10-26-2023, 10:36 AM
Session 1: Equality is an Ideal
Focus Q: What is perfect equality?
The difference between political and social equality. In this session, we focused on introducing equality and identity as a concept to the students. We used the strategy of think-pair-share because we wanted to make sure the students were engaged. We did this through different dimensions and charts. The main focus of the session was on the five forms of equality: equal rights, equal treatment, equal political access, equal political influence, and equal opportunity.
First, we told the students to rank each form of equality along the continuum. As we walked around the room, we asked each partner at their table what they were placing at top/bottom and their reasoning for it. Student A talked about a right to own a car. The boys in the classroom were intrigued at this idea, though some thought it was silly. We directed the discussion of cars by connecting it to the right to property for this example. Student B gave an example of how America does not have equal political access. She said that there are restrictions on voting and that people who are immigrants can’t vote in the U.S.
We transitioned into asking the whole class as we wrapped up the group discussion. We asked how they felt about the state of equality based on personal opinion about life today in the U.S. Student C and Student D were the best partners out of everyone else. They were good at filling out the sheet. They were shy to share, so we asked them what they wrote down during the class discussion. After, we looked at the number of participants who gave one form of equality the highest rating. Many liked the equality of political access or political influence as their highest. However, Student E did bring up the problem of lobbying that we have in the U.S. Equality treatment is defined as the way that laws are enforced and rights are upheld with equal effort by authorities. Treatment was voted lowly because many people in the classroom brought of racial profiling. Police violence and stereotypes were used as examples by many students.
Finally, we looked to the four-world model that answered the question, “what factor is at the heart of the American Dream? Many did not know what the american dream is. We shared on the overhead on what the definition American Dream “the notion that the American social, economic, and political system makes success possible for every individual”* We talked about meritocracy which we defined as “a system in which able and talented persons are rewarded and advanced.” We asked the class how identity impacts a society’s ability to achieve “true equality?” For the political world square, we talked about inalienable rights: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We also focused on the equality of opportunity for the poor or immigrants. For the social equality square, whereby all members of a society have completely equal treatment, opportunity and access to resources.
Focus Q: What is perfect equality?
The difference between political and social equality. In this session, we focused on introducing equality and identity as a concept to the students. We used the strategy of think-pair-share because we wanted to make sure the students were engaged. We did this through different dimensions and charts. The main focus of the session was on the five forms of equality: equal rights, equal treatment, equal political access, equal political influence, and equal opportunity.
First, we told the students to rank each form of equality along the continuum. As we walked around the room, we asked each partner at their table what they were placing at top/bottom and their reasoning for it. Student A talked about a right to own a car. The boys in the classroom were intrigued at this idea, though some thought it was silly. We directed the discussion of cars by connecting it to the right to property for this example. Student B gave an example of how America does not have equal political access. She said that there are restrictions on voting and that people who are immigrants can’t vote in the U.S.
We transitioned into asking the whole class as we wrapped up the group discussion. We asked how they felt about the state of equality based on personal opinion about life today in the U.S. Student C and Student D were the best partners out of everyone else. They were good at filling out the sheet. They were shy to share, so we asked them what they wrote down during the class discussion. After, we looked at the number of participants who gave one form of equality the highest rating. Many liked the equality of political access or political influence as their highest. However, Student E did bring up the problem of lobbying that we have in the U.S. Equality treatment is defined as the way that laws are enforced and rights are upheld with equal effort by authorities. Treatment was voted lowly because many people in the classroom brought of racial profiling. Police violence and stereotypes were used as examples by many students.
Finally, we looked to the four-world model that answered the question, “what factor is at the heart of the American Dream? Many did not know what the american dream is. We shared on the overhead on what the definition American Dream “the notion that the American social, economic, and political system makes success possible for every individual”* We talked about meritocracy which we defined as “a system in which able and talented persons are rewarded and advanced.” We asked the class how identity impacts a society’s ability to achieve “true equality?” For the political world square, we talked about inalienable rights: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We also focused on the equality of opportunity for the poor or immigrants. For the social equality square, whereby all members of a society have completely equal treatment, opportunity and access to resources.