online journal
Social Activism in America
Bradford Pazant
Bradford Pazant
"To be educated, is to be well informed, to develop an interest for life and learning, to develop diversity among us, to make connections…" Earnest Boyer
It is common knowledge that students learn best when they are actively engaged. The traditional school curriculum must continually be modified and enriched to better students' learning experiences. An essential component for students to reach their full potential as learners as well as to become socially aware, active beings is to have an educational environment where they are rigorously pursuing the truth from multiple perspectives. This can only be achieved through multicultural education.
The goal of multicultural education is empowerment: allowing children to feel wanted, valued, and accepted. Teaching from a multicultural perspective is essential in maintaining the democratic vision of the United States where all people have equal participation. Following this philosophy, I created an American history project entitled: Social Activism in America: Focusing on the Harlem Renaissance and the Civil Rights Movement. This project requires students to examine, analyze, and interpret public discourse, social customs, and personal deeds during the Harlem Renaissance and the Civil Rights Movement. Focusing on one individual, movement, or event, the students were encouraged to explore the lives and events which gave rise to social justice and transformed the conduct of American life. The students are provided with an array of topics that represent events or individuals from the fields of politics, social activism, the arts, athletics, education, and religion. Topic choices can include Marcus Garvey, W.E. B. Dubois, The Rosewood Massacre, Bessie Smith, Jacob Lawrence, Lorraine Hansberry, Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, The history of lynching, Carter G. Woodson, Mary McLeod Bethune, Stokely Carmichael, Jackie Robinson, and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. To prevent overlapping of presentations, the number of topic choices should equal the number of students in the grade.
This project offers students the opportunity to explore a topic in depth while providing them the opportunity to practice organizational skills, writing, and public speaking. These are necessary skills that they will continue to use throughout their academic careers. Three types of assessment are used to evaluate their achievement: research paper (3-5 pages in length, addressing social movement, person/event, and historical significance), in-class presentation utilizing technology-power point, and web-page creation. The students are given three months to complete this project, dedicating 2-3 days in class workdays per week.
In order to tap into the students' special skills or interests as well as enable them to enhance those qualities, students are able to include a creativity component with their projects. This can be expressed in many different forms, for example, recreating a piece of work in the style of an artist through poetry, painting, music, and sculpting.
Implementing projects such as this creates a culture of thinking in the classroom that encourages students to think critically and creatively. Teaching from a multicultural perspective offers students a deeper and more complete picture of America's culture and history, preparing them to cope with the ever-increasing demands of life.
To view student web-pages, go to www.greensboroday.org/pazant.
Student Responses to project:
"While working on the project, I learned a lot of historical information. I learned more working on this project than I probably could have learned from reading a book because I was able to go further into depth on my topic." Mekia Valentine '06.
"I thought this project was a good learning experience. I liked having many topics from which to choose. Because of this, even if you did not get your pick, there were still many other options." Baker Shogry '06.
"I believe this project made me grow as a person. It made me look into the past of America." Kevin McDonald '06.
"I gained new writing skills." Maggie Salinger '06.
"To begin with, Negro Spirituals was not my first choice. Nor was it my second, third, or fourth… To tell you the truth, I didn't even have the slightest idea of what a Negro Spiritual might be… I began to follow its path in history…I found the moral fiber of every African American who contributed in the unwritten measures of these Negro Spirituals. I thoroughly enjoyed devoting my time to such a memorable project." Chris Watford '06.
"I never realized how influential and respected Romare Bearden was during his career as an artist. I learned Bearden painted about his surroundings, his encounters, and events around him….His paintings told about how African Americans were feeling.." Kyle Cranford 06.
Abraham Johns' re-creation of Jacob Lawrence's painting Pool.
Mara Waldruff ('06), stands next to her re-creation of William H. Johnson's painting, Streetlife-Harlem.
Kyle Cranford's art work in the style of Romare Bearden
Sally Norman's sculpture in the style of Augusta Fells Savage.
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