Program Tech Reading Group Work - June 16

The post is titled, "80+ Videos for Tech. & Media Literacy" (http://educationaltechnology.ca/couros/1480). Here are your instructions to prepare for our meeting:

1) Everyone should watch video #17, "A Brave New World-Wide Web." This is a fun piece done by a teacher about teaching in the 21st century.
This taught me that I don't know enough about creating great slide shows! This is a great PD piece for teachers and admins. It's a great opener for a tech class or education class. My main takeaways are

• Wasn't this a book title?
• Why does the music remind me of 2001 Space Odyssey?
• What software is he using? I want to be able to do that!
• It was a bit long, but great points and specific examples were given. I feel like he only presented the warm, fuzzy, magical world of technology (which is the only side kids see/want to see) rather than bringing up the issues or moral and ethical problems that can arise (cyber bullying, plagiarism, etc). It makes me think of old newspaper ads during the Industrial Revolution!
  

2) Then you are on your own. Please watch at least a few of these.

• "Everything Is Amazing, but Nobody is Happy" - Is this guy reading my mind? Is he watching me like "big brother" on one of these GPS satellites? EVERYTHING he said is the TRUTH! OMG! I've never heard of him and I HATE Conan so unfortunately I missed it...he's very funny!
  

• The Machine is Us/ing Us - it's like this guy copied video 17
  

• Introducing the book- I loved this video. I think it's because so many people don't read anymore...I myself feel so behind in this organization because the books I've read were those of my students!
  

Final New PA Call - June 5, 2009

Facilitating Difficult Conversations and Situations in a Facing History Context

In a typical Facing History and Ourselves workshop or seminar one can expect that at some point the group will encounter a difficult, complex, or controversial issue that can potentially lead to conflict and stifle healthy dialogue. Even after thoughtful contracting these difficult situations are nearly inevitable. Conflict in groups is a normal part of the group process. Disagreements and differing points of view have the potential to add important information, broaden the perspectives of the group, and serve as a positive contribution to the work. Although the outcome may be positive, there will be some stress and discomfort. Typically concerns and disagreements will arise in one of the following areas: 1) the process the group is using, 2) the content being discussed, or 3) the people (personalities) involved in the discussion. A skilled facilitator must be able to navigate each scenario.

Scenario 3.Conflict among the people involved in the discussion.

During a discussion on the legacies of race, a younger participant states that we have come a long way and that his generation is tired of talking about the past. He cites Barack Obama’s presidency as proof of progress. An older participant states that although things are better, we have a long way to go, pointing to the fact that institutional racism still exists, citing the criminal justice system as an example. The two go on for several minutes. You are concerned that the conversation is taking the session off track.

What is challenging about this scenario?

What's challenging is that it is a natural inclination to want to jump in and take sides OR to insert one's own personal POV (like the fact that I agree with the older participant). It's also a challenge in the since that you don't want to de-value the youth/younger voice in favor of the older one just because it's the voice of an older person - this promotes a generation gap.

How would you respond as the facilitator?

I would hope first of all that I wouldn't allow the comments to go on more than 5 minutes, but if I did I'd have to first thank them for their active/authentic engagement in the discussion, but I'd have to also pull everyone back in by reminding them of:

• the contract we set up on the first day (to respectly agree to disagree, how to have conversations about race, etc)
  
• the fact that we have (or can have) a "parking lot of ideas for further discussion" where we can write these kinds of issues
• the existence of FH resources to aid them in these kinds of controversial conversations with their students, like those in R&M or videos like, Ethnic Notions or Race: the Power of an Illusion
  

One thing I would like to hold onto from this year is the relationship I've built with the cohort. It has been a pleasure getting to know KC, Susan, Mark and Tanya!

Outstanding Chicago Teacher Encourages Dialogue Around Choices

http://mrbarrrm302.blogspot.com


Mr. Brandon Barr at Nightingale Elementary is getting his kids talking about the Choices in Little Rock Curriculum. It's a very dynamic blog that incorporates dialogue about sections of Warriors Don't Cry, about the April visit by Dr. Terrence Roberts and other elements of the class.


* Please note that there is video available from Dr. Roberts' visits to Chicago available on youtube.com *

Work Related Cyberspace Happenings...

Check out my New PA Case Study Ning - "Deconstructing Our Notions of the Ghetto"

http://sonjacasestudyproject.ning.com/

*Just a reminder...The first entry was done in August so if you scroll down to the bottom (on the right side) for the older posts*

Reading "Banished" Guide & Watching "Crips & Bloods: Made in America"

Crips & Bloods: Made in America (Independent Lens, PBS)
http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/cripsandbloods/film.html

My Reflection on Banished from 8/9/09 is at the end of this critique.

Not that I was assigned to read the guide and watch the film at the same time, but I have to say that doing so gave me a different view of the film.

The film did what no other gang documentary has done before- it didn't just follow one gang member around or give the origin of how the gang was founded. "Made in America" went into the history of the economic, political and social circumstances that made the origin of these 2 street organizations inevitable...

Consistent disenfranchisement of Black men. Discrimination in the South and later, in all the urban centers where Blacks migrated to. Discrimination in the military. Restricted to poorer sectors of LA county and sub-standard schools. Employment in service or labor industries and subsequent unemployment when those factories closed down. Lack of allowance into "All-American" clubs or organizations, like the Boy Scouts. Constant police brutality and harassment. Gentrification. Rioting. Jailing of Black men, women and children of the community. The systematic destruction of Black organizations and community programs by government programs, like COINTEL-PRO. The murder & assassination of Black leaders. The systematic introduction of drugs & drug-trafficking into the Black community as a means of demobilization and the impetus for the dismantling of the community and family.

These conditions led to a need to organize and a need for power and a sense of belonging among the youth of the community. This led to the rise of the Crips and the Bloods in LA County.

These are the conditions that in some instances cause many Blacks to feel that banishment, in some form, is still happening today. Or at least, that they are suffering the effects of banishment today as many of their ancestors were forced out of their homes in the South.

It's a tangled web without an obvious solution. One commonality in both though is that there is no mass movement on the part of the government to remedy the problem although more youth have died due to gang violence than in Northern Ireland.






Banished Reflection - August 9, 2008
Remembering the name Marco Williams and having seen his previous work, I knew without having read a description of this film that it would cover yet another dark story of the African American experience. So, like I was with the Emmet Till, I was not really "gung ho" to jump right into viewing it. Viewing it in public might have been a bit much as well. So I chose to view it at home in the company of friends and family- all of whom were African American and have roots in the South, like myself. We'd just watched "A Class Divided" and another "hollywood" movie the night before so were anxious to view and discuss this piece. Fresh in our minds was "Being Black in America" - the 2-part series shown on CNN over the last couple of weeks. Naturally, with all of this context, a lot surfaced.

The first thing I began to write down were connections or instances in history that seemed to compare or contrast with what was being described....

1. I thought of the "Red Summers" that occurred in South but also in Chicago with the drowning of Eugene Williams at a south side beach (just minutes from my house!)

• The Sumner-Rosewood, FL case
• The Tulsa, OK case

2. The various lynchings published in the Chicago Defender and other Black newspapers across the country at that time, but I was reminded of Without Sanctuary (book and exhibit)

3. It called to mind the exile of Jews from their homes into the ghettoes

4. The fact that I never heard of Japanese Internment Camps until I had to teach a Facing History humanities course (2001-2008)

5. The possible inclusion of my own ancestors in the "Trail of Tears" and "Indian" removal process from the South to reservation land out west.

6. The encroachment of 1st Nations lands in British Columbia and the struggles of those peoples today

7. I was reminded of the FHA sanctions on housing and home loans ("Race: Power of an Illusion" documentary)

The second thing I found myself doing was questioning what I was seeing and hearing:

• Why were the Black descendants so forgiving?
• How is it that African American descendants used their Christian beliefs to forgive what had happened when some Whites used Christianity to preserve their town they way it was? Which is the true Christian?
• What would happen if all Whites in America practiced a Day of Prayer and openly acknowledged the role of their ancestors in slavery, lynching or banishment?
• Why is it that African Americans seem to be the only group to not be eligible for reparations?
• Has the world REALLY changed if this kind of film is even necessary? If racism and healing had taken place since Dr. King, why is it so difficult for these families to claim what's rightfully theirs?
• Why were the White citizens of these 3 counties so angry with the writers who brought the stories out? Why were they angry with the descendants for wanting compensation, a public acknowledgement or even, memorials?
• What roles should "forgiving and forgetting" play in the lives of African American descendants of banishment?

