School Bells – Current Affairs – Grade 8 – Week 29
I am eager to meet with the eighth-grade students following their spring break last week. I hear them coming now.
Me: Good morning class.
Class: Good morning Mr. Jim. Cookies?
Me: Yes, I have cookies. Paul and his sister helped me make them last week. Shall we thank Paul?
Class: Thanks Paul!
Me: Tom and Ann, please pass out the cookies.
(As is usually the case, the cookies are gone in a nano-second.)
Me: Our assignment was to have exploratory conversations about possible alternatives to how we are now treating those who break the law. We know that the United States incarcerates more people, keeps people incarcerated longer, and has a higher recidivism rate that any other so-called developed nation. I am eager to hear what you and your family members think would be more effective approaches.
Will: My mother heads a company. She says that when there is a problem at work, they take some time to try to accurately diagnose the problem. She asked what I thought the primary problem is?
I said that it was that people are breaking the laws. Then she asked to think about how else we might define to problem.
Me: Wow! That is impressive. What did you suggest?
Will: We did some research. Apparently, a lot of people have a mental illness, others have an addictive disorder, some like the excitement of seeing what they can get away, and some cannot seem to think of any other way.
Ann: Aren’t some there because they only committed one crime when they were upset or angry?
Will: Yes, that is another group of people.
Me: If what you say is true, and I suspect it might be, should we approach every group or individuals the same?
Will: My mother said that if there are issues with buildings, such as with the electricity, that that is a different issue than a problem with an employee who taking too long to fill orders or some employees who are just unhappy in general.
Tom: There are a lot of people suggesting that non-violent offenders be treated differently than violent ones.
Me: Does that make sense to you Tom?
Tom: Dad said that some of the people who are charged with violent crimes were drunk or high at the time.
Me: What difference does that make?
John: If they were drunk or high is the problem that they were violent or that they have an issue with addiction?
Will: That was my mom’s point. Identifying the real issue is important if one wants to problem solve. If the problem is with the electricity and someone replaces the gas lines nothing will change.
Me: Great point Will.
Abdul: We read that some people think that we need to treat people more like the bad people they are.
Me: Are you saying Abdul that some people think we need to punish people more?
Abdul: Yes, Mr. Jim.
Me: So, the theory is that if we if we treat people worse they will feel like they are a member of the community – the larger family – and want to behave in a way which is good for all the family?
Abdul: When you say it that way Mr. Jim it sounds stupid.
Paul: When someone in our family is unhappy or angry we try to find out why. Sometimes it has nothing to do with the family but with something else.
Me: What happens if they will not talk about it?
Paul: Everyone has two days of not talking but then the family rule is that you cannot just treat everyone mean. You have to talk. Everyone has agreed to that rule.
Me: What if someone would not agree to that rule?
Paul: In our family, we operate with a consensus decision model. We keep talking until we can agree. Sometimes this can take a long time.
Me: What if someone did not want to be a part of the family any longer?
Paul: That has never happened in our family but I know what you are talking about Uncle Jim. In that case, one would have to honor their request to not be a part of the family.
Me: How would the rest of the family respond?
Paul: Well, if my job is to love that person I would just keep loving. If they later wanted to return to the family we would, so to speak, kill the fatted calf and have a celebration.
Amena: Sometimes in my home country and at times, historically in this country, one could get punished just for being themselves. If a female behaves a certain way or a person is a homosexual, they are in danger.
Me: Yes, there is a long history of killing or incarcerating people because we are mad them. Sometimes we are mad because their behavior frightens us.
Amena: My dad said that a lot of people on the sexual offenders list are people we are just mad at but they are not dangerous.
Me: What would the diagnosis of the problem be then?
Will: That came up in our family discussion also Mr. Jim. Mom says that if a boss is just mad then the problem is the mad boss. There might be another problem but that is one of them.
Me: You and your families have again impressed me with your wisdom and your willingness to talk about difficult issues. It sounds as if everyone is saying that we need to problem solve by first accurately defining the problem and not just the symptoms.
Next week I would like to suggest that we follow up this discussion with a discussion about how we deal with the person who seems unable to consider the needs of others in the community, but who is not necessarily mentally ill and does not have an addiction problem. We would generally call this person a sociopath.
Ring! Ring! Ring!
Me: Paul and Tom would you pass out cookies. Have a good week everyone?
