Psychology 4430: Domain Theory-Matt

The Film "Thirteen" & Affective Education

Thirteen is a 2003 film that is based on the co-author, Nikki Reed's rebellious behavior that occurred between the impressionable ages of 12-13. Written in just six days, the film takes an unapologetic look at the controversial topics of underage sex, drugs, alcohol, peer-pressure, and self-mutilation.

Please share your thoughts on why you believe the film highlights the developmental patterns of thinking found within the personal domain. Where do you see the main character, Tracy make attempts to fight for her autonomy while also trying to make sense of her concept of "self." Why do you assume the process was such a struggle for her? As a counselor, what would you have done to help her get back on track. Note: This question will act as an "exit ticket" for week's 3 and 4.

Final Exit Ticket

Congratulations! You have completed your course on Affective Education. How quickly the time has passed. Each week there was something new to read, process, analyze and evaluate. Believe it or not, I was learning right along with you. How could I not? Considering that many of you provided such rich professional insight. I am a firm believer that it is always good to look at material, theories, and educational frameworks from different perspectives. For that, I thank you. Nonetheless, every course has its highlights; those moments whereby things simply stand-out and make a lot of sense, which leads to our final exit ticket. Please answer the following questions, what was the “ah ha moment for you”? And as a result, what new knowledge have you constructed through our eight week dialogue on Affective Education that strengthened your confidence about teaching moral education?

The Stages of Moral Development

It has been noted that the Domain Theory was established in an attempt to "categorize behaviors into either a moral or social domain"(Freday, 2009), however prior classification systems, such as Kohlberg's theory of moral development, placed morality and social convention in the same developmental domain. Domain theory separates the two and goes on to highlight the differences in a child's development of each (Freday, 2009, para. 2). Do you agree or disagree? Post your views.

With that noted, click on the You Tube link provided. View the Kohlberg video that explores the stages of moral development and post your views and reations to the video in no less than a 100 words. You may use the book or any other reading from class to support your views. Just be inclined to cite your sources. I look forward to reading your post.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zY4etXWYS84

Friday, November 20, 2009

Domain Theory-Matt

I have to agree with Danielle and her perspective that morality and social convention could be seen as being in the same developmental domain. In Nice is Not Enough, the author provides an excellent example of "four children trying to decide how to divide the 10 dollars they earned delivering newspapers" (Nucci, 2009). It is made clear that there are going to be situations in life, like this one, where morals and convention work together, namely, domain interaction. The children in this situation are going to use the social convention of basic math skills combined with the understanding that everyone in the group deserves their fair share since they all helped with the deliveries. To approach certain issues using solely ethics or solely convention would cause definite problems.

I think Danielle makes a good point stating that there has already been some integration of morals in the school system, with regard to hand-raising, taking turns, etc. I remember back to my junior high school days, the infamous words, "NO CUTS!" as my friends reacted to someone's refusal to wait all the way at the end of the lunch line. All of us were properly waiting to receive mediocre food and the outrage that followed at the violation of the moral code was understandable.

There are certain people in this world who feel that you have to accept the way things are and deal with it. However, there are plenty of others who will object to something and exclaim, "That's not fair!" There are plenty of children out there who quickly discover themselves in situations where they have to trumpet their morals despite being under a certain amount of authority. If an observant child notices a teacher playing favorites, or is unjustly targeting students with verbal abuse, the situation arises within him or her and whether he or she should report the teacher. If the youngster acts on his/her morals and reports the teacher to the school principal there is the possibility of a successful reprimanding of the teacher however there is also a chance of the principal not believing him/her and even worse, could face the teacher's wrath in the end. These dilemmas can come at a very young age.

The intertwining of morals and social convention is indeed complex but I believe that life has a way of having children gain knowledge in both areas all at once.

1 comment:

Amparo OrtizDecember 7, 2009 at 8:07 PM
I agree with you Matt - the intertwining is so complex, and this is why we need to zone in on this while we still have them in school, from elementary through high school. Too often we focus on the younger students and forget the middle and older students need to be engaged constantly so they can build their social and moral development.
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Psychology 4430