Rationale
Hardy Middle School is the most diverse middle school in Washington, D.C. We have students who come from all over the world and speak a multitude of languages; students who come to us from across the city and every income background; and, just as in society, we have students of every gender and sexual orientation. Though we are proud of this diversity, we don’t explore and value it enough. In this unit, I would like to celebrate our diversity by giving students more windows and mirrors to deepen their empathy and understanding of their peers and themselves, while developing a stronger self-concept. Though the District of Columbia Public Schools’ focus for eighth grade English Language Arts is on Black History and unheard or silenced voices, most of what we teach is, frankly, depressing. Students, especially Black students, have told me that they are demoralized when learning about the brutality of slavery and the injustice of Jim Crow, without being given more stories of hope. Though D.C. students learn about the civil rights movement, for many of them, that is the end of examples of people of color having agency in their own stories.
Developmentally, eighth graders are at a stage where they are engaged in social issues and want an outlet by which to engage with the larger world. This is a good age at which to channel their angst and sense of agency into advocacy. Furthermore, due to budget cuts, we are losing our phenomenal visual arts program; therefore, I also aim to give students a creative artistic outlet, while still meeting key English Language Arts objectives regarding the art of persuasion.
Through “Art as Advocacy,” students will engage in a deep exploration of modern social movements by reading articles and essays from writers in the United States and around the world and studying various forms of visual art. They will consider issues related to social justice in Asia, South Africa, and the United States.
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