Lastly, I guess, I consider the condition of myself and African Americans today. As we look back over our own family histories (mine include stories of alleged racial violence and segregation, but no banishment) and the general history of minorities in America, I couldn't help but think that in many ways all people of color suffer from some form of banishment. Lower class citizens, too, are banished. Women, have suffered banishment, as well. Can one compare all these cases, though? Is it fair to say they are the same when African Americans are still so clearly behind their white counterparts in education levels and net worth? There is and always has been the concept of the "other" or this racial dichotonomy in America that keeps Whites on one side and everyone else on the other side. Without all that we've overcome, that's still one mountain we have yet to move.

Welcome Facing History Colleagues!

Hello,

Thanks for visiting my blog. It's a peek inside the world of a Chicago Program Associate. Have your questions and comments ready for me on Thursday, May 21...or feel free to ask me before that if you choose to take a lunch break during that time.

Just a few tips on navigating the blog...

1. The entries are from the most recent to the oldest.
2. You can access older posts by scrolling down towards the bottom and selecting a month/year from the bottom right side of the screen
3. You can post comments/questions to any post at any time.
   

Thanks for visiting.

Dr. Terrence Roberts in Chicago - April 2009

New PA Reflective Paper - May 7, 2009

Follow up

I find that this takes the majority of my work time- email correspondence, faxes, phone calls, mailings, school visits, planning, reporting in ACT for notes. In general, the CILR teachers have been much better about maintaining active correspondence. The NPDEP teachers and TLT teachers are also good. It takes more effort to maintain regular feedback with R&M, HHB, HL participants and those that attend workshops.


PD Facilitation

CILR: While recruitment for these 2 seminars and the orientation was grueling, I can honestly say that the most productive relationships I have with teachers are the ones that I met during these seminars. The October Choices Orientation workshop was a great success in that the participants were authentically engaged and excited about the upcoming CILR seminars (Dec & Jan). Chuck & I worked really well together in creating a nurturing and productive workshop environment. I observed the December seminar and met with my teachers at the close of the seminar, but I feel that my facilitation in January 2009 helped me to gain a greater appreciation of the choices materials and of the various different facilitation styles (Phredd, Denise, Dunreith, Steve). I think the participants were engaged and excited. The schools that went to see Terrence Roberts and/or that hosted TJR at their schools, I believe, are more motivated to become more invested in Facing History.

HHB 3-day: There was some recruitment required for this seminar, but it wasn’t as difficult as the CLR or the level of recruitment needed for the summer seminars. The thing I found most rewarding about this experience was listening to Professor Rebecca Whitman (Ontario) and Ava Schieber. It was valuable for me to hear a scholar and a survivor offer a different, fresh perspective on the history that I’d been doing so much intensive reading about. I have to say, too, though that I was not comfortable with my Sunflower session, but I think that my Jesus Colon and Holocaust Propaganda sessions went well.

HL 3-day: Ava Schieber was again the highlight of this seminar, but Jeff Kelly Lowenstein’s presentation on Hilberg’s stages and his own family Holocaust research was fascinating. I can’t help but wonder though if participants were overwhelmed at certain points by the amount of content we were providing them – since many of them were lit or English teachers with limited historical knowledge of the Holocaust. Here, too, I think my memory & legacy session and my use of “paper clips” was tedious, but my Bear and Friedrich sessions were good. Another plus was that no recruitment was required for this seminar.

Immigration Workshop: I think the participants appreciated the various perspectives we offered on the immigration issue. I focused on the resource, Becoming American and on the work FH did with the online student museum projects. There were sessions on asylum, what it means to be an American, and migrant workers, as well. This was a popular topic and therefore, little to no recruiting was necessary. Following this seminar, SLT members were treated to a workshop with Rick Nahmias on his migrant project.

HHB 5-day & R&M (5day & hybrid): These seminars are upcoming (June & July, respectively), but our focus now is on massive recruitment and on planning sessions.

One Book, One Chicago – House on Mango Street: This after-school workshop was extremely popular and required no recruiting because of the popularity of the book and due to the fact that this was a partnership with the Chicago Public Library. Chuck and I facilitated 2 sessions using various selections from the book and comparing/contrasting views of Chicago with those provided in Our America: Life & Death on the South Side of Chicago. The opening Big Paper featuring various Chicago pictures and quotes (1800-present) was also a big hit with participants.


The Polk Dialogue

This initiative brought together two July 2008 Race & Membership participants around the study of Chicago neighborhood history, the Great Migration and using multimedia resources to tell community stories. Students at both schools read 2 texts – The Promised Land and Color Me Dark. They heard a lecture/presentation by Dr. Dominic Pacyga at Manley HS (available on youtube) and posted comments about the books, Dr. Pacyga and their communities on the Polk Dialogue Discussion Forum (facing.org/polk2009). Leading up to culminating projects, students received training in collecting community stories from volunteers at vocalo.org (an extension of Chicago Public Radio, WBEZ). They learned how to conduct interviews, how to use audio equipment and how to upload to vocalo’s site. Some of their stories will be used as part of Vocalo’s radio programming in the fall. Although the culminating event and Chicago tour had to be cancelled, I feel that this was a success because it brought together youth from different communities that within Chicago would be considered rival gang areas.


Teacher Leadership Team 2008-2009

It was initially kind of awkward to go from being a member of the TLT to being the facilitator of the team, but I think having been a member gave me insight into ways to make the team more productive. This led to the formation of the Middle School Focus Group and the HS Focus Group. These were a great success as our meeting times were much more productive. Also important was that we received work samples and feedback from teachers that supports the work we are already doing. These groups also provided leadership opportunities within the team. We had 2 teachers lead the Armenian Genocide workshop and several volunteered to help with choices teachers.


Assisting with SLT & May Benefit Dinner

Since Judd’s resignation, Denise has done an outstanding job facilitating the SLT, coordinating the Program staff to help out and with keeping the kids motivated to host our first SLT Symposium (next week, May 12). She has encouraged Jonathan L. (a Cleveland FH alumni & current Univ of Chicago freshman) to come in and help out as well. I have stepped up to assist Denise with special events, like the Rick Nahmias workshop in March and the Symposium. I’ve also been observing/working with Judy to get 2 of the SLT students ready to speak at our benefit.


Program Tech Team

I was very excited to be asked to join this team because of my love of technology and the fact that my last graduate degree was in using instructional technology. I was fearful of getting rusty on my tech skills, but Deb, John, KC and others have offered a variety of ideas and resources to keep me fresh. It has been a challenge, however, in trying to keep up with PTT readings in lieu of all the other work I have to do.

Overall Reflection of the Year

Moving from the classroom to an office has been a difficult transition for me in that I was very used to constant day-to-day interaction with not only youth, but all members of a school community. There is a definite disconnect or fear of disconnect that comes with working in an office space or moving into what is seen by teachers as a more administrative role. They aren’t always as comfortable sharing with you until they know you were a teacher, as well. Working with teachers, principals and administrators doesn’t offer the same level of instant gratification that comes in classroom instruction.

This is one reason why facilitation of PD and meeting with the TLT & SLT are the most rewarding parts of the job. I am definitely more comfortable and more confident in my ability to do a good job here, but there is a small part of myself that is looking for that thing that will become my passion. Working in an international organization is also a challenge because it's difficult to feel part of a large team when you don't see or know the people you are supposed to be connected to. A lot of the opportunities to grow and connect were lost this year due to the economic crunch.

Journal 3

May 1, 2009

Since January 30, I have facilitated sessions for the following seminars & workshops:

1. HHB 3-day (Feb): this was a great learning experience for me because as a teacher, I had not done any FH holocaust trainings since 2002 or 2003. This was an opportunity for me to learn more about the topic. As a result of the great feedback, schools quickly booked Holocaust speakers. I was privileged to drive Ava K. Schieber to one of those schools and am continually in awe of her loving spirit and the way in which she turned adversity into advantage (see the poem I wrote for her in an earlier entry).
   
2. Immigration Workshop (March): this was a great workshop and one that I often requested when I was a Facing History teacher because it was a regular part of my curriculum. I think the participants enjoyed what we presented and appreciated that our presentations went beyond the discussion of Mexican immigration.
   
3. SLT Saturday meeting (Feb, March): I have been privileged to work with Denise on getting the SLT students ready for the Symposium (may 12). Two of the students are also speaking at our benefit dinner (may 8).
   
