Period 3 - Janice Jung

[CALIS]

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Session 1 materials: [The first line of your report is the session number and full title of the database item(s).]
Focus Q: [On a new line, list your focus question from your TAP form. If you changed the question then add the new version after the TAP version.]
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[Janice Jung]

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.

[Janice Jung]

Session 2: NPR podcast - Afghans Confront Sensitive Issue Of Ethnicity

Focus Q: How does ethnicity unite and divide different groups?

This session was different from the first session because the high school’s schedule changed at the last minute and we were given a new classroom. Since they did not hear our lesson from last week, I started the class by introducing the concept of equality and identity to the students. We used the strategy of think-pair-share since it was successful from Session 1. We use the four worlds chart in the end. The main focus of session 2 was the concept of ethnicity and nationality.

First, I asked the class if they knew anything about Afghanistan. Student A stated that he heard of the country in the news. Student B talked about the war in Afghanistan. Talking to the class, we mentioned that Afghanistan has a weaker political system because of the war that destabilized the country for many years.

Then I started the podcast on the teacher’s laptop. We had provided them the transcript of the recording so they can follow along with their page and listen at the same time. Then, I paused the recording after playing about a third of the podcast and asked the student what the debate in the country was about. Student C answered that they were debating about the new smart ID cards and whether or not they should have the ethnicity written on the ID cards.

I resumed the podcast and we heard about the four major ethnic groups in Afghanistan. The Pastuns, who are the ethnic group that is dominant in government, have been pushing to get rid of the ethnicity label on the IDs. We paused the recording again and discussed as a class, the differing opinions on the ID cards. Most minority citizens wanted the ID cards to protect their identity and their political power.

There was a separate group who thought that ethnicity should not be included in the ID because the most important aspect of the card was to remember that everyone is an Afghan. This caught the attention of many students. As a partner question, we discussed the relationship between nationality and ethnicity.

We transitioned into partners to answer the questions about the demographic charts. The paper we gave them provided information about America, Israel, and Afghanistan. The questions asked about the diversity levels of the the three countries. There were three types of diversity we discussed such as language, religion, and ethnicity. Through the activity, the students were able to explore the idea of diversity in America compared to the rest of the world. My partner and I walked around the class to see what the students were talking about and clarify any confusion. Many students did not know what homogeneous meant so we defined the words for them as we went around the room.

As the final activity, we utilized the analytical tool of the four worlds. Many students brought up the political world and focused on how nationality can help political unity. I asked how they felt about the state of equality based on personal opinion about life today in the U.S. The class stated that nationality was more important to them because it promoted unity in society.

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Session 3: NPR podcast - Afghans Confront Sensitive Issue Of Ethnicity Focus Q: How does ethnicity unite and divide different groups? 

For session 3, we had the original group back that we were supposed to have. This group was supposed to get the NPR podcast session last week, but they weren’t able to be there due to the school schedule change that we were not informed of. TIRP suggested if we wanted to do the same session for this original group and we agreed. 

The main focus of session 3 was the relationship of ethnicity and nationality. Since they already had an introduction to the concept of equality and identity to the students, I started off with a discussion of Afghanistan. I asked the class what types of information they already knew about Afghanistan. Student A stated that he heard of the country in the news. When asked about what he heard, he mentioned the Taliban and how there was a war. After asking the questions about the country, I started the podcast on the teacher’s laptop. The papers we passed out at the beginning of class included the transcript of the podcast so they can follow along with their page and listen together. 

Then, I started the video from the website that I sent the teacher beforehand. We listened to about a third of the story. I asked what the main issue of the essay was about and Student B answered that there was a debate about new ID cards. The numbers on the side of the page also helped. Whenever I asked a question that the students could not answer, I tried to help them by directing them to the line number where the answer could be found. 

Then, I paused the recording after playing about two thirds of the podcast and asked the student what the debate in the country was about. Student C answered that they were debating about the new smart ID cards and whether or not they should have the ethnicity written on the ID cards. I resumed the podcast and we heard about the four major ethnic groups in Afghanistan. The Pastuns, who are the ethnic group that is dominant in government, have been pushing to get rid of the ethnicity label on the IDs. We paused the recording after reaching the end of the first page and discussed the differing debate on ethnicity for the ID cards. Most minority citizens wanted the ID cards to protect their identity and their political power. Since the number of seatsnumber of seats you can get depended on how many people you have in the demographic, minority groups wanted a more accurate number of their ethnicity through the ID cards. Student D talked about how this was similar to quotas for minorities. 

At the end of the podcast, there was one Afghan interviewee who thought that ethnicity should not be included in the ID. He stated that the most important aspect of everyone’s identity was to remember that everyone is an Afghan. We discussed the relationship between nationality and ethnicity as a class and I asked how we can relate this to the situation in America. Student C shared that even though he is an American citizen, many people don’t treat him or think of him as an American. Many assumed that he is an immigrant or is not a citizen because of his ethnicity or skin color. 

We used the strategy of think-pair-share since it was successful in making the students discuss the questions that we wanted them to consider. It also helped when we would call on a group to share after no one wanted to volunteer.  I emphasized that the idea of ethnicity and nationality does not have to be an exclusive concept. We can still be proud of our ethnicity and our familial or cultural heritage. However, the acceptance of our race or ethnicity does not negate our national identity as Americans. Many students agreed to this since they knew that your ethnicity does not bar you from being a U.S. citizen. 

Afterwards, we grouped the class into partners with the people sitting next to them and gave them the demographic charts. The paper we gave them provided information on the types of religion, language, and ethnicities that exist in America, Israel, and Afghanistan. Through the activity, the students were able to explore the idea of diversity in America compared to the rest of the world. We walked around one side of the class to see what the groups were discussing. In the end, we gave them the analytical tool of the four worlds. We organized the group into 3-4 students and had them fill out the chart together. The students looked at political, social, economic, and cultural factors of ethnicity and nationality. The political and cultural world were the topic of focus by many groups as they discussed how people’s perspective of identity (being an American versus being Latino) can shape politics and how they get treated.