I am an eighth-grade language arts teacher in Durham, New Hampshire. My students have grown up in an environment where there is very little exposure to ethnic, racial or LGBT communities. They are ripe for learning, and are in a unique position to “be” the change.
To foster a better understanding of diversity, prejudice and discrimination, I created a social justice unit based on readings in varied genres of literature. We begin with an overview and discussions based on segments of various videos such as If You Cried, You Died, The Long Walk Home and Come See the Paradise. Each student chooses a topic that focuses on one particular group of people who have suffered prejudice and discrimination. Last year, student choices included American Indians, African Americans, American Muslims, Japanese-Americans during World War II, LGBT issues, Latinos and European Jews during the Holocaust.
Once students choose a topic, they are required to read non-fiction overviews, primary sources such as diaries and letters, a book (historical fiction, a biography or autobiography) as well as poetry written by survivors of prejudice. As they read independently in class, students share excerpts that powerfully reflect what it feels like to experience prejudice and discrimination. They also copy these excerpts into their notes, in preparation for their writing piece.
When students finish their readings, they write a three-to-five page story based on the literature. These stories must be told from the first-person perspective, and must reflect what it is like to experience prejudice. Stories can be in the form of a narrative, journal, letters or poetry. Students weave excerpts from the literature into their writing, and cite their sources. They then share their writing with one another, to teach or learn about other topics. Some years, younger students at our middle school are invited into our classroom, so that my eighth graders can share their knowledge with them.
As a culminating activity, I partner with the Office of Multicultural Affairs at the University of New Hampshire, and invite a panel of college students to spend the day in my classroom. The students are of varied ethnicities, sexual orientations and races. The panel presents its own stories, invites questions and fosters powerful discussions. At the end of this study, I ask my students to write reflections of the entire unit for their portfolios. Their thoughts and feelings show the enormous impact that this study can have on young peoples’ perspectives. In fact, former students who come back to visit years later comment on the impact that this study had on their approach to tolerance and intolerance.
Susie Renner
Oyster River Middle School
Durham, New Hampshire
The webquest, Take a Stand Against Hate, promotes learning the skills needed to make your voice heard on important social justice issues.
