PURPOSE The objective of this activity is to identfy and recognize how primie-time television portrays middle childhood age boys and girls.
ACTIVITY Watch three popular prime-time shows, looking for images of the middle-childhood character. What are these children doing? Are they portrayed as precocious or dull? Active or passive? What kind of problems do they have? Are these characteristics and problems realistic? Discuss findings.
27. Kohlberg's Moral Delimmas Activity
PURPOSE The objective of this activity is to develop an understand the moreal reasonng of adolescents.
ACTIVITY Think of a dilemma, either your own personal dilemma or a hypothetical one. Then determine how the dilemma would be resolved in each of Kohlberg's six stages. Using the following two situations, complete the research and summarize findings.
Dilemma Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Reasoning
Stage 1: Punishment orientation (Actions are evaluated in terms of possible punishment, not goodness or badness.)
Stage 2: Pleasure-seeking orientation (The right action is determined by one's own needs.)
Stage 3: Good boy/good girl orientation (Moral behavior is that which pleases others in the immediate group.)
Stage 4: Authority orientation (Doing one's duty and following social rules is important; if deviation from the law is permitted, social chaos will result.)
Stage 5: Social-contract orientation (Rules are recognized as open to question but are upheld for the good of the community and in the name of democratic values.)
Stage 6: Morality of individual principles (Behavior is directed by self-chosen ethical principles; high value is placed on justice, dignity, and equality.)
Describe the outcome of the dilemma if it were actually resolved. What stage of moral reasoning does the resolution illustrate?
Moral Reasoning in Adolescents
Present three adolescents with the following moral dilemmas. Feel free to come up with your own dilemmas that may fit well into their own experiences. Ask follow-up questions when appropriate.
1. Your parents are generous and hard working, but you know they cheat seriously on their income tax. What do you do?
2. A couple of "friends of yours who are seniors in high school" have just learned that the girl is two months pregnant. They are about to start college, one on a scholarship and the other on a student loan. They would never allow their baby to be adopted, but recognize they are not ready for parenthood. What advice would you give them?
What would you do if you were in the same situation?
3. Before you realize what is happening, your best friend is about to tell you what the questions on the final exam will be. What do you do?
Moral Dilemmas and Students' Moral Judgments
A. Heinz and the Drug Dilemma
In Europe, a woman was near death from an unusual cancer. Her doctors said that only one drug would save her-a form of radium that a local druggist had recently discovered. The drug was expensive, and the druggist was charging ten times what the drug cost him. The sick woman's husband, Heinz, tried to borrow the money from everyone he knew, but could only get about half of what was needed. He told the druggist that his wife was dying and asked to buy the drug at a cheaper cost or let him pay later. But the druggist said, "No, I discovered the drug, and I'm going to make money from it." So a desperate Heinz stole the drug for his wife. Should Heinz have done that? Was it wrong or right? Why?
B. The Captain's Dilemma
In Korea, a company of marines was outnumbered, retreating from the enemy. The company had crossed a bridge over a river; most of the enemy were on the other side. If someone went back and blew up the bridge as the enemy crossed, the enemy would be weakened and the company could probably escape alive. There would be about an 80 percent chance that the one going back to blow up the bridge would be killed. The company's captain, who can best lead the retreat, must decide who should go back to blow up the bridge. No one responds to a request for volunteers. If he goes himself, the men will probably not get back safely. Should the captain order a man to go blow up the bridge, or should he go himself? The captain finally orders a man to stay behind. One of the men he considers has a lot of strength and courage but is a troublemaker - he steals from the others, beats them up, and will not do his work. The second man the captain considers is ill and is likely to die soon, although he is strong enough to do the job. Should the captain send the troublemaker or the sick man? Why?
28. Generational Differences in Relationships
PURPOSE How has adolescence changed since your parents were teenagers? Your grandparents? These are interesting questions to consider, especially for younger students who may still suffer from lingering adolescent egocentrism and have forgotten that their parents and grandparents actually were teenagers at one time.
ACTIVITY In this exercise answer a series of questions about yourself and then to interview your parents and grandparents (or someone of similar age), asking the same questions. See HANDOUT 16-1. Are there common themes within each generation? Across the generations?
HANDOUT 16-1: Generational Differences in Relationships Click on HANDOUTS at the top of the page.