Assignment based on Genie, The Wild Child Research or Exploitation?

You are going to get yourself into groups of four. When organizing your groups, make sure to pick people that you have never worked with before. As a group you are going to answer 3 or more of the following questions based on what we have studied up until this point about socialization and feral children.

Questions for Discussion

1. Was there an inherent conflict between the goals of research and Genie's need to receive treatment and care? Did harm come out of the researchers' good intentions?
2. What, if anything, could have been done differently so that both science and the stability and welfare of Genie could have been served?
3. Have you ever tried to communicate with someone who could not speak English and whose language you could not speak? How did you establish communication? Could you figure out patterns of words in the other language that you could use to make the interaction work? What was the most rewarding part? The most frustrating?
4. Did you ever invent a language or secret form of communication with a friend? Did you use words or hand motions or both? How did you put different words and signals together to make sentences? Could anyone outside your group decode your language?
5. Have you studied a foreign language? What is the difference between studying the language in the classroom and actually speaking with someone on the phone or on the street?
6. Does your family include younger children? Have you watched them learn to speak? How did they learn language?
7. What common "first sounds" do babies make? How do family members help babies learn to speak? How do family members interact verbally with babies?
8. When a family incorporates a new member-foster child, adopted child, relative, newborn baby, other-changes are felt by all persons. What sorts of changes might the Rigler's children have experienced with Genie in the house?
9. Do you think the Riglers fully considered how caring for Genie might affect the family? How did they define their role in caring for Genie?
10. Were the motives of Susan Curtiss different from those of the Riglers? If so, in what ways?
11. What happened to Genie when the Rigler's grant ran out? How do you think this affected Genie?
12. How significant a role did money play in what happened to Genie?
13. What options besides living in a group home might have been explored for Genie when she left the Rigler's home?
14. Who should give consent for experiments that are carried out on those, like Genie, who cannot give truly informed consent? Who should specifically be prevented from giving consent for such individuals?

Your responses will be presented as a mash - up video. Your video is going to tell a story. You are to include pictures, naratives, captions, and music. Remember to be CREATIVE!

Here are the basic steps:

 

1.     Create the slides you want in Powerpoint.

2.    Save the slides as .jpg files  (Save as)

3.    Open Microsoft Photostory 3  (a free download from Microsoft)

4.    Import in the pictures to the program.

5.    Add music or transitions.

6.    Export in the movie format you wish!

If you like Movie Maker better, you can drag the .jpg Powerpoint slides into Movie Maker and use it that way.

Once you have completed your video, please post it below under the comments section with the names of the people in your group. Your video is to be posted no later than Monday, December 5th.