Category Archives: High School

Happy United Nations Day!

Tomorrow marks United Nations Day, the anniversary of the creation of the United Nations, and a day that we take time to look at the work of this important organization and talk about its impact on the world.

“Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stated in 2010: “UN Day is a day on which we resolve to do more. More to protect those caught up in armed conflict, to fight climate change and avert nuclear catastrophe; more to expand opportunities for women and girls, and to combat injustice and impunity; more to meet the Millennium Development Goals.””

No matter what age group, or what subject matter, a discussion of one of the Millennium Development Goals, can be integrated into class today. Younger grades may enjoy learning about what education looks like in other parts of the world for kids like them. Science and health classes can tackle child health, maternal health and HIV/AIDS. Economics, government/civics classes, and other social sciences may find global partnership and gender equity fitting themes for discussion. Some groups may want to find ways to live more sustainable lives or help end hunger. Find out how close we are to reaching these goals and what you/your students can do to help. Use a video/interactive media resource to add a new twist to your lesson!

Check out tomorrow’s ongoing events at the UN and promotional materials on the live webcast.

See how the UN is participating in New York City Public Schools and find examples of resources to use with high school students.

For a holiday themed addition, transform Halloween into a time to give back: check out Trick or Treat for UNICEF to learn about the campaign and see how you can incorporate donation boxes into your school or neighborhood’s celebration.

For other education resources from the UN to incorporate tomorrow and year-round check out the cyber school bus!

These resources and activities designed to recognize this day and this institution can help to build community by creating common goals for the class to work for and think about through class-wide, school-wide, or community-wide projects. A look at the UN can also help students explore approaches to peace by recognizing the physical, structural, and cultural violence that exists in the world, and highlighting the global community’s efforts to eradicate that violence.

Sojourn to the Past

One of my father’s former students became a high-school history teacher and actively fundraises every year to take her students on a phenomenal trip that helps to reframe the history of the United States Civil Rights Movement. Sojourn to the Past is a “ten-day moving classroom” academic immersion program that takes 11th and 12th graders along the path of the United States Civil Rights Movement. This program brings together youth from diverse social, academic, ethnic, and socio-economic backgrounds in an effort to empower students and educators alike with the historical knowledge and motivation to take responsibility for fostering a society without violence and discrimination.

The trip for students and teachers begins in Atlanta, Georgia and continues through major sites of the Civil Rights struggle including Montgomery, Selma, and Birmingham, Alabama, Hattiesburg and Jackson, Mississippi, Little Rock, Arkansas, and Memphis, Tennessee. Participants meet with surviving activists of the period including US Congressman John Lewis, a veteran of Dr. King’s Selma march, and Minnijean Brown Trickey who was one of the Little Rock Nine. Through the combination of historic site visits, oral history and the study of written documents, students and teachers who participate in Sojourn to the Past learn “tolerance, justice, compassion, hope, and non-violence.”

While the Sojourn to the Past trip is currently being offered to 11th and 12th grade students, I believe that this experience would be valuable for students from 5th grade onward. Often, and especially in our public school system, history is taught with heavy reliance on text books, many of which are one-sided and fail to illuminate the rich and diverse experiences that have shaped the world we live in today. Sojourn to the Past is a wonderful way to supplement a standard history curriculum, allowing students and educators to gain a deeper, more hands-on understanding of the Civil Rights Movement. Besides its current use, this is a program that could benefit anyone. It could easily be adapted to community and faith-based groups through institutions like charitable and civic organizations, community centers, churches, synagogues, and mosques.

The Sojourn to the Past trip is a free-standing peace education activity that is already well-designed and fully packaged to promote the historical knowledge and attitudes that are desirable for those interested in non-violent social change. The explicit values to which Sojourn is committed are humanity, diversity, respect and compassion, education, empowerment, social-justice through non-violence, courage and civic responsibility, integrity and accountability, and the creation of an inclusive environment.

Three pillars of peace education are exceptionally upheld through the Sojourn to the Past program. Through the act of bringing together students from diverse backgrounds and exposing them to a common experience, Sojourn helps to build community. By exposing participants to the ways that significant change was accomplished in the past through non-violence and solidarity, Sojourn allows its participants to explore different approaches to peace. Finally, and perhaps most explicitly, Sojourn reframes history by clarifying the relationship between today’s anti-discrimination laws and the struggles of real people a half a century ago.

Check out their website!!

http://www.sojournproject.com/

Peace Week 2011

Peace Week 2011 is a free global telesummit that involves “an extraordinary week of presentations, forums, music, art and reflection on the prospects of creating a sustainable culture of peace.”  There are 52 peacebuilders who will be speaking throughout the week.  I learned about this event from one of the people I follow on Twitter.  Upon opening up the website and learning more about the program, I immediately signed up to participate.

I find this to be a great peace education resource to bring into classrooms because its an opportunity to expose students to a global network of peacebuilders working in a variety of fields.  I think its most appropriate for high school, under grad, or graduate students, as I assume from the topics being covered, that the different sessions are somewhat advanced and would require some background in peace studies to fully appreciate or grasp the subject matter.  Given the large amount of presentations and the week-long schedule, I think this program could be incorporated into either formal or nonformal educational settings.

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