Vanessa M. Johnson
Advocacy
Students have knowledge of injustice in the world, have informed opinions about it, and know that their voice and actions have value. They can advocate for themselves and others.
Introduction
In preparation of teaching my students about advocacy, I first had to give them the knowledge of injustice not just in the world, but injustice they face daily. I know that my students are aware of injustice as it pertains to what they see in the media, but it made me consider their abilities to fight for what they believe is right. In the evidence provided in this section, I demonstrate how students navigate and challenge those systematic injustices in the classroom.
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To first bring about awareness of injustice to my students, I included a lesson on an immigration, a topic heavily discussed among students and their families. I chose the topic of immigration because it is a real-world issue that affects the lives of many. Through this lesson, it was important to me to get the students to participate in conversation related advocacy to formulate questions about injustice and realize that it has a direct impact on our school community. To address the concerns created through student discussion and research, the students wrote letters to our president as a way to collectively navigate change and create action related advocacy.
Alongside the elements related to immigration and injustice, the students engaged in conversation about culture and identity. I included a lesson plan and multiple opportunities to discuss cultural identity and stereotypes. I also included activities that pushed students to engage and follow through with student conducted interviews to voice opinions in a safe space. Collectively, this section demonstrates how students can communicate about real world issues and truly affect change.
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Conclusion
As a teacher, my goal is to help the students become self-advocates who not only have the desire to make change, but know that they have the power to make a real difference in our world. In teaching the injustice lesson, I found that it is important to make learning as real as possible, so that students can make those connections. It truly impacts my work as a teacher and makes the work we do in class purposeful. Going into this lesson, I knew that my biggest challenge would be to get the students to understand that immigration affects them. When the lack of care is removed, and students are able to understand the difference of perspectives among their peers, is when they were able to come together to write the letters against this issue. Writing those letters that created care among my students prompted the discussion of identity as well.
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What started as a culture setting activity, engaging in the identity lesson and watching stories of people who struggle with identity increased pride in individual culture no matter the circumstance. To get the students to follow through and talk about culture from multiple perspectives, they participated in the interviews and the culture chart activity. Doing this reinforced what they have learned about cultural differences to break stereotypes and build respect. As a teacher, it is important to discuss who we are and how we differ so that the students can be open minded as they continue to grow and learn. With continuous practice and always involving students in the conversation about culture, I believe that they will be able to effect change on their own and be open minded to different cultures they may encounter.