I am starting to teach my unit on civil rights. This is the 9th time I have taught this, yet I still want more. I don't want this to be the same lesson they have always had. They know the big players. They know the outcomes. But what about what they don't know?
This is when I decided that I would again, make this about them as individual students. They need to be connected. They need to feel the impact. They need the empathy to combat their perceived apathy.
I don't think my students are apathetic for the record. I think they just don't know. One told me today she would want to vote but is scared to make the wrong choice.
I was convinced yet again we need to teach them how to find answers, not what the answers should be.
Back to the civil rights. We started off with a discussion. What does civil rights mean? We say it. They've heard it. But what does it entail? How do we define it? This was eye opening in itself. The silence that faced me from my always very outgoing class. It made me think what do we want them to learn compared to what are they actually learning?
We have to take time to really assess this. Not always with a formal evaluation but even with an easy conversation.
I brought in music today to tell about Emmett Till. This was our opening lesson. Tomorrow we discuss sit ins and freedom riders. I want to focus on the nameless who make an impact to help convince my students they can do the same.
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