EDUC 2120 Lesson 7

In this lesson I was asked to watch a video and answer questions concerning it. The video was about different types of families and what makes up a family. It is used to show children that other students may not come from the same background as themselves but that is still their family. After watching this video I answered a few questions concerning the video and how I would approach showing it in my class. In doing research I learned about how a teacher may teach students about other types of families without necessarily showing this video.

Do you think it would be important to show this video in your classroom? If so, why? If not, why not?
- I personally would not show this video to my classroom. I feel like the topics of the video may be things that parents are not ready to share with their children or may not want someone else telling their kids about. I believe that the kids should show respect to one another but I do not really feel like this video would be appropriate in the classroom. I think that the topics are things that the parents should talk to the children about. I know that if it were my child in the classroom I would not want the teacher showing them this video. I think I would feel like it was my place to talk to them about these things rather than them watching a video at school. I think that if a teacher is going to show this he or she should inform the children’s parents so that they could either approve or disapprove the showing of the film to their children. I feel like they should do this so no parents could get mad with them.

What kinds of problems can you envision if you were to show this video to your students? Describe at least two problems.
- I feel like there would be quite a few issues when showing this video. My first thing that I feel like would be a problem is that the parents may not want their child to watch the film. I feel like it would make some mad that their child was introduced to things such as divorce and gay marriage in their class. Another issue I see with the film is that it may cause the students to ask a lot of questions. Some questions they ask may not be appropriate or may be something that you as a teacher do not feel that it is in your place to answer. I just think that showing the video would cause many issues and lots of confusion.

How would you address or solve the problems that you described in response to the above question? Be specific.
- I would never choose to show the film in my classroom. I just feel like there would be too many negative risks and I would rather not make anyone feel uncomfortable or be mad with me because I chose to show their children the film. If I had to show the movie I would just make sure to tell every parent to make sure that they were okay with their child watching it and to ensure that no one is against the showing of the film. If the parents did have a problem with their child watching the film I would arrange other options for them while the class views it. I personally just would not show it at all to not encounter any problems, if it was up to me.
Do you think that there is such a thing as the "perfect" family? Why or why not?
- I feel like there is no such thing as a perfect family. Each family is different. I think that every family is perfect in their own way. I also think that every family will have flaw, no matter who they are. Some families may be seemingly perfect but actually very dysfunctional. I just feel like no matter how perfect someone may seem, there are flaws in everyone and in every family.
How would you feel if someone said bad things about your family and what would you do about it?
- I think that there will always be negative comments about anything you do. People generally like to talk about negative things and be mean to people. I feel like you just need to overlook the bad things that people say about you or your family. You should never let these things get you down because people are going to say stuff about you no matter what you are doing. Of course it does not make you feel very good, but rather than to be upset and dwell on the bad things that people say you should move on with your life and be happy. If you are happy with yourself and your family nothing anyone says can harm you.
What did you learn from the video clips? Can you relate to any of the experiences described or illustrated by some of the people in the clips?
- I feel like these videos are good teaching tools. I learned from the videos that every family is different and it’s ok to be different. No one family will be the same. I do realize how hard it must be for some kids to grow up with different types or families. I know since I have never been in some of the situations as some of these kids I cannot comprehend how they feel about their families but I do feel bad for some of the kids and their situations.

Summary:

In this lesson we watched the documentary “That’s a Family”. In the film it talked about all the different types of families, all types of families, the ones with both parents, only one parent, guardians, divorced parent families and many more. After viewing the video we were asked about what we would do in our classrooms dealing with the film and how we would go about answering the questions that the students may have about the families and the different situations that some families may be in.
Research Question: How would a teacher teach students about different types of families and tolerance?
Reference: http://www.tolerance.org/lesson/every-family-same-every-family-different
Research Analysis:

When doing this discussion I was not sure how I would use this movie. I personally do not really like the movie. I feel like some things should be dealt with at home. I do however feel like it is important for students to treat others with respect, even if you are not taught and raised the same way. I found a lesson plan especially for teaching tolerance. Its title is every family is the same. Every family is different. I really liked the title and I think that is the reason I clicked on it in the first place because that is a very true statement.

In the lesson to start off with you would just ask students some questions about families and how you should treat people who are different than you are. The main part of the lesson is a game, in the game you would split the class up into two groups and then within the groups they would have a partner. At the end of the game they should have talked about their family with their partner and then they will be asked to write a short paragraph about their own family and their partner’s. I feel like this would be such a good activity for younger children especially to see that no matter how different you are from someone else you should treat everyone equally.

Research Summary:

In doing my research I wanted to know how you could teach students in younger grades about families and to teach them tolerance. I feel like it is especially good for younger kids to understand the importance of being tolerant for kids who aren’t necessarily like them. I found a really good lesson plan that involved a game. In the game the students would have groups then were required to write a summary of what they learned about someone else’s family and their own family. I think that this is just a good fun way for students to learn about the different types of families without necessarily showing the video because I feel like it could be a controversial thing to do in your classroom.