RESOURCES and LESSONS for TEACHING ABOUT SOCIAL JUSTICE - especially race, ethnicity, and culture.
You will find MANY LINKS TO SITES & ARTICLES, BUT ONLY THE FIRST FEW PARAGRAPHS (due to copyright laws), so please press the link to read the articles in their entirety.
TO SEARCH, use the "SEARCH BY LABEL OR CATEGORY" section in the right column.
What's this blog about?
I teach several courses under the broad topic of "Multicultural Education," prioritizing social justice issues of access, power/privilege, & narrowing the academic achievement gap. I am a person of color and I almost always have a white co-teacher. We include topics, such as: racism, sexism, heterosexism, ableism, ethnocentrism, deculturalization, transforming curriculum, etc. This is a place where I post information that we teach; lesson plans for activities; and resources we use and/or which are shared with me by my adult students.
Commentary on the film Lucy staring Scarlett Johansson.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/olivia-cole/lucy-why-im-tired-of-seei_b_5627318.html
Here's a clip:
I can't accept that. I can't accept that there was only one black
woman in the entire film, who delivered one line and who we never saw
again. I can't accept that the bad guys were Asian and that although in
China, Lucy's roommate says, "I mean, who speaks Chinese? I don't speak Chinese!" I can't accept that in Hercules,
which I also saw this weekend, there were no people of color except for
Dwayne Johnson himself and his mixed-race wife, whose skin was almost
alabaster. I can't accept that she got maybe two lines and was then
murdered. I can't accept that the "primitive tribe" in Hercules
consisted of dark-haired men painted heavily, blackish green, to give
their skin (head-to-toe) a darker appearance, so the audience could
easily differentiate between good and bad guys by the white vs. dark
skin. I can't accept that during the previews, Exodus: Gods and Kings,
a story about Moses leading the Israelite slaves out of Egypt, where
not a single person of color is represented, casts Sigourney Weaver and
Joel Edgerton to play Egyptians. I can't accept that in the preview for Kingsman: The Secret Service,
which takes place in London, features a cast of white boys and not a
single person of Indian descent, which make up the largest non-white
ethnic group in London. I can't accept that in stories about the end of
the world and the apocalypse, that somehow only white people survive.
I can't accept that while my daily life is filled with black and brown
women, they are completely absent, erased, when I look at a TV or movie
screen.
In many ways, today’s debate about same-sex marriage resembles earlier debates about interracial marriage. I’ve drawn this analogy myself.
In at least two ways, however, the situations differ. From the
discriminator’s standpoint, opposing same-sex marriage is more
defensible. At the same time, from the target’s standpoint, it’s more
oppressive.
From the perspective of a would-be spouse, being denied the right to
same-sex marriage can be, in some ways, worse. If you’re attracted to
someone of another race, and the law won’t let you marry anyone of that
race, you can find someone of your own race to marry. You shouldn’t have
to do that, but you can. But if you’re exclusively attracted to people
of your own sex, and the law forbids you to marry such a person, then
everything conservatives praise about marriage—the sharing, the happiness, the fulfillment, the solemnity, the respect—is denied to you.
Click the link to learn valuable information about what to say and why (as well as what NOT to say)
1. What not to say: "She looks so normal" or "I didn't know anything was wrong with him."
2. What not to say: "He looks fine to me" or "You would never know to look at her."
3. What not to say: "Is it genetic?"
4. What not to say: "He's going to grow out of it, right?"
5. What not to say: "Did you cause her to be in a wheelchair?"
6. What not to say: "My uncle's brother's nephew's cousin has
autism, so I know what it's like" or "My nephew's cousin has autism,
too. He's really good at math. What's your son gifted in?"
7. What not to say: "Why didn't you stop having kids after the first one?"
8. "God only gives you what you can handle."
9. What not to say: "Have you tried juicing?" or "Why don't you watch this movie about the keto diet?"
10. What not to say: Comments on work, such as: "It must be
nice coming late" after running around all morning at appointments or
"It must be nice getting to relax all day since you don't have a job."
11. What not to say: "He's one of God's special angels."
12. What not to say: "How in the world did you break both your legs?"
13. What not to say: "I don't know how you do it. You are a
great mom" or "Do you really start his IVs, oh dear, I just couldn't
possibly do that!"
14. What not to say: "I can't believe you give him (insert
medicine or medical procedure here). I would never give that to my
child."
15. What not to say: "I nearly had a stroke" or "I think I'm going to have an epileptic fit" or "Are you retarded?"
16. Always use person-first language.
17. Remember we're humans, too. Compliment us without a reference to our child's challenges.
10 Things Your Autistic Friend Wants You To Know
http://www.thefrisky.com/2014-03-20/10-things-your-autistic-friend-wants-you-to-know/
Click the link to learn valuable information about autism.
1. You can look us in the eyes.
2. We’re drawn to each other.
3. Everything’s a big deal to us.
4. We DO understand what’s going on.
5. We’re not always honest.
6. Autism can look like pretty much anything else.
7. We might show affection differently.
8. We are not making excuses, but we don’t owe you explanations.
9. We have a tacit hierarchy.
10. We are not all the same.
Woodstock Chimes Presents - Chimes for Autism - children are neuro-typically different
http://www.upworthy.com/a-neat-thing-happens-when-a-boy-really-really-likes-wind-chimes?c=ufb1
ee
When is it okay to use the word "retard"? Use this flowchart
Samah Aidah's Soccer Team Dons Hijabs In Solidarity To Protest Referee's Unfair Treatment
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/17/samah-aidah-soccer-hijab_n_4980138.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000063
If you do any social justice work (and even if you don't), the statistics in this video are startling. Also, the book, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Kristoff and WuDunn is a must-read resource!
“Women are half the world’s
population, yet they do two-thirds of the world’s work, earn one-tenth
of the world’s income, and own less than one per cent of the world’s
property.” (Source: World Bank) Let’s change that!
Half the Sky Movement: http://www.halftheskymovement.org/
And, in case you don't think this happens in the United States, read this article about Oklahoma. http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/11/4/nation/12170205&sec=nation
Until recently, there was little help for children in such situations. But now a groundbreaking clinic at Children’s Hospital in Boston — one of the few of its kind in the world — helps families deal with the issues, both emotional and medical, that arise from having a transgender child — one who doesn’t identify with the gender he or she was born into.
The Children’s Hospital Gender Management Services Clinic can, using hormone therapies, halt puberty in transgender children, blocking the development of secondary sexual characteristics — a beard, say, or breasts — that can make the eventual transition to the other gender more difficult, painful, and costly.
Racism is Still Alive http://www.wildcat.arizona.edu/index.php/article/2011/10/mailbag_oct._7
In response to “Playing race card is a cheap trick” (Oct. 4):
I was shocked and offended when I read your article entitled “Playing race card is a cheap trick.” You state that we, as a country, have made great strides in eradicating racism. Maybe I’m reading too much into this line, but it seems that you think that all racism has ended as opposed to saying great strides towards eradicating racism (sic). This is problematic for several reasons. While racism is no longer “legal” and our human rights are “protected,” there is still covert and passive racism that is thriving more than ever in our country’s history. For example, the inequalities present in our prison system. African-Americans are greatly over represented in the U.S. prison system. 2,531 out of every 100,000 are incarcerated compared to 957 out of 100,000 for Latinos and 393 out of every 100,000 for whites (2004 Census Data). The same inequalities are present throughout any institution in the U.S. Another example (is) the educational system. Even with poverty and other socioeconomic factors considered, race and ethnicity still remain the most significant factors in placing children in special education (www.law.hardvard.edu/civilrights).
