--- Jim Lyons <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Here's a suggestion for another thread:  What will we tell groups of
> school kids and others who ask us why the Americans stood by and did
> nothing to stop the looting and vandalism?  I don't have the answer.

I think you can turn it back on the kids and ask, "Did the Americans stand back
and do nothing?" To me, this is a very complex issue and again, one that we
probably don't have all the facts for - not to mention the fact that the media
can paint a very different picture from what actually happened.

Asking the children what they think happened can open up a valuable dialogue of
perceptions and the media and perceptions in general. You can talk about what
it might have been like for different people at the scene and what they might
have thought at the time.

Perception examples:

Soldiers - The area isn't secure and there isn't enough of us so let's hold our
position until we receive further orders. - OR - People are looting the
bank/hospital/school over there and we have orders to guard that, not the
museum.

Museum personnel - There are soldiers outside and they aren't doing anything.
Why aren't they helping us?

This can be expanded into an art lesson on perception and perspective as well.
Artists can depict different aspects of an object or scene just like people
will have different perceptions on what happened because of where they were or
their viewpoints at the time.

Deb


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