Pre and Post Thanksgiving Thoughts

Pre-Thanksgiving Reflection:

Lesson plan idea for last class --
Step one: Split up into groups of 3 or 4
Step two: Each group chooses a current event of their liking (Hong Kong protests, new technology advancement, etc)
Step three: Each group then finds at least two reports, blogs, videos, and/or news articles on the topic
Step four: categorize the articles (based on the descriptions on pg 230) if the reading/video most closely aligns to Duran, Motolinia, or Sahagun writing.
Step five: answer questions in a small group-- 1) How did that particular style affect your opinion of the topic?     2) Is it good, bad, necessary?   3) Why did the author use that particular style?     4) Are there certain times when one style is necessary/ more prone to be used than another?
Step six: Come back as a large group. 2 minutes for each group to present their findings
Step seven: Discuss as a group: Is Todorov successful in fullfilling his goal on page 247? How much does his writing style differ from Duran, Motolinia, or Sahagun?
Goals: Todorov does a critical analysis of other writers, and he claims to be different. This class is an opportunity to apply the same critical lens on Todorov and have an important discussion questioning if unbiased writing/analysis if even possible. Using current events also allows us to make connections from theory and a 1939 book to modern day events.

Post-Thanksgiving Reflection:

Tips to avoid talking to family about off limit subjects, touchy issues, or topics that you know will add tension to the air --
1) Before dinner talk to your Aunts and Uncles and gather as much basic information about cool new things your cousins or other relatives are doing, so that when a possible tenuous topic risks being brought up, you can easily swerve the topic to something your grandparents/ family is obligated to be interested in.
Example: *comments are being made that risk touchy issues being brought up*
You: Hey Cousin John, I heard you just started track season, how is that going?
--It is best to be preparing follow up question in your head as the point of deflection is talking.--
Example: You: That sounds super cool cousin John! Uncle Dave, you must enjoy going to the meets... any high lights from the season so far?
2) Plan with your family before hand. Optional determination of a safety word. Make sure every member of the family is aware of which topics are off limits. That way when such topic arises you have a group of people backing each other up and using their collective brains to figure out how to steer the topic away from that subject or feign an issue that you simply must go deal with now.
3) Bring games and activities.
4) If the topic cannot be avoided, but you have to much dignity to pretend that you agree, but you also don't want a fight to break out: practice "matching the affect." This is a good therapy technique in almost any situation, but it also comes in handy at family gatherings as well. In simple description, matching the affect means, rather than reasoning with someone, you say things like "Wow, that must be super frustrating for you" or "Gosh, I see why that annoys you." Usually when a person feels empathized with, it diffuses the tensions in the air, and it minimizes the risk of the topic arising again because of the individual feeling like they were not heard.