Introduction and Rationale
Our struggle is not easy. Those who oppose our cause are rich and powerful, and they have many allies in high places. We are poor. Our allies are few. But we have something the rich do not own. We have our own bodies and spirits and the justice of our cause as our weapons. When we are really honest with ourselves, we must admit that our lives are all that really belong to us. So it is how we use our lives that determine what kind of men we are. It is my deepest belief that only by giving our lives do we find life. I am convinced that the truest act of courage, the strongest act of manliness is to sacrifice ourselves for others in a totally nonviolent struggle for justice. To be a man is to suffer for others. God help us to be men. 1
Cesar Chavez's words describe La Causa, the struggle to unionize farm workers in California beginning in the 1960s. He spent his life organizing others to fight for fair wages, better living and working conditions, and the right to health care. Through the use of strikes, boycotts, and fasts, Cesar demonstrated his commitment to a cause into which he had been born. His work was his life, destined to make a difference for many people. This is his story – a story of hardship, community service, dedication, and a desire to do for others.
Although my students are not farm workers, many of their parents have been. These young Latino immigrants or migrants are involved in their own struggle. Their diligence and dedication is evident: they work twice as hard as their non-English Language Learner peers to learn the English language and the content area information necessary to be academically successful. Each day, these young people demonstrate the "ganas" (desire) they possess to learn as well as to acclimate themselves to a new school system, country, culture, and way of life. Unfortunately, with a high school drop-out rate of over 50%, and fewer continuing with studies afterwards, their prospects are dismal. This unit aims to encourage my students to see themselves as having a story in front of them which they still have time to shape. Pursing their studies helps to ensure that they will write their own biographies.
Since most of my students stay within our school's transitional bilingual program for more than one year, two-thirds of the students in my 09 – 10 English Language Arts (ELA) class will remain with me in the upcoming year. The students are placed according to English language acquisition levels and all take ELA at the same time. In doing so, we are able to move them freely between classes depending on their increasing English language ability levels. I teach the highest level in which students are reading anywhere from the third to sixth grade in English. These students had the benefit of being introduced to Shakespeare and his work over the past two years as a direct result of my participation in Yale New Haven Teacher Institute National Initiative. We worked on the idea of identity and character analysis through various Shakespeare plays. Students were able to choose a play they would like to read with others in a literature circle format. About half of the students in our class read Julius Caesar. This play is a story for his life – a biography. I believe that students will be able to take what we have learned and apply it to the new information that we will acquire in this proposed unit on biographies elaborating on a person's life, making the connections necessary to better understand the meaning of another's life.
The subject matter of biography can be divided into two parts – what is a biography (the genre) as well as the stories of the subjects or peoples of those biographies. Students must be able to demonstrate an overall understanding of the genre of biography. As the most popular type of reading material, biography provides an insight into people's lives as well as our own. Samuel Johnson in 1750 in his magazine, The Rambler, argues that biographies are educative in nature. Students can profit from learning not only about the subject but themselves as well. 2 Students are expected to know about various historically famous people, and many by biographies. In addition, middle school students are very interested in pop culture icons. Learning about their lives and emulating them in some cases is important to these adolescents.
In this proposed unit, students will become familiar with the genre of biography, learning about the components necessary to "tell" a person's life story. Additionally, students will learn about oral history including interviewing techniques. Students will learn the logistics of how to conduct interviews and practice on their classmates as well as a family member or neighbor. In doing so, students will become more comfortable with the techniques associated with this skill before conducting an interview with an influential community member. Numerous resources about Cesar Chavez's life will serve as our model as we construct a biographical sketch about this important Hispanic leader. Afterwards, in teams, students will interview prominent Hispanic members of our community and other people who know them personally and professionally. They will also analyze various documents about these people's lives. These could include letters they have sent, newspaper articles, photographs, among others. Then, they will synthesize the information from their interviews and written document evaluations and write a short biographical sketch about their selected person.
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