At this point. . .

You should have two FORMAL, typed lesson plans that include essential questions, objectives, all materials included, and activities. These should be COMPLETE! Translation: If you say "discuss" you must list the questions you will use to discuss as well as the format for the discussion. If you say "Read Article" you must include the actual article as well as reading strategies for tackling it.

So, you have some work to do.

Please stay focused and keep your eyes on the prize during this last week of classes. We will have our final check in on the Wednesday before your final is due. At that point, you must have four FORMAL lessons and your tool. The project description is still posted on the blog (look below) if you have questions about requirements or formating.

As always, let me know if you have questions.

Prom integration in the 21st Century?!?

The issue of segregated and newly-integrated proms was a hot topic in our class and the subject is also getting some press in the national media.

If you are interested, check out:

NPR's pod cast "Prom Night in Mississippi".
Facing History's collection of current articles and questions

Have a good weekend juniors!!

Junior Meeting Tomorrow (Wednesday!)

Dear Juniors,

Please come to your regularly scheduled block on Wednesday with 3-4 essential questions and a brainstorm list of possible activities.

Please let me know if you have questions!

Junior Project

In case you lost yours. . . .
Jr- RG Lesson Plan

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Junior Seminar: Ideas!

Hi Juniors!

Please use the comment function to throw out some of your ideas for the final project.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

A Prom Divided?

Last week, the New York Times profiled the Montgomery County District in Georgia, that still holds segregated proms. Earlier in the course, we spoke about this briefly. Check out the article.

The Laramie Project: Day 2

Choose TWO of the following. Be sure to read and respond to your classmates' comments.

Many people in the play/movie express a personal guilt over what happened to Matt--and wonder if they could have somehow stopped this crime from happening. Why did these people not step in to stop a crime based on prejudice, discrimination, and hate? What is each person's social and moral responsiblility to stop acts of hate when they see them occur?

The murders Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson are introduced in this act more fully. What are the different perceptions of these men in the community?

Why do you think the issue of AIDS is brought up in this act? How do we as a society think of AIDS today? Does this stigmatize this crime?

The Laramie Project--Questions to ponder from Act I

Answer one of the following. Please make sure to READ each other's comments and respond to them in your comments.

1.) Why do you think the interviewers/actors from the Tectonic Theater Company decided to include themselves as actual characters in the play? How does this change the story being told? Why didn't they just include comments from the actual residents of Laramie?

2.) Why do you think the graphic description of finding Matthew tied to a fence and struggling for life is included in this play? Why don't you think they did not choose to have a character playing Matthew in the play so we could see and understand the actual circumstances of his death?

Gender and Sexual Orientation. . .

Before we spend the next few classes talking about the struggle for gay and lesbian civil rights, I would like you to read an excerpt from Eric Marcuses' anthology of oral histories, "Making History". Please read the excerpt below about Barbara Gittings and Kay Lahusen's struggle to get the American Psychological Association's hesitation to drop homosexuality from its list of of mental disorders.

Interview Making History

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Please read article and post thoughtful comments below.

Also, for those who are interested: here is the article (Gay Teenager Stirs a Storm) I spoke briefly about in class today.

Seniors: Final Project! Juniors: 4th Quarter Project!

RG Toolbox

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More from Jenny Finney Boylan

Jenny Finney Boylan, The author of "She's Not There" wrote an op-ed in this Sunday's New York Times that addresses the question of whether or not she was in a gay marriage in the state of Maine. This was the EXACT question that was brought up in our class: what happens if a transgendered person stays in their marriage? does it become a "gay" marriage? is it legal? does the state recognize it?

Please read the article, Is My Marriage Gay?. I look forward to reading your comments!

Biology and Culture

This is your assignment for MONDAY. Your participation on the blog will count as your attendance for class. To clarify, you do not need to go to class on Monday. For you not to be marked absent, you complete and post the following assignment by Monday night/Tuesday morning.

In the following viewpoint, Deborah Blum contends that while biological differences play a part in forming gender roles, those differences are amplified by cultural and environmental influences. She maintains that certain biological disparities, such as testosterone's part in making men more aggressive, do influence personality. However, Blum argues, these biological differences are tempered by factors such as a person's upbringing and work environment. Blum is a professor of journalism at the University of Wisconsin in Madison and the author of Sex on the Brain: The Biological Differences Between Men and Women.

As you read, consider the following questions. You will be expected to post your reflections on all THREE of the questions.