Class: Bye Mr. Jim
Written March 21, 2017
I am eager to meet with the eighth-grade students following their spring break last week. I hear them coming now.
Me: Good morning class.
Class: Good morning Mr. Jim. Cookies?
Me: Yes, I have cookies. Paul and his sister helped me make them last week. Shall we thank Paul?
Class: Thanks Paul!
Me: Tom and Ann, please pass out the cookies.
(As is usually the case, the cookies are gone in a nano-second.)
Me: Our assignment was to have exploratory conversations about possible alternatives to how we are now treating those who break the law. We know that the United States incarcerates more people, keeps people incarcerated longer, and has a higher recidivism rate that any other so-called developed nation. I am eager to hear what you and your family members think would be more effective approaches.
Will: My mother heads a company. She says that when there is a problem at work, they take some time to try to accurately diagnose the problem. She asked what I thought the primary problem is?
I said that it was that people are breaking the laws. Then she asked to think about how else we might define to problem.
Me: Wow! That is impressive. What did you suggest?
Will: We did some research. Apparently, a lot of people have a mental illness, others have an addictive disorder, some like the excitement of seeing what they can get away, and some cannot seem to think of any other way.
Ann: Aren’t some there because they only committed one crime when they were upset or angry?
Will: Yes, that is another group of people.
Me: If what you say is true, and I suspect it might be, should we approach every group or individuals the same?
Will: My mother said that if there are issues with buildings, such as with the electricity, that that is a different issue than a problem with an employee who taking too long to fill orders or some employees who are just unhappy in general.
Tom: There are a lot of people suggesting that non-violent offenders be treated differently than violent ones.
Me: Does that make sense to you Tom?
Tom: Dad said that some of the people who are charged with violent crimes were drunk or high at the time.
Me: What difference does that make?
John: If they were drunk or high is the problem that they were violent or that they have an issue with addiction?
Will: That was my mom’s point. Identifying the real issue is important if one wants to problem solve. If the problem is with the electricity and someone replaces the gas lines nothing will change.
Me: Great point Will.
Abdul: We read that some people think that we need to treat people more like the bad people they are.
Me: Are you saying Abdul that some people think we need to punish people more?
Abdul: Yes, Mr. Jim.
Me: So, the theory is that if we if we treat people worse they will feel like they are a member of the community – the larger family – and want to behave in a way which is good for all the family?
Abdul: When you say it that way Mr. Jim it sounds stupid.
Paul: When someone in our family is unhappy or angry we try to find out why. Sometimes it has nothing to do with the family but with something else.
Me: What happens if they will not talk about it?
Paul: Everyone has two days of not talking but then the family rule is that you cannot just treat everyone mean. You have to talk. Everyone has agreed to that rule.
Me: What if someone would not agree to that rule?
Paul: In our family, we operate with a consensus decision model. We keep talking until we can agree. Sometimes this can take a long time.
Me: What if someone did not want to be a part of the family any longer?
Paul: That has never happened in our family but I know what you are talking about Uncle Jim. In that case, one would have to honor their request to not be a part of the family.
Me: How would the rest of the family respond?
Paul: Well, if my job is to love that person I would just keep loving. If they later wanted to return to the family we would, so to speak, kill the fatted calf and have a celebration.
Amena: Sometimes in my home country and at times, historically in this country, one could get punished just for being themselves. If a female behaves a certain way or a person is a homosexual, they are in danger.
Me: Yes, there is a long history of killing or incarcerating people because we are mad them. Sometimes we are mad because their behavior frightens us.
Amena: My dad said that a lot of people on the sexual offenders list are people we are just mad at but they are not dangerous.
Me: What would the diagnosis of the problem be then?
Will: That came up in our family discussion also Mr. Jim. Mom says that if a boss is just mad then the problem is the mad boss. There might be another problem but that is one of them.
Me: You and your families have again impressed me with your wisdom and your willingness to talk about difficult issues. It sounds as if everyone is saying that we need to problem solve by first accurately defining the problem and not just the symptoms.
Next week I would like to suggest that we follow up this discussion with a discussion about how we deal with the person who seems unable to consider the needs of others in the community, but who is not necessarily mentally ill and does not have an addiction problem. We would generally call this person a sociopath.
Ring! Ring! Ring!
Me: Paul and Tom would you pass out cookies. Have a good week everyone?
Class: Bye Mr. Jim
Written March 21, 2017
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