School Background
When teaching a unit, teachers must understand the demographics of the school for deeper understanding of the needs of the students. Hubbard High School is a public school located on the southwest side of Chicago. The school is comprised of fewer than 1700 students. Hubbard consists of a largely Hispanic student population at 87%. The second largest demographic is black at 5%. Furthermore, 97% of our students are enrolled in free or reduced lunch, and 11% are categorized as special education students. We also have a small Asian population, and many of these students are English Language Learners. In total, 13% of our students are English Language Learners. There is a small population of Caucasian students. Our school offers the International Baccalaureate Program and Advanced Placement courses. Hubbard is also home to an award-winning ROTC program and chorus. Moreover, we also boast a successful football team; we even had several students from Hubbard go on to the NFL.
Like many Chicago public schools, our school has dealt with problematic issues, yet it is referred to as one of the best public neighborhood schools on the southwest side of the city. Hubbard opened in 1928 as an elementary school, and years later it was turned into a high school. In the past, our school has suffered from overcrowding, but this problem has been alleviated somewhat. Still, many teachers move from room to room to teach classes. Our teachers and administrators always praise our "family-like" atmosphere because of the tight-knit community. Our school has one of the highest attendances in our network, among its other accomplishments. However, last year was the first year our school did not meet our AYP (Annual Yearly Progress) goal for NCLB (No Child Left Behind). Our staff and community are working to meet the needed requirements to take us off academic probation. 5 In the hopes of improving reading test scores, our administration is requiring all students take a "Reading and Writing" class in addition to an English class during all four years of high school. We also have a literacy team that focuses on sharing literacy lessons with the staff. Our teachers are working to build curriculum that speaks to our students and addresses the skills they need to develop. Persepolis will help achieve this goal.
Chicago Public School students, in general, face many challenges. Furthermore, the city of Chicago has one of the highest crime rates in the country. My students are witnesses to violence. Most of my students have been affected personally or know someone who has been affected by gang, gun, or drug crimes. Persepolis is a book about a young girl who is dealing with violence just as my students do. Even though the issues and situations are different, the students can understand the turbulence of Marjane's life. Marjane is exposed to many violent incidents in relation to the Islamic Revolution and the Iran-Iraq War. She has difficulty dealing with authority such as teachers, religious figures, and officers. She deals with terrible loss on multiple occasions; however, she is resilient. The students will be able to understand her resiliency. Through this unit, my students will not only tap into the historical events of Iran; they will also examine the violence they face in their own lives and their relationships with authority in their own community. The richness of the content will allow the students to achieve the objectives of the unit.
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