1. According to statistics cited by Blum, in conflicts in which a woman killed a man, how often did the man start the fight?
2. In the author's view, at what age will a child who is raised in a less traditional family develop a traditional sense of gender roles?
3. What happens to the testosterone level of a person who loses a game, according to Blum?

Please click on the box in the upper right hand side of the article to enlarge.
Biology and Culture Article

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She's Not There. . .

"She's Not There" is a remarkable memoir about Jennifer Finney Boylan's decision to change genders.

For HW this weekend, I would like you to read an excerpt of the book. You may also explore Boylan's website to see photos and read more. In your comments please include the usual what strikes you, etc as well as what does this piece of a memoir teach us about gender identity?

In class, I will make an important announcement about your assignment for Monday, as class will be canceled.

The role of nature/nurture in reinforcing gender?

Please read Max Beck's "My Life as an Intersexual" for homework tonight. 

In your comments, I would like you focus on our continuing nature/nurture debate in realation to gender identity. Please tie Max's story into what you saw today in "Sex Unknown".

Back to Science. . .

As you are becoming increasingly aware, Physical gender is not always just a matter of XX or XY, girl or boy. In approximately one out of every 100 births, seemingly tiny errors occur during the various stages of fetal sex differentiation, causing a baby's body to develop abnormally. Problems in the formation of chromosomes, gonads, or external genitals can lead to a range of intersex conditions.

In order to prep for our next case study, I need you to do some background analysis about how sex is determined . The sex of an egg cell is set as soon as it is fertilized, but what happens to that cell and the cells it divides into to make a baby boy or a baby girl? Please click here to find out.

In addition, there are a variety of conditions that may lead "intersex" births. Please read about conditions on the intersex continuum. You do not need to post tonight, but you will be held responsible for the reading in a class discussion tomorrow.

When She Graduates as He. . . .

Thank you for your thoughtful comments dealing with gender preferences in children. For tonight's discussion, we are going to shift to talk about gender identity in college students.

For HW, please read "When She Graduates as He", an interesting look at the lives of a handful of Smith and Mount Holoyoke students who decided to transition to the male gender while attending historically all-female colleges. Obviously, this complicates matters on campus.

In your comments, I would like to focus on your thoughts about how this challenges (positively or negatively) the purpose of all women colleges and universities.

If you are interested in this topic, the New York Times also examined this issue. However, the student profiled switched colleges (From Barnard to Columbia).

*In a episode of the Simpsons that aired in 2003, Lisa was visited by a ghost from each of the "Seven Sister" colleges.

Weekly Calendar 5-4

RG09 5-4

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Gender Preferences?

Last May, National Public Radio reported on two stories about transgendered children. The reports were centered around the two families' decisions about how to cope with their children's gender preferences. Both families seek out professionals for advice.

In Part I, the family is working on "drastically changing" their parenting so that their son, "Bradley" will no longer be allowed to play with girlish toys or even female friends.

Part II: After a diagnosis of "Gender Identity Disorder", "Armando's" family decided pursue a new, controversial treatment for preteen kids with gender identity issues. The treatment allows kids to postpone puberty and avoid developing the physical attributes of the sex they were born with.

Over the weekend, please read (or listen! the link is at the top of each page) to BOTH stories. When you are finished, please post thoughts, comments, and reflections. We will be discussing these cases in class on Monday.

Ma Vie En Rose and X: Upcoming Discussion

After we have finished viewing "Ma Vie En Rose", we will be having a discussion that will tie together both the themes of the film and the story of baby x.

In preparation for the discussion, please reflect on the following in the comments section:

Both pieces, Ma Vie En Rose and X hint at the question of whether gender identity & our understanding of our own gender identity is biological or if it is socially constructed. Discuss how each piece examines this debate and what your perception is/was of this question.

Ma Vie en Rose and Baby X

Please read "Baby X", the story that I distributed in class today.

Please reflect on this story and what you have seen of "Ma Vie En Rose": Are gender messages as frequent as we make them out to be?

Weekly Calendar 4-27

RG09 4-27

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WELCOME BACK!

I hope everyone had a fun, restful, and relaxing break! I can't wait to hear all about it (and I will tell you about my lava-filled volcano hike).

Your duties for Monday night:
1.) Finish your paper. Make sure you proofread and check my expectations (guidelines are posted on this site if you lost them!)
2.) Post your comments on the question below:

WHY DO WE CARE ABOUT GENDER?

Obviously, this is a really broad question. Think our class discussion and about the expectations, behaviors, stereotypes, and roles that are associated with each gender.

