WebQuest
Life Isn’t Fair. . .But We’re Working On It
An Exploration of
Abuse of Power
Pearl Sitzer
INTRODUCTION:
“Most
teenagers, and anyone who deals honestly with teenagers on a daily basis, know
that most kids do have ethical standards, do know right from wrong, and are
very capable of judging the actions of their peers as well as the moral
uprightness of the adults around them.
Certainly, there are teenagers whose behaviors – in gangs, on the
streets, in social groups – are as corrupt as any negative behaviors of adults
in similar situations.”
The
gangs in Gloria Miklowitz’s “Confession,” a short
story in the collection No Easy Answers,
are terrorizing Jim’s neighborhood. They
demonstrate abuse of power by raping
Danny’s sister, by carrying guns, knives, and chains to take whatever they
want.
In
this WebQuest we will explore how the gangs in the story “Confession” abused
power, as well as investigate the many abuses of power that we see around us in
our society. Through this exploration we
can learn how to better manage our relationships with other people and
institutions that are a part of our lives.
TASK:
Your
task is to read “Confession” by Gloria Miklowitz and
produce a one-page essay describing how the gangs in the story abused their
power. You will also research a specific
type of abuse of power using the websites provided below and the six Public
Policy Analyst worksheets. You will use
the information you have gathered to write a position paper in which you
describe the problem and offer solutions.
PROCESS:
1.
Read
“Confession” by Gloria Miklowitz. Write a one-page essay in which you will
identify three instances of abuse of power by the gangs in the story. Be prepared to discuss the abuse of power
found in the story.
2.
You
will be assigned to one of three groups to research a particular type of abuse
of power: domestic violence, sexual harassment, or police brutality.
3.
You
will use the websites provided in the Resources section to help you in your
research, summarizing your research on the six TIPS public policy analyst
worksheets below:
b.
Gather evidence of
the problem
c.
Identify causes of
the problem
d.
Evaluate public
policies designed to solve the problem
e.
Develop your own
original public policy solutions
4. Each group will write a 3-5-page position paper on its
topic. Use a-f in step 3 as the
subheadings of your paper, analyzing the problem and offering public policy
solutions. Your group will then present this paper to the class.
RESOURCES:
Use
the following websites to help you in your research:
For
domestic violence:
http://www.mndap.org/definitions_of_abuse.asp
http://alcoholism.about.com/cs/abuse/a/990407.htm
For
sexual harassment:
http://www.eeoc.gov/types/sexual_harassment.html
http://www3.uakron.edu/lawrev/robert1.html
http://www.sexualharassmentpolicy.com/
http://www.cfchildren.org/articlef/walls1f/
For
police brutality:
http://endabuse.org/programs/display.php3?DocID=9916
http://www.hrw.org/reports98/police/
http://www.hrw.org/about/initiatives/police.htm
http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/~pshell/gammage/flyer.html
http://free.freespeech.org/americanstateterrorism/policestate/PoliceBrutality.html
EVALUATION
You will
be evaluated based on the following rubric:
|
Task |
Excellent |
Satisfactory |
Minimal Satisfactory |
Unsatisfactory |
|
Worksheets |
Organization Student presentation is logical, clear and fully
captivates audience interest. |
Organization Student presentation is logical, clear and
somehow captivates audience interest |
Organization Student presentation is logical and somehow
clear but not captivating. |
Organization
Student presentation is illogical and distorted. |
|
Report |
Subject Knowledge Student demonstrates full knowledge of subject
matter and beyond |
Subject Knowledge Student
demonstrates knowledge of subject matter |
Subject Knowledge Student demonstrates a little
knowledge of subject matter subject matter |
Subject Knowledge
Student does not know subject matter |
|
Presentation |
Evaluation: Presentation
Rubric- evaluating student presentation Accuracy No grammatical errors |
Accuracy Very few grammatical Errors |
Accuracy Some grammatical errors |
Accuracy Too many grammatical errors that distorts
meaning of words |
This WebQuest addresses
the following English Language Arts Standards:
E1c: Read
and comprehend informational materials.
E2a:
Produce a report of information.
E3c:
Prepare and deliver an individual presentation
CONCLUSION:
When
you have completed this activity, you will have a greater understanding of the
issues and public policies surrounding abuse of power in