What would the Total Behavior of Black-eyeing look like?

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As a Choice Theory instructor of elementary students, it is beneficial for me to share personal examples of Choice Theory concepts. Following is one that I am (unfortunately) now sharing with my social skill groups.

(exerpt from Choices Activity News, Week of January 10, 2005)

A personal experience has allowed another example of Total Behavior for our students. Over the break, on New Year's Eve day, Brad Baker (an educator from another district elementary school) called to say the group would be playing at 12:00. It was 10:45 and, as I was heading to Toppenish anyway to workout, I said, "Hey, what the heck, 'might as.'" I played 3 1/2 games. During the 2nd game, I went up for a rebound with a teammate. As he was coming down with the ball, he forcefully brought his elbows down. Unfortunately, I was grounded way ahead of him (Recall how we Yakamas remain close to the earth!) and my eye was directly in the path of his elbow. I've never been struck that hard in the eye before. My first thoughts--"My eyeball has busted." "Oh, oh, detached retina." "Fractured eye sockets for Lebron and me." "Har, matey!" Immediately, I went out of the gym and put snow on the eye to limit the swelling. I sat out the last half of that game and played in the next one. My heart wasn't in it--it hurt to run, my vision was blurry. (Hey, that's almost normal!) In short, there were other places I would rather have been. As I had no where to really go for New Year's Eve, the eye allowed an excuse to hang home and watch videos. In the back of my mind (Thinking) was the situation of explaining a shiner to other people. What would my friends at church think? What would the children at school think? What would you think?

TOTAL BEHAVIOR--Black-eyeing

Physiology--a black eye. Soreness, tightness in the skin, blurry vision, tearing-up.

Feeling--embarrassment, disappointment, regret.

Thinking--"I look like I got punched-out." "I look funny." "I don't feel like going back to school on Monday," "The bruising is temporary." "Good thing I'm brown!" "I could just tell others that I am exploring my Maouri roots and that it is the beginning of a facial tatoo." "Just tell them exactly what happened." "Tell them, 'I had to deal with two Ninjas on New Year's Eve. Yeah, they got me, but that one will sure remember me!'"

Acting--Joking about the shiner, rub the heck out of the bruised area, volunteer the information to curious students and adults, go in for my annual eye exam this month.

-- Ted Donato (tdonato@toppenish.wednet.edu), January 04, 2005


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