Due date changed

Your civil rights photography paper is due Tuesday, April 28th.

Have a great break!I'll be here!

Crash

For my students under 17, please print out the permission slip below and have someone at home sign it so that you may participate in the viewing of "Crash". These forms are due tomorrow in class.


Crash Perm Slip

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Weekend Tasks--D/E

1.post below
2. prepare 5 questions for Monday's graded discussion.

have a good weekend!

Limbo

Twilight: Los Angeles ends with the words of Twilight Bey, a young activist:

So a lot of times when I've brought up ideas to my homeboys
they say Twilight
that's before your time
that's something that you can't do now
when I talked about the truce back in 1988
that was something they considered before its time
yet in 1992
we made it
realistic
so to me it's like I'm stuck in limbo
like the sun is stuck between night and day
in the twilight hours
you know
I'm in an area not many people exist
Night time to me
is like a lack of sun
and I don't affiliate darkness with anything negative
I affiliate
darkness of what was first
because it was first
and then relative to my complexion
I am a dark individual
and with me stuck in limbo
I see darkness as myself
I see the light as knowledge and the wisdom of the world and
understanding others
and in order for me to be a true human being
I can't forever dwell in the darkness
I can't forever dwell in the idea
just identifying with people like me and understanding me and mine
So twilight
is
that time
between day and night
limbo
I call it limbo

How would you describe Twilight's limbo? do you think others experience this limbo? How is this limbo manifested in people's actions?

What is your own personal limbo?

Twilight: LA

Twilight Los Angeles forces us to look at a situation from multiple perspectives.

When have you been asked to see something from a perspective other than your own? Was it hard? If so, why? Why is it helpful to view a situation from other perspectives? Were you able to actually do so? Please answer as honestly as possible in the comment section below.

Let me know if you have questions!

Twilight: Los Angeles

This week, we are embarking on our study of Los Angeles in 1992. On class 2 of this week, we will begin viewing: "Twilight Los Angeles". You will be responsible for taking notes using the discussion guide as a way to prepare for the graded discussion that will happen when we finish studying this play.

For homework tonight, please read the packet including the readings "Conflict in the Promised Land" and "Riots Then and Now". You do not need to post a response, but you will be responsible for all of the content.

Here is a link if you are interested in learning more about Twilight.

Weekly Calendar 4-6

RG09 4-6

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Civil Rights Photography Paper

This paper is due 4/14.

Here is the Eyes on the Prize Photo Gallery. D and E, please print your photos and bring them in on Monday!
RG Q4 paper

Civil Rights Photography Paper.

Cassius Clay to Muhammed Ali

By the time he won the gold medal
for boxing at the 1960 Olympics,Cassius Clay was already a larger-than-life figure. Clay was not only a gifted
fighter, but also handsome, unapologetic, and provocative. Clay climbedthe boxing world’s ladder in a series of spectacular fights, an ascent that climaxed with his victory over heavy-weight champion Sonny Liston on February 25, 1964. The next morn-ing, Clay held a press conference inwhich a reporter asked, “Are you a card-carrying member of the BlackMuslims?” to which Clay responded,
“Card-carrying; what does that mean?

I believe in Allah and in peace.”Reflecting back on his conversion, he explained how he became
interested in the Nation of Islam:

The first time I heard about Elijah Muhammad was at a Golden Gloves Tournament in Chicago [in 1959]. Then, before I went to the Olympics, I looked at a copy of the Nation of Islam newspaper, Muhammad Speaks. I didn’t pay much attention to it, but lots of things were working on my mind. When I was growing up, a colored boy named Emmett Till was murdered in Mississippi for whistling at a white woman. Emmett Till was the same age as me, and even though they caught the men who did it, nothing happened to them. Things like that went on all the time. And in my own life, there were places I couldn’t go, places I couldn’t eat. I won a gold medal representing the United States at the Olympic Games, and when I came home to Louisville [Kentucky], I still got treated like a nigger. There were restaurants I couldn’t get served in. Some people kept calling me “boy.” Then in Miami [in 1961], I was training for a fight, and met a follower of Elijah Muhammad named Captain Sam. He invited me to a meeting, and after that my life changed.

Clay later announced that Elijah Muhammad, the leader of the Nation of Islam, had given him a
new name. From then on, Clay refused to be called anything but Muhammad Ali. Later Ali
explained, “changing my name was one of the most important things that happened to me in my
life.”

