World Geography
Colonialville Middle School:
A Tale of Two Students
Jimmy and Marvin were both born in 2000 in the town of Colonialville, CT. They both live in the same neighborhood and they both attended the same elementary school. They are also both males with brown hair and brown eyes. Outside of these few similarities, they are very different individuals.
Jimmy loves football. He has been playing football since he was old enough to walk. He does not understand why anyone would chose to play a sport other than football in the fall. Jimmy loves being part of a team and he thinks that football makes people stronger – both mentally and physically. He also loves comedy movies, and finds fart jokes to be utterly hilarious. One of Jimmy’s favorite things to do in school is make fart noises to gross out his classmates. Jimmy likes school, but he does not put very much effort into his work. He knows that one day he will be a professional football player and he does not see how writing ATIC responses will improve his “game”.
Marvin runs cross country. He started running in 3rd grade with his older brother. He is now a member of the Colonialville Middle School cross country team. He likes setting personal goals for himself and he enjoys the quiet act of running through the woods during meets and practice. Marvin’s favorite movies are mysteries. He likes trying to solve crimes using the clues presented in films. He likes movies that make him think. Marvin thinks most comedies (and especially ones that feature fart jokes) are stupid. Marvin is a strong student who takes his academic work very seriously. He hopes to attend Harvard University one day.
Marvin and Jimmy have been in the same classes since kindergarten, but they almost never speak to one another. Through the years they have come to an understanding that they do not have much in common and therefore neither of them see a need to interact with each other. Jimmy has shared with his friends that he thinks Marvin is a “weirdo” and a “nerd” and Marvin has told his friends that he thinks that Jimmy is a “dumb jock.” They have never gotten into a verbal argument or a physical fight. They both simply choose to ignore each other.
At the beginning of their 8th grade year, Jimmy and Marvin learn that they have once again been placed on the same team. Neither of the boys is upset by this fact; they plan on continuing to ignore each other as they have in the past. Their plan works well until the second week of school when Mrs. Hammerhands, the boys’ language arts teacher, proposes a new “play writing” project. Mrs. Hammerhands described the project to the class saying, “You will be divided into pairs. Each pair of students will be responsible for working together to write a 3 act play. The play can be on any subject you choose.” Jimmy was not happy about the project (he hates writing…and plays) but he was happy that he gets to work with a partner. As he looked around the room for potential partners, Mrs. Hammerhands announced that she would pick the partners for this project – no exceptions.
As you probably guessed, Marvin and Jimmy were told that they would be working together. Both boys were mortified. After class Marvin approached Mrs. Hammerhands and explained why he could not work with Jimmy. He told her that the two boys have nothing in common and that they have never really been friendly. Mrs. Hammerhands listened and told Marvin that she thought the boys would be able to “work out their differences.” After hearing about his partner for the play writing project, Jimmy’s mom emailed Mrs. Hammerhands and wrote that she did not think that Jimmy should work with Marvin because they have never really gotten along. Mrs. Hammerhands read the email, but decided to keep the boys partnered together.
The first day of working together was a complete disaster. The boys were told to pick a subject for their play. Marvin suggested that they write a mystery and Jimmy thinks they should write a comedy. Marvin wanted to compose a play that would enable the audience to learn, while Jimmy wanted to write a play that would make the audience laugh. They spent most of the class arguing over which would be the better type of play, but never came to an agreement. When the 52 minute class ended, the boys did not have a subject for the play. Again, they asked Mrs. Hammerhands for new partners. Jimmy even said that he would be willing to work alone, but Mrs. Hammerhands told the boys that she wanted them to work together.
That night both boys wrote their own version of the first act of the play. Jimmy’s script was about a football player who told lots of fart jokes, while Marvin’s script was about a cross country star who solved mysteries. They tried to merge the two plays but they could not agree on any aspect of the play. During the next three days of language arts, the situation got progressively worse for the boys. After talking about it calmly, the boys were unable to come to an agreement. As the week went on, Jimmy and Marvin began to argue constantly. Both boys started to post nasty comments about each other on their facebook pages. At the end of the week, the tension between Marvin and Jimmy had reached a boiling point. While working on the play the two boys began arguing once again. Soon their verbal confrontation erupted into a fist fight. Both boys ended up failing the project and spending a week in “in-school suspension.”
Name: World Geography
Date:
Core:
A Tale of Two Students: Reflections…
Directions: After reading “Colonialville Middle School: A Tale of Two Students”, answer the following questions.
1. Why was it so difficult for the boys to work together? ______
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2. Did the boys make any attempt to get along with each other? Explain.______
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3. Did the boys try and resolve the issue peacefully before it erupted into violence? Explain. ____
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4. Do you think Jimmy and Marvin would have fought each other if Mrs. Hammerhands had not required them to work together on the play writing project? ______
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5. Do you think Mrs. Hammerhands should share any of the blame in this conflict? Why or why not? ______
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6. Explain how the events in this story are similar to the events that have taken place in Africa as a result of European Colonialism. ______
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