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Kathy Swahn's picture

point of "view" lesson

One of the most enjoyable lessons I implemented during a summer forensics program, each student had to become an eyewitnesses, I showed the students a segment of the movie “Fracture” the part where the husband shoots his wife. Afterward I asked the students to be the eyewitness and to describe in a paragraph or two exactly what happened and what the actors were wearing. The students had no idea they would be asked to be an eyewitness I did not forewarn them, just as real eyewitnesses do not know that they will be an eyewitness to a crime. After being told the task, many wanted to see it again. I told them that in real life there are no second chances to witness the same crime and to do the best they could. I do not recall a single student of the 60 or so I saw that day getting it 100% correct. Each student had his own twist based on feeling and life experience. We had such a great time reconstructing what we saw and “freeing” it up from each individual’s mind.  As the story grew, some students changed their mind and their stories.  We began to realize that many of us had constructed what was real to us and we even filled in what was missing in our mind. We laughed and carried on; we ended the lesson by viewing the scene again to find our mistaken view points. Many of the students were surprised in the assumptions they made and how incorrect they could be. We could all use an exercise like this to show how no one is completely right or wrong and how our brain can/will change a story to fit our experiences or view points.

 

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