1. Based on the articles you read about neuroscience, what methods do researchers use in their studies to measure activity in the brain? Give an example from one of the articles. What did you learn that you didn’t know before reading the articles? What activity do some scientists consider to be as dangerous as texting while driving, and why? Has your own framing on multi-tasking changed after watching “From One Second to the Next”? If so, how? If not, why not?
2. Describe some of the cultural differences between the country from which Monsieur Lazhar immigrated (Algeria) and the country to which he immigrated (Canada) in Monsieur Lazhar. How did those differences affect communication between teacher and student? Parents and teachers? What role did culture play in embracing or avoiding difficult conversations? Cite specific scenes, situations, or dialogue, or anything you saw or heard in the movie that support your answer.
3. What’s the connection between how the grandmother Coco resolves the mystery of Miguel’s torn family photograph (in Coco) and the nursing home residents profiled in Alive Inside? How do they gain access to their memories? What is happening on a neurological level that enables this to happen? What did you learn about how your own brain works from reading the neuroscience articles and watching “From One Second to the Next” and Alive Inside? What did you learn about how your own brain assesses “the other” (those who are culturally different from you) in this class? How do you think this insight will influence you in the future?
4. Choose three individuals profiled in Far From the Tree. For each individual that you choose:
First, describe the defining characteristic that makes him/her different from others. You don’t need to remember their names (I don’t); you can write something like, “the young man with Downs Syndrome living in a group home whose mother often visits him” so I’ll know who you’re talking about.
Next, consider the discussions we’ve had in class and what the textbook explains about Cultural Identity (both self-identification and identification by others, or society at large).
Then, based on what you observed in the movie, describe how you think he/she self-identifies. Cite specific scenes, situations, or dialogue that support your answer. Describe how you think society identifies him/her. Cite specific scenes, situations, or dialogue, or anything you saw or heard in the movie that support your answer.
Finally, did your own perception of people in this cultural group change after watching the movie? Why or why not?