What did his name change symbolize for Ali (who was originally named after Cassius Marcellus Clay, a nineteenth-century abolitionist)? Why do you think some of Clay’s supporters lashed out against him after he converted to the Nation of Islam and changed his name to Muhammad Ali? Why did many people refuse to call Ali by his new name?

* From Facing History and Ourselves/Eyes on the Prize Study Guide

The crisis in Boston

The eyes of the nation were on Boston in the 1970's. Media coverage of the school segregation crisis was widespread. Cameras and journalists were as common to the students attending school as rioters and protesters. Parents of both the black and white students were extremely outspoken in their efforts to halt or progress the desegregation process.

How do you think the students would have reacted to the busing with out pressure from their parents or the presence of the media? Please answer in the comments section.

Weekly Calendar 3-30

RG09 3-30

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Education, Race and Civil Rights

The civil rights movement is often examined and talked about as if it was only a Southern issue. Yet, the struggle for racial justice occurred all over the country and was especially explosive in northern cities. The conflict of how to resolve racial segregation in Boston's public schools in the 1960's and 1970's resulted in court-ordered busing and subsequent violence and conflicts.

Over the course of the next few days, we will be looking at 1.) Why Boston's Public Schools racially segregated in the 1960's 2.) Court and community responses to this racial imbalance and 3.) Legacies that this crisis has had on the public school system today.

For homework I would like you to read the following article to gain some background information about Boston and racial demographics during this time period. You do not need to comment, but you will be expected to both review the reading and reflect what you have learned during Wednesday's class. To enlarge the document, please click on the box in the right-hand corner.

Education and Civil Rights

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Race and Education

On the eve of the 50th anniversary of the landmark case, "Brown vs. the Board of Education", many scholars, writers, and educators published works examining the legacies of the case as well as reflections about the desegregation and integration process.

For concise background information about the case, please read "Brown v. Board: An American Legacy".

"In the field of public education," the justices wrote, "the doctrine of 'separate but equal' has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal."

Those words marked the beginning of a long struggle -- a struggle that continues today -- to live up to the promise of equal access to education for all Americans.Then, as now, many people weren't on familiar terms with the names of their Supreme Court justices, but they did know the name of their president. In the days and weeks after May 17, 1954, Americans by the hundreds wrote to tell Dwight D. Eisenhower what they thought about the ruling.

Please click on the link directly above to listen to some of the letters written to President Eisenhower. If you are having trouble listening to the media, please read the transcript found in the bottom of each of the pictures in this photo gallery.

When you are finished, please post ONE thing that strikes you in the comments section.

Weekly Calendar 3-23

RG09 3-23

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Wait a sec! I wanted to say____________________

Is there something that you wish you added to today's conversation? Please reflect, do some research and tell me the one argument/case/connection that you wish you made in the discussion.

This is a mandatory prompt! Everyone should have at least one thing. . .

Thank you!!

A Matter of Perspective?

The film, "The Two Towns of Jasper" opens with Billy Rowles , the Jasper County sheriff and the local funeral directors explaining how they discovered James Byrd Jr. had been murdered. The scene then shifts as individuals in the community describe their responses to the murder and the victim.

Your task is to answer the key question below in the comments section. Please refer to outside examples of hate crimes, harassment. You may use contemporary or historical examples.

How does the idea that a crime is "race-related" shape the way the people react to the crime and its victim?

Also, this is a case of harassment (non-violent), but it is local and may interest you in answering this question.

Weekly Calendar 3-16

RG09 3-16

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Lynching's legacies: The Murder of James Byrd Jr.

Over the past week, we have seen some horrific images in our study of lynchings and the murder of Emmett Till. Looking at the images and postcards in the collection "Without Sanctuary", it is clear that it is hard to envision a time when such photographs were universal and could be used as postcards to be sent to friends.

Before the murder of Emmett Till, only a handful of people in the were able to speak out against these racial motivated murder and lynchings. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and other civil rights organizations tried unsuccessfully for many years to get a federal antilynching law passed. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962) and Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes (1874-1952), a one-time president of the NAACP’s Chicago chapter, were supportive of the organization’s efforts, but President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945) did not share their enthusiasm and believed that pressing for the NAACP’s demands would endanger congressional support for his New Deal programs. In her March 1936 letter to Walter Francis White (1893-1955), who served as NAACP executive secretary (later director) from 1931 to 1955, Mrs. Roosevelt stated some of the arguments that were used by the president and others against passage of an antilynching bill. It is clear from this “personal and confidential” letter that Mrs. Roosevelt was searching for a tactful means for aiding the anti-lynching cause herself, and she suggested to White various methods for winning the goodwill of members of Congress.

