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Subject Sampler
on School Safety Issues

Introduction · evaluation rubric · conclusion · users' guide

Introduction

'What does this subject have to do with me?' This is an important question students sometimes ask. But answering the question isn't always easy as each different 'me' might relate to or connect with the topic in different ways. The following activity is what's called a Subject Sampler. The idea of a sampler is that people who are given the choice will choose things they like or are curious about trying. Boxes of chocolates, compilation CD's, and smorgasbord buffets all work on this principle. In the following activity, you'll find links to Web sites related to the topic of School Safety. After each link are three prompts designed to get you to answer one question: 'What does this subject have to do with me?' After all, you can answer that better than anyone else. If you want an idea of how well you're learning, read this evaluation rubric. But most of all, don't fake it, look for what really interests you.

Web Activities

1. Colorado Shooting - A photo Journal

1. Browse through the images and choose one that you connect with.

2. What about this picture touched you?

3. What feelings would you have if you were in this scene? What would you be doing?

2. School Shootings - Interactive Map

1. Click on the town and date closest to where you live.

2. what happened there? Did you know about it?

3. how do you feel about the incident and the outcome?

3. Comments on School Violence

1. Read through the comments and focus on one you most relate to.

2. What part of the person's comment do you most agree with?

3. Have you felt this way before? Does it relate to the situation at your school?

4. Checklist of characteristics

1. Which of the 20 characteristics seems to best identify someone who needs help?

2. Do you know people like this in your school or on TV shows? (are you one of these people?)

3. Whose job or role do you think it is to work with children who need help?

5. Fact File - from Common Sense about Kids and Guns

1. Skim through the facts about kids and guns.

2. Choose one that jumps out at you as surprising or troubling.

3. What would you do to try to improve the situation?

6. Family Stories

1. Skim through the titles of the family stories and choose one to focus on that interests you.

2. What most impressed you about this story?

3. How would you feel if you were a member of this family? What would you do?

7. 10 Tips for talking with kids about tough issues

1. Which of the 10 Tips seems most important to you?

2. Why is this so important?

3. What can you do to help you use this strategy with your children or encourage your parents to use it with you?

8. Learning to Manage the Loss

1. Which of the headings in bold seem most important to you?

2. What words particularly touched you?

3. Talk with someone you trust about your feelings and any loss or grief you may want to share.

9. The 3 R's of Growing Up

1. Read through the section on 'How to be a Grownup'

2. Which points seem most important to you?

3. Which are you good at already and which could you improve on?

10. Burn the Schools-Save the Children

1. Which of the comparisons to prisons highlights the most punishing aspect of schools?

2. Do you feel this way at your school?

3. Who could you talk to or what could you do to make the situation better?

11. Fighting back at School

1. Skim through the recommendations.

2. Choose one that you think is very right or very wrong.

3. How can we all just get along?

12. Alternatives in Education - links

1. Skim through the different approaches to education.

2. Which one seems best or most interesting you?

3. How could your learning be changed to include more of this approach?

13. Candidate George W. Bush on Education

1. Skim through the bold headings on the page.

2. Choose one that seems most important to you.

3. Give examples from your own school that show why this is an important issue.

Conclusion

Now you should have a better idea how this topic relates to you. Use the evaluation rubric for this activity to assess your level of connection. This Sampler was created because learning doesn't always take place if a person doesn't feel connected to the topic. We hope that through this Sampler you've found such a connection. If you have, maybe you're motivated to learn more? If you are, try some of the other activities described in the Users' Guide.

Launched April 2002. Revised February, 2005. By Tom March, tom at ozline dot com Applications Design Team/Wired Learning