What we've been doing: When discovering that the boys literally had no idea what I was talking about when I mentioned the word "Ferguson," I knew I had to use a week to talk about the issues surrounding the trial.
Last spring I taught To Kill a Mockingbird. We talked about race as a class and dissected the Trayvon Martin vs George Zimmerman trial. We had amazing fishbowl discussions, and it was so interesting to hear the student's opinions. We watched clips from the news showing both sides. We read articles and did close readings. Some of the students chose to write their final paper about this aspect of the TKAM unit. I also connected Travyon Martin with the Scottsboro boys from so many years ago. It is crazy that the same issues are still happening. If you would have asked me in high school if racism was still an issue, I would have said no. I don't want my students to be as ignorant and naive as I was.
Here are some of the resources I used when diving into teaching about the race issue:
- https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kwZl23Q9tgZ23dxSJWS-WpjZhOZ_mzVPtWL8-pWuLt8/preview?sle=true
- https://historytech.wordpress.com/2014/12/01/materials-and-resources-for-addressing-ferguson-in-your-classroom/
- http://www.edutopia.org/blog/how-to-teach-beyond-ferguson-jose-vilson
- http://teach2know.com/2014/08/31/resources-for-teaching-about-ferguson-listen/
The first day this year when we began talking about Eric Garner and Michael Brown, we looked at lots of different videos explaining the event and what happened. I made sure to find videos showing different perspectives. We also looked at this article that I turned into a PowerPoint full of last words that black men/boys have said before being shot.
The boys listened to the song Be Free by J. Cole and compared it to Langhston Hughes' poem I, too.
The last day they each read a different article and shared with the class what their article talked about, how they would be portrayed by the police in the US, and what we can do to take action. Here are the articles I used.
Bracing for a New Civil Rights Movement
Why is the NYPD after me?
Missouri school district told to "change the subject" on Ferguson
A Call for Change at Brown's Funeral
Reviving Hope in Troubling Times
At the end of the semester, the boys noted that this current event was one of the most interesting things they learned about in History in 2014. I hope to continue to be given opportunities to open their little eyes to the world we live in.
The last day they each read a different article and shared with the class what their article talked about, how they would be portrayed by the police in the US, and what we can do to take action. Here are the articles I used.
Bracing for a New Civil Rights Movement
Why is the NYPD after me?
Missouri school district told to "change the subject" on Ferguson
A Call for Change at Brown's Funeral
Reviving Hope in Troubling Times
At the end of the semester, the boys noted that this current event was one of the most interesting things they learned about in History in 2014. I hope to continue to be given opportunities to open their little eyes to the world we live in.
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