Understanding the importance of extended definitions, and cultivating a working knowledge of how to introduce them in your classroom




As a class, we are going to work through some of the steps outlined in “The Dynamics of
Writing Instruction” to create an extended definition of the term altruism.
By working through this, we are placing ourselves in the shoes of our students, and in doing so we are gaining a better understanding of the concept.
Also, keep this question in mind throughout the activity: Are educators/teachers altruistic?



So, what do we want to define altruism as?
Altruism:

WIKIPEDIA

Altruism “consists of sacrificing something of someone other than the self (time, energy, possessions) with no expectation of any compensation or benefits, either direct or indirect (such as for recognition).
MERRIAM-WEBSTER

Altruism: unselfish regard for or devotion to the welfare of others

2: behavior by an animal that is not beneficial to or may be harmful to itself but that benefits others of its species


Are we including animals in our definition of altruism, or are we limiting it to humans? (the devil’s advocate asks: are humans not animals?) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYZQbZ1j
K58





Why is defining a term and its applied usage important?
What can happen if we don’t define our term properly?
Why might teaching students to write expanded definitions be important?
After seeing the cute doggy get ruthlessly run over by the heartless car-driver and another cute doggy come rescue it, do we want to make any changes to our definition?



Our current working definition of altruism
Altruism:



The next step in teaching students how to write extended definitions is to introduce a couple of examples for the students to decide whether or not the said examples fit their working definition.
Next, we as a class must decide if the following examples fit our definition of altruism. Keep in mind your justifications as to why or why not.
If no one volunteers their justifications, I will volunteer your justifications for you.



A woman is going for a jog through her neighborhood early one morning. As she is rounding a corner, she hears the petrified screams of what she assumes to be a small child. There is smoke in the air. Her heart starts beating faster, and instinct starts to take over. As she gets closer to the smoke she sees a man shaking and crying uncontrollably. It turns out that as he was burning leaves in his yard, his adored house-cat
“Snookie-Poo” escaped and climbed a telephone pole.
Without hesitation, the woman climbs the telephone pole, grabs Snookie-Poo, and returns the cat to its shaken owner. She then continues on her jog without giving her name to the man overcome by a newly found sense of joy.
Was her action altruistic?



Dr. Jerkface develops a wonder-drug that cures cancer. He is an incredibly wealthy and intelligent man. Developing and producing the drug only costs him 500k. He decides that rather than charge for the drug he will give it away for free for two years to anyone who demonstrates a need. He knows that he is being considered for the Nobel Peace Prize before declaring that he will release the new pill for free.
Is his action altruistic?



A woman inherits a large sum of money when her grandmother dies. It is more money than she knows what to do with. She and her offspring will be able to live comfortably for life so she decides to donate the rest to charity.
Her accountant later informs her that her donation is tax deductable. She then writes off her donation in her taxes and drops to a lower tax bracket.
Are her actions altruistic?



Take it as fact that Christians are required to do good deeds in their lives as a part of the
Christian experience. The reward for living a
“Christian” life is admittance into heaven
(these statements are true only for the basis of this example—aka: I don’t care what your beliefs are, this is an exercise in logic). A man spends his life performing good deeds and giving alms. He is then allowed to enter heaven.
Were his actions altruistic?





So, now that we have problematized the term, what are your thoughts?
What fits our definition? What doesn’t? What examples makes our definition unclear?
How can this relate to essay writing? Why might our students need their preconceived notions of a term challenged and defamiliarized?
A warrant is a justification of why or why not an example fits the definition of a term. For example…





This example is from Chp 7 that deals with the requirements of a recipient of the Carnegie Hero
Award.
Criterion: The rescuer must risk his or her own life to an extraordinary degree.
Example: Leila did not know how to swim when she jumped into the rapids to save Randy’s life.
WARRANT: Because Leila might have drowned by attempting to rescue Randy, and the rapids made swimming dangerous even for an experienced swimmer, Leila was heroic for jumping into the river.





Example 3 says: “A woman inherits a large sum of money when her grandmother dies. It is more money than she knows what to do with. She and her offspring will be able to live comfortably for life so she decides to donate the rest to charity. Her accountant later informs her that her donation is tax deductable. She then writes off her donation in her taxes and drops to a lower tax bracket.”
So, what should our warrant be?
Definition:
Warrant:





Why are extended definitions important? How can our students benefit from learning to write extended definitions? How might it look when implemented in their writing?
What are your thoughts about extended definitions? Do you feel comfortable using the practice in your classroom?
At the beginning I asked you to keep in mind the question “are teachers/educators altruistic?” What do you think now?
What if I were to problematize this and say…


Let’s pretend for a moment that teachers aren’t just money-hungry over-paid bums who only work for 9 months and spend 3 months rolling around in bathtubs filled with $100 bills.
Instead, they hardly get paid enough to live comfortably (which isn’t selfish because they need it to live, and if they didn’t have it they couldn’t help students). Are teachers being altruistic if they teach to the test to keep their job? What if they say “F-you standardized testing!” and instead teach what they know their students need to be taught?