Students then share their responses. Encourage students to share personal stories that they may have about situations in which levity of spirit helped one heal physically. In a roundtable discussion format, debate some of Patch Adams remarks in the interview with The Times, as well as other quotations from the article. Students interview a doctor or other health care professional. Students should use the quotations from the featured article that were discussed in class as a basis for the interview, asking the interviewee about the spiritual side of healing, the economics behind obtaining health care in America, and Patch Adams view that laughter can cure.
Students then create a written transcript of the interview and share the results with the class.
Students will be evaluated based on written journal responses, participation in classroom discussion and roundtable debate of the featured article, and written transcript of an interview with a doctor or other health care professional. Analyze Adams message and how he presents his points. Interview an adult about his or her views about health care. If the relationship with the interviewee is a personal one, ask him or her to share stories about their experiences with health care. Write a persuasive essay supporting or refuting one of the quotations from the article discussed in class.