One very simple thing that my organisation has done
post September 11 when Asians were being targeted in
the UK was develop a citizenship curriculum for very
young children. This was done to unpack negative
stereotypes, see how early such stereotypes develop,
and to show children in the UK and in Asia, that
childhood is universal. We used a lot of different
exercises and asked children and teachers from our
projects to help us develop this site. We even had a
web based forum, but teachers in the UK are not that
into using web forums for such things, so it didn't
work. But we had excellent feedback as we actually
used real pictures, emails, drawings, and incorporated
this with links and exercises for literacy, numeracy,
geography UK curriculum. The curriculum was translated
and adapted for the Welsh and the Scottish as well. 

A lot of NGOs have curriculum (usually gratis or for a
very small sum) for different ages. Teachers have
given us excellent feedback and it is in over a 100
schools in the UK. Something so basic, which
highlights our shared experiences as humans, makes
"those over there" as real as "these sitting in my
class".
Regards
Ujwala

--- Daniel Rizik-Baer <drizikbaer at gmail.com> wrote:


> Maybe we can start those citizenship classes by

> creating some activities

> that focus on where certain political theories and

> movements started? The

> different political situations in different

> countires, issues and problems

> with them.....(ballot box stuffing is not, of

> course, solely an American

> phenomenon), how economics intersects with politics

> to create political

> economy.....

> 

> I remember a whole world opening up to me when I

> learned about the myriad of

> events and circumstances that pushed it forward from

> the Enlightenment, to

> the French Revolution and beyond, as well as

> learning about the different

> ways democracy has been instituted in different

> situations (as well as other

> forms of political institutions).

> 

> Maybe if we had students study the political history

> of their country, both

> negatives and positives, and drew correlations

> between countries and

> movements, as well as learning about different

> theorists perspectives and

> how they converge and diverge.....? (using venn

> diagrams, charting paper

> etc.)?

> 

> On Wed, Apr 30, 2008 at 9:05 AM, Laurie Sheridan <

> laurie_sheridan at worlded.org> wrote:

> 

> > Hi, Ujwala--

> >

> > I have been depressed about this news story all

> week.   I usually look

> > to New Yorkers to be more broad-minded and

> "tolerant," but somehow this

> > situation got mixed into some unfortunate stew of

> anti-Arab,

> > anti-terrorist, as well as anti-Palestinian,

> pro-Israel feelings that

> > seems to have derailed this whole project.  I too

> will watch how it all

> > unfolds, with great interest.   In this country I

> can see that there is

> > a tidal wave of anti-immigrant, anti-Arab,

> anti-Muslim and of course

> > anti-terrorist hatred and fear that is somehow all

> being mixed up

> > together, so that to some people they are all the

> same (all Arabs or all

> > Muslims are terrorists, all Muslims are Arabs and

> vice versa, all

> > immigrants are to be feared and kept out, etc.)   

> A little ignorance

> > can go a long way!   And it's all too easy to

> organize people on this

> > basis to do some very hateful, destructive and

> often self-destructive

> > things.

> >

> > Your father sounds as though he was very wise--and

> gave very good

> > advice, even at a difficult time and right in the

> "stew."    I'm trying

> > to imagine what he lived through and saw in the

> late '40's which must

> > have been horrific in many ways, yet left him with

> that much

> > understanding and fellow-feeling nonetheless. 

> What a wonderful model

> > for you!

> >

> > I think those kinds of things we are told as

> children often have more

> > power and weight than parents usually realize.  I

> myself often think

> > about the days when I was quite small and our

> elementary school in

> > Baltimore was about to be racially integrated for

> the first time

> > (following the Brown vs. Board of Education

> Supreme Court decision), and

> > fear and dire predictions were circulating in our

> school.  When I told

> > my mother, who is really no anti-racist, she said

> to me that the

> > African-American students who were about to arrive

> "are just human

> > beings like you and me."   I never forgot her

> words at that time and

> