Controlling Behavior In Adolescence

Leads to Domestic Violence

Theresa Pusateri

Walton High School

Miss 2930@aol.com

Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers

by Andrienne Rich

Aunt Jennifer’s tigers prance across a screen

Bright topaz denizens of a world of green.

They do not fear the men beneath the tree;

They pace in sleek chivalric certainty.

Aunt Jennifer’s fingers fluttering through her wool

Find even the ivory needle hard to pull.

The massive weight of Uncle’s wedding band

Sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer’s hand.

When Aunt is dead, her terrified hands will lie

Still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by.

The tigers in the panel that she made

Will go on prancing, proud and unafraid.

Men who control and abuse women practiced this behavior during their school years. As a student at Walton High School, you have over three thousand peers. Unfortunately, some of them may bring the problem of abusive and controlling behavior into the school building, where it has a serious impact on the culture and climate of the learning community.

You have been asked to write an article for the Walton High School newspaper. You must use the PPA process to help you complete your editorial. Your point of view is valuable and should be very clear in the writing of this article. Start by reading “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers by Adrienne Rich. In this poem, look for clues that indicate that Aunt Jennifer was a victim of the controlling behavior of her husband.

Literature read in class, texts, internet resources will be used in the completion of your project. In your article for the Walton School newspaper, you will be addressing this question: How does controlling behavior affect relationships between males and females in our culture. Make sure to include your findings about the social problem, consequences and solutions.

You will be following the Public Policy Analyst procedure in helping you gather information to write your article. In order to guide you, there are worksheets available to help you in your task.

You must use the following worksheets in completing your task.

Using the internet will help you in completing the TIPS worksheets. You will be working in groups on your choice of collage or bulletin board display.

Define the problem:

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/select.html

Gather evidence:

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/gather.html

Identify causes:

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/identify.html

Evaluate a policy:

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/existing.html

Develop solution:

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/solutions.html

Select best solution:

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/bestsol.html

You may use the following general search engines to assist you in gathering your research.

www.google.com

www.askjeeves.com

www.yahoo.com

www.altavista.com

www.lycos.com

Here are some interesting articles that deal with controlling behavior and domestic violence:

www.oslc.org/inthenews/steal.html

kidshealth.org/kid/health_problems/ learning_problem/stealing_p2.html - 28k

www.tribuneindia.com/2002/20020428/spectrum/stress.htm

www.prponline.net/School/HHN/ Articles/how_to_help_kids_who_steal.htm

Watch the movie: “Sleeping With The Enemy”

	Excellent	Very Good	Satisfactory	Unsatisfactory
Research Public Policy Analysis	Problem clearly identified and thoroughly researched All six steps of the PPA are clearly addressed and all worksheets correctly completed	Problem identified and reasonably well researched All six steps of the PPA are addressed and most worksheets correctly completed	Problem identified with limited research. All steps of the PPA are addressed, but worksheets could be improved on.	Problem identified but research is lacking Incomplete worksheets.
Article	Well organized, demonstrates logical sequencing and sentence structure	Well organized, but demonstrates illogical sequencing or sentence structure.	Well organized, but illogical sequencing and sentence structure.	Poorly organized

English Standards:

v Students select information appropriate to the purpose of their investigation and relate ideas from one text to another

v Students select and use strategies they have been taught for note taking, organizing, and categorizing information

v Students gather and interpret information from children's reference books, magazines, textbooks, electronic bulletin boards, audio and media presentations, oral interviews, and from such forms as charts, graphs, maps and diagrams.

v Students compare and synthesize information from different sources.

Social Studies Standards:

*Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas and themes.

*Students will demonstrate their understanding of the necessity for establishing government and laws.

*Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to understand the roles and responsibilities of good citizenship.

You have now researched the social problem of controlling behavior and how it leads to domestic violence. You have learned about the consequences and solutions for teenagers who practice controlling behaviors. You are now an expert and ready to select another social problem to research for class.