Discrimination and Prejudice in Television

As my eighth graders study the Holocaust, I think it is equally important to look at how racial discrimination and prejudice can cause people to do things that they may not have done otherwise. Take Hitler for example. If he did not feel or believe so strongly that the country needed to be ethnically cleansed, would the Holocaust have taken place at all? How do we change people's belief systems? Having students look at television shows throughout history that actually tackle this theme of discrimination and prejudice in both positive and negative ways, is one way to start creating an open discussion on why people treat others differently. We can begin to have a discussion of how we can continue to grow as individuals who are accepting of others' differences.

In the following clip, Archie Bunker, who is the main character of the popular 1970's sitcom All in the Family, tackles this issue head on when they invite the Jefferson's, who are an African American couple, who recently moved into the neighborhood, to dinner. When Edith and Archie's guests arrive, there is clearly racial tension between both Archie and "George" from the beginning. When Edith allows "George" to sit in his chair, you can tell that Archie is clearly upset. They also portray those uncomfortable silences between these two men when they try to make conversation. When "George" picks up what looks to be a petition against "colored" people moving into the neighborhood, the gloves come off. They end up having a hotly debated topic on the color of God. Archie believes that God is white and "George" believes he is black.

While this is going on, it is clear that the women are stuck in their stereotypical roles which involve staying at home and tending to the house and supper.

Obviously the problem being addressed in this clip is racial relations. What I found most interesting was the comment at the end, when we find out that Edith didn't really sprain her ankle, it was an excuse to cancel dinner. Ironically, we also find out that "George" is really not George at all, and is really Weezie's brother because the real George didn't want to have dinner with them either.

Holocaust Revisited Video

As part of my students eighth grade English Holocaust study, students are expected to write a five to eight page research paper on a topic of their choice that deals directly with the Holocaust. They must come up with fifty note cards, a works cited page, and follow the MLA format. During their research on the Holocaust, students come across a several images that are much better viewed than read or written about. As a secondary part of this assignment, I would like them to create a mini-movie that highlights these moments in their paper and present their movies to the class. Here is my first attempt at creating one.

To Blog or not to Blog...You Decide

As an educator, many times we need to make sure that what we are doing in the classroom has educational merit. As an English teacher, I believe that blogging serves as a very useful tool for my students. Wesley Fryer knows educational technology, particularly blogs and podcasts. For those students, parents, and others who are not sure if this technology makes sense, watch the following video.

For more educational insight on this topic, please check out Wesley Fryer's website which was voted best Learning Theory Blog for 2006: www.speedofcreativity.org

Poster Created Through Web Poster Wizard

Because my class spends a significant amount of time studying the Holocaust each year, my blog focuses on that close study. As part of our assignment in Teaching Media, we were asked to either create a poster or a collage of pictures. I found a very useful site that allows teachers to post assignments and give students a place to drop their work into. This is a free tool for educators to create lessons, worksheets, or a class page immediately and publish it online. It is also a great way to archive student projects and highlight exemplary work. This site would be very useful for teachers and students when creating short reports. The bottom one is my poster.


The Holocaust Revisited
Images of the victims of the Holocaust


Description: Holocaust Memorial
Image copyright: Google Images

Within our Holocaust Unit this year in eighth grade, we were expected to write a five to eight page research paper on the Holocaust. My topic was focused on the children of the Holocaust. The pictures are graphic details to what it was like living under the Nazi regime.


The actual website is called Web Poster Wizard . The link to this website is http://poster.4teachers.org/ I will also link it on the side bar as well.

1936 Nazi Olympics

As part of an interdisciplinary unit, students spend time researching the 1936 Olympic Games. Students are expected to find ten important facts that pertain to their topic of interest and create a holocaust collage highlighting images that relate to their research. The first picture clearly depicts th loyalty or fear the public had of the Hitler regime. The second is an actual protest poster of the Olympics being held in Nazi Germany and the third is the official poster for the Nazi Olympics held in Berlin with the man holding the torch and saluting Hitler.

Students must choose from the following: Research one male athlete or female athlete that won either a gold, silver, or bronze medal and give us information about them such as:

1) What country is the medalist from and how many medals did they win?
2) Include interesting facts about their childhood or family.
3) How old were they when they started playing the sport and/or who influenced them?
4) How has the sport changed since the 1930's?

Another topic students could choose is to research information about the two "half-jews" that were part of the national team and create a collage about it.

The last topic students could choose is to look specifically at people and/or organizations that protested the Nazi Olympics and include these posters and other media that they find and include these in your collage.

Black Children Tears in Sudan

I found it quite interesting they way in which this video was filmed and edited. They first started out with a close-up shot of the DRP President sharing his viewpoints on the genocide happening in Sudan and then pans out to the title being Darfur genocide. Throughout this clip they have a song playing that speaks about how will there ever be peace which is the reoccurring theme throughout the film. It is emphasized greater with the sound of gunshots as well as close-up shots of the young children of Darfur and then concluding with close-up views the way in which they see the world through their drawings. There pictures show a world of war, killing, military, etc. This video clip addresses the universal question: How long are the nations of the world going to allow innocent people like those in Sudan to be tortured, beaten, and killed. Black Children tears in Sudan looks at what life is like for the typical Sudanese child in society today.

History of Genocide

This short video clip gives a little bit of background on the terms genocide, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing. it starts out with historical background in areas that have witnessed these atrocities throughout the world. The first representation is in the country of Turkey, then continental Europe with the Holocaust, then Cambodia during 1975, then Bosnia from 1992-1995, then Iraq in the late 1980's to the early 1990's to Rwanda in April of 1994. I think that this video does a good job of illustrating a timeline of genocide and helps by including maps of these locations.

The next part of this video then looks at the 21st century, particularly at Darfur. Although not mentioned in this video you could link this to both the genocide taking place in both Somalia and North Korea as we speak. This video will hopefully help students to see that genocide is still present today and will serve as a starting point into our semester long study.

Make A Difference-Make Their Voices Heard!

This video clip was created to show people the atrocities and genocide inflicted upon innocent people in Darfur and make a point about the fact that genocide is still happening in our world today. This video clip uses the song "One," by U-2 and Mary Blige. It is a very powerful message that really persuades people to act. What will you do to make their voices heard?

Women Making a Difference in Rwanda

In this video clip it looks at women's roles in Rwanda shortly following the genocide. One of the most powerful video clips is right in the beginning when there is a close up on women delicately washing the skulls, bones, and teeth of Tootsies killed in this genocide. Politician Speciose has made it her mission to rebuild these fallen villages and give orphaned children a safe haven. She shows women clearly making a difference for the betterment of society. I think that this is important to show because although Rwanda may be struggling, active women are taking a stand to make their country a better place for all to live. Very powerful and shows the true act of feminism making a difference. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwRyRMLXTVA

Class and Genocide

The following music video clip is performed by Green Day. It is a remake of John Lennon's song a "Working Class Hero." I thought that Green Day did a good job of using this song with embedded clips of Sudanese people to explain how the class struggle is causing many of their brothers and sisters to die. I think it does a good job trying to persuade people to take a stand and do something about it.