Constant Frustration and Occasional Violence
By Alfie Kohn
HOMEWORK QUESTIONS
1. How do you think that the author would feel about HTHCV if he had a chance to visit our school? Why? What is your evidence?
-Honestly, I think that High Tech High Schools are very similar if not exactly like the schools that he is describing or suggesting that America enforce or adopt as an education system. I think that because the teachers have much more personal and deep connections with the students, and are willing to help with any kind of problems we are having, that our teachers would definitely notice if something was wrong. I think that this attention makes us feel like we do have someone we can count on, and would not be led towards violence because of that.
2. What is the author’s thesis? What claim is he trying to make in this article? What is he trying to convince us to believe?
-I think that his thesis can be wrapped up in these two sentences: “Nevertheless, it is as naïve as it is convenient to assume that he trouble resides exclusively within the heads of the killers. […] We need to steer between too narrow an analysis, in which we focus only on individuals, and too broad an analysis, in which we focus only on ‘American culture’.”
3. From your perspective, how valid is the author’s thesis? Do you agree or disagree with the thesis? Why? Explain your answer by sharing examples from your own experiences.
-I think that the author’s thesis is a pretty accurate representation of my thought on the cause of gun violence in the United States. I think that we should not only focus on the individual’s mental health etc., but also on the culture of his/her community and is/her influences. I think that, seeing form personal experience that my society/ community culture is very judgmental, and I know that there are a lot of people who do not handle judgment very well, and you never know what they are capable of doing.
4. Do you think the type of school the author is describing in his article are more likely to produce violent graduates/dropouts than the type of schools he is suggesting in this article? Do you think that schools like Eastlake or Bonita High Schools are more likely to produce more violent graduates/ dropouts than HTHCV? Why or why not?
-I do believe that the type of school the author is describing in his article are more likely to produce violent graduates/dropouts than the type of schools he is suggesting in this article mainly because, like he mentioned in his article, it is easy to feel lost or alone in such a big school. I know that at schools like HTHCV it is a lot easier to make friends when you have the same people in your class and have a small knit community and teachers who really do care about you. However, I do not believe that just because you go to a private school you will feel like that. Actually, I think that the Chula Vista Community’s culture is like the High Tech High culture, just on a much larger scale. But there will always be those people or teachers that just do not care, and if a student is unfortunate enough to have that person in his/her life, then who knows what could happen in his/her life to make them violent.
1. How do you think that the author would feel about HTHCV if he had a chance to visit our school? Why? What is your evidence?
-Honestly, I think that High Tech High Schools are very similar if not exactly like the schools that he is describing or suggesting that America enforce or adopt as an education system. I think that because the teachers have much more personal and deep connections with the students, and are willing to help with any kind of problems we are having, that our teachers would definitely notice if something was wrong. I think that this attention makes us feel like we do have someone we can count on, and would not be led towards violence because of that.
2. What is the author’s thesis? What claim is he trying to make in this article? What is he trying to convince us to believe?
-I think that his thesis can be wrapped up in these two sentences: “Nevertheless, it is as naïve as it is convenient to assume that he trouble resides exclusively within the heads of the killers. […] We need to steer between too narrow an analysis, in which we focus only on individuals, and too broad an analysis, in which we focus only on ‘American culture’.”
3. From your perspective, how valid is the author’s thesis? Do you agree or disagree with the thesis? Why? Explain your answer by sharing examples from your own experiences.
-I think that the author’s thesis is a pretty accurate representation of my thought on the cause of gun violence in the United States. I think that we should not only focus on the individual’s mental health etc., but also on the culture of his/her community and is/her influences. I think that, seeing form personal experience that my society/ community culture is very judgmental, and I know that there are a lot of people who do not handle judgment very well, and you never know what they are capable of doing.
4. Do you think the type of school the author is describing in his article are more likely to produce violent graduates/dropouts than the type of schools he is suggesting in this article? Do you think that schools like Eastlake or Bonita High Schools are more likely to produce more violent graduates/ dropouts than HTHCV? Why or why not?
-I do believe that the type of school the author is describing in his article are more likely to produce violent graduates/dropouts than the type of schools he is suggesting in this article mainly because, like he mentioned in his article, it is easy to feel lost or alone in such a big school. I know that at schools like HTHCV it is a lot easier to make friends when you have the same people in your class and have a small knit community and teachers who really do care about you. However, I do not believe that just because you go to a private school you will feel like that. Actually, I think that the Chula Vista Community’s culture is like the High Tech High culture, just on a much larger scale. But there will always be those people or teachers that just do not care, and if a student is unfortunate enough to have that person in his/her life, then who knows what could happen in his/her life to make them violent.