Printer-friendly versionRoll of Thunder, Hear My Cry prompts look at how students respond to mistreatment of their peers.
The day had started out normally with a game planned for language arts. We split the room in half, one side being the "yes" side and the other side the "no" side. The students were to answer questions by moving to one side of the room or the other.
"Would you stand up for a friend if they were being bullied by someone?" "Would you treat someone differently for how they looked?" It wasn't their answers that shocked us, it was the fact that before they moved, they looked to see what their friends were doing.
All of these students were following the crowd.
We realized that these students probably did the same sort of thing in the hallways, the locker rooms and on the bus. If they saw someone being treated unfairly, they would wait to see what everyone else did before they would take action. Would they even take a moment to consider their own morals, values or sense of judgment? Would they do the wrong thing just because everyone else was doing it?
The game was originally created because the students were beginning to read a novel, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, about pride and courage in the tumultuous, pre-civil rights South during the 1930s. During the reading of the novel, they contemplated the damage done by prejudice and how they could grow to be courageous individuals who stand up for what they believe.
Students became very passionate about the mistreatment of African Americans. They felt strongly about not treating others the way Cassie and her family were treated in the novel. We told them things like that still happen today and it would take each one of us to stand up for each other to stop the mistreatment of others. We had a friend come in and speak to the class about his experience growing up as an African-American child in the turbulent 1950s South. Little by little, we saw their views changing as they realized that following the crowd might not be the best thing to do.
This unit provided both teachers and students the motivation to step out of their comfort zones. We continue to work on establishing a tolerant environment in our school hallways and beyond.
The No Dissing: No Name Calling Week kit ($129.95) is a great resource for making the hallways safe for students.
Mildren D. Taylor's Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry ($6.99, ISBN # 0140384510) is available at Puffin Publishers.
Heather Williams and Rita Umansky
Northbrook Junior High School
Northbrook, Ill.
