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Not in Our School Videos

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  • San Francisco students find a creative response to hate.
  • Each year, Facing History teacher Jane Wooster asks the students in her classes to take on a "social action" project of their own choosing. This year, several of the students have chosen to conduct a lunch-time demonstration to draw attention to the use of the word "illegal" to describe undocumented immigrants, and start a school-wide conversation about the way immigrants are perceived in their community.
  • Vajra Watson founded SAYS: Sacramento Area Youth Speaks to give young people a voice through hip hop and spoken word. "We underestimate young people," Vajra says. "They're ready to grab the mic. Are we ready to listen?"
  • Here is an example of a student-led assembly at Peralta Elementary School in Oakland, CA. This assembly launched their schoolwide anti-bullying campaign. The students did a skit and talked about how to be an upstander as they took the lead in addressing bullying and intolerance. Students also learned how to be upstanders who work toward an accepting and identity safe school environment. Not In Our School developed a guide and sample skit for a similar assembly at the middle and high school levels. Learn more at niot.org
  • Gunn High School students challenge the use of the derogatory saying.
  • Olympia students speak out when Neo-Nazis organize in their town.
  • When Facing History teachers Jamie Lott and Mary Sok asked their World Cultures class about bullying at their school, the class described the hallways as safe. But after listening to a presentation given by hate crimes task force officer Dave D'Amico, they started a discussion about the widespread problem of online bullying, and how they as a class could take the first steps toward preventing it.
  • Alex Epstein is a college student who, during high school, was compelled to help rebuild New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Using the tool of VOLUNTEER, Alex made multiple trips and engaged with the local community.
  • Lakewood, OH high school students use video to talk about race.
  • Adarsha Shivakumar and Apoorva Rangan are siblings that have used the power to TEACH rural Indians how to produce environmentally- and economically-sustainable fuel. After witnessing the devastation of local ecologies, Adarsha and Apoorva spent months in India convincing locals that processing a native fruit and using the byproducts as fuel presents a solution that balances human energy and local ecosystem needs.
  • Not In Our Town: Class Actions profiles students and community members who are creating change in the wake of racism, anti-Semitism, and the traumatic consequences of bullying. Narrated by Survivor winner Yul Kwon, the half-hour documentary will debut on PBS stations in 2012.
  • From SpeakingInTonguesFilm.info: Sometimes a small idea has big implications. Consider America’s resolute commitment to remaining an “English only” nation. It turns out that our attitudes about language reflect much bigger concerns: that language is a metaphor for the barriers that come between neighbors, be they across the street or around the world.
  • As Indiana University students celebrate the holiday season, the sense of calm is shattered by a series of attacks against Jewish institutions. Bloomington United, a community group created in 1998 after a white supremacist spread hate and murder on campus, reaches out to IU students and helps heal new wounds.
  • Janet Miller, a teacher at Hoover Middle School, was blown away by district-wide statistics that revealed the risk of violence that transgendered youth experience. Moved by the statistics, Miller stated to her colleagues that it was their responsibility to create a safe learning environment for ALL students and that any type of discrimination should not be tolerated.
  • "Identity safe classrooms are those in which teachers strive to ensure students that their social identities are an asset rather than a barrier to success in the classroom. Acknowledging students' identities, rather than trying to be colorblind, can build the foundation for strong positive relationships. This, coupled with challenging opportunities to learn, can help all students begin to feel they are welcomed, supported, and valued as members of the learning community." —Dr. Dorothy Steele Learn more about identity safety in this interview of Dr. Dorothy Steele, co-author with Dr. Becki Cohn-Vargas of the new book for elementary educators, "Identity Safe Classrooms: Places to Belong and Learn."
  • In Our Family, children share stories about all kinds of families. Today's children come from families living in one home or two, some are being raised by one mom or one dad, or they might have two parents/caregivers or live with grandparents or other family members. Others have parents/caregivers of different ethnic backgrounds, or who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. And some children are adopted or live in blended families. This short film is a collaboration between Our Family Coalition and Not In Our Town to encourage conversation about the many diverse family constellations, to give children the opportunity to see and appreciate their own families, and to be open and respectful to those who are different from them.
  • Palo Alto, CA students find a creative response to hate.
  • This public service announcement encourages students to be an upstander. Created by high school students from American University's Discover the World of Communication Summer Program held at University of California Berkeley during the Summer of 2011.