Rational
My students are 9th-12th graders in an urban magnet high school. I co-teach in English Language Arts and mathematics classes for students with and without disabilities. Students come from all over the city to attend our school, and come from various socioeconomic backgrounds as a result. Our student body is approximately 36% Asian, 25% Black, 17% Hispanic, 16% White, 5% Two or More Races, and 0.3% American Indian/Alaska Native1. Our students have many AP classes available to them beginning in 10th grade, ranging from the classics like AP calculus and English to the newest exams that we have piloted at our school like AP African American history and AP cybersecurity.
Students have participated in walkouts from time to time, and sometimes they even know why they’re walking out. I’m hopeful that this unit can teach them the importance of knowing why they’re walking out and protesting, and what they’re really protesting for. Our school community has a robust athletics program and a wide array of extracurricular clubs and activities for students. Many of our teachers advocate both within and outside of the school building for social and political change, which means that the students see that activism happening inside the school already and have that exposure to protest.
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