4. One Book, One Chicago: House on Mango Street Educator Workshop (March): OBOC is a Chicago Public Library-City of Chicago initiative to encourage citywide reading. This year, FH created the questions for their study guide, facilitated a workshop for librarians and for teachers across the Chicagoland area.
   
5. HL 3-day (April): I had the privilege of again hearing some great speakers, like Ava K. S. and Jeff K.L. I think it was valuable for me to get the teacher feedback on how they plan ot implement in their own classrooms. The memorials they created were also quite beautiful.
   

I was the lead on the following projects:

1. One Book, One Chicago Workshop: I think having Chuck assisting me in this project was a great help as it came at a time when the deadlines for other workshops or activities were creating anxiety for me. All in all, though, the participants got a lot out of the sessions Chuck and I presented and appreciated that we went beyond the typical readings usually done with Cisneros' popular book.
   
2. Teacher Leadership Team: On March 19 we had our last breakout sessions for our TLT focus groups. Middle School teachers gave their final analyses of the Choices curricula and submitted lots of sample rubrics and lessons. HS teachers submitted final critiques of the HHB ERG.
   
3. Polk Dialogue (extension of Race & Membership Seminar 2008): While the last 2 (April) events had to be cancelled due to scheduling conflicts and dwindling participation, we succeeded in bringing together two schools from two different neighborhoods to read books about the Great Migration, to learn about multimedia options for presenting their research (vocalo.org), to dialogue online about their research (facinghistory.org/polk2009) and to hear from a Chicago historian, Dr. Dominic Pacyga (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtF6hxdYxr0 the link is part 5 of 5 clips).
   

Dr. Terrence Roberts Intro (Simeon HS, April 29, 2009)

Good Evening & Welcome,

My name is Sonjanita Moore and I am a Program Associate with Facing History. It is my distinct honor and privilege to introduce our guest speaker this evening, Dr. Terrence Roberts. Dr. Roberts' visit with us this week is part of the Choices in Little Rock Initiative, a partnership between Facing History & the Chicago Public Schools. I would be remiss if I didn't take a moment to thank Simeon Career Academy, and especially Ms. Sterling, Ms. Bryant and Ms. Thornton for their helping to coordinate and host the event this evening. Facing History would also like to thank the many teachers, students and administrators with the Chicago Public Schools that have made this partnership a success. Since 2005, Facing History has brought the Choices in Little Rock curriculum to over 200 teachers representing more than 100 schools !

In addition to helping implement the Choices in Little Rock curriculum in these schools, we have had the pleasure of bringing Dr. Roberts into a number of classrooms across the city. Dr Terrence Roberts is a long-time friend of Facing History and is a member of the advisory board of our Los Angeles office, but many of us here tonight only know Dr. Roberts as one of the brave students of Little Rock, Arkansas who dared to be one of the first African American students to integrate Central High School. But he is far more than a figure in a history book or a person in a documentary.

Dr. Terrence Roberts is a son, a father, a grandfather, but he is also a pioneer, a resister, an upstander...one of the vanguard of the Civil Rights Movement who, according to President Barack Obama, proved that "ordinary people can do extraordinary things." He stands as a living representation of the kind of dignity and courage that makes America great. Before we bring him out let's take a moment to reflect back to 1957...to understand the circumstances that helped to make Dr. Terrence Roberts the man that he is today.

For Ava

A poem written for Ava K. Schieber, Holocaust Survivor
4/23/09 @ Holocaust Lit Seminar, Chicago

For Ava
by: Sonja Moore

Vessel of the Divine
Gentle soul
Transcendental spirit
Remarkable being incapable of hate
Determined dreamer whose mind was her vehicle of freedom
Rebellious, defiant, destined for immortality
Indomitable artisan aremd with parch & pen...pad & pencil
Youthful exuberance feeds inspiration
Bard, djeli, griot, teacher...
She has stepped into the river of creation so her spirit flows on
Forever

Facing History & Myself: A "CHI" PA's Journey: Responding to Dyer & Delpit (choices online -week 3)

Facing History & Myself: A "CHI" PA's Journey: Responding to Dyer & Delpit (choices online -week 3)

Responding to Dyer & Delpit (choices online -week 3)

In lieu of the fact that I'm going to be on vacation with limited internet access, I'm posting my comments here for week 3 discussion for later posting.

Growing Up With Segregation by Delpit

I have to say that while I was initially moved by Delpit's letter to her daughter some years ago when I first read it, today I'm just left with a lot of questions and marginal notes. If memory serves me correctly, Delpit's daughter is biracial/multiracial. I can't help but wonder why that's not mentioned in the intro paragraph.

I am struck by the fact that although Delpit recognizes the discrimination in her neighborhood she still chose to stay and raise her daughter there...why? Even though her parents met with racism, Lisa chose to live in an area where she wasn't wanted or welcome. I often wonder about people who consciously choose to be the first to integrate...what is their motivation? Is it just a desire to have the best or is there an underlying desire to have what was for so long forbidden? IDK. I don't know that I would choose to be the first to integrate so I can't speak for Delpit's reasoning.

She brings up issues that are still problematic for African Americans today, but moreso, in the inner city - police brutality, police harassment, poor/inadequate healthcare systems, inadequate schools, stereotyping. Her closing remarks about the middle schooler reminds me of an adage I grew up hearing - "If you want to hide something from Black people, put it in a book!" This is one of the sentiments addressed in the 90's film, "Higher Learning." It's clear to me that one negative thing that's come out of institutionalized racism is low self-esteem in Black children (i.e., thinking white dolls are prettier, thinking white people are smarter, etc). I suffered symptoms of this phenomena myself growing up.

What I can see and struggle with in our alleged "integrated" society, is the negative effects of integration on the Black community. Once the suburbs and better neighborhoods were an option for Chicago's elite in Bronzeville, they spread out and left the inner city...taking their educational standards, jobs and standing as role models with them. In their place, were left the hard-working middle class, new migrants and the lower class. As the working classes did better, they stayed in the city, but left their original neighborhoods too - leaving behind criminal elements to serve as role models for impressionable youth. I recognize that I've attempted to sum up 50 years in a paragraph, but I think you get the gyst of what I'm concerned about - Why is it that under segregation the Black community and Black family structure was stronger? Why did both seem to disintegrate with integration?

While I disagreed with or was concerned by some aspects of her letter, I can relate to the first sentence in the last paragraph - where she is told to excel or do better than the white kids in her class. I was told this often growing up and in turn, have said it to my students of color (to my female students also). It's the idea behind WEB Dubois' "talented tenth." It's the idea that by a few of us doing well, we can serve as examples for the rest. This served as a means to the development of strong Black families and communities following Emancipation. I don't feel this is a bad sentiment, but it does explain the desire of a people to get ahead and stay ahead in a world that seemed to be against them.

That was the Way it Was Supposed to Be by Dyer

I was not surprised by much of what Dyer wrote. Living and growing up in segregated, all-Black neighborhoods in Chicago it was the assumption that most if not all White people felt this way about Blacks. I can't say I was ever expressly taught this at home or at school, but it was implied in the frustrations of the adults that I encountered and the amount of pressure put on me and my generation to go out and "show the world what Black folks can do", so to speak.

Some of the stereotypes he outlined are not different from ones highlighted on Good Morning America ten years ago in their "black-white study". They are not that different from the negative perceptions played out in Hollywood films or in today's violent video games. The media perpetuates these images. They always have. The problem now is that the very people that are the brunt of this kind of negative imagery have now co-opted the ideas of their critics - contemporary celebrities of color, in many cases, are more than happy to take on the stereotype, exaggerate it and celebrate it. I can't imagine how confusing that must be to someone like Dyer.

The thing I'm left with in reading Dyer is that he says his tree of racism is dying...not completely dead. I can respect and appreciate his candor. I think it's much more realistic to admit that racism will never completely die out or go away. It's something we always have to continue to work on.

Ava@Social Justice HS- part 1

march 31, 2009
part 1 of 5 (youtube)

Polk Dialogue 2009 - Kickoff

chicago activity - march 9, 2009 manley hs

Holocaust in History by Marrus

"Holokaustos - the burnt sacrificial offering dedicated exclusively to God."

I'd never heard the term defined in quite this way. I think reading it like this gives the event a more sacred meaning. Although, I do not agree that history is not for everyone to learn about and analyze for themselves. We do have to be wary of misinterpretation but when you censor critique or hold back knowledge, it gives the impression of privilege or elitism and more importantly, it deprives the scholar of the opportunity to learn from the mistakes of the past. I must confess that Marrus' introduction loses me at certain points. The writing style is very theoretical...it also feels philosophical, but perhaps my limited knowledge of the various aspects of scholarship he references taint my ability to fully process what he's presenting. However, his writings about Butterfield's 2 phases reminds me of Cheikh Anta Diop's "two cradle theory" that references the warlike, tragic, pessimistic worldview of the people of the "northern cradle" (Europeans). It also gets me thinking about how history has been written about genocide, in general.

