Essential Question: How Can I Create the Kind of Family I Want?

Essential Question: How can I create the kind of family I want?

Assessment: Family Mission Statement

Instructional Procedures:

1. The idea of family mission statement was introduced, or at least made more well known, by Stephen Covey, a person who is well respected in the world of planning and being effective. Some People of the Pacific classrooms may even be emphasizing his “7 habits of highly effective people” or his son’s book, “7 habits of highly effective teens.”

2. Some students may feel they are too young to start discussing families or that this is something that is just coming from adults that does not pertain to them but hopefully through discussions about the importance of families in Pacific Islander cultures, as well as goal setting, there is an understanding as to why such discussions should take place early and often.

If the teacher or students need more understanding about why it is important to talk about families early on, the following website makes interesting arguments as to why discussing families early on is so important. A teacher may want to use the points in this article to help the discussion or lecture about why such discussions are so important early on. (A note of caution: Some students may struggle reading right from the website because it is called “the art of manliness” and is geared toward men. Also, at times, the website may take on a “Christian feel” at times, and some communities may be hyper-sensitive to that aspect of the website though it is not associated with any religious organization which offers another reason for introducing the concept outside of the website but every teacher and classroom knows what is best for their students. http://www.artofmanliness.com/2013/08/21/creating-a-family-culture-how-and- why-to-create-a-family-mission-statement/

3. The process for writing a family mission statement is also found directly on the website and can be modified or written straight from the website depending on teacher and student preferences.

4. Other examples of family mission statements can be found on Pinterest and/or Google Images.

5. Have students write a family mission statement and share with family.

Lesson Extension

The lesson can stand on its own at this time or in some classes, the teacher may want to introduce different views of parenting by reading and discussing the article “ Spare the rod and spoil the child: Samoan perspectives on responsible parenting.” This is a research article that is published for educators, social workers, and policy makers in New Zealand but it is reader friendly and discusses the issue of physical discipline from a more distanced perspective. Great care should be used in using this article and discussing it in class. It is highly recommended that teachers communicate with parents ahead of time that they will be using this article may bring up difficult emotions for some of the students in the class. Feel free to substitute the article for any discussion or different article and even topic, if it is in the best interest of the class. However, the author of this lesson believes that this article gives a nuanced view of why physical discipline may be viewed as a show of caring by some Pacific Islander families while distancing the topic a little by using an article that focuses on New Zealand instead of local communities).

This lesson can also be about different writing styles by having students read how a newspaper addresses these issues. After reading and discussing the article, it may be beneficial to have the students analyze the scholarly aspect of the article as compared to how a newspaper article may deal with similar issues. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/29/nyregion/cultural-divide-over- parental-discipline.html Once again the author of this lesson uses a group that has some connections to Pacific Islanders but that is distanced a bit from the target audience of this lesson.

Teacher Notes:

A. It may help students to understand the importance of this lesson, and its nuances, by explaining that this essential question lesson as well as other essential questions in this course were initially suggested by elders in the Pacific Islander community.

B. The author of this article wishes to once again stress that this lesson can be done effectively without using the articles on physical punishment. Physical punishment is a reality in some Pacific Islander families and without careful discussion and parent input, it might put students in difficult situations as situations that they themselves face in their families are discussed. Should the teacher choose to continue with a discussion and/or readings about physical discipline, discussions with parents and school administration is paramount so that all parties may be aware of such discussions and be able to address reactions with knowledge and understanding of the lesson and be able to counsel students and parents towards professionals in this area. Students should also be warned to be thoughtful about their reactions and discussions regarding these issues.