LS380 Sapon-Shevin Page

[ls380saponshevin]

Extension Activity

News Broadcast/Skit!

Each strand 3 team will have 10-15 minutes to plan out either a mock news broadcast, explaining a term or idea mentioned in this chapter (possibly by giving an example) or a skit (exemplifying an idea). Try to work together to create something creative, but not every member needs to be involved in the actual "performance."

Skits/broadcasts should end up being about 1 minute long, so don't panic too much ;)

-The Otterettes

[ls380saponshevin]

Discussion Facilitators: The Jellies

“There are no simple questions and no easy answers; what there can be is a commitment to unpacking the questions and making them more and more challenging and exploring the difficult of answering then.” (Page 73)

Sapon-Shevin illustrates this quote and then she talks about a poem she has placed in her wall. A part of the poem says “Live the question now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.” Do you think this is a true statement? How can you relate the first quote to what the poem says?

“Our discomfort often comes from the fact that as adults we have learned not to notice, not to mention, not to name things we see around us - have been encouraged not to see, not to comment about. We all started out inquisitive and interested, but in the name of comfort, politeness and not making waves, we have been silenced.” (Page 74)

 What can we do to help children stay interested and aware of their surroundings when the world is trying to make them silent?

At what point do we begin thinking that asking questions or having different perspectives is rude? How does society make you feel incapable of challenging different perspectives? How can we change society?

“When one of my daughters was in elementary school, her teacher told us “Your daughter cares too much about other children.”  The teacher told the story of when another child pencil broke and started crying, she took out an extra pencil to share with the other student. Instead, the teacher told the student, “just do your own work and ignore other children.” (Page 74)

As teachers, how would you react to this situation? Do you want your students to be caring and think about possible reactions and responses, or ignore anything not relevant to their self? 

“I want my children and all people to see themselves as active agents of change, not passive recipients of a world filled with strife and despair.” (Page 78)

What can we do as future teachers to show our students that they are capable of standing up and making a change? How can we motivate them to not sit back and not speak up. How can we set an example for them?

What is your role in making the world better and what kinds of relationships do you need to have to do that work?

[ls380saponshevin]

Video Researchers

This is video describes how a students raise awareness in the community about poverty and hunger.  Also, they take action to inform other kids.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtU4MOkIiKg

Khmer Girls in Action, a group of Southeast Asian women in Long Beach, work to bring equity and social justice to their community through advocacy and by challenging the status quo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-lNbTSatzs

This video is about high school students protesting with their community about unnecessary expulsions of students from their schools.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHunbj5pF4Q

http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/region_pasco/students-at-fivay-high-school-say-they-want-faculty-to-openly-talk-about-suicide-of-classmate

This video is about students at a high school who protested the way in which their school handled their classmates suicide.  They came together and participated in a walkout to honor their classmate.

http://youtu.be/vjLIxNvqlnA

This video is about the campaign, Taking Actions, which was created to promote tolerance for all groups of people.  They do this by opening people's minds through starting conversations, sharing stories, and educating others about diversity in society.

[ls380saponshevin]

Web Research- The Otters

http://www.becomingminimalist.com/raise-justice-minded-kids/

This is a blog about how to raise your children with a right mindset geared towards social justice. To be a good parent you must think and take intentional decisions to shape the lives of your children. Just like sports, academics, and art is taught, parents can teach about justice to their kids. Keep in mind that many times justice is not taught in schools so parents should take the initiative and lead by example.

4 Principles to accomplish to teach justice to your child

1. Embrace the idea of a justice minded child:

2. Exemplify a justice-minded life for your child: “[children] are not going to care about it either.” suggesting that we lead by example and show kids we care about issues.

3. Expose your child to the issues of social justice in your community and around the world: exposure to issues in the community, children are never too young to be exposed.