The fact that "precise totals" continue to be elusive is irrelevant in a sense. How can one really fathom the depths of such a horror? American schoolchildren have tried to comprehend it with paper clips or butterflies, just as Japanese schoolchildren tried to comprehend the bombing of Hiroshima with paper cranes. We set up spontaneous and permanent memorials in honor of the dead but what can we really set up that demonstrates the value of a human life? Historiography, certainly is a way to document what happened, but it is no way to memoralize a life, a soul, the spirit of a man. I think there is room for various scholarly and creative perspectives on what happened during the Holocaust. I do not trust one view. I value the perspective of a visual artist, poet or musician of a time period just as much as (or sometimes more than) a historian.

Just as there were many different kinds of people that suffered and died during that time, there can be that many different ways to present the story. We have to rely on people to read about it, to learn about it, to care and to make up their own minds about right and wrong. We can not dictate one way of scholarship over another...then, we would be no better than the very perpetrators we seek to discount.

Responses to New PA Prompts

What do you notice?
I notice that at the time when the Jewish community needed the world the most, doors were slammed in their faces. At a time in history when people were worried about their own well-being and survival (through WWII and the Great Depression), very few were willing to take the risk of being upstanders. The "restrictionist sentiment" that Marrus speaks of has been mirrored in contemporary society, as well. Think of post-9/11 America and its more fervent anti-immigrant sentiments.


What argument does Marrus make?
* the world turned it's back on the Jews when they sought asylum due to religious discrimination and fear (xenophobia)
* This fear and discrimination existed not only in Europe, but in Palestine and wherever the Jews went
* Palestinian immigration restrictions established by the British were not necessarily to favor the Arab sentiment, as much as it was a way to maintain Arab support against another German offensive
* Many lives were saved around the world, but what was done was done too late and for too few - more could have been saved had fear and discrimination not been factors.

What do you learn or what thoughts are brought up for you?
I was very interested in the numbers of refugees or displaced persons accepted and denied around the world and found myself examining maps and charts from other sources (I'm a visual learner), like the USHMM.

• 30,000 refugees accepted in Switzerland
• 100,000 to the Iberian Peninsula
• 17,000 to Shanghai
• 60,000 to Palestine
• 85,000 to the US (1938-1939)
• 140,000 to Israel (post 1948)
• 100,000 to countries occupied by Germans
• 96,000 Jewish "displaced persons" to the US (1945-1952)
  

I'm left wondering about...

1. Whose responsibility is it to take refugees in? Who has the right to "police" the world? Why were some countries, like Spain (the Iberian peninsula took in 100,000 Jewish refugees), more amenable than others?
   
2. It's interesting to me that political and economic concerns superceded moral concerns.
3. How does Marrus distinguish between "refugees" vs. "displaced persons" in his writing?
4. In the 1920's after WWI, there were much more flexible immigration policies. I wonder though if this applied to all people - were people of color as accepted?
5. Where does illegal immigration (consider "aliyah bet" into Palestine) fit in the refugee question?
   

How do you think this theme applies to the work of Facing History?

I think this section would work well juxtaposed with "Well Founded Fear" (asylum seekers film). It would work well with any immigration resources, like Enrique's Journey, as well. In a larger sense, it connects with our scope and sequence. In considering the work that has been done on the Jewish experience during the war (as refugees, displaced persons, immigrants, emigrants, etc), there is room to compare-contrast immigration policies of the past and the present.

Book Review: Enrique's Journey

The histories of the indigenous peoples of the Americas has been linked with those of some African nations and even, with African slaves brought to the New World through the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. The Civil Rights and liberation movements of the 1960's and 1970's included African and Hispanic Americans. The language-related issues that arise around bilingual education in Spanish-speaking communities can be compared to those issues that arise around SWE vs. Ebonics (formerly known as, Black English Vernacular or Black English) debates. These are just some of the similarities and differences that exist between the Black and Brown communities of America. Enrique's Journey opens the door for dialogue about even more parallels between cultures in addition to serving as a great source experience of emigrating from Central America.
In Enrique's Journey by Nazario, I was reminded of my initial reactions to the immigration stories of friends, students and colleagues. I was also reminded of the first time I saw "Wetback: The Undocumented Documentary" on PBS at a time when immigration was top on the list of issues in Chicago and the nation. In addition to being emotionally moved by suffering that is endured by the journeymen, I instantly thought of ways to connect these personal stories to what was happening in my classroom. Enrique's Journey is a tool for discussions of immigration, Latin American studies and women's studies.


Connections between African American history & Latin American history
1. The plight of the Central American immigrant calls to mind the journeys of runaway slaves and the Underground Railroad. The condition in which travelling immigrants have to live and the treatment they receive attest to the need for greater understanding and education on both sides of the immigration issue, but it also shows that even in the 21st century, all human beings aren't entitled to the same human rights. Even with the risk of retaliation, church volunteers, priests and other citizens throughout Mexico, Central America and the USA take a moral stance not all that different from the one taken by abolitionists.
2. What comparisons can be made to immigrant moms that leave their children/families behind and the slaves that chose to runaway leaving their families on southern plantations until they could buy their freedom or sneak them out?
3. Compare writings, films and first hand accounts of the Central American migration experience with those of African runaway slaves on the Underground Railroad OR to African Americans that took part in the Great Migration
4. What is the significance/symbolism of trains to these two peoples? In "The Promised Land" http://www.amazon.com/Promised-Land-3pc-Morgan-Freeman/dp/6304881932/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=video&qid=1220646749&sr=1-1 Black migrants from the South describe the train as a symbol of liberation (with Blues musicians even using train sounds in their creative works). In Enrique's Journey and "Wetback: The Undocumented Documentary" the train has both negative and positive connotations (from El Tren de la Muerte to El Tren Pelegrino).
5. What does America symbolize or represent to migrants and immigrants? In both cultures there are consistent references to America as "the promised land" or "land of opportunities". A closer study of this could be conducted by student groups looking at the decision making processes associated with the departure, the experiences that occur during the journey and what life is like upon arrival in the new place. This research could cover housing, jobs, culture, socialization and a variety of other topic areas.


Connections to Mexican/Central American history/ancient civilization/current events
1) "...the most dangerous leg of the journey, the Mexican state of Chiapas." (xvii)
• This statement is interesting when you consider the history of the region-indigenous Mayan rule, Spanish conquest, the Mexican Revolution (roles of Emiliano Zapata, Pancho Villa and the Adelitas), the contemporary role of the Zapatistas (EZLN, led by Subcomandante Marcos). The turmoil of the region could have an affect on the social-emotional stability and identity of the indigenous Chiapan peoples and their need to feel some sort of control over their lands.
• The history behind the Mara Salvatrucha's foundations in Chiapas makes for an interesting research into US-Latin American studies - as many of the founders were soldiers or descendants of soldiers of other Latin American conflicts in which the US was involved.
2) The map of Enrique's trip can be used in comparison with the travel map provided in the film, "Wetback: The Undocumented Documentary"
3) Compare/contrast text and film depictions of the immigration experience (the departure, the journey, the arrival) to actual first hand accounts (interviews and/or guest speakers).


Connections to Women's Studies
"What's incomprehensible...are middle class or wealthy working mothers in the US. These women...could tighten their belts, stay at home, and spend all their time with their children. Instead they devote most of their waking hours and energy to careers...why...would anyone do that?" (xi)
• Is Lourdes' perception of working moms in the US based on her role in service to these kinds of families?
• Is she suggesting that working moms aren't good moms? How does this compare to public opinion of working moms in the 1950’s-1970?
• How much of her opinion is based on her own agonies associated with leaving her children behind?
• What does this suggest about the role of mothers and wives (past vs. present)?
• How does the female immigration journey compare to/contrast with the male journey? How did Nazario's journey differ from that of an actual female immigrant?
• Do film depictions of the female immigrant experience paint an accurate picture of the ordeal? How does Lourdes' life compare to women in films like "Mi Familia" or "A Day with out a Mexican" or "Wetback: The Undocumented Documentary"?
There are a variety of other ways to connect Enrique's Journey into broader immigration studies. One could compare the Central American immigrant experience of today to the European or Chinese immigrant experiences of the 19th and 20th centuries. This could also work with readings related to sweatshops and the kinds of jobs migrant/immigrant workers are forced to take.