Years later, it is clear that although these violent hate crimes have decreased. They haven't gone away. Next week, we will be focusing on the death of James Byrd in Jasper, Texas. Byrd was who was attached by a chain to the back of a pickup truck and dragged for miles until his body disintegrated and he died. The trial of his murderers was extremely controversial on the community, state, and federal level.


For Monday's class, please explore the links above in order to get both background information about the 1998 case. If you have questions, or find something particularly striking, please post in the comments.

The killers' confession

For those of your interested in the confession of the murderers of Emmett Till, it is available here.

Let me know if you have questions!

Emmitt Till

To listen to Bob Dylan perform the song, please click here.

The Death Of Emmett Till

"Twas down in Mississippi no so long ago,
When a young boy from Chicago town stepped through a Southern door.
This boy's dreadful tragedy I can still remember well,
The color of his skin was black and his name was Emmett Till.

Some men they dragged him to a barn and there they beat him up.
They said they had a reason, but I can't remember what.
They tortured him and did some evil things too evil to repeat.
There was screaming sounds inside the barn, there was laughing sounds out on the street.

Then they rolled his body down a gulf amidst a bloody red rain
And they threw him in the waters wide to cease his screaming pain.
The reason that they killed him there, and I'm sure it ain't no lie,
Was just for the fun of killin' him and to watch him slowly die.

And then to stop the United States of yelling for a trial,
Two brothers they confessed that they had killed poor Emmett Till.
But on the jury there were men who helped the brothers commit this awful crime,
And so this trial was a mockery, but nobody seemed to mind.

I saw the morning papers but I could not bear to see
The smiling brothers walkin' down the courthouse stairs.
For the jury found them innocent and the brothers they went free,
While Emmett's body floats the foam of a Jim Crow southern sea.

If you can't speak out against this kind of thing, a crime that's so unjust,
Your eyes are filled with dead men's dirt, your mind is filled with dust.
Your arms and legs they must be in shackles and chains, and your blood it must refuse to flow,
For you let this human race fall down so God-awful low!

This song is just a reminder to remind your fellow man
That this kind of thing still lives today in that ghost-robed Ku Klux Klan.
But if all of us folks that thinks alike, if we gave all we could give,
We could make this great land of ours a greater place to live.

Copyright ©1963; renewed 1991 Special Rider Music

HW calendar 3/9

To view the calendar, click on the box on the upper right hand of the document below.


RG 3-9

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"Domestic Terror": HW for the WEEKEND

As you saw today in "The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow", terror and violence were used to sustain the Jim Crow system throughout its bloody history. We will spend class on Monday learning about the terrible history of lynchings in this country and well as the response to it.

For homework, I would like you to read the document below to gain some background information. Things to think about:
* What, constructively, could have been done to address and to stop the act of lynching in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries? Remember that lynching did not end until the 1960s (though this New York Times graphic suggests otherwise).


Lynching HW Reading

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One more thing. . . .

This post is for Tuesday, because of the snow day. . . sorry for any confusion. 

What do you wish was said today in class about race relations at LHS? Was there anything missing from this conversation?

Look at your notes, think about our discussion, and comment below.

Saying that nothing was missing is NOT an option.

For those of you that are interested, there is an interesting article on Slate.com entitled "How will Obama's presidency change hip-hop?"

The Commons Field Study

Here is the link to the excerpt from Beverly Tatum Daniel's book, "Why are all the Black Kids sitting together in the cafeteria". Please read this as you are embarking on your field study journey.

Reminder: Please post your paragraphs to the comments section of this entry and bring your diagram of commons into class on Monday.

A Nation of Cowards?

NY Times columnist Charles M. Blow explored the topic of implicit predjudice in his column on last Friday.

This article and Blow's opinions should resonate with you at this point in the course.

Please read the article and be prepared to discuss in class on Wednesday. This is your only HW!

The Color of Water: Assessments Monday 2/23 and Tuesday 2/24

I hope everyone had a relaxing break. This is just a friendly reminder that we will be having our in-class essay on Monday and our discussion of James McBride's "The Color of Water" on Tuesday. 

You may bring notes in on Monday, and your book and notes on Tuesday. 

Good luck!

Have a good break!

Remember to prepare for "The Color of Water" assessment and discussion. Relax and I will see you in a week!