Perceptions

October4, 2007
Perceived World

What do you picture when I say the word bread? I would be willing to bet some of you, depending on your age, thought of homemade bread just out of the oven, while others thought of money. I have to admit, I'm one who thought of homemade bread, because one of my best childhood memories is of Saturday mornings when my mom would make 5 loaves of bread and the smell of baking bread would permeate every part of the house...it was wonderful! My quality world picture played a big part in my perception of that word.

We talked to students about their perceived world and how perceptions effect their behaviors both positively and negatively. Imagine being called "fat" Most of us wouldn't like it, however in today's slang, "phat" is a good thing and most teens wouldn't thing anything of it. Other words that we used were rap/wrap; beetle; plane/plain. With each of these words there is a positive, negative or neutral connotation depending on your perceptions.

This led us then to a discussion about perceptions at school. If someone bumps into you in the crowded hallway, do you think it was an accident or do you think someone is picking on you? Was it a friend just trying to get your attention or was it done to make you angry? Your perceptions of what happened will have an affect on the behavior you choose. If you look around and see your friends, you are likely to shrug it off and forget it because those people are part of your quality world. If however, you see someone that has picked on you in the past you might just haul off and shove them as hard as you can. Our perceptions of the actions that happen to us play a very important part in our total behavior.

It was interesting tow watch student faces as this started to sink in. I asked my students if we all sometimes jump to conclusions and respond without really thinking about it. They agreed that we do and that this sometimes causes more problems than it is worth. I left them with these questions to ponder...How could you have done things differently? What will you do the next time someone bumps into you ?

The students are starting to really understand Choice Theory. The G/T kids are doing blogs for my literature class. Vicki and I respond to their posts, for the most part with Choice Theory questions that get them thinking beyond just retelling the story. It is great to read their insights into character motivation in terms of need satisfaction and perceived world pictures. I've even had students ask me about characters behavior in terms of need satisfaction. It is fun and rewarding to note that some are really getting it. Others get it a bit and most can tell you what need they are trying to satisfy most of the time which is definitely a step towards more responsible behavior.