Facilitation Sample

Immigration Workshop: Becoming American Session

10:45-11 WHAT IF MY PEOPLE HAD NEVER COME TO THIS COUNTRY?

Who are my people? Which group do I identify with the most? How would my life be different if my ancestors had stayed in our homeland? How would America be different?

Take a moment to reflect on these questions in writing. Then, turn to a partner and share your reflections before the large group reconvenes.

11-11:30 LAUNDRYMEN & MOVIES
(DVD 2, Part 6 of Becoming American series, (53:40-1:06:10)
After reading the passage below, we are going to examine the life of Chinese American actress,
Anna May Wong.

The Chinese Exclusion Act that Congress passed in 1882 was renewed in 1892 with a
New restriction—every Chinese in the nation had to carry a certificate of identity issued by
the US government. In 1902, the law was renewed again and in 1904, made permanent.
The stories told in Program 2 explore the impact of those laws on families kept apart,
on lives distorted by countless restrictions. Segment 6 looks at Chinese American life during the 1920s. Historian Henry Yu describes what those years were like for Chinese Americans. He focuses on a single year, 1923:

If you live on the West Coast of the United States and you happen to have come from somewhere in Asia, you live a restricted existence. As an “Asiatic,” a “Mongolian,” an “Oriental,” you are “ineligible for citizenship,” unable to become a naturalized American, and if you are in
California, you are forbidden by law from owning land. If you happen to have been born in the
United States, you are legally a citizen, but you face widespread discrimination in work, housing,
and the law. If you are Chinese, chances are you are male, since exclusionary laws have kept
Chinese women out of the country since 1882, and thus fewer than one out of eight people with
Chinese ancestry are female. You would find it difficult to live outside of a Chinatown—almost
no one except other Chinese would rent or sell to you. . . .
Being considered an Oriental, you find your prospects for prosperity and your choice of
employment and housing curtailed by a long history of anti-Asian agitation by labor groups and
nativist organizations. . . . The US Congress is just about to pass a series of new immigration
laws that will virtually cut off all immigration from Asia. . . . If you are of Asian ancestry in the
United States in 1923, you are seen as “alien”— very few people see you as “American.” Even
among those who tolerate you and your existence, there is an overwhelming sense that you are an
unknown, a mystery, perhaps even inscrutable.19


By the 1920s, change was coming. Bill Moyers explains, “Some men were able to bring their wives to America. And their children—raised in America—would want very different lives.” A few of those children were willing to defy tradition. Among them was a laundryman’s daughter who decided to become a movie star. Her name was Anna May Wong and she refused to be “shoved to the sidelines of American life.” Although she faced discrimination, Karen Leong says that “it’s a mistake to see Anna May Wong’s career as a tragedy or her life as a tragedy.”


Now that we’ve viewed Anna May Wong’s story, consider these discussion questions:
1. How might her childhood experiences have influenced her decisions to be an actress in an industry that consistently assigned stereotypic roles to people of color?
2. How would you assess her career? Was she a tragic or heroic figure?
3. Why do you think Wong would describe herself as Chinese rather than as an American?

11:30 – 12 A PICTURE’S WORTH A 1000 WORDS

What can images tell us about membership & acceptance?

In your small groups, you are going to review the images of student work samples provided. Then, you will discuss the following questions:
- What values or points of views are embedded in this image?
- What creative techniques are used to attract your attention?
- What does it reveal to you about the Chinese American experience?
- How might different people view this image differently (e.g., a Chinese immigrant vs. a native born citizen OR a Chinese immigrant vs. a Chinese American)?







One Book, One Chicago Worshop Session

Chicago is a city with almost 3 million residents – a little over 26% are Hispanic/Latino
and just under 37% African American/Black. Life for youth of color in Chicago’s barrios and hoods are distinct. In The House on Mango Street, Cisneros provides a poetic account from the perspective of a Mexican American girl. Our America: Life & Death on the South Side of Chicago provides insight into the daily lives of two African American males. Examining both texts can give an idea of as to the power of storytelling as a vehicle for survival and freedom of expression.

Step 1 Read passages from The House on Mango Street & from Our America
Step 2 In small groups, document your answers to discussion questions

Chapter from Mango Street Chapter from Our America
The house on Mango Street chapter 1 “the beginning”
There was an old woman she had so many children she didn't know what to do
14-Falling through the cracks (add pg 89 to front of it, Scene of the Crime, 10)

Born Bad 6- Lloyd
Gil's Furniture Bought & Sold
7-Ghetto Getaway

Louie His Cousin & His Other Cousin
2- The Hood

A Smart Cookie
23-Lloyd (interview with Sophia)
House on Mango St Says Goodbye Sometimes 25-Our America


Discussion Questions
1. Create/fill-in an identity chart for Esperanza and your particular narrator from Our America (Lealan or Lloyd) – 2 blank identity charts will be provided.
2. What is being said about the way prejudices shape our perceptions of "us" and "them"?
3. How is language used to divide and include? What does the language you speak (or the way you speak) suggest about your connection or disconnection to your community?
4. What does this reading reveal about the narrator's connection to her family, her home and her neighborhood?
5. How does the book impact and/or influence the cultures they represent (in Chicago and in America)?
6. What can we learn about life in Chicago from these experiences/accounts? Do you see your story in the House on Mango Street or in Our America?
7. Sandra Cisneros writes "I'm going to tell you a story about a girl who didn't want to belong." LeAlan Jones writes, "We live in two different Americas. In the ghetto the laws are totally different& our lives are totally different. I've never felt American..." What can we learn about identity and belonging from these two different perspectives (books)?

follow up case study

I’ve chosen two examples of follow-up from this school year. Being a Chicago PA means that follow-up is not only done in the traditional sense (with teachers after seminars or workshops), but I also have to follow-up with the Teacher Leadership Team teachers and the two teachers participating in our Polk Dialogue. The three teachers in the following represent the latter – Meg Arbeiter is on the TLT and Dave Stieber & Lia Baubin are participants in the Polk Dialogue.
Meg and I met when I joined the TLT a number of years ago and I have always been impressed by her dedication to her students. I was honored that she asked to have me as her PA when she found out I was joining the staff. Our conversations in the first half of the school year were productive; however, we have been unable to re-connect since the winter. This was in no way due to a communication issue between us, but due to transitions being made at ACT Charter. As a result of the foundation laid this year, more teachers have been trained and impressed with what FH has to offer. Even though some of the staff will be transitioning, I am confident that many of them will carry FH with them to their new schools (I met 1 former ACT teacher today…now a principal…who is ready to get FH going at her school)!
Although the Polk Dialogue will not be completed until late April, I feel my work with thse teachers has been successful in the sense that their students have had the opportunity to not only learn more about Chicago history, but they have gone in depth in their learning about their own communities. Vocalo.org has stepped in to teach them interviewing techniques so that the students’ community interviews can be uploaded to the site and merged into 1 audio program (the April 16 showcase will serve as a listening party). In addition, this is an excellent opportunity to encourage dialogue across neighborhoods, which doesn’t really happen between these two communities. I have built a great rapport with these teachers and have a great deal of respect for them.


School: ACT Charter School, Chicago
Contact: Meg Arbeiter, Humanities Dept.


Background
Meg Arbeiter has been a Facing History teacher since 2002 and has served on the Chicago Teacher Leadership Team since 2004. She received the Margot Stern Strom Award for travel to South Africa and work between her students and South African contacts in 2007. Since 2002, Ms. Arbeiter has attended several FH trainings, brought students to community events, has hosted speakers at her school, recommended students to the SLT and has worked with students and FH to plan the student portion of annual benefit dinners.

Communication History

Email: Meg and I began discussing and settling on a date for a departmental meeting via email starting the week of August 25, 2008 up to the date of the actual site visit – October 24, 2008. As a way of preparing for her initial scope and sequence meeting with her department, I offered (emailed/faxed) her suggestions based on my work as teacher and co-facilitator of the humanities department at the Young Women’s Leadership Charter School of Chicago. In September and October, Meg began sending me the social studies standards and their alignment along with access to their curriculum maps, minus 7th & 8th grades.

Conference Call: On October 18, we set the meeting agenda and discussed ACT Charter’s humanities scope and sequence, in light of the YWLCS documents and what ACT Charter’s humanities teachers came up with to start. I emailed her FH Initial Connections sheets for 9-12th grades.

