1. BLOCK CH. 10, 11, 12 LESSON PLAN FOR HIGH SCHOOL (APPROPRIATE FOR ANY CLASSROOM) Preferably given at the beginning of the term. By Victoria Neil

2. Questions- are they important? “Questions are more transforming than answers.” Do you feel that the above statement is true? How have past teachers approached the subject of questions? When are they appropriate? Have you ever felt dumb or belittled by someone for asking a question? “Questions.. Confront them with their freedom, and invite them to cocreate a future possibility.” Do you feel that these statements are true? What evidence have you seen?

3. Transforming Conversation Allow it to be REAL. If someone is having a bad day, that is valid. Block says: “It is more important to declare where you are at this point than to demonstrate optimism.” Cut the ADVICE. “Trying to be helpful and giving advice are really ways to control others. Advice is a conversation stopper.” How do you feel about these statements? Are they familiar to you, or brand new? Where have you heard them before?

4. Three qualities of a Question IT IS AMBIGUOUS. Do not attempt to precisely define what is meant by the question. Simply take it as it is. IT IS PERSONAL. All passion, commitment, and connection grow out of what is personal. IT EVOKES ANXIETY. All that matters to us makes us anxious. If there is no EDGE to the question, there is no POWER.

5. Things to Ponder: “Genuine invitation changes our relationship with others, for we come to them as equal. I must be willing to take no for an answer, without resorting to various forms of persuasion.” Do you believe that most public school teachers behave this way? Do any? “Cynicism gets justified by naming itself ‘reality’.” How is this view held on a pedistal in our society today? How does the media affect this view?

6. Videos Everything I need to know I learned in Kindergarten? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxMgxzSr8pQ Lego Questions http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fq1DHit4WLQ Examples of transforming Questions: http://www.tcrecord.org/Content.asp?ContentID=14487

7. ANY QUESTIONS?????? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?