Welcome to the first real week of classes, today's classes are:
9:15 - 11:50 A Block Criminology
12:30 - 3:05 D Block Social and Environmental Sciences
A Block Criminology - Remember, please enter the school in the back by room 115 and hand sanitize either at the back doors or when you come into the room. Since we're in the same learning cohort/team/pod, you may take off your masks inside the class. Yay! Today we will go through the course outline package and see what crimes we have in store for the semester. In this course we look at crime theories and crime typology. The first week and a half sees us look at a general history of crime, big ideas about why people commit crime and thoughts on why people become victims of crime. The rest of the first term then focuses on crime typologies: violent crimes; property crimes; white collar / enterprise / business crimes; organized / gang crimes; and crimes of a social nature (gambling, drug use, sex trade). Starting next week, we spend the first part of Monday in the library / learning commons working on an on-line crime blog while each Thursday or Friday we'll watch an online video about our topic for the week. Sometimes it will be an episode of a crime television program (but there's always a question about what you watch). So...
Today we'll start with one question that I'd like you to brainstorm: Why do people commit crime?
After some time, I'd like you to partner up and get your ideas on a large sheet of paper (try to keep a safe social distance and if not, then you'll need to mask up). After you collect all of your ideas on large sheets of paper with smelly felts, I'd like you to cluster (group) your reasons why people commit crime into categories (emotions, poverty, culture, etc...) and see what biological factors and sociological factors may contribute to crime. We'll then share your ideas together as a class and see if there are any common ideas that we may have and we'll try to see where your clusters fit in terms of Choice, Trait, Social Structure, Social Learning, and Conflict theories.
After this, we'll begin our look at the nature vs. nurture debate by focusing on the history of psychological and sociological criminology (from B.C.E up to and including the current theories,which will help you with your first activity in the course). I'll give you a handout to help you with crime theories and tomorrow we'll talk about what your first activity will be.
D Block Social and Environmental Sciences - Today, Benton and I will take you down to the Tsolum River through the Comox Valley Exhibition Grounds. When we get to the gravel bar at the river we'll sit in a circle and begin our first "Talking Circle".
We are going to ask you to share your earliest memories of being outside, playing in nature.
The circle itself is considered sacred. First Nations people observed that the circle is a dominant symbol in nature and has come to represent wholeness, completion, and the cycles of life (including the cycle of human communication). So, Leo will start, then Young and next Benton in a clockwise manner. Since we are in a COVID world we will not have an object of power to share around the circle. The main point of using the sacred object, is that whoever is holding the object in their hand has the right to speak. Instead of an object of power we will pick up a stone and then speak. When you are finished with what you wish to share, instead of passing the object to the next person, simply place your stone back down. A few things:
1. It is respectful to introduce yourself.
2. It is important that the circle of people listens respectfully to the person speaking.
3. You should 'speak from the heart'.
4. Shared communications should be kept in confidence.
When everyone has their turn to speak, when all voices are heard in a respectful and attentive way, the learning atmosphere becomes a rich source of information, identity, and interaction. Next we'll go around the circle again this timer consider "Your Relationship to Place and the Natural World"
People interact with the natural world around them in individual and collective ways. Please tell us what the natural world means to you, and how you interact with the geographical place where you live.
So instead of your memories of childhood we're talking about now.
Our last turn around the circle asks you to consider the following: What is your belief on environmental issues? What do you believe in and why? What influences your view on the environment?
Tomorrow, we are going to look at worldviews and ecological value systems as well as considering Indigenous and Western Approaches to Environmental Science.
To end the class today we'll look at the traits and skills that we are going to ask you to develop throughout the course which include (but are not limited to) scientific and systems thinking, being an inquirer, an explorer, a thinker and a communicator, along with being an open-minded, principled, reflective risk taker who has a balanced perspective and demonstrates authentic empathy. Should be fun!
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