Teaching about Discrimination

 I came across this article from the Washington Post this morning:

American Teacher in Japan Under Fire for Lessons on Japan's History of Discrimination

That one man can stir up so much trouble, just by telling his students some uncomfortable truths, makes me feel quite ill at ease.

It also makes me a little sad to think that if Jane Elliot taught her infamous 'Eye of the Storm' lesson today, she would probably attract an equal amount of negative attention.

We go to school so that we can learn about our universe, planet, environment; our country, city, community and about ourselves. The relationship between all and any of these things is never simple. Nor is it always happy and shiny, in fact often it comprises violence, pollution, corruption and yes, discrimination.

I admired Elliot's courage to turn an already difficult discussion into a hands-on learning activity. Perhaps it was not courage but simple straight forward thinking - good teachers know that people learn best through experience.

I have no doubt that the students felt very uncomfortable, even upset during this lesson. Of course a lesson plan that lists 'upset the students' among it's goals should be considered very carefully! But isn't this sadness and anger the emotional response we would like the entire human race to have when they observe discrimination in the real world?  And imagine if, upon experiencing that emotion, students had been taught the skills to intervene, to stand up, to say 'this is not fair'. To make changes.

I support any teacher who helps to create a world like that.


 Further Reading:

Not directly related, but more recent.
http://www.good.is/posts/what-if-we-taught-kids-about-skin-color-and-racism-the-way-we-teach-math 

Class cancelled because the content was too uncomfortable for students? How far do we let this go?
http://www.takepart.com/article/2013/06/12/seattle-teacher-forced-out-teaching-kids-about-racism

Koala Mask

Cute, aren't they?

Materials:
Koala face outline (this one is cute)
Stiff card
Crayons
Cotton wool
Scissors
Glue
Black plastic spoons
Tape

You'll need a template for the koala face. You could draw one, but I took mine from here.

Before Class

1. Copy your koala outline and glue it onto some stiffer card.
2. Cut out the eyes and the fiddly bits at the ears. I left the easier curves for my students to do on their own.

 Students Will

1. Colour in the mask and write their name on the back.
2. Cut out their mask. 
3. It's hard to see in the picture, but we glued a little bit of cotton wool in the ears
4. Tape a black spoon on for the nose and you're finished!

BONUS ENGLISH: "Can I have some scissors/tape/glue etc please?" "Help me please" Or why not try some imaginative play - are you a happy or sad koala? Are you hungry? What do you like to eat? Etc.

MODIFY: 

• Older students could do all the cutting on their own, or even draw their own koala face shape. 

• Instead of crayons, perhaps you could try sponging with paint for a 'fluffier' look.

 

Tip: I've previously taught my class that colouring using the side of the crayon (rather than the tip) is a quicker and sometimes nicer way to colour. It's a good fine motor skill!