Peter E. Pflaum - Golden Globe - The Synergy Network
http://www.wiredbrain.net/  pflaump@cfl.rr.com

WEEK 1: Introduction and groups:



                Feelings: 
                     The goal of the first exercise is to                  
learn to understand others from their point of view.
                     A second purposee is to getting to know
eachother in your group, and start to build a  society.  Write
your journal entry on your reactions to the first class, new
people, and a strange instructor. 
What do you feel?  What is expected from students in this class? 
Discuss your reaction to the ideas of the class, how do you feel
about working in groups, writing a portfolio, keeping a journal? 
Are you confused, frighten of something new, or hopeful and
excited by new experiences?  What do you expect from any DBCC
class, from any school, from any teacher?  What do you expect
from yourself? Where do these expectations come from?  Do you
expect the future to be the same as the past?   
     Journal Starter:
1.) THE FIRST sentence must be on what is going to be discussed
in the paper.  A good topic sentence is critical.  First, it is
better to do an outline. Think about what is going to be said and
your main points before you write. From the OUTLINE, each
sentence in the introduction becomes the topic of one paragraph. 
2.) One page of discussion on your reactions to class and first
exercise (grouping) - make suggestions. How do you feel about the
systems - grades? Do you intend to be a superior student and do
more than necessary?  3.) Conclusions - what does it all mean?
Get below the surface. What are your goals and objectives? Who
are you and what are you doing here? WEEK 1:
Social Science: The Social World Chapter 1  - Imagination -also
week 4, METHODS. 
Sociology Chapter 1 Global perspective!
     Theoretical Perspectives and Personality:
An example of ideas for first reports:

Who you are (page 60) is affected by how you see the world. The
study of man is man. Since you are a person, you have attitudes,
feeling, prejudices, and a style of your own. You can't and
shouldn't get rid of these and try to be perfectly objective. 
People have to take account of their prejudices not pretend they
don't have any. It's impossible and dehumanizing. As people grow
and change, they come to understand their unique individuality
and the character of other people. You can learn more about how
others see the world and see you. 
     American is a big place and you may not have much experience
with other cultures that think and behave very differently from
us. The personality test in the next unit can  help you come to
understand some dimensions about people. You can learn to be more
open to the world and meet its opportunities and challenges.
Change requires the understanding of your style.  Education helps
you develop a personal style. You continue to develop and change
attitudes all your life. You can understand your character and
how to improve performance in getting what you want from life.  

     COURSE OUTLINE

1. FEELINGS - THE NATURE OF BEING HUMAN

     SOCIAL SCIENCE - AND SOCIOLOGY CHAPTER 1 

     After the first week each group will report about last weeks
activities.  Each week (Tuesday) there will be a presentation on
the next set of activities and chapter reading. The students need
to read and discuss the chapter(s) in their groups then assign
someone to write up a summary of the discussion and its
connection to the activity.  This is the first week. 
     The purpose of social science is to think systematically
about human behavior. Physical sciences have accumulated
"knowledge" of the "laws of nature."  Because of the use of
"magnified thinking" or thinking tools,  science and technology
has changed human life in many basic ways over the last few
centuries. Science makes a distinction between opinion and facts.
Facts are parts of knowledge that can be believed beyond a
reasonable doubt. Facts exist independently of the attitude of
the person, their culture and interests.   

     The practical applications of knowing more and having
greater skills is not a matter for debate. If the student as a
person and as member of a society is better informed and better
organized than other persons or groups they will be more
successful. The smart and coordinated gain more points than the
stupid and poorly organized. Compare Haiti and Switzerland;
Florida and Massachusetts; Volusia County and Seminole County;
and one can see the effects of the different levels of wealth,
education, skills, political institutions, and general
sophistication in the population. It's all connected into the
"web of life."  We must make these distinctions or everything
becomes a meaningless blur. Of course, some people will not like
the comparisons. 
     In evolution and "creationism" the idea of scientific facts
is tested against strongly held religious beliefs.  The facts of
geology, astronomy, evolutionary biology and even genics "prove"
that the universe is about fifteen billion years old and life is
several billion.  History is carried in our genes. We all agree
the earth spins around the sun, energy and matter are neither
created nor destroyed, to every action there is and equal and
opposite reaction, E=mc2 and we believe in other "laws of
nature." These are "theories" that explain phenomena until there
is a "better" theory.  The clockwork image of the Newtonian
theory has been replaced by a "probability"  quanta theory
because of new observations in physics. The courts rule that
"creationism" is not a scientific theory but a religious belief.
Our laws have an administrative belief in the institutions of
science, journals, books, associations, qualifications, leading
to objective truth. This belief in reason, practical facts, and
applied theory is the basis of modern culture.  
     Haiti does not have a modern civilization because of the
believes in magic, voodoo, raw power and feeling over reason
which make science impossible and technology difficult.  The
poorest population in the new world are uneducated. There are 
objective realities and material consequences from behavior and
beliefs. All cultures and beliefs are not equal. If one idea or
habit is not better that another then nothing is of value - there
are no standards for judgment. Without standards the culture
cannot function well and produce wealth, power and success for
the individuals within that culture. We all hang together or we
all hang separately. 
     The first issue for discussion is the nature of "knowledge"
and the role of science in the understanding of human relations. 
     Question two is about the nature of human interactions. Can
there be a scientific study of man and society? If so what "laws"
have been discovered?  Is there a natural law in human affairs?
The golden rule reflects the need for people to treat each other
in ways they want to be treated. We do not want to be robbed,
beaten, unjustly imprisoned, cheated, or lied to. Therefore we
need to obey the law and keep the peace. Ethics requires we do
more than we have to and less than we can get away with. When we
do the right thing we may pay a price. We can gain by feeling
better or lose by feeling foolish. Since there are usually
several alternatives we can pick the ones that are most likely to
be ethical and practical. 
CONNECTION TO EXERCISE:

     The beginning of understanding starts with ourselves and our
"group."  We learn to listen to each other and find out what is
important to us as people. What do we know about ourselves? "Who
am I?"  We learn by interaction with others and seeing how we are
the same and different. The beginning of awareness of the "world"
is by opening windows into ourselves and others. It has been
called conscienceness raising. A primary goal of social science
education is to become more aware of the connections between what
we are and the larger social and global context.   
     Discuss these ideas in your group. Write up a short
statement of what you believe. (Agreement and disagreement) Then
the groups pick someone to make a report to the class.  Find the
connection to the empathetic recall exercise.  What is the
mission for your life ?