Activities
Introduction to the Unit
Students will analyze various forms of content both from the unit and additional resources to construct their own conclusions regarding educational trends in America’s History. My personal approach is to provide the facts through a number of vehicles including the unit, audio and visual media and focused readings that piece together a very complex puzzle. Students should not be forced in any one direction; however, they should be encouraged to look at these chronic problems from different perspectives. It’s important that don’t study the material for simple memorization but a level of appreciation for the content that motivates them to create change within their own community. By applying what they’ve taken from this study and using it in an active form, whether it be Town Hall meeting, letter to the governor or other action within their own educational confine, they will demonstrate that they have taken the main ideas from this course and will be able to discern between what is given to them and what they justly deserve.
Students will be introduced to Plessy v. Ferguson, Brown vs. Board and Milliken vs. Bradley. After watching quick video clips, they will close read an article selected by the instructor that summarizes both Supreme Court Cases. Students will then create a T-Chart for each case that is labeled on each side Cause-Effect. This will help them comprehend the impact both cases have on future policies. If the instructor would like, they can also have the students create their own posters and present them to the class which would allow for a public speaking opportunity. Students can also compare and contrast the different cases and the ramifications of the Supreme Court’s decisions.
Resources
Plessy v. Ferguson:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sj54KP16Ilw
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/plessy-v-ferguson
https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/politics/scotus/articles/court-plessy-decision.html
Brown v. Board:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1siiQelPHbQ
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/brown-v-board-of-education-of-topeka
https://www.uscourts.gov/educational-resources/educational-activities/history-brown-v-board-education-re-enactment
Milliken v. Bradley:
https://www.npr.org/2019/07/24/744884767/milliken-v-bradley
https://vialogues.com/vialogues/play/39633
https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/433/267
Busing
Students will watch a film on the history of busing in America. While the film touches on many topics, students will leave with an understanding of the who, what, when, where, why and how.
Resource
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sld722slarw&t=492s
Presidential Candidate Debate on Busing (1-3 Days)
Students will watch the debate between Joe Biden and Kamala Harris that is centered around the issue of busing. They will analyze why Harris used the issue of busing to attack Biden’s stance when it comes to busing and education. In order to better understand his past, the class will then listen to a podcast on Biden, busing, and the case that he made for it being a state issue and not a federal issue. Students will then make the case whether Biden was right in his initial assessment. Was Biden naïve in his approach to busing and did he really think that without federal intervention that the states would take the necessary steps towards creating an equitable school system?
Resources
https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/30/politics/kfile-joe-biden-cnn-interview-busing-desegregate-schools/index.html
https://time.com/5616709/joe-biden-busing-democratic-debate/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/07/01/why-joe-bidens-history-busing-matters/?utm_term=.28d0b8c5bef3
https://www.forbes.com/sites/evangerstmann/2019/07/03/why-joe-biden-is-right-to-oppose-federally-mandated-busing/#c94ac3e2ea54
https://www.npr.org/2019/06/28/736995314/listen-biden-supported-a-constitutional-amendment-to-end-mandated-busing-in-1975
New York’s Integration Plan (1-3 Days)
Students survey New York’s plan to integrate their school system. Before jumping to conclusions, it is important that students look at what is happening in the system from every angle and how the plan is actually constructed to integrate the schools.
Resources
New York’s Plan to integrate it’s schools: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7G-YxChVUzg
New York Middle School integration plan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ee63BNgrW0U
Article on the plan to integrate New York Middle Schools:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/16/nyregion/new-york-city-school-segregation.html
Boston and Busing (1-2 Days)
Students will read the following article, they will then close read the text and answer questions in regards to the overarching themes from the article.
Resource
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/03/the-boston-busing-crisis-was-never-intended-to-work/474264/
School Segregation: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (2 Days)
How Humor Highlights Reality: Students will watch the following video twice. The first time they will watch the video for the comic relief. When they hear a joke, they will write the joke down as it is; they can paraphrase the joke to summarize. The second time they watch the video, they will write down what points the jokes were supposed to communicate. Once the film ends, the class should use the remainder of the time to see if John Oliver was accurate in his portrayal of the chronic problems facing public education, if his audience would leave with a greater understanding of those issues, and whether or not they’d feel inspired to do anything about it. The instructor should note the type of audience the show has and why it’s important that this type of show speaks to that audience about issues that don’t always impact them.
Homework: For homework, students should make a three-minute improv sketch that speaks to the overarching themes of the unit. They can use their personal experiences in addition to historical references to shed light on the overarching ideas of the unit.
Resource
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8yiYCHMAlM
Your Town (1-2 Days)
Students will be given four days to examine the history of their town. They will find at least three historical references that explain how their school system has tried, succeeded or failed to desegregate their schools. Once they have completed their research, they will write a one-page reaction explaining their findings and how it made them feel about the school system they are currently studying under.
The Problem We All Live With: NPR Podcast (4 Days)
The instructor will have students listen to a podcast on school segregation. Students will answer focused questions as they listen. After each class the teacher will create a homework question(s) that push the students to show their understanding of the topic and how they can apply their understanding of previous lessons.
Resource
https://www.thisamericanlife.org/562/the-problem-we-all-live-with-part-one
What do the Numbers Say?
Students will use the following resources plus any additional sources to research educational trends and create their own numeric narrative that explains why changes need to be made related to how schools look in terms of race, class and opportunity.
Resources
https://www.vox.com/2019/7/3/20676991/school-segregation-busing-harris-biden-bernie-sanders
https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/education-k-12/reports/2017/05/31/433014/isolated-and-segregated/
https://laist.com/2018/07/03/las_schools_are_segregated_lausd_says_theres_only_so_much_they_can_do_about_it.php
https://www.denverpost.com/2015/10/10/denver-district-focuses-on-quality-as-schools-resegregated/
https://www.vox.com/2018/3/5/17080218/school-segregation-getting-worse-data
https://www.dcpolicycenter.org/publications/landscape-of-diversity-in-dc-public-schools/
https://dyske.com/paper/1252
Cumulative Project, Student Exchange (1 Week)
Students and their teacher will work with a nearby suburban school (example Pittsburgh Westinghouse and Fox Chapel). Ten to twenty students from each school will meet beforehand. Students will be taught the history of Plessy v. Ferguson, Brown vs. Board and other related school integration topics. Once both groups feel that they have a strong foundation in terms of legalities and politics around education, they will then meet together to plan a three-day student exchange. Be sure that parents and administration are aware of what’s going on because this should be an excused absence. Students visiting the school should travel alone or in a group of two so that that they can take in the new culture as it is and not defer to their usual classmates. They will not only learn what is being taught by the visiting teacher but they will log forty notes a day that revolve around school culture, facilities, class sizes, resources, textbooks, diversity, behavior, lunches etc. Once their visit is over, they should write a five page paper that explains their why they chose to make the trip, how it aligned with Brown vs. Board and what they felt needed to change and what was going well in terms of creating an equitable educational experience for all students. If the students would like to take another step, they can communicate their concerns to their local school board and superintendent.
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