Diversity/Multiculturalism | Page 4 | Not in Our Town

Diversity/Multiculturalism

  Outside Cleveland, OH, Lakewood High School students in teacher Joe Lobozzo's Facing History and Ourselves class use video to engage with community members and explore perceptions of changing racial and economic demographics. They continue the conversation with their peers in the student Race and Diversity Club. (5:12)    Discussion Questions:
At West Middle School in Rockford, IL, student council members organized a Not In Our School campaign and a school-wide assembly with student-produced skits challenging stereotypes and other intolerant behavior. (2:43)    Discussion Questions: What did you think of the scenarios the students performed?  Were they similar to name-calling or stereotypes you may have heard or seen?   In each performance scene, the target of the name-calling modeled a response or rebuttal. Did you find these responses realistic?  Do you think they would be effective in stopping the name-calling?  Give examples of why or why not.   One student in the video quoted the belief that “In order to improve the future, we must know where we have been in the past.” What does this statement mean to you?  What lessons from our history in the United States do you feel we have learned, or do we still need to learn, in order to improve our future?  
This video highlights a powerful activity called Dissolving Stereotypes. This activity can be used effectively with students or adults to explore experiences with stereotypes and hurtful words and ways to “dissolve” the hurt caused.  
In this excerpt from the documentary "Not In Our School: Palo Alto," Gunn High School students literally dissolve common stereotypes, when they participate in a Not In Our School lunch time activity. Subtítulos están disponibles en español. Para utilizarlos, haga clic en "CC" ubicada en la parte inferior del video. 
Who cares about standing up to hate and intolerance? The Not in Our Town Project team posed this question to students, teachers and community leaders of all different backgrounds, who all responded in no uncertain terms, "I do!" Hear from others committed in the fight against hate and join the conversation by videotaping and sharing your own answer on our YouTube channel. (2:01) Discussion Questions:   Why do you think the person who made this video chose to have so many different people and stories shown? Was there a particular story or message that stood out for you from the video? Explain. Everyone in the video shared that they cared about combating hate and explained why. Do we all care about combating hate too? Let’s talk about our reasons why. (Consider charting the responses to post in the classroom to reinforce this message with students.)