| Description: | Gov. Jan Brewer of Arizona signed the nation’s toughest bill on illegal immigration into law on Friday. Its aim is to identify, prosecute and deport illegal immigrants. The move unleashed immediate protests and reignited the divisive battle over immigration reform nationally. Technology High School will host a virtual panel discussion about this issue on Friday, June 4, 2010 from 8:30 am – 9:30 am EST. We are looking for students from several schools to participate as panel members during this video conference. We are hoping to hear from students that agree and students that disagree with this bill. Panel Discussion A panel consists of a small group of six or eight persons, who carry on a guided and informal discussion before an audience as if the panel were meeting alone. The proceedings of the panel should be the same as those described for informal discussion: volunteering of facts, asking questions, stating opinions-all expressed with geniality, with respect for the contributions of other members, without speech making, and without making invidious personal references. This primary function should occupy approximately two-thirds of the allotted time-say forty minutes of an hour’s meeting. The secondary function of the panel is to answer questions from the audience. The audience listens and is given a chance to ask questions, but for the most part is passive and receptive. Panel discussions provide sufficiently varied clash of opinion and presentation of facts to give even the quiet members of the audience a feeling of vicarious participation. Quality and tasks of leadership in panel discussion are similar to those described for informal discussion. Teachers must take special care to select panel members who can think and speak effectively. Students must prepare themselves to discuss the subject. During the discussion by the panel the leader has substantially the same duties as in informal discussion except that he should keep himself more in the background as chairman of the panel. He can do so because each member of the panel is in reality an assistant to the leader and is responsible for specific contributions to the proceedings. When the subject is thrown open to the house, it is the leader’s job to recognize appropriate questions and to reject those not bearing on the subject or involving personalities. Some questions he may answer himself, but usually he should repeat the question and call upon one of the panel to answer it. By preliminary announcement the leader may also tell the audience that they may direct questions at particular members of the panel if they choose. In any case, during the question period the leader needs to maintain strict control. On many occasions this may be the toughest part of his assignment to carry off efficiently and with good humor. While it is customary to confine audience questions to a specific period, some leaders permit questions from the floor at any time. The members should face the audience. It is important that each panel member adjust his chair so that he can see every other member without effort the chairman will also find that the best places for his readiest speakers are at the extreme ends of the table. He should keep the more reticent members close to, him so that he can readily draw them out with direct questions. If the quieter ones sit on the fringes of the panel, the more voluble members are quite likely to monopolize the discussion. |
| Dates: | June 4, 2010 from 8:30 am EST- 9:30 am EST |
| Sign up method: | Website https://spreadsheets2.google.com/viewform?formkey=dGRzdG83Zm03RUJPNVo2ZVh0ekZqanc6MA |
| Grades: | 9, 10, 11, 12 |
| Subjects: | Career Education, Fine Arts, Health, Industrial Technology, Language Arts/English, Performing Arts, Physical Education, Science (Physical), Social Studies/History, Special Education, Technology/Information Science, World Language |
Maria I Markatos
973 497 5715
Technology High School
