A Wordless Wild Cadence

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College

The bronze serpent: abuse, trauma and the lifted healer in the wilderness.

Many Christian groups and churches have been forced to recognize that they have been complicit in behaviour which has betrayed the gospel. How then is the church to address the historical reality of being an abusive healer? The image of the bronze serpent (Num. 21.4-9; 2 Kgs 18.4; Jn 3.14) offers an ambiguous image which may reveal the reality of the church as both a source of abuse and trauma as well as an instrument of healing within a pattern of restorative justice

Assessment of Pre-Service Teacher Dispositions

Measurement of pre-service teacher dispositions is an important part of teacher preparation programs. A strong correlation exists between dispositions of teachers and the quality of their student’s learning. Teachers, in addition to sharing content knowledge, are responsible for demonstrating and sharing core values relating to virtues such as honesty, justice, fairness, care, empathy, integrity, courage, respect, and responsibility, and these values must guide their own conduct and interpersonal relations. As teachers serve pupils who are minors, their conduct and potential to serve effectively and ethically in the profession must be evaluated. However, a thorough faculty-led instrument to assess pre-service teacher candidates’ disposition does not currently exist. The purpose of this research was to develop an assessment of pre-service teachers’ dispositions for use in teacher education programs. A 25-item instrument was created through assessment of teacher education program needs and review of best practices on building teacher evaluation instruments, national professional teaching standards, and existing assessment tools. Teacher education faculty completed the instrument assessing roughly 600 students in a masters-level teacher education program. Results indicate that this instrument is a valid and reliable tool that will allow teacher education faculty and administrators to assess teacher candidate professional skills and conduct

Research: The Upsides of Disclosing Your Religion, Sexual Orientation, or Parental Status at Work

Many important aspects of your identity are not immediately visible to those around you. When it comes to your religion, sexual orientation, or parental status, how should you approach the decision of whether — and how — to disclose your identity to your colleagues? In this piece, the authors discuss the potential benefits of revealing your most authentic self in the workplace, as well as some of the ways in which certain organizations can be less supportive of these kinds of disclosures. Ultimately, there are no one-size-fits-all solutions: Each employee must make their own determination as to whether the advantages of disclosing their various identities outweigh the risks in their specific environment

Inbetweening Beings: An Ecology of Relational Animation

My research uses animation to examine ecology in the Anthropocene, through an immersive installation. Experimenting with the formal process of frame-by-frame filmmaking, installation, and the materiality of landscape, I observe, reflect, and project an array of related living systems, asking where and how humans fit in. Referencing specific ecologies and locations, the assemblage relates human and more- than-human life through moving increments. Using illusion and analogy, I invite reflection, complication, and implication. My installation of relational animation focuses on urban and human-disturbed landscapes, suggesting a distinctly anthropogenic “nature” – jumbled, entangled, polluted, and resilient

Street Children: A Focus on Dominican Republic (Research Report)

Over 150 million children are living in the streets across the world today (UNICEF, 2006). The Dominican Republic which is case in point is one of the many countries where children’s rights are not being protected, and the public welfare of children is not a priority, particularly in the case of street children, thereby increasing children’s encounter with challenges and exposure to risks. The lack of sufficient data creates a conundrum reflecting how bad this situation currently is, but growing concerns have proven how detrimental the challenge is to both children and the future of the country. Despite these alarming global statistics and deteriorating situations, this problem is still a fairly uncharted territory; this challenge leaves policymakers, governance systems, and communities both responsible and at risk as street children are as vulnerable as they are a threat. This study attempts to assess the current challenges associated with street children in the Dominican Republic, the working plans that are already addressing this challenge, and the areas needed for intervention.https://spiral.lynn.edu/no_existe-dr/1000/thumbnail.jp

Street Children: A Focus on Dominican Republic (The Visual Map)

This study attempts to assess the current challenges associated with street children in the Dominican Republic, the working plans that are already addressing this challenge, and the areas needed for intervention.https://spiral.lynn.edu/no_existe-dr/1001/thumbnail.jp