FH Initial Connections assessment tool: I created a tool to better assess what the teachers were currently doing related to FH and where new connections could be made using their curriculum maps and syllabi. This was done for each grade level of humanities (Ms. Arbeiter’s is below).

TEACHER:
Ms. Arbeiter

SCHOOL :
ACT CHARTER SCHOOL, CHICAGO

COURSE/GRADE LEVEL:
12th Humanities

SCOPE & SEQUENCE & FH VOCABULARY CONNECTIONS
 Identity/Individual & Society
 Membership/We & They
 Choosing to participate

FH TEXT/RESOURCE GUIDE CONNECTIONS
 “FH Approach to Literature” handout
 Poems of Survivors (various genocides- check website) & from Race & Membership, chapter 1
 “Hangman” poem

FH A/V RESOURCE CONNECTIONS
 “Ascent of Man” video/dvd
 “The Lunch Date” video
 “Eye of the Storm” dvd
 “Blood Money: Switzerland’s Nazi Gold”
 “Hangman” video
 “The Killing Screens: Media & the Culture of Violence” video

OTHER IDEAS/CONNECTIONS
 Have you considered the Kenneth Branagh version of hamlet (starring Mel Gibson)?
 Music ideas (to aid in variety among groups): “All about the Benjamins”, “Bling Bling”, “Ghetto Life” (all rap songs)
 Center for Media Literacy www.medialit.org/ - try “Techniques of Persuasion” & their glossary of advertising/media terms

Site Visit: The entire staff was present at the session, which was truncated due to a last minute mtg called by the principal. We looked at the scope and sequence documents, I spoke about what was done at each grade level at YWLCS and how we infused Facing History. There was some Q & A and then, I met with the 11th grade humanities teachers individually to offer some ideas.

Follow Up: 7th and 8th grade FH Initial connections sheets were emailed; as well as, requests to Naomi regarding resource availability for 8th and 11th grade courses. Their newest staff member was sent information regarding our upcoming PD in the spring. A second follow-up is in the works.



School: Manley HS & Team Englewood HS, Chicago
Contact: Lia Baubin & Dave Stieber
Project: Polk Dialogue (polk grant, Race & Membership)


Background
Lia Baubin, Manley HS
 Teaches 10th grade US History
 Held a preliminary meeting with students and is looking to select 10 for participation in the Dialogue, which will be a service learning project that will build off their Great Migration/20th century studies in Lia’s US History course
 Will have 12 participating students reading The Promised Land & Color Me Dark
Dave Stieber, Team Englewood HS
 Teaches 9th grade Reading and 9th grade African American History
 Will create an after-school club that will build off the Englewood/Chicago History research done in Sept-Oct in his African Am History courses; as well as, correlating to their Great Migration/20th Century studies in that course in the spring
 Will have 12 participating students reading The Promised Land & Color Me Dark
Communication History

Email: Since August 2008, communications around the Polk Dialogue have transpired. The initial contact was to clarity interest level of applicants (a series of questions were emailed out and finalists selected from that communiqué). Once the 2 schools were selected, ideas were thrown around for the direction of the project in September and a meeting was scheduled for October 6, 2008. Following that meeting, teachers emailed book titles (student readings around migration) for purchase, curricular samples and essential questions. Mid-October, Ganae left the project. Reports were emailed and also faxed to participants.

Meetings & Conference Call:
October 6, 2008 – planning mtg
December 2008
February 17, 2008 – check-in conference call 2
February 24, 2009 – meeting with vocalo.org
March 22, 2009 – check in conference call 2
April 3 – vocalo check-in
April 13-15 – mtg/check-in for Culminating Showcase

Polk Dialogue Event Calendar:

Event Location Dates Transportation Needs Resources Needed at Site
Kick-Off Event featuring Dr. Dominic Pacyga Manley HS March 9
4-6pm 1 bus (for TEHS) LCD, DVD player, Mic (if available)
Vocalo Trainings Manley
Team Englewood March 16 (MHS)
March 20 (TEHS) 2 buses ---
Online Book Chat Polk Discussion Forum March 23 --- Computer lab with internet access
Culminating Showcase Team Englewood April 16
4-6pm 2 buses (for TEHS & MHS) LCD, DVD, Mic (if available)
Chicago Boat Tour downtown April 24, 2009?? 2 buses --

Polk Dialogue Kick-off March 9, 2009

 

3/9/09- Dominic Pacyga at Manley HS (Polk Dialogue)

 

Eyes on the Prize Call

March 6, 2009


Essential Questions (posed by J.C.)

1. What is "the prize" and who is it for?
2. How did segregation manifest itself in daily life?
3. How did segregation influence all Americans?

Other questions
- What is "the prize" being sought in the readings?
- What other resources connect to these readings & this resource?

Reflecting on Eyes on the Prize readings (week of 3/6/09)

Eyes on the Prize New PA Call
My Pre-Call Notes

1) What seems familiar? What does it remind you of?
Text-to-Text/Text-to-Multimedia Connections
• White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack
• Without Sanctuary (book & exhibit)
• 4 Little Girls (film)
• The writings of Black authors, artists & writers who left America
• Miseducation of the Negro
• Various sociological studies of the “slave mentality”, the nature of master-slave relations, the rule of a few over many & their effects on contemporary race relations
• Willie Lynch Letter

Text-to-World Connections
• “Think globally, act locally”
• “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
• “Thou shalt not kill”
• UDHR – human rights vs. civil rights
• Police dept relations in the Black community
• 1960’s discriminatory practices leading into the present
• Black-Jewish relations in America
• How does racism affect the perpetrator?
o Uncle Tom’s Cabin
o Other Black history oriented readings

Text-to-Self Connections
• Murder of my cousin by B’ham police (1990’s)
• History of racial violence against family & neighbors in AL
• My own emotional reaction to my visit to 16th street Baptist Church
• My visit to UGRR sites in US & Canada, specifically my emotional reactions to standing on Detroit side & Windsor side


2) What was surprising?
• That the perspectives of White civil rights workers or leaders were included in the guide
• That Morgan would leave the South

3) What do I want to know more about?
• The families mentioned in both reading. What became of them & their communities?

4) How would I use these documents in a session?

Together, in a C.R. session: split group in half with each reading one, watch the Eyes clip and then coming back to discuss some essential questions (like the ones Jennifer posed). This could also be used with CILR unit.
What is the prize & who is it for?
How did segregation manifest itself in daily life?
How did segregation influence all Americans?

In a non-civil rights session: they could be used as split group reading related to various topics (like the ones listed below). They can be used with the Eyes sections – “Keys to the Kingdom” & “Back to the Movement”
Police-community relations
Race relations in America, in general
Black-Jewish relations
Responses to racism, violence & discrimination

Scope & Sequence connections
Indiv & society: How does your identity determine your active, proactive and/or inactive participation in society?

We & They: How does your membership or acceptance in a society affect your ability to exercise your civil and/or human rights in that society?

Historical case study: How do these fit in our larger understanding of the Civil Rights Movement? How has the CRM influenced other movements or groups in America, like the Black Arts Movement, Chicano movement, Black Power Movement, Feminist Movement?

Memory/legacy/justice: How does the legacy of violence & the CRM affect Birmingham today? How does the legacy of the CRM affect race relations? How can/do you connect to the CRM?

CTP: How do each of these men choose to participate? Are they upstanders, resisters, rescuers and/or all of the above? How would/could/do you respond to racism, violence and discrimination?

Feb. 27 thoughts

It's been hectic. I feel like all my projects, tasks and school visits are coming down on me all at once. It's stressful to have so much on your plate at one time and to still have time to deal with personal/social/financial catastrophes in one's personal life - being overwhelmed means my work spills over into personal time.

I think overall though as far as my time here since August I am most comfortable with my work in the New PA cohort and with the my school visits. I have a good rapport with the teachers I've met with and hope for great things coming out of their classes. The hardest part or least rewarding part is recruiting for seminars and workshops. I've never been good at sales...I'm too nonchalant.

I am excited/anxious to see how the Polk Dialogue turns out. Students from 2 different high schools are reading 2 texts related to the Great Migration, conducting neighborhood interviews/projects to be merged for an audio montage by vocalo.org, a local public radio station for marginalized communities and getting together twice to hear a Chgo historian and to showcase their projects related to their studies. As a culmination the students will go on a Chicago Boat Tour. This dialogue is important because it brings together youth from 2 different schools/communities that wouldn't otherwise connect due to Chicago's historically segregated nature. It's also an opportunity to foster dialogue among Chicago area teachers and to provide the students with interpersonal and multimedia skills that they may or may not have had the opportunity to be exposed to before.

