Author: Southern Poverty law Center, 2016
Key Points: This article points out the importance for teachers to increase the message of teaching tolerance. This years election has demonstrated to be one of the worst political campaigns in history in my own personal opinion. It has brought more fear, and anxiety in our classrooms.
Relevance: I have seen this fear and anxiety in the classrooms in the school I work at. I have seen a teacher get fired, because of her lesson regarding the election. She was non-bias, but when she tried to get the students to think about and talk about Trump she was told to stop the lesson. This makes me very sad to think as a teacher we are silenced when it comes to educating our students. I think that we need to be sending out the message of tolerance, and that we can use these opportunities to bring up discussions in our classrooms. How would you talk about the presidential debate in your classroom? How would you ease the fears, and anxieties of your students, and/or parents? These are all very good topics to think about, and discuss in our schools. We can't just ignore it in our schools. We can't avoid these hot topics to discuss. We can always learn from these opportunities. We must ease the fears of our students. This is a great article, and there are multiple articles to look at under this short article all pertaining to teaching tolerance.
URL: http://www.tolerance.org/election2016
I really liked the mention of Sikhtoons and the use of humor to try and bring people together. I hope to see a rise in Muslim comedians, they have plenty of material now, and see the positive affects of people laughing together. I would say my favorite comedians have always been open on their stances and do their part to eliminate prejudices and educate through their humor.
ReplyDeleteI relate to the information in this article as our students in my school are very interested in the elections and struggling with fear and anxiety as well. It has provider teachers with a way to teach students how to come together and accept one another as equals. I feel our young people are recognizing that not all adults behave appropriately or demonstrate the right way to behave and that it is okay to disagree with adults behaviors when they are inappropriate.
ReplyDeleteWhat an eye-opening post. I could not agree more that this is such a sad state for us to be in as a country. Our nation's children should NOT fear the president or what he/she wants for them or their families as a citizen. I adore the side this article took about de-bunking myths and I LOVE the "Speak up for Civilty" contract! What a wonderful way to keep a positive attitude during such a crummy time. Great post!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great article and very important in our current society. As special education teachers, we teach a lot about tolerance and acceptance of other people, but this is something that seems to be missing for the rest of the population! Learning tolerance and acceptance is so important for all people, especially in such emotional times in our current world.
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