Please pick one of the three scenarios and answer the questions, connecting and citing course-related materials.
Scenario 1
Since I do most of the eating in my family, my wife is happy to let me do most of the grocery shopping, too. Pushing the shopping cart down the meat aisle one day, I noticed a man in a wheelchair in my path. He was a Vietnam veteran, as evident by his beret, camouflage fatigues, little POW MIA (prisoner of war, missing in action) flag attached to his chair, and other regalia. He was also a double amputee from the midthighs down. I started to move my cart to go around him when I paused to let a young mother with her preschool-aged boy walk by. The boy might have been 4 or 5 years old.
It was then that he noticed the man in the wheelchair. As a father of two, I stopped to watch the little boy’s reaction to seeing the veteran. As predicted, the boy pointed to the ex-soldier and said very loudly, “Look, Mom, a man with no legs!” Embarrassed, the mother clamped her hand over her son’s mouth and hustled him quickly past the man in the wheelchair. I glanced at the vet, who looked hurt.
Questions
- In that instant, what has the little boy learned?
- Why did the boy say what he did?
- Why did the veteran look hurt? Was it the boy’s comment or the parent’s reaction?
- What would you have done if you had been the young parent?
- What do you think would have been a proper response from the parent?
Scenario 2
A middle-aged African American elementary school principal is taking his time walking home from the corner market. It’s a glorious Saturday evening, and he has just spent the day working in the garden of his new home. Still, in his gardening clothes, he enjoys not having to wear his usual suit and tie but is looking forward to a hot shower to wash off the grime collected from his chores. Despite the waning light, in the distance, he sees a young girl from his school walking down the residential street toward him with her father. Just as he raises his hand to wave hello, the father picks up the girl and rushes across the street to walk down the other side.
Questions
- Why did the father of the young girl act the way he did?
- Was it a reasonable action? Why or why not?
- What did the young girl learn at that moment?
Scenario 3
I am chatting with a parent at an evening school reception. The young elementary school children have just completed a performance, and parents, teachers, students, and guests are enjoying some of the snacks provided. As the parent talks to me, her youngster approaches and tugs on her skirt to get her attention. “Where is Jacob [a classmate]?” he asks. The mother whispers to him to be quiet and not to interrupt. The boy persists and asks, “Where is Jacob?” After the third interruption, the parent leans down and, in a stage whisper, says to her son, “He’s not here because he is Jewish.” The boy looks confused. It occurs to me that the school has inadvertently scheduled the event on a Jewish holiday and that the Jewish students are away that day being observant.
Questions
- What has the little boy learned at this moment?
- How would you have handled this situation differently?
- Is the mother a bigot? Why or why not?
Submission
This assignment requires a file upload submission. After you have reviewed the assignment instructions, complete your submission by selecting the Submit Assignment button next to the assignment title. Browse for your file and remember to select the Submit Assignment button below the file to complete your submission. Review the confirmation annotation that presents after submission.
