Diagnosis Of “A Native American Elder
Diagnosis Of “A Native American Elder
In American Indian education, elders “are repositories of cultural and philosophical knowledge and are the transmitters of such information” within each tribe. [1] These include “basic beliefs and teachings that encourage…faith in the Great Spirit, the Creator.” [2] “The fact acknowledged in most Indian societies: Certain individuals are recognized by Indian communities as the ultimately qualified reservoirs of aboriginal skills by virtue of qualifications and knowledge.” [3] The role of elder is present both inside and outside of classrooms, conferences, ceremonies, and homes.
According to a study of the role in a specific tribe, the following definition:
A reference point: those people who have earned the respect of their own community and are regarded as elders in their own society…
We have abused the role of elder due to our ignorance and failure to recognize that not all elders are spiritual leaders, and not all elderly people are elders.
[4] Roderick Mark (1985)
The following definition from a curriculum guide outlines one learning context:
The elder: Not all people who are older or elderly are considered elders.
An elder is a person who has accumulated a great deal of wisdom and knowledge throughout his or her lifetime, particularly in the group’s traditions and customs.
Elders stress the importance of listening rather than asking WHY.
In the Cree language, there is no word for “why.”
A student must sit quietly and patiently while the elder imparts his wisdom.
Listening is regarded as extremely important.
Questions were discouraged.
It was considered impolite to ask questions.
Clarification of a specific point or comments was deemed acceptable.
Students were also encouraged to observe and listen to what was going on around them.
With enough patience and time, the learner would eventually find the answer.
When this happened, he was truly learning on his own.
(Tipahaskan 1986:104-5)
— Sacred Circle Project, Edmonton, grade 3 curriculum guide “Lifestyles in Culturally Distinctive Communities”[5]
The “specialization” of elders’ knowledge demonstrates the importance of context: “The elders’ skills are activated in contextual situations to meet specific needs.”
[3]
In addition, there is a need for preparation in classroom settings: “‘Those in charge of hiring older Indians as resource people make the mistake of simply placing them in a classroom with young children.
The elders want to tell stories like they used to, but the children are either too impatient or do not understand.’”
[6]
The following quote emphasizes the significance of context and preparation: “Recent work with the Menominee, for example, revealed that eye contact between an elder teacher and a child was required for informal teaching to take place, and any disruption on the part of the child was challenged (Medicine, unpublished field notes 1987).
Similarly, I’ve heard Lakota (Sioux) parents say to their children and grandchildren, ‘Look me in the eyes!’”
[7]
Elders may be given a weak political position.
[8]
Elders may be treated as tokens at conferences, only appearing at the start and end to lead ceremonies.
Elders in classrooms may be unpaid or underpaid.
[6]
To prepare:
- Review this week’s Learning Resources.
- Focus on pages 106-134 of Abnormal Psychology.
The assignment: (1–2 pages)
- Construct a diagnosis for the case “Depression in a Native American Elder” or someone from an ethnic minority described in Chapter 1 “Abnormal Psychology: Overview and Research Approaches” of your text.
- Be sure to fully justify the diagnosis with appropriate references to the Learning Resources, and include necessary descriptors.
- Explain any additional information that might be significant to the assessment, treatment, and welfare of this client.ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASSDiscussion Questions (DQ)
- Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words.
- Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source.
- One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words.
- I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.
Weekly Participation
- Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately.
- In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies.
- Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work).
- Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week.
APA Format and Writing Quality
- Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required).
- Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation.
- I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.
Use of Direct Quotes
- I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly.
- As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content.
- It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source.
LopesWrite Policy
- For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me.
- Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes.
- Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own?
- Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.
Late Policy
- The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.
- Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.
- If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.
- I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.
- As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.
Communication
- Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me:
- Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.
- Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.
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