Unit+Plan+Rationale

In my unit, I plan to discuss the ways in which society is divided into social groupings or classes and how the concept of stereotyping plays into this. We will examine the different types of social classes (socio economic, racial, religious and others) including “cliques” within the school community. I am teaching this unit to encourage students to develop their own ideas with regards to grouping people. I also want to invite students to examine “stereotypes” to determine the cause of these ideas and how this plays a role not only in the global community (historically and at present), but how stereotypes affect them personally on a daily basis. Through this unit, I hope to guide students to having a greater understanding of how social divisions can affect them and other members of their communities. We will use this knowledge to investigate the link between social grouping and bullying particularly in youth culture. At the completion of this unit, I will encourage the class to decide on a project to work on together to demonstrate their knowledge. I hope to encourage the development of empathy and tolerance through this unit.

This topic is relevant to students in a variety of ways. Students interact with others in social situations on a daily basis and are faced with decisions on how to think and act with regards to peers. Cliques can be strong motivators to exclude students who are perceived as different for one reason or another. Students may be unaware of the "group think" mentality that can result from trying to fit in. Teaching this unit will provide students with an understanding that while cliques are formed from many individuals with unique ideas and beliefs, the pressure to fit in can transform the individual into a follower and that the group they are a member of may not represent their specific views. The pressure to fit into a social group can be difficult to handle for both those who are included and those who are not included in these groups. Giving students a safe place to talk about these everyday issues (specifically or in a more general way) meets a psychological need for them. It allows students to critically think about their own behavior and that of others they may be surrounding themselves with. It gives them the opportunity to hear the voices of others who might mirror their opinions or offer insight of a different nature. Discrimination and bullying are serious issues in society today, particularly bullying in youth culture. Exploring these issues together takes away some of the distance and the barriers between students who otherwise may not have known each other very well. Simultaneously, bringing down some of these barriers can help students to accept others and build empathy. Acceptance is important to all people and seems to be particularly significant in youth culture.

In addition to meeting the psychological needs of students, exploring the concepts surrounding social grouping, stereotypes, discrimination and bullying addresses current social problems. Social class divisions, cliquing and stereotyping of others frequently lead to treating others poorly as a result of whether or not they “fit in”. Bullying is one example of such poor treatment. Bullying in schools and via the internet has become a serious problem among today’s youth. Schools and communities all over the country have been the setting for acts of violence stemming from this that varies from school shootings to increased teen suicide. Even in a lesser degree, most students have been exposed to some level of taunting or bullying. In addition to building empathy among students and encouraging them to know their peers better, this unit will encourage them to think about the reasons why people are treated differently and the result of these behaviors.

Students will explore these concepts in two different time periods using the novels //To Kill a Mockingbird// by Harper Lee and //Black and White// by Paul Volponi. //To Kill a Mockingbird// is set in the South during segregation. It explicitly describes the ways in which Maycomb society is divided and the basis for those divisions, racial and otherwise. This novel lends itself to exploring social divisions and stereotypes as it is told through the eyes of a young child. Scout’s naivety is evident as she explains the ways in which she perceives the world as a result of what she has heard and seen from other characters. Students can relate to the logic and thought patterns of the young narrator as they were her age not that long ago. Yet their current level of experience should allow them to critically think about what Scout presents and makes adjustments for what they view as right and wrong or true and false. Frequently it seems that students read books where adults are telling them what is right or true. Pointing out Scout’s sometimes flawed logic invites student involvement where they may have more knowledge/ experience that the narrator and can bring that into their analysis. The novel also contains explicit acts of discrimination and race related violence. While this is in a historical context, I hope to utilize this text to developing critical thinking skills in students and allow them to compare and contrast they way society views race and social groups from the 1930's to present day.

