - but doing so without prying. "Just making sure - is everything okay at home?" If there are warning signs, follow that up with "Hey, just want to make sure you're okay. You've been acting weird lately." It does not matter how close you are to that friend. Good friends always try to make sure you're okay and don't act in self-interest. If you suspect things are really bad, calling social services is not out of the question. Making sure your friend is okay takes priority, but you have to make sure they know that - if they're someone who will play the victim to you, then maybe they're not really your friend after all. But for their sake, do it anyway, especially if they'd do the same if the roles were reversed. Be a good friend. It's about them, not about you, and trying to resolve the root of their problem is the best thing a friend can do.

Keep in mind it's been eight years since I took Young Adult Lit so I'm a bit rusty! I tried to keep it all in second person as best as I could. As an English major myself, I'm picky with grammar. I like this prompt.

Consider this a partial return favor to your husband hooking me up with Stardew Valley last night :)
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Thanks! This was helpful. Unpolished is fine -- I am expecting that from high schoolers, so I don't want to expect more from people trying this out.

I hope you enjoy it. Stardew Valley is one of my favs.
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just chiming in to say that Stardew Valley is awesome
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this is a weird prompt because it's a hyper-broad subject and I'm not sure how you would go about discussing it in just a couple paragraphs. there are so many sub-questions -- do you owe them financial support? do you owe them a place to crash for the night? what if doing so puts you in danger? what if they don't want your intervention? what if your attempted intervention makes things worse?

I tried writing up a couple paragraphs but it was just, like, one sub-sub-angle of the prompt (and not even applicable in all situations) so I ended up deleting it. I might give it a try again later.
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Gatarix posted...

this is a weird prompt because it's a hyper-broad subject and I'm not sure how you would go about discussing it in just a couple paragraphs. there are so many sub-questions -- do you owe them financial support? do you owe them a place to crash for the night? what if doing so puts you in danger? what if they don't want your intervention? what if your attempted intervention makes things worse?

I tried writing up a couple paragraphs but it was just, like, one sub-sub-angle of the prompt (and not even applicable in all situations) so I ended up deleting it. I might give it a try again later.

It's supposed to be broad because it's asking them for their opinions on the matter to get them thinking about the topic. I don't expect them to have highly nuanced thoughts about this unless they've also been through something similar. This isn't me underestimating high school students, just something that I've noticed student teaching -- those who have been there have more to say, others are just saying what their gut tells them and it isn't as long as what others would have it be.
The paragraph thing is a minimum (I can clarify that in my instructions).
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You're welcome. Glad it's not an issue - it's quite the habit of mine to polish the hell out of everything more than I need to, sometimes to the point that I make grammatical errors in fixing only half of one sentence. English major habits, everyone.

I enjoyed my first two hours with Stardew Valley - I played until I needed to go to bed. Just easy tutorial stuff so far, but I know it'll get better. My character also needs a hat... lol.

I like the broadness of your assignment since it lets students decide how to approach it. For a high school level, that's appropriate (I took Young Adult Lit in college; it was Cont Lit in high school). It's a good way to gauge how serious of students some of them are. And I presume the book covers that issue, so it's good to get them into the mindset.
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I would suggest the prompt be 'Do we have a responsibility' as opposed to 'what responsibility' as some people may not feel they have any responsibility or right to intervene in a suspected scenario. 'What responsibility' implies there is absolutely a responsibility which is subjective. I also don't like the general use of the word responsibility.

I would word the prompt as

'If a friend is suspected of being abused by a family member, do you have a responsibility to intervene or address the issue? What factors may contribute towards your decision making?'

Or more open ended

'If a friend is suspected of being abused by a family member what would your reaction be? What, if anything, would you do? What other factors may affect your decision making?'

I vastly prefer the latter prompt.
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OliviaTremor posted...

I would suggest the prompt be 'Do we have a responsibility' as opposed to 'what responsibility' as some people may not feel they have any responsibility or right to intervene in a suspected scenario. 'What responsibility' implies there is absolutely a responsibility which is subjective. I also don't like the general use of the word responsibility.

I would word the prompt as

'If a friend is suspected of being abused by a family member, do you have a responsibility to intervene or address the issue? What factors may contribute towards your decision making?'

Or more open ended

'If a friend is suspected of being abused by a family member what would your reaction be? What, if anything, would you do? What other factors may affect your decision making?'

I vastly prefer the latter prompt.

I appreciate the feedback.
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No problem, hopefully it helps. I think, unfortunately, in a lot of situations like this people do not reach out to help or intervene for a multitude of reasons. The bystander effect of sorts. It's a good prompt and should hopefully generate some interesting discussion.
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OliviaTremor posted...

No problem, hopefully it helps. I think, unfortunately, in a lot of situations like this people do not reach out to help or intervene for a multitude of reasons. The bystander effect of sorts. It's a good prompt and should hopefully generate some interesting discussion.

Tbh I'm more interested in the students actually putting thought into the prompt and getting them to write things than I am about their opinions on the matter -- I want them to think critically about these situations and not worry too much about what they're actually saying. Not that it doesn't matter, but the process is more important in this case. If it sparks discussion, I can sit back and let them talk or debate (with the appropriate intervention if need be).
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