Photo Movie

 

Is Race "Skin Deep"? - from R&M, page295-302

First off I have to admit that the title of the reading has me confused. I'm not sure if it's asking if race is equal to skin color OR if it's saying race is real because it holds a greater significance to individuals beyond skin color.

The reading basically focuses on statements about race, how we define it, how we perceive it and the consequences of allowing a biological fiction to become a social reality.

The first major statement analyzed comes from an exhibition at the Am. Museum of Natural History in NYC. The key parts say, "differences of culture and society distinguish one group from another but these distinctions are not rooted in biology." Their belief was that mapping the genome is a step to promoting unity. I found that theory questionable because these concepts are not written to hit the average person and average people can't change social policies, thousands of years of negative racist histories or racial disparities in society.

Jared Diamond is the 1st scholar that is highlighted and he writes that "most people regard the existence of race as obvious" - something you can physically see. Which is true in most cases, but what about people who can "pass"? I couldn't help but think, too, of the fact that oppressed peoples (or those that perceive themselves as oppressed) have lived through racism and have difficulty letting go of what they've seen. Although the writing was a bit lengthy, I appreciated his use of scientific language and scientific classification as a way to show the problems with race theories. Diamond talks about the fact that there are certain human traits, like race, that really serve no function to survival while there are others that do. However, because things are the way they are, race is seen by many as necessary for their cultural survival if not their physical survival. I concur with his notions of skin color being linked to ideas of who's beautiful or not.

Barbara Kath Rothman raises interesting issues as it relates to "Blackness" (who is Black, who isn't) and how the American definition of Blackness differs greatly from how the Dutch perceive it. If race = skin color then anyone with dark skin is Black, according to America (whether they were born here or in India or in Jamaica or in Africa). I would take it a step further and say that among African Americans, there are differing views on being Black or "not being Black enough." She says, "What confuses us is that the differences exist physically, but matter socially. There are physical differences and even physical consequences."

Reflecting on My 1st Seminar - CLR

January 13-15, 2009

Beyond a few blunders in terms of talking too long or giving appropriate instructions I think I did a pretty good job with this seminar. I am excited about working with this group and was able to make appointments on the spot for follow up, which makes my job a lot easier.


Some issues raised during CLR Seminar...

How can we emphasize the fact that our identities are multi-faceted? Although society has raised us to see differences, like skin color, we are more than these things.

How can teachers address the depth of students' knowledge of self? What can white teachers (of students of color) do to address issues of race/racism? How can they not perpetuate societal stereotypes? What can be done to build rapport between teachers and students of backgrounds different from their own?

How can FH work with extending resources to discuss the experiences of races other than Blacks and Whites? Beyond the immigration workshops, are there ways to incorporate Hispanic/Latino studies?

Education-related readings ("School" dvd & R & M)

Targeting the Unfit
- labeling of the inferior peoples in the 1900's
-key figures involved in pushing this forward vs. those who were targeted
- primary sources excerpts from students lumped in these inferior classes and how they excelled above their status

Identifying the Unfit
- Key figures involved in the scholarship
- origins of modern standardized testing and today's connections
-theory vs. practice - why teachers and social workers debated these theories

Challenging Racial Assumptions
- debate among white scholars in the early 20th century around racist stereotypes, specifically regarding the Negro and the "Indian" (i.e., the Negro question, the Indian question)
- the role of WEB DuBois, as the lead representative as far as public criticism against this kind of scholarship



"School" (dvd)
- School is a way to maintain superpower status during Cold War
- school as a place to prepare for college
-school as a place to train a labor force
- school as a vehicle for identifying future leaders and scholars through IQ testing (stratification by race, by class, by citizenship status)
- school as a means toward social advancement, social skills, home economics, family life

This documentary also highlights:
-the various theories that were tried/applied in various different school systems
- which schools were held as models over time and why
- discussion of the role of IQ tests

Deconstructing Our Notions of Ghetto - NPACS, Document 2

Ars Longa, Vita Breve: Immortalizing the Ghetto through the Arts


“...So with eager confidence I breathe life through parch and pen
Quill and ink of good intent can quell feuds and arguments...
Breathing life into my pen
In great traditions, now and then,
Truth begins to make amends for mistakes made by the leaders of men
Words
Like glyphs, stand for all time
Not even the guns of Alexander, Napoleon or Hitler could stifle these lines
Willie Shakespeare said it once
Oscar Wilde posed it, too -
Ars longa, vita breve
So long lives this, immortality for you
The life brought to my pen is of heavenly decree
So, these words and thoughts aren't really of me"
- excerpted from "In the Beginning" by Sonja Moore, 2006


There is the notion of life mirroring art or is it the other way around? When the content evokes painful or difficult memories or emotions, it is easy to deny the truth of what an original piece suggests and to blame the artisan for his depiction. If, however, "life is but a stage and we are all players" how can the "playwright" be at fault? The artists, writers, poets and musicians of the 20th and 21st centuries have had the burden of being charged with immortalizing cultures of violence and with rescuing lost heroes from the annals of history. It is through their work that we can begin to deconstruct our past, present and future understanding of our life experiences. Sonia Weitz speaks of “mind journaling” (since she was not allowed to have paper and pen) as a means of remembering, honoring and surviving. Is her work of any less value than those who actually drew or wrote during their captivity? The Jewish artists of the Holocaust; as well as, their family and friends, are immortalized by their words, visual arts and music. They surmounted the walls and barbed wire of the ghettoes with their imagination – providing a vehicle that allows us to get a sense of what they were feeling in captivity. Would we truly have an accurate depiction of events without their voices and their vision? Would they have been able to endure without their creative outlets? Would we be able to truly connect with their struggles without their art? Probably not as much.


Just as the trials of European Jewry is captured in visual arts, creative writing and other forms of artistic media, the African American experience in the ghetto is well-documented, too. A different continent, a different time and different circumstances don’t make their depictions any less poignant, but their adaptation and in some cases, acceptance of ghetto conditions is striking. Cora Daniels writes of America as a “ghetto nation” – a place that contains urban ghettoes, but has, unfortunately, adopted a ghetto lifestyle and mentality that is spreading beyond its urban centers. Trapped in a modern-day version of a closed ghetto, Blacks were closed in by viaducts, expressways, brick walls, streets, railroad tracks and other man-made structures. Overcrowded, filthy, drug-infested areas became the dwelling for America’s poor or lowing classes. Northern city communities that were once home to newly migrated Southern Blacks became the home of the “kitchenette” and then, housing projects (a/k/a “Jets” or “The PJs”). What happens when human beings are treated like animals in a so-called democracy? How do they respond? How do they view themselves and the rest of society? How does society view them?


“…just as society must have a scapegoat, so hatred must have a symbol. Georgia has the Negro and Harlem has the Jew…The structure of the American commonwealth has trapped both these minorities in to attitudes of perpetual hostility. They do not dare trust each other!”
-“Harlem Ghetto” by James Baldwin, Notes of a Native Son

Ghettoes, past and present, have been maintained on the basis of racist ideology rooted in an us vs. them mentality. From within and without, battles rage over who will be on top. It is an issue of membership and acceptance whether you’re talking about Harlem, NY or Chicago, IL. The negative lifestyles associated with ghetto residence are perpetuated not only by stereotypes, but by fear and mistrust among residents and towards those outside the ghetto. Often the punch line in ghetto humor is aimed at government (local and federal), as in many Good Times episodes. At other times, when ghettoes are filled with multiethnic groups, the enemy in proximity becomes the target or daily scapegoat – as is the case when one considers the relationships between Blacks and Jews or Blacks and Asians. Baldwin writes of the “Negro” doesn’t hate the “Jewish ness” of their neighbors (who were their local merchants or employers, in many cases), but because of what they perceive as an alleged disregard of their struggle against oppression. According to Baldwin, this shared history of suffering, as perceived by “Negroes” of his time, should have been the bridge to equitable treatment and business dealings. As long as both groups hold fast to the ideologies of the dominant culture, he postulates, there is to be no reconciliation between the two groups. Ironic when you consider all that both cultures have to offer to one another and the assistance given by the Jews to African Americans (helping to found & teach at Black universities and aiding in the Civil Rights Movement & founding of NAACP).


