1999 Curriculum Abstracts

"The Hardy Personality in Theory, Research, and Practice,"

Problem Solving Skills for Mildly Learning Handicapped Secondary Students - Sandra Katz, Valley High School

"Man is not a creature of circumstances. Circumstances are the creatures of man."

- Benjamin Disraeli

Although conflict and the resulting stress in our modern society are unavoidable and necessary, what we do with and accomplish in spite of these conflicts and stresses is the personal responsibility of each individual. One can choose to allow conflicts to rule one's life and limit one's options, or one can use them as a positive force to provide motivation for change and growth. There are three common reactions to conflict: flight, fight or constructive problem solving. In the flight reaction, people run away from or deny their problems and avoid dealing with sources of stress. Nothing is resolved by this reaction. In the fight reaction, people use confrontation in the form of physical or verbal aggression. This reaction not only fails to solve problems, but usually creates additional ones as well. In the constructive problem solving reaction, people try to address the problem and find a solution through negotiation, collaboration, compromise or some other positive actions.

Realistically, there are conflict circumstances that are beyond our control, but we never know for certain if a problem is unsolvable until we have exhausted our resources to try. Even in these cases, our constructive attempts to find a solution may lead to a partial solution or a reduction of stress or more efficient ways to deal with the continuing stress.

Problem solving or conflict resolution styles and skills are not inborn traits. They are learned attitudes and behaviors. Children often come to school with few (or maladaptive) problem solving skills. Our purpose in education is not to solve their problems for them, but to teach them how to cooperate and solve problems in a responsible way.

Special education students, specifically learning handicapped students for the purposes of this unit, fall into the category of at-risk children. A learning handicap may be defined as a language, cognitive, or perceptual processing problem which creates a significant discrepancy between the intellectual potential of a student and his/her actual achievement or performance level. The causes may include genetic or prenatal factors, but are largely unknown and little understood. The most apparent signs of learning disabilities at school are difficulty learning and low academic performance. The goals, objectives and lesson plans in this unit are designed to address these deficit areas in the mildly learning handicapped secondary student population. When following these lesson plans, please consider the specific disabilities of each child in your student population&emdash;language, cognitive, motor, perceptual, behavioral. The nature of their disabilities will affect what they understand and how they participate in the activities. Always adapt the activities to suit the needs of your students. Additional complicating factors are found in our increasingly diverse student populations. Ethnic, cultural, language and gender differences may affect each student's perceptions of problems, choices of goals, consideration of alternatives, and decisions on appropriate solutions.

"The Hardy Personality in Theory, Research, and Practice,"

	Problem Solving Skills for Mildly Learning Handicapped Secondary Students - Sandra Katz, Valley High School

	"Man is not a creature of circumstances. Circumstances are the creatures of man." - Benjamin Disraeli Although conflict and the resulting stress in our modern society are unavoidable and necessary, what we do with and accomplish in spite of these conflicts and stresses is the personal responsibility of each individual. One can choose to allow conflicts to rule one's life and limit one's options, or one can use them as a positive force to provide motivation for change and growth. There are three common reactions to conflict: flight, fight or constructive problem solving. In the flight reaction, people run away from or deny their problems and avoid dealing with sources of stress. Nothing is resolved by this reaction. In the fight reaction, people use confrontation in the form of physical or verbal aggression. This reaction not only fails to solve problems, but usually creates additional ones as well. In the constructive problem solving reaction, people try to address the problem and find a solution through negotiation, collaboration, compromise or some other positive actions. Realistically, there are conflict circumstances that are beyond our control, but we never know for certain if a problem is unsolvable until we have exhausted our resources to try. Even in these cases, our constructive attempts to find a solution may lead to a partial solution or a reduction of stress or more efficient ways to deal with the continuing stress. Problem solving or conflict resolution styles and skills are not inborn traits. They are learned attitudes and behaviors. Children often come to school with few (or maladaptive) problem solving skills. Our purpose in education is not to solve their problems for them, but to teach them how to cooperate and solve problems in a responsible way. Special education students, specifically learning handicapped students for the purposes of this unit, fall into the category of at-risk children. A learning handicap may be defined as a language, cognitive, or perceptual processing problem which creates a significant discrepancy between the intellectual potential of a student and his/her actual achievement or performance level. The causes may include genetic or prenatal factors, but are largely unknown and little understood. The most apparent signs of learning disabilities at school are difficulty learning and low academic performance. The goals, objectives and lesson plans in this unit are designed to address these deficit areas in the mildly learning handicapped secondary student population. When following these lesson plans, please consider the specific disabilities of each child in your student population&emdash;language, cognitive, motor, perceptual, behavioral. The nature of their disabilities will affect what they understand and how they participate in the activities. Always adapt the activities to suit the needs of your students. Additional complicating factors are found in our increasingly diverse student populations. Ethnic, cultural, language and gender differences may affect each student's perceptions of problems, choices of goals, consideration of alternatives, and decisions on appropriate solutions.