“An educator should consider that he has failed in his job if he has not succeeded in instilling some trace of a divine dissatisfaction with our miserable social environment.”
So today I introduced my Hunger Games classes to their final project: find a social injustice. The project has two parts: a paper and a speech. The paper is meant to explain the issue: who it effects, where it is happening, how long it has been going on and possible solution to fix the problem. In addition to this, they have to connect their injustice to the book. The speech is an attempt to scale the problem down. So we have identified this problem, what now? In the speech each student will explain why they chose this issue; specifically, how does this issue conflict with their core values; what about this problem sits in their gut and just makes them sick. The most important part of the speech is the action step. Each student has to "do" something about this problem. Post facebook statuses, hang posters, make a commercial, write their congressman etc. I told the kids that no action is too big or too small for this assignment; it's not about what you do, it matters that you do something.
I started the class with what is called a four-corners activity. Each corner is labeled: AGREE, DISAGREE, STRONGLY AGREE or STRONGLY DISAGREE. I read statements and the students went to the corner that best described their feelings. Then, I chose students to share why they chose that particular corner. Statements like "Overall life in America is very good" and "there are some parts of the world that are so messed up, they are hopeless." I ended with "if you see something going on that is wrong, and no one else is willing to acknowledge it, it's up to you to make the change." I purposefully tried to start conversations with students I knew would be opinionated and then call on one's who never volunteer. It went very well.
From here I had them go back to their seats as I read excerpts from the UN Declaration of Human Rights. Statements like "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood." "Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status." I asked them if they thought these principles were true; they did. I asked them if they felt these principles were being upheld in the world; they did not. I asked them if they felt these principles were being upheld in America; they did not. "What do we do?" I asked them. A few people raised their hands immediately (you know those kids) and I politely motioned them to put them down. And we sat in silence for a few seconds.
“In these days of difficulty, we Americans everywhere must and shall choose the path of social justice…, the path of faith, the path of hope, and the path of love toward our fellow man.” ― Franklin D. Roosevelt
“I ask for, not at once no government, but at once a better government. Let every man make known what kind of government would command his respect, and that will be one step toward obtaining it.”-Henry David Thoreau
“There are certain things in our nation and in the world which I am proud to be maladjusted and which I hope all men of good-will will be maladjusted until the good societies realize — I say very honestly that I never intend to become adjusted to — segregation and discrimination. I never intend to become adjusted to religious bigotry. I never intend to adjust myself to economic conditions that will take necessities from the many to give luxuries to the few." Martin Luther King Jr.
“For of those to whom much is given, much is required. And when at some future date the high court of history sits in judgment on each of us—recording whether in our brief span of service we fulfilled our responsibilities to the state—our success or failure, in whatever office we hold, will be measured by the answers to four questions:
First, were we truly men of courage—with the courage to stand up to one’s enemies—and the courage to stand up, when necessary, to one’s associates—the courage to resist public pressure, as well as private greed?
Secondly, were we truly men of judgment—with perceptive judgment of the future as well as the past—of our mistakes as well as the mistakes of others—with enough wisdom to know what we did not know and enough candor to admit it?
Third, were we truly men of integrity—men who never ran out on either the principles in which we believed or the men who believed in us—men whom neither financial gain nor political ambition could ever divert from the fulfillment of our sacred trust?
Finally, were we truly men of dedication—with an honor mortgaged to no single individual or group, and comprised of no private obligation or aim, but devoted solely to serving the public good and the national interest? "- John F. Kennedy
I broke the silence by reading these quotes. Most of the kids got excited to start; others looked completely freaked. Some kids beamed with a passion and started asking me about topics they could choose. I wanted to hug them; others sat looking like catty eighth graders and asked why we couldn't just take a test; I did not want to hug them (a teacher on my team who is known for not taking any whining told me I should give them a test now too and tell them which students they can thank). I just sat back and listened to the whining with a smile. There is not one ounce of me that thinks this project is not going to be good for them, as long as they try. Little do they know that education is the social injustice that speaks to me, and they are all assisting me in my research.
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