Guest Post | 10 Ways to Talk to Students About Sensitive Issues in the News Michael Appleton for The New York TimesSybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, the parents of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, who was shot to death by a neighborhood watchman in Sanford, Fla., joined a protest in Union Square on March 21. How do you talk about news stories like this in your classroom or at home? Go to related article » This week it might be the Trayvon Martin shooting, while last week it could have been the “Kony 2012″ viral video, the soldier in Afghanistan accused of massacring women and children, or the outcry over Rush Limbaugh’s criticism of Sandra Fluke: In a “flat” social media world, parents and teachers are no longer the gatekeepers, and news of all kinds reaches children — sometimes even before it gets to adults. How do you talk about difficult or sensitive news stories with young people, whether in your classroom or at your dinner table? What would you add? 10 Ways to Talk to Students About Sensitive Issues in the News By Jinnie Spiegler 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Planning to Change the World: A Plan Book for Social Justice Teachers » Zinn Education Project Planning to Change the World: A Plan Book for Social Justice Teachers is a plan book for educators who believe their students can and will change the world. New editions are produced annually and designed to help teachers translate their vision of a just education into concrete classroom activities. The weekly planning pages feature dates and anniversaries from the history of struggle for justice along with references to online resources you can use to teach about those dates. Visit www.justiceplanbook.com for more information. Reviews “An imaginative and innovative idea in the field of education…I hope it will be widely adopted.” “This book, with its wisdom, inspiration, and resources, could not have come at a better time! “Finally, a plan book that is enlightening, provocative and fun.” “After 18 years in the classroom I have found a planning book that treats teaching as an art form. “Are you planning to change the world? “This book is one of the gifts I give new teachers.”
Turning Current Events Instruction Into Social Justice Teaching Marriage equality, refugees seeking safety in Europe, the Confederate flag, police shootings of black and Latino men, the presidential election, Caitlyn Jenner, ISIS, and immigration are just a few of the news stories that inhabited the headlines this year on our phones, laptops, and newspapers. Unlike 20 years ago when teachers and parents had to intentionally raise current events topics with young people, nowadays students are already part of the conversation. Through their smartphones, social media outlets, and overheard conversations, they know what is happening. And yet, do students really understand the headlines they see? Most educators feel a sense of responsibility to talk with their students about what's going on in society and the world. Whether teachers have a few minutes, one class period, or an entire unit to spend on a current event topic, the opportunity is ripe with learning potential. 1. 2. Most news topics raise controversial issues with different points of view. 3.
The Hate U Give (The Hate U Give, #1) by Angie Thomas ”Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” - Martin Luther King Jr.If you ask me there is no quote that would describe the essence of “The Hate U Give” better than this one. Heaven knows, to speak up for yourself and your beliefs is never easy, but if you don’t do it your voice won’t be heard and things will continue to go on the way they were before. It’s a lesson our heroine Starr learns the hard way and it’s a more than just important lesson as well. ”I always said that if I saw it happen to somebody, I would have the loudest voice, making sure the world knew what went down. Now I am that person, and I’m too afraid to speak.”I could understand Starr’s internal battle and I could relate to her so much. To admit that she’s the witness, to speak up for Khalil and to say what truly happened... well, it takes guts to take that step. Especially because she was smack in the middle of it all.
Digital Literacy and Youth Civic Engagement | Learning for Justice Resources and Readings Erica Hodgin and Joe KahneCivic Engagement Research Group, Graduate School of Education, University of California—Riverside References: Transcript Monita Bell: I recently had to explain to my seven-year-old that sometimes people use the Internet to say mean things about other people, and this was our example. A dear family friend, who was an educator, sent out a tweet encouraging teachers not to use cultural appropriation to teach about Thanksgiving and to teach the truth about this country’s relationship with Native people. Sounds straightforward enough, but it resulted in swift backlash, news headlines and personal insults directed at this educator. My child was concerned for our friend. I’m Monita Bell, your host for The Mind Online, a podcast of Teaching Tolerance, which is a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Thank you for joining me for today’s episode on digital literacy and youth civic engagement. Erica Hodgin: Sure, and thank you for having us.
Teaching Indigenous Histories Through an Authentic Voice | ETFO Voice As a mother and educator, all I seem to think about lately is the legacy we are leaving. What kind of future will our children have? What kind of stories will inspire them to live passionately and change the world? I want them to have a strong sense of environmental stewardship and ecological identity. In her 2009 Ted Talk, The Danger of a Single Story, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie describes the importance of multiple narratives about groups of people. Many moons ago, when I was apartment hunting in university, I stumbled upon a lakefront rental. Elsie Knott’s legacy should be a story we share with our students. Growing up, her family was financially poor, but rich in spirit and determination. In the late 1950’s, Elsie brought education to the children of her community. Elsie is part of a history of Indigenous women many of us don’t know. Researching FNMI heros and heroines gives our students inspiration. I wish I could write at great length about these 21 women. In the Classroom Tanya C.
[Infographic] Income Inequality in the United States in 2019 | Survey Cool The infographic shown above explores the rise in income inequality in the United States. There is a particular emphasis on the rise over the last four decades, which have seen income inequality rise and rise. The whole topic is now very much a part of regular public discussion. What is Income Inequality? Income inequality is a broad term used to measure the inequality of household/individual income of various members within an economy. Income inequality is often represented in a statistical form, measuring percentage of incomes for different groups vs the entire population. Image: “We are the 99%” is a popular slogan exposing income inequality in the US 10 Factors Impacting US Income Inequality There are many contributing factors as to why US income inequality has grown. It’s important to emphasise that income inequality is built up literally by hundreds of different factors. Image: With income inequality, we need to stop and ask ourselves what type of society do we want?
Resources - Youth Activism Project YOUth ACTivism: Guide to Change Our free YOUth ACTivism: Guide to Change was written by teens for teens. It breaks down all the steps needed to start and execute a successful policy advocate campaign from the ground up. Girls Gone Activist! How to Change the World through Education Our free bilingual action guide, co-authored by experienced student activists with School Girls Unite, describes key elements for starting a campaign plus many clever advocacy stories that showcase video petitions, street theater and lobbying elected officials. Youth PARTICIPATORY ACTION RESEARCH TOOLKIT Our free guide covers all the basics of Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) and how this powerful process that has been used all around the world for empowering youth to use surveys, focus groups, interviews, photovoice, etc. to make their case for real change. Safer Schools Students Talk About Talking Circles The most ‘woke’ teacher or counselor cannot speak for students. Catalyst! Activist Gameplan!