Equity: The Quality of being fair and impartial. How can we as educators, be fair and impartial with our students? How can we get our students to understand the inequities in our society and stand up for what is right? After exploring resources from Common Sense, KQED, Stanford and the ADL, it’s apparent we need to be facilitating open and honest (and potentially uncomfortable) conversations in our classrooms.
I would begin my digital literacy unit with focusing on equity by introducing students to various videos discussing the topic. I stumbled upon one video which I think would be a useful introduction to the topic of equity: “5 Things You Should Know About Racism.” (1) Starting students off with a video is a low stakes activity which can be effective in reeling them in. Following the video hook with a classroom discussion on empathy vs compassion would be the next logical step for my equity lesson. Getting students to then understand the difference between empathy and compassion would be a major step in educating students about equity. KQED’s resource, 4 Tools for Kids To Help Develop Compassion and Social Change reveals the importance of understanding empathy vs compassion: “Empathy allows us to sense other people's emotions, like grief or joy, and imagine what someone else might be thinking. Compassion is similar, but also involves a desire to help the person.” (2) Finally, I would place students into culturally diverse groups (breakout rooms if done digitally), in which they would work together to complete this Living Room Conversations activity… “In Living Room Conversations, a small group of people (ideally six) come together to get to know one another in a more meaningful way. Guided by a simple and sociable format, participants practice being open and curious about all perspectives, with a focus on learning from one another, rather than trying to debate the topic at hand.” (3) In this activity, students are required to interact with each other and have challenging and honest conversations about race and ethnicity in our society. I believe secondary physical education is the perfect place for students to collaborate together while developing the social skills and maturity necessary to take part in an activity like this. Sources: 1. https://nmaahc.si.edu/learn/talking-about-race/topics/race-and-racial-identity 2. https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/48430/4-tools-for-kids-to-help-develop-compassion-and-social-change 3.https://www.livingroomconversations.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/race_and_ethnicity_3.pdf
3 Comments
6/15/2020 04:06:09 pm
Dustin,
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Jason Chatham
6/17/2020 11:27:06 am
You know I am a Dustin Green fan. And this post is why. I love that you see opportunities to do things just a little differently and for great reasons. The fact that you are ready to engage discussions of empathy, race, and ethnicity in your class with students that REALLY need it speaks volumes. You’re going to be perfect for Napa High.
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Scott Marsden
6/17/2020 06:09:30 pm
Dustin,
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About Dustin Green:High School PE Teacher Archives
March 2021
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