4. Encourage them as they get involved: use positive words to encourage.

http://ctfd.sfsu.edu/feature/top-ten-strategies-to-integrate-social-justice-into-the-classroom.htm

This article mentions Top Ten Strategies to Integrate Social Justice into the Classroom. The article mentions that these are general teaching practices. At the end of the article, it also includes additional resources for integrating social justice into classrooms.

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Youth%2c+social+justice%2c+and+communities%3a+toward+a+theory+of+urban...-a0148574795

This article about social justice being implemented into students mind.This article goes on to discuss what it means as a teacher to implement this thought into our students minds.

http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/publications/observer/2013/april-13/exploring-social-justice-through-music.html

This article is about how to use music as a tool to teach social justice in the classroom. it makes suggestion on what kinds of songs to use and the types of lyrics. it also checks to make sure that you can create a thoughtful discussion on social justice.

[ls380saponshevin]

[ls380saponshevin]

Author Spotlight- Team SMACK

  “The lessons we teach our students- whether overtly and intentionally or mindlessly and inadvertently- are what will shape the world... our goal cannot be to mirror the injustice and inequities of the broader society (and the world) but rather to provide students with the skills, attitudes, and confidence they need in order to actively transform the world.” - Mara Sapon-Shevin

Background: Mara Sapon-Shevin, professor of teaching and leadership programs, is a specialist in diversity and social justice issues, including full inclusion, anti-racism teaching, bullying and harassment, cooperative learning, the politics of gifted education, multicultural education, and school reform and restructuring. She has written more than 150 books, book chapters, and articles and has presented workshops on cooperative learning and cooperative games for the classroom throughout the United States, in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, and England.

Current Engagements:

Mara’s book “Widening the Circle: The Power of Inclusive Classrooms” was published by Beacon Press. The second edition of Mara’s book “Because We Can Change the World: A Practical Guide for Building Cooperative, Inclusive Classroom Communities” explores ways in which teachers can use cooperative games, children’s literature, music and curriculum to build classroom communities which model inclusion and acceptance and which help students learn to become active participants in working for social justice within and beyond their schools.

Active as well in the community, Mara was a member of the Advisory Board and the development team for the Community Wide Dialogue’s project on ending racism in the City of Syracuse.  She is co-author of a seven session anti-racism curriculum entitled, “Endracism/Endinjustice: Challenging Oppression, Building Allies” which is designed for high school and college students. She is the co-producer of a DVD entitled “and nobody said anything: Uncomfortable Conversations about Diversity” that is designed to explore critical teaching incidents on social justice for faculty in colleges and universities.

She works with other educators and community members to design workshops and learning experiences to help participants build relationships across ethnic and racial groups and collaborate for friendship and peaceful co-existence. Mara also sings with the Syracuse Community Choir and is active in the People’s Music Network for Songs of Freedom and Struggle and the Children’s Music Network.  Her most recent book is Widening the Circle: The Power of Inclusive Classrooms.

Education:

DOCTOR OF EDUCATION (1976)​

University of Rochester, Rochester, New York.​

Major:  Teacher Education.

Dissertation Title: "Formal Group Contingencies and Games as the Occasion for Social Interactions Between Children." Awarded a teaching assistantship and full tuition waiver.

MASTER OF ARTS (1973)​

Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Major: Applied Behavior Analysis Awarded a fellowship and full tuition waiver.  Degree granted with honors.

BACHELOR OF ARTS (1972)​

University of Rochester, Rochester, New York.

Autonomous University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.

Majors: Elementary Education, Psychology.

Elected to Phi Beta Kappa.  Degree awarded with distinction.

http://www.marasapon-shevin.org/files/aboutme/updated%20in%20February%202006.doc

  Published Works:

Because We Can Change the World: A Practical Guide To Building Cooperative, Inclusive Classroom Communities. (2011)

Widening the Circle: The Power of Inclusive Classrooms. (2007).

Teaching Cooperative Learning (Teacher Preparation and Development). (2004).

... and MUCH more!