SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS   CH 13

1.  Interview a child, his/her parent(s), and possibly his/her teacher.
     Determine whether or not Elkind Hurried Child Syndrome applies.
    Questions should cover: parent/teacher expectations, chores done at home
    amount of homework, typical grades, dress style of child, favorite toys and
    games (how many "game boys" etc.) favorite movies (look at violence and
    sexual content) and "stress" level you and they perceive in the child.
    Turn in your interview questions/summary of response or an audio tape.

2.  Observe children from 3-10 years old (perhaps kids you baby-sit) and interview
     their parents if necessary to create a chart describing characteristics of Kagan's
    Inhibited vs Uninhibited child.  Look at their play style  (parallel, cooperative, etc.);
    their emotional response (depressed, happy, aggressive), their concern/empathy
    towards others; their shyness or adaptability to new situations; key fears they
    visibly show or discuss; popularity w/others; bully or bullied; and physical
    characteristics of hair and eye color.

3.  Compile a series of questions about divorce and then administer the survey/poll
    to peers and/or parents and analyze your findings.
    Should cover home life prior to, during first two years after and beyond.
    Relationship with both parents and possible step parents and siblings;
    changes in behavior over time; type of parenting style; amount of conflict
    and questions to determine whether they would best fit Hetherington's
    "winners", losers or survivor profile.

 4.  Take a poll of individuals( minimum of 20, half male/half female) using
       the Heinz story or something more relevant--cheating, speeding or driving
       under the influence and assess their Moral level or reasoning according to
       Kohlbergs stages.   Do you see a pattern of gender differences and do these
      seem to support Gilligan's points of gender differences in moral
      understandings?

5.  Put together a poster which shows the relationship using visuals of
    Freud's psychosexual stages-->Eriksons psychosocial stages
    Piaget's cognitive development stages -->Kohlberg's moral stages.
    I want only the name or crisis of each stage and pictures or drawings
    which would explain them.

6.  Make a list and rating system for movies that describe adolescence according
    to the many themes from this chapter.  Select one film to view and write a
    movie critique which discusses rites of passage, search for identity; sex roles,
    peer relationships; sexuality; etc. Rate this movie for quality, accuracy, and
    stereotypes.  (Fast Times at Ridgemont High, The Breakfast Club, Grease,
    Summer of '42--old ones I know!)

7.  Put together video clips from tv shows which depict adolescence including
    The Seventies Show, nighttime soaps, etc.  Give examples of different theorists
    stages and themes--Erikson identity, Freud: healthy sexuality; Piaget: formal
    operational thought, etc.  in a one page accompanying document.

8.  Burn a CD or put together a tape of key songs which display the many themes
    of adolescence.  Put a 3x5 card together of song titles, groups and themes of
    adolescence that each song portrays.

9.  Write an original poem, drawing or song which captures an age--childhood,
     adolescence, young adult, middle adulthood or later adulthood.  If you would
    prefer you can collect artistic work of young children and discuss intellectual
    and social/emotional development as you see it.

10.  Compare your answers to the following questionnaire to your parents and to
        a grandparent or neighbor over the age of 65.

Death Anxiety Questionnaire
To test your own level of death anxiety, respond according to the following scale:
                        0         1         2       not at all         somewhat         very much
1.Do you worry about dying?

2.Does it bother you that you may die before you have done everything
you wanted to do?

3.Do you worry that you may be very ill for a long time before you die?

4.Does it upset you to think that others may see you suffering before you die?

5.Do you worry that dying may be very painful?

6.Do you worry that the persons closest to you won't be with you when you are dying?

7.Do you worry that you may be alone when you are dying?

8.Does the thought bother you that you might lose control of your mind before death?

9.Do you worry that expenses connected with your death will be a burden to other
people?

10.Does it worry you that your will or instructions about your belongings may not
be carried out after you die?

11.Are you afraid that you may be buried before you are really dead?

12.Are you disturbed by the thought of leaving loved ones behind when you die?

13.Do you worry that those you care about may not remember you after your death?

14.Does the thought worry you that with death you may be gone forever?

15.Are you worried about not knowing what to expect after death?

10b.  If you have experienced a death of a family member or close friend
         discuss how you and/or others dealt with that death.  Kubler-Ross
         has said that the stages of death is very similar to those of grief.

11.  Interview people in the following three age groups:  20-35; 40-60; 60+.
Ask each to describe the major transitions that have taken place in their
lives--education, loves/marriage, jobs, becoming parents. . .  How do they
feel these transitions have affected them?  Apply theories such as Erikson,
Levinson, Sheehy and Kubler Ross to some conclusions you reach from your
study.

12.  Design your own project that reflects a personal theory, reflection or
interest in the three themes studied this quarter.  Your development/personality/
intellectual history or analysis.

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