Martha R. Staeheli
In this unit, designed for grades 8-10, we explore the dangers of using cigarettes, the nature of addiction, the role of the media in helping us make decisions, and what all of this means for our children. This unit is designed as the beginning of a comprehensive anti-smoking education course, with concentration on the dangers of smoking, smoking statistics, and the manner in which most children gain knowledge of smoking, through films. We will focus on the questions that arise from placing dangerous products in an easily accessible public art form with wide distribution. Particularly, we will focus on the history of cigarettes in movies, issues of governmental regulations concerning drug placement in movies, artists' responsibilities to the public and public health, artistic considerations in using these products, and examination of public behavior in reaction to film. These questions will be considered through the lens being conscious of what we watch and what we can do to solve the questions and problems we generate as a result of the unit work.
Throughout the work of the unit, we will focus on four Unit Questions:
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• If we understand the dangers of smoking, why do we (as a government/society) allow people the option of smoking if they wish?
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• How does the portrayal of smoking in films affect the choices that we make? Should art reflect our "best" interests or should it have license to portray anything?
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• Should we regulate the use of tobacco? How?
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• What is the most effective way to keep kids from smoking?
Students are used to thinking about what they shouldn't be doing. They are exposed to (sometimes) ample education on issues of illegal drug use, teen sexuality, drinking, gang-related activities, the benefits of staying in school, and the list continues. They know what they are supposed to do and what they're supposed to avoid, but that isn't necessarily good enough.
Part of negotiating the choppy waters between teenage-dom and adulthood is gaining understanding of what we value and how these values interact with the complexity of the world. We know what we want for our students: their physical safety, their emotional health, and their intellectual sustainability and growth. Our challenges begin when students begin to make choices about what these things (safety, health, growth) mean for them in their lives.
This unit is designed as a platform from which issues of medical ethics, regulation, social values, and film can be discussed with current health issues and concerns. The curriculum should provide a common vocabulary by which students can engage in critical thinking about their own and others' belief systems, and can provide opportunities to discuss such issues as: peer pressure, decision making, and values. Students should begin to think about and discuss more complex issues related the reflective relationship between art and society and how these elements interact in our lives to change our viewpoints and behavior. Particularly, students should begin to question the ways in which we form ideas, critically examine the information we're given, and mediate what we see and hear with questions and flexibility.
In addition to the content described above, this curricular unit focuses on four core habit-of-mind objectives for students:
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• Improved literacy
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• Improved communication
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• Improved critical thinking skills
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• Improved understanding of their place in the world
Understanding that cigarettes are harmful isn't always a good enough deterrent to smoking; most people have engaged in behaviors that are counter to their best interests. But understanding why we see smoking as desirable, how we are manipulated, and how we can make decisions that are aligned with what we want for ourselves is a more effective way to help teenagers make choices.