“In America life seems to move faster than anywhere else on the globe and each generation is promised more than it will get, which creates in each generation a furious, bewildered rage...of a people who can’t find solid ground beneath their feet…the Negro lashes out against himself and those that represent their demise.”
- “Harlem Ghetto” by James Baldwin, Notes of a Native Son

Even more troubling than the festering rage contemporary residents waged against their perceived enemies is the embracing of all things ghetto. Over time residents went from working hard to make a better life and get out of the ghetto to boldly proclaiming their “ghetto fabulous” status – even going so far as to make no efforts to “move on up” and creating media to encourage the continuance of ghetto life (consider the first time you heard the song “Baby Mama” or heard the B-word in a rap song). Ghetto residents no longer gave the impression of striving for “the American Dream”. They seemed to now, “fester” as a raisins in the sun. It is this rage that leads to the destruction of communities in race riots and explains the reasoning behind the lack of reconstruction following such destruction. This festering led to a kind of anti-establishment rage that has been playing out in America’s ghettoes since the 1970’s and has overtime become the staple of Hip Hop culture, which was once fused with expository messages aimed at “edutainment”.
In researching and archiving a number of poems, songs (lyrics, audio files, video files) that relate to Jewish and African American ghettoes there is an opportunity for multimedia, multicultural dialogue and exploration. Sonia Weitz wrote of the “sounds of misery and cries of longing of a “surplus population,” an unwanted people -“victims of the victims” who were plagued with inhumanities that “assaulted their senses” and made them feel like they were no longer “in the land of the living.” LeAlan Jones, years later, writes of a Chicago ghetto as being “like Vietnam” – knowing things you’re not supposed to at an early age, needing to act older than your age in order to survive, witnessing death on a daily basis. “The violence and killing are out of control…I think if we make it out of here we deserve a medal of honor…because if you aren’t wounded physically you’re wounded spiritually,” Jones writes. Ghettoes, past or present, are no places for children or anyone, but those who survive make use of their creative abilities. If our communities – ghetto or otherwise – don’t allow for this kind of outlet, then they risk the end of vibrant cultures.

(there was a comparative table that could not be cut/paste here)

NEW PA CASE STUDY OVERVIEW (DOCUMENT 1)

Areas of Inquiry:
1. How does Facing History explore the ghettoization of Jews during WWII and what resources are available to aid (teachers & students) in this exploration?
2. How has contemporary ghettoization been explored through pop culture and how can FH resources be used to support this exploration?

Rationale:
Many of today’s youth are able to define or describe what a ghetto is, but how many are aware of the origin of ghettoes? Although many students can give at least a brief overview of what happened during the Holocaust, most can only outline what occurred in the concentration or death camps. Learning about the Jewish ghettoes of Europe will provide a frame of reference for understanding the complex dynamics of the development of urban ghettoes in the 20th and 21st centuries and the peoples that live there. Furthermore, by examining these dichotomies through the lens of the arts, students will come to appreciate the truly human side of life in closed, open and destruction ghettoes (as defined by USHMM).
Research Approach:
1. To define, describe and identify “ghetto” as it related to the Jewish experience during WWII
2. To define, describe and identify “ghetto” as it relates to contemporary, urban experiences in America, particularly, but not exclusively, for Blacks.
3. To compile a list of FH and USHMM resources available related to the ghettoization of European Jews
4. To archive audio and video footage related to FH and USHMM resources
5. To research and compile supplemental resources around ghetto life (past and present) for curricular implementation along the scope and sequence – poetry, lyrics, historical fiction, non-fiction text, articles, film and tv resources, other multimedia references, etc.

Materials to Preview BEFORE the Presentation:
• New PA Case Study Documents 1 & 2
If you have time & want to…
1. Skim Chapter 25, pg 199-200 of Our America entitled “Our America” (by Lealan Jones)
2. Skim the USHMM articles called “ghettos” and “types of ghettos” – links below & on ning
3. View the 2 "Growing Up in the Ghetto" videos (these are referenced in our Eyes on the Prize guide).

How to Navigate the Ning Site
→ Notes: contains the introduction to my project, list of FH resources, list of USHMM resources (online), Yad Vashem resources.
→ Forum: extensive archive of resources related to past and present understandings of ghettoes – workshop/curricular ideas, poetry by students and adults (Jewish & non-Jewish), music links, non-fiction works & primary sources on ghetto life, information on various other artforms/multimedia links related to ghetto life and articles on the importance of the arts. This is also a place for readers to contribute ideas, such as Susan’s contribution “That’s so ghetto.”
→ Blog: areas of inquiry, essential questions and unit questions for further study (in relation to the FH scope and sequence).
→ Photos & Videos: archive of images and video related to past and present work related to ghetto life. Some videos are excerpts of Jewish documentaries/films and others are contemporary music videos (some lyrics provided).


Sources

1. “Ghettos” http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/article.php?lang=en&ModuleId=10005059
2. “Ghettoization” http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/phistories/index.php?content=phi_ghettos_ghettoization_uu.htm
3. “Types of Ghettos” http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/article.php?lang=en&ModuleId=10007445
4. Give me your children: voices from the Lodz Ghetto http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/lodz/
5. “Conditions in the Ghettos” http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/phistories/index.php?content=phi_ghettos_conditions_uu.htm
6. “Roundups in the Ghettos” http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/phistories/index.php?content=phi_ghettos_roundups_uu.htm
7. “Massacres in the Ghettos” http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/phistories/index.php?content=phi_ghettos_massacres_uu.htm
8. “The Ghettoization of European Jews: Deportation & Resettlement in the East” http://www.jeewishvirtuallibraryorg/jsource/Holocaust/ghet.html
9. Holocaust in History by Michael Marrus
10. New PA Case Study Ning http://sonjacasestudyproject.ning.com/
11. Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin
12. Ghetto Nation: a Journey into the Land of Bling & the Home of the Shameless by Cora Daniels
13. Our America: Life and Death on the South Side of Chicago by LeAlan Jones and Lloyd Newman
14. Ghetto Life 101” (audio accompaniment to Our America)
15. Making the Second Ghetto: Race and Housing in Chicago, 1940-1960 by Arnold R. Hirsch
16. The Phoenix: YWLCS Poetry Journal 2005
17. “Resistance and Non-Compliance” by Vladka Meed, Women Surviving the Holocaust Conference, NY, March 1983
18. “G.H.E.T.T.O.” (anonymous poem)
19. “When You Hear the Word Ghetto” (anonymous poem)






Life in the Ghetto: Looking Back
By: Sonja Moore

Life in the ghetto wasn’t always as it seemed
German propaganda footage hides their true scheme -
The total extermination of a segment of humanity
Using tactics and “special treatments” that reveal the insanity
Of man’s inhumanity to man
Some things are hard to tell
As it relates to the “final solution” regarding the religion of Israel
Political movements, a new government
Scapegoating leads to new legislation
The world’s stage is now ridden with fascist, totalitarian dictators
Whose sole aim is to rule the world & rid it of “undesirables”
But they even found ways to make real ghetto conditions deniable
The spread of typhus, lice infections and starvation
The demise of artisans, leaders and intellectuals of a great nation
Daily items now became contraband
Food and clothes we sold right along
With prayer shawls and armbands
“Essential worker” had some reprieve
Against the slaughter that was to come
But even in their case, sometimes,
Bribery or other sacrifices had to be done
Red Cross aid ended as Japanese planes
Attacked a Harbor half a world away
Forcing everyone, even children, to steal food everyday
Hunger breeds desperation
And makes you do things you normally wouldn’t
It drives you mad, it makes you crazy
It makes you say things you shouldn’t
Like, “Where is God? What is He doing?
Are we His ‘Chosen’ or the forgotten?
Why are we to suffer at the hands of evildoers
Who claim to follow God’s ‘Only Begotten’?”
Overcrowded ghetto dwellings filled with filth & disease
Call to mind the rat-infested bowels of ships carrying Africans overseas

The humiliation of haircutting of the rabbi
Makes me think of native children in missionary schools
Or the knot cutting inflicted upon ancient samurai
I can’t help but wonder if diseases were spread by government decree
As with the syphilis injections of Tuskegee
Or like the small-pox infested blankets that wrapped & killed Native babes
All are events that made it clear
That you couldn’t trust policies your government made
Careful calculations, detailed planning
Evidence destroyed and hidden from view
Was this example followed by African dictators, too?
Disregard for human life, no peaceful resting place for the dead
Human beings lined ghetto streets as Katrina’s victims did
Diaries & books tell the stories that others chose to deny
Gripping details and heartache that brings tears to your eyes
A Venetian concept, centuries old, adopted by the Nazi regime
Unfortunately, still a part of some government schemes