Prison Studies for Middle School

This week we are finishing our unit on Mental Health and the natural transition was heading our reading into the prison system. Handouts: A Class/B Class, ppt

Introduction Learning Questions:
What is the role of prisons in society?

What are the main issues in Prison Studies?

How is the Taiwanese prison system in relation to other democratic countries?

• Women Behind Bars
• Reintegration
• School to Prison Pipeline

1. Where Mental Illness Meets The Prison System

JAILED: How should governments help people in prison with mental health issues?

	Pros	Cons
Expert counseling
Drugs
Separate prisons
Mentors
Skills training
Alternatives:?

Reading 1: Mental Health Nurses Staff UK Police Stations (A class/ B class)

Videos: Rosalynn Carter explains that jails and prisons are the largest mental health facilities in America.
Dr. Elizabeth Ford examines mental health in the prison system and the toll of incarceration.

II. Prison Escapes and Security

Reading 2: France Asks Google To Blur Internet Maps (A Class/B Class)

IV. Prison Strikes

• Attica Prison Uprising
• Jailhouse Lawyers Speak
• National Prisoners Strike

V. Prison Riots- Brazilian Massacre (Both A and B levels)

Vocabulary:

1. inmate (a prisoner)
2. dismember (cut into pieces)
3. smuggle (bring something without people knowing about it).

0:36

Brazilian Prison Massacre – level 3

VI. Torture and Capital Punishment

1. Secret CIA Torture Prisons (A/B)
2. Pregnant Woman in Laos (A/B)
3. Capital Punishment in Utah (A/B)

VII. Progress

1. Tablets in NY(A/B)
2. Indian Repatriates Prisoners (A/B)
3. Taiwan

Taiwan Prisoner’s Kitchen

Taiwan Prison and Solar Power

RESOURCES:

12 Facts About Incarceration and Reentry, Reentry in Taiwan, Global Prison Trends 2018

PBS Prison to School Pipeline, Lesson on Prison Pipeline

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1607551X12001295

Winter Week: Debates, Tapping and Catching Up

My 8th grade ESL classes will continue following their books. A class is on schedule to finish Unit 4 before the CNY holiday.

My 9th grade Social Studies classes are a little bit more varied in pace. The faster classes (301) already finished their Mental Health readings on Self- Harm and Bullying, as well as the Group Role Playing Activity. The other classes will catch up for winter week, so we can all begin the next semester on the same page.

For those faster classes, we can try a class debate. The last time I facilitated a proper debate was with my first 9th grade social studies class 3 years ago and many of my materials are no longer available. First, I need to introduce the concept of debate basics, have the class choose a topic and then break up into teams. As a prep exercise, we can break into teams of two, one student the affirmative, the other the negative and see how they can debate in twos. Then the following class, I will follow the Lincoln-Douglas format.

 Several debate topics to choose from:

• Electroshock Treatment (ECT) for kids: Therapy or Abuse?

"The treatment is controversial, and in the early years of the therapy (1930's), patients were not given anesthesia, and high levels of electricity were used.

Today, the therapy is safer, because patients receive anesthesia and electricity doses are much more controlled, according to the Mayo Clinic. Still, the treatment can impair short-term memory and, in rare cases, cause heart problems.

Because of these potential side effects, ECT should never be used as a first-line therapy. But, for people who have tried other treatments and have seen no improvement in their symptoms, the treatment can be very effective: 75 to 85 percent of patients who receive ECT recover from their symptoms, experts say.

ECT is used to treat patients who are severely depressed and at risk for suicide, and in some cases, it is used to treat schizophrenia and severe mania." (See Live Science)

• Marijuana Legalization in Taiwan
• Death Penalty
• 4 Day Work-Week
• Gay Marriage

They will use this mindmap to prep their ideas. Unfortunately, Scribd removed my debate ppt, that made it easy for Chinese speakers to follow the Lincoln Douglas format. Luckily, the internet is full of such resources, so I am looking for one I might use and tweek.



If there is still time, or maybe not enough time for a debate, I will have the class try "Tapping" as an exercise/life skill to calm down anxiety.

RESOURCES:
Teacher's Debate Guide
Everything You Need For First Class Debate

'Tis the Season: Giving, Cheer, and Busy as Bees

It's always gratifying to be able to link our students to the community

Play as Learning: This was a fun week, despite having to come in on a Saturday. Two of my 9th-grade classes (301 and 304 A) started to finish their review games on Mental Health and began playing them. They need the change of pace as they have critical tests this Friday and Saturday and literally have been staying up studying until 11 the past couple of weeks. Here are links to videos of their play: (304 Video 1, Video 2, 301 Video 1, Video 2.)

Here are some photos taken by my co-teacher Ali (videos and photos published with the kids' permission to post and share).

Winter Clothes Donation Drive: Also, I and my co-teacher Ali's classes brought in their old winter clothes to donate to the Yilan Fisherman's Union and the Hua Zhe mental health facility outside Loudong. We did it last year and Ali organized it again this year. She drove the clothes down to Su'ao and took these photos. It was nice to see students from my 8th grade ESL class helping out.

 

I feel fortunate to work with a wonderful co-teacher, and such bright, giving students.

Group Project: Review Games on Mental Health

So far, I have introduced our unit on mental health using the top ten mental illnesses of American students as well as Taiwanese students. I also showed the latest research done by Taiwanese researchers that linked inflammation in the body manifesting in allergies and asthma with a higher risk for mental illness.

After the following three readings which are easy and found at Liberty Times Net, we will have a group project instead of a test:

1. Smart People Likely
2. The Least Happiest Students 
3. The Unhappiest Young People 

I am hoping these first reading selections will challenge some of my students' assumptions on mental illness and happiness. K-pop culture is alive and well in my students' admirations of what is uber-cool. I hope it will make them think twice about what is happiness, ask themselves if they are happy, and why Korean students and young adults have poor life satisfaction despite living in a highly developed country. In many ways, the reasons for Korean dissatisfaction mirror their own, or Taiwanese society (similar education system and post-graduate job woes). Koreans may have high youth unemployment, but Taiwan's graduates have a low entry salary. We will get back to the issue of Happiness, at the end of this unit.

Group Work: We had group presentations prior to midterms, and for the most part, the majority of students were hardworking and thoughtful. However, I had two lower level classes that were just not emotionally mature to handle that kind of freedom, which meant they had poor time management and disappointing presentations. They were even asking for a traditional test assessment, which was disheartening. I am hoping to assess their grasp of the material "outside the box" and develop teamwork, verbal English skills and give them a break from the cycle of testing.

The idea for this group project is for the students to design a review game. They will have 2 classes to create the game, and 1 class to play it. Some games I am thinking of are board games, card games and crosswords. I'm hoping to learn some new games in the process!

GRADING RUBRIC will include:

Accurate content

Game can be played with written directions

Clear verbal directions

Ease of use

Teamwork

Creativity and neatness

20-25 Questions, or 20-25 Vocabulary Words used

Materials Needed:

Poster Board, blank cards

Students' markers, colored pencils

RESOURCES:

https://www.brighthubeducation.com/teaching-middle-school/21290-small-group-review-game/

http://teachpaperless.blogspot.com/2012/05/student-led-final-review.html

https://teach4theheart.com/7-review-games-that-wont-waste-your-time/

Mental Health Issues: Has the World Gone Mad?

After Midterms, for our second 9th-grade unit, we will focus on mental health issues. I hope to talk freely, using readings based on scientific research so I can help remove any stigmas the students might have. I won't be covering eating disorders again, as we just finished talking about them during the "Body Image" section of our Garment Industry.

The ppt is a work in progress, as well as the handouts (A class/B Class.)

1. Why is studying mental health important?

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that around 300 million people worldwide have depression and 50 million have dementia. Schizophrenia is estimated to affect 23 million people, and bipolar disorder around 60 million. A grim report recently published (October 2018) by 28 global specialists in psychiatry, public health and neuroscience warned that the world is experiencing a global mental health care crisis. The current approach by governments, if they don’t address this crisis will be devastating effects on individuals, communities, the global economy and human rights. Experts estimate it could cost the global economy up to $16 trillion between 2010 and 2030 if a collective failure to respond is not addressed. One of the reasons for the “world going mad” are global aging societies (dementia and alzheimers). Another reason, is inadequate care and outdated stigmas, that has led to mass human rights violations globally. It’s time to face our own stigmas and biases and use science and education to find solutions for a better future for everyone.

B. What Mental Issues do Students Face?

1. The US
2. Taiwan

Reading 1: 

Who? Smart people are more likely to suffer from mental illness 聰明人更可能苦於精神疾病

C. Who are the Unhappiest People?

Readings: 1. S. Korean students and 2. young people

3. Big rise in self-harm among girls (A/B)

D. Bullying
Reading: Bullied kids at higher risk of mental health problems (A/B)
E. Addiction
The Internet and Gaming
Readings: Too much gaming is a mental health issue (A/B)
Internet addiction sign of mental health problems (A/B)
F. Suicide
I taught this recently in my 8th grade ESL classes and will use the same materials.




G. Happiness and Solutions

1. Finland is the happiest country in the world, says UN report
2. Dutch Students the Happiest In the World
3. Singing in groups could make you happier
4. Tai chi may help reduce depression symptoms 太極拳可能有助減緩憂鬱症狀
5. Hip-hop can help mental illness (A/B)
6. Therapy center to help the persecuted
7. The Art of Being Alone

Extra: Burglary a threat to mental health,

When hoarding gets out of hand and turns a house into trash 當囤積失控到讓房子變成垃圾堆

Social Media, Girls and Depression

Resources:

Combatting Stigmas About Mental Health in TW

1.25 Million Taiwanese Have a Mental Health Issue

Taiwanese Society of Suicidology

World Suicide Prevention Day (September 10)

30% of Taiwanese Kids Have Mental Health Disorders

https://sharemylesson.com/collections/mental-health-awareness

https://sharemylesson.com/collections/internet-safety-and-cyberbullying

Policy and strategy for preventing suicide in TW

Top 10 Films on Mental Health (Netflix)

International Suicide Prevention Day

Suicide mortality rates have been steadily rising in Taiwan, and suicide has been among the top-ten causes of death for the last consecutive eight years. In response to this situation, the Taiwan Department of Health assigned the Taiwanese Society of Suicidology the task of setting up the Taiwan Suicide Prevention Center. 

Since my 8th grade ESL student's textbooks have not arrived yet, I thought the A classes can learn about a very important subject. September 10th is World Suicide Prevention Day. The theme of this year’s World Suicide Prevention Day (10th September 2018) is “Working together to prevent suicide”; reminding us that suicide is a community issue and is everyone's business. No one should suffer alone and together we can fight suicide and reach out to others when they are in need.

I. Introduction

A. STRESS壓力: What is the biggest reason for stress? Rank these, 1 is the least stressful, 10 is the most stressful:

tests English level money family

friends body appearance China and Taiwan bullying

B. SOCIETY社會: What can we do about these problems? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

	How big a problem is it?	How to help people?
Loneliness孤獨
Stress壓力
Crime 違法行爲
No jobs
Divorce 離婚
Poor health

C. SUICIDE: Do you know anyone who attempted suicide? Do you know anyone who committed suicide? Why do people want to end their life?

What would you do if a friend or family member was suicidal?

Suicide (n.) killing yourself, taking your own life
Suicidal (adj)想自殺的；有自殺傾向的

II. Vocabulary: Chinese/English (Quizlet)

1. commit suicide 自殺
2. attempt 企圖
3. prevent (v.) 阻止, 妨礙, 預防
4. mental health 精神健康狀態
5. raise (v.) 增加；提高；改善
6. awareness (n.)意識
7. preventable (adj.) 可防止的，可預防的，可阻止的
8. factor (n.) 因素；要素
9. downturn (n.) 衰退，漸入低迷
10. bully (n./v.)恃強淩弱者，以大欺小者/ 傷害；脅迫；欺負，欺淩
11. assist (v.) 幫助；協助；援助
12. assisted suicide 協助自殺，輔助自殺

III. The Reading: (Handout)

World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD) is a day we should all put on our calendars. It highlights (強調) a huge but often ignored(忽視) problem in our society (社會). Every year thousands of people take their own lives. Around 3,000 people a day commit suicide. Another 60,000 a day attempt suicide. WSPD promotes (促進) ways to identify (確定) possible suicide cases and to prevent suicide. The day is organized (安排有序的) by the International Association for Suicide Prevention. This important group acts as a forum(論壇) for academics(學者), mental health professionals (職業的), and suicide survivors(倖存者) to work together to understand suicide better. They raise awareness that suicide is a preventable cause of hundreds of thousands of deaths around the world.

The word suicide comes from Latin, meaning to kill oneself. There are many factors that lead to someone taking their own life. These include depression(憂鬱症), shame (羞恥), physical pain, anxiety (焦慮), and relationship problems. A growing reason nowadays is financial ($) difficulties. There is a sudden increase in suicide in rich nations(countries) when there is a downturn in the economy (經濟). Another worrying trend (趨向) is the number of young people who resort to suicide because of bullying. Suicide is in fact, one of the leading causes of death among teenagers and young adults. In Japan, there are Internet suicide clubs so you can end your life with others who are equally desperate (絕望的). A hot topic(話題) today is assisted suicide – helping another person end his or her life.

Comprehension:

1. What problem is ignored by society?

2. Who organized World Suicide Prevention Day?

3. Which groups attend the forum?

4. Is suicide preventable? Explain.

5. Why do young people commit or attempt to commit suicide?

6. What is assisted suicide?

7. Why is bullying such a serious problem?

Suicide Risk Warnings:

• Suicide threats, both direct (“I am going to kill myself.” “I need life to stop.”) and indirect (“I need it to stop.” “I wish I could fall asleep and never wake up.”). Threats can be spoken or written, and they are often found in online postings.
• Giving away prized possessions.
• Preoccupation心事重重 with death死 in conversation, writing, drawing, and social media.
• Changes in behavior, appearance/hygiene, thoughts, and/or feelings. This can include someone who is usually sad who suddenly becomes very happy.
• Emotional情緒的 pain, hopelessness.
• Recent social withdrawal 沉默寡言；孤僻
  Withdrawal is a classic symptom of depression. 沉默寡言是憂鬱症的一種典型癥狀。

What to do if you think someone is suicidal:

• Remain calm, be nonjudgmental不作評價的, and listen. Try to understand the intolerable無法容忍的 emotional pain that makes suicidal thoughts.
• Don't say anything that minimizes有意淡化 the person’s emotional pain (“You need to move on." or "You should get over it.”).
• Ask the person directly if they are thinking about suicide (i.e., "Are you thinking of suicide?").
• Focus on your concern for their well-being and don't be accusatory指控的.
• Reassure使安心 the person that there is help and they will not feel like this forever.
• Without putting yourself in danger, remove ways for self-harm, including any weapons the person might find.
• Get help. Never agree to keep the person's suicidal thoughts a secret. Tell a teacher, parent, school counselor immediately. This person needs professional help and cannot be left alone.

More Videos:
Social Experiment w/ Chinese subs (7 minutes)

不堪網路暴力和惡人無理取鬧，女醫生自殺身亡 (1:17)

More Resources:

World Suicide Prevention Day (September 10)

The Connection With Sleep

Teen Found Guilty of Encouraging Suicide

Celebrity Deaths Increase Suicide in Korea

Taipei Suicide Prevention Center, Taiwan Suicide Rate (2015)
Japan's Suicidal Forest Aokigahara (青木ヶ原)