Welcome
to Death and Dying I, a Bachelors Level course in the curriculum
for the Degree, Bachelors in Grief Counseling and Bereavement
Education. I'm pleased to offer you this course, which will
be a foundational course for the remainder of your studies
in the bachelor program. This is an exciting course. Death,
dying and bereavement are fundamental and Pervasive aspects
of the human experience. Individuals and societies can only
achieve fullness of living by understanding and appreciating
these realities. The absence of such understanding and appreciation
may result in unnecessary suffering, loss of dignity, alienation,
and diminished quality of living. Therefore, education about
death, dying, and bereavement is an essential component of
the educational process at all levels formal and informal.
This is a 4-semester
hour course. This course is allotted 15 weeks of time. You
must complete all of the requirements for the course successfully
by the end of the 15-week period. The first day of week one
will begin the day that you register for the course, or the
day which you notify me that your text book(s) have arrived
and you are ready to begin your studies. Please be cognizant
of the time frame. It is rare that extensions of time are
permitted, unless you have good justification. Upon successful
completion of this course, you will be awarded 4 semester
hours of credit.
There is one
(1) required textbook for this course.
Book 1: Death & Dying Life & Living. 4th Edition.
Charles A. A. Corr, Clyde M. Nabe, Donna M. Corr, M. Corr,.Clyde
M. Nabe: 1999. ISBN # 534576605.
This course is comprised of a mid-term exam and a final exam. The mid-term exam must be taken by the last day of week 7. The final exam must be taken by the last day of week 15. You will have three days to complete the mid-term and three days to complete the final, which will commence once you access it from the classroom.
The mid-term examination covers material found in modules 1 through 11.
The final examination covers material found in modules 12 through 20.
Both the mid-term and final are programmed and are located in the classroom for this course. They are both open book and objective type exams. To access the exam you must send me an e-mail and state that you are ready to start the exam. Upon registration, you will be provided with my e-mail address. I will then program your access and e-mail you back that you are now authorized to take the exam. To access, you will come into the classroom, click on testing, and click on the exam you are going to take. You will need your User I.D. and Password to access the exam. The exam will appear on your screen. Once again, upon access you will have three days to submit your answers. The program provides me with the exact date and time that you accessed the exam, as well as the exact date and time that you submitted your answers. Thus, the program is timing you. When you are ready, go back into the classroom and click in your responses and then click submit. Shortly thereafter, you will receive the exam in your e-mail box with your computed score. You will also know what questions, if any, that you missed, as well as the corresponding correct answer for each missed question.
The grading scale
for this course is as follows:
90-100% = A
80-89% = B
70-79% = C
Below 70% = Fail
TWO MINI PROJECTS 20%
MID-TERM 40%
FINAL 40%
TOTAL 100%
You are to
write two mini-projects, each 1-2 pages in length, on the
following subjects:
1). Deathbed Fantasy.
2). Funeral Plans.
You are
encouraged to communicate with me. I am available as a teacher,
coach, and mentor to assist you in meeting your goals for
this course. Primarily, communication is through email. However,
I am also available for conversation by telephone if you would
like. Our classroom for this course has a "chat"
room. I am also very willing to meet with you one-on-one in
the chat room at your request. From time to time, depending
on how many students are enrolled in this course at a particular
time, we will have some scheduled group chats. You will receive
more detailed information at the time such chat sessions are
scheduled. Please keep my email address handy so that you
can contact me whenever necessary. Upon registration, you
will receive my email address. If at any time during this
course you change your email address, please be sure to notify
me right away.
The aim of education
about death, dying, and bereavement is to contribute to general
education as a basis for personal development and responsible
social participation. It must also contribute to the specific
education of those who, as a result of personal or professional
circumstances, are closely associated with death, dying and
bereavement.
Readings from
textbook, professional books and journals. Self-awareness/exploration
activities.
It
is permissible for you to accelerate in this course. There
is NO mandate to accelerate. This is an individual choice
that I will honor.
Upon
completion of this course, you will be able to:
1). Discuss the topic of death, thereby opening up previously
avoided lines of communication with family and friends.
2). Understand encounters, attitudes and cultural issues related
to death.
3). Understand how to cope with the dying.
4). Learn to cope with grief and loss.
5). Understand funeral practices and other memorial rituals.
6). Understand the life span of grief.
7). Understand the legal issues of euthanasia, suicide and
life threatening behaviors, and the meaning and place of death
in life.
8). Use your just learned beginning skills to understand and
communicate with terminally ill and bereaved people.
9). Explain common reactions to loss and suggestions for coping
with it.
10). Know the factors that contribute to the intensity of
grief reactions.
11). Become more motivated to live now, take risks, and accomplish
life's goals.
12). Understand HIV infection and AIDS.
1). Learning about Death, Dying and Bereavement.
2). Death.
3). Dying.
4). Bereavement.
5). Life Cycle Perspectives.
6). Legal, Conceptual, and Moral Issues.
7). New Challenges and Opportunities.
If you have any questions regarding this program, you may contact the instructor at
kenigstein@aol.com.