//Black and White// is a more contemporary young adult novel set in New York City. It addresses race as a primary source of division but socio economic status plays a key role as well. One wonders if the main characters were a middle class black student and a lower class white student (as opposed to the opposite) if that would have affected the outcome of their situation. Both novels treat the concepts of social class and stereotypes in a personal way as the narrator of either story is either experiencing them first hand or being exposed to them for the first time. In //Black and White//, the author chose to allow for two narrators so students are able to have equal time viewing the events as they unfold from each protagonist’s perspective. This novel is complex in that there seems to be more cohesiveness among the black community but this is not an advantage to those characters. Eddie is isolated as one of the few white characters but still reaps the advantages due to his race and families economic status. Bullying plays a few roles within this novel. The main characters are bullies but do not view themselves as such. This is particularly true as Marcus thinks about the violence that took another students life and the kind of person who would be capable of doing such a thing and eventually realizing that this could have been him.

Both of these novels tie into the themes of the unit in a way that promotes civic awareness and is relevant to student’s culture locally, nationally and distantly. Students see through these books how grouping people together can cause some people to have unfair advantages. Students will be challenged to find examples of stereotyping and dividing of people within their own experiences locally. Students will also be able to identify things occurring on a national level that depicts the way social groups are separated. In addition, both novels treat violence and bullying and present an array of opportunities for students to write about their own thoughts, feelings and experiences.

Students will be broken up into small groups (groups of 4 approximately) and will use thes groups for a variety of assignments including the final performance assessment for the unit. Half of the groups will read //To Kill a Mockingbird// as their primary text and the other half //Black and White//. Students will learn the elements of narratives and through a jig-saw activity will share with other students information about the novel they have read. Through this, students will hear a variety of individual voices sharing information about the novels and aspects of the learning from the unit. At the completion of this unit, students will have written personal responses in the forms of letters, poems or raps, rewrites of sections of the book, critiques and other formats demonstrating what they have learned and addressing specific prompts for each day.

I anticipate that parents and perhaps my colleagues or administrators will have some reservations with regards to students exploring the many ways in which people are divided and the results of these mentalities. Initially, I expect that some parents will not like that race is such a prevalent idea in the literature we will be using. I intend to rebut that students deal with concepts of race on a daily basis and that in a multicultural society we cannot ignore that students and people in general are different anymore. Talking about these issues allows students to feel more comfortable with each other and learn about one another.

I would also assume that some people would be put off or offended by the ways in which black people in particular are depicted in these two novels. //Black and White// has a segment where the protagonist states that nearly all the inmates at Riker’s Island are black and many of the black characters come from poor neighborhoods. I would respond to parents that these generalities do nothing to affect the way in which the Marcus (the black protagonist) is viewed. Marcus proves to be the most honest and honorable character in the novel as he admits his wrongs and accepts the consequences of his actions. He is portrayed as an intelligent and compassionate young man who has made a mistake but honestly regrets it and accepts that he has to pay for it to move forward as a person.

Some parents may think that exposing their children to stereotypes is a way of reinforcing those ideas. Giving students a chance to really examine what stereotypes are and what power they can have allows them to make up their own minds about these types of issues. Students can evaluate for themselves the usefulness of this type of social structure.

At the completion of the unit, after all stones concerning social class divisions, stereotyping, discrimiation and bullying have been uncovered, the class should collectively develop a project to put the knowledge they have constructed into practice. This will be completed in the format of a group video. Students will have developed the content, audience and purpose of the video. They will be involved in pre-writing, peer editing and revised drafting exercises prior to taping and turning in the assignment. The relevance of allowing students to select the purpose, audience and content of the video is that students will have a greater sense of ownership in the project. After the project is complete, we will be able to use the videos for the purpose the students outlines (i.e. a video directed to the student body about bullying awareness would be shown on the morning announcements; a video to the principal or school board with a recommendation to decrease cliquing would be shown to that audience; etc.).

Students should see that they are all different (as are those around them) but that is not something to be ignored or to be viewed in a negative way. In a multicultural classroom, we should be celebrating everyone’s difference and what that can add to our classroom and our community. Teaching about social differences and having students work through those types of issues emphasizes social justice in that it makes students aware of and confront issues that may not otherwise be talked about. At the same time, teaching while acknowledging student differences reflects culturally relevant and responsible pedagogy. Addressing discrimination, violence and bullying builds awareness that can help to eradicate it. Being open to discussions about the differences between students and how that frames their experiences allows all students a peek into life from another person’s eyes.