Re: Intergenerational Transmission -- Not

[Erez Miller <dr_erez@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

A quick idea that's worth trying. It's less "academic" than what my esteemed
colleagues have offered, but from my experience, sometimes these kind of
experiences are the most powerful and clear for students, esp. BA students.
It can be used as a story, as a metaphor (using drawings on the overhead),
etc. - whatever works best for you.

Present the idea of a group of plants in a wind-swept meadow. All of the
plants in the group grow bent, with small leaves etc. (here's where your
imagination can run wild).
one of these plants, who also suffered from the wind, grew near a rock (from
resilience theory, the one person/adult who believed or supported the
child). The rock provided it with some shelter from wind. All the other
plants, when they grew up, dropped their seeds to the ground. Their children
plants also grew in the same wind-swept meadow... But the partially
sheltered plant decided that s/he wanted her children to grow in a better
place, where they would not suffer from the wind any more. So s/he waited
for a strong gust of wind, and with all of her might she thru the seeds into
the air, where they were carried to brightly lit, wind-protected meadows.
All of the children plants remembered where they came from...

Have fun :-)
Erez Miller, Ph.D.
Achva Academic College, Israel

Sharon Carnahan wrote:

> I am lecturing this week in Developmental Psychology class about child
> abuse.  I am having trouble getting the concept of intergenerational
> trasmission across to my class.  They can't seem to get the idea that
> while many adults who abuse children were themselves abused, many abused
> children grow up to be successful parents without abusing their
> children.
>
> Can anyone recommend an effective tool, set of questions, classroom or
> workshop exercise, or concise set of numbers, to help my students get
> this?
>
> (Not sure all that many of us professionals get it either, come to think
> of it!)
>
> Thanks
>
> Sharon Carnahan, Ph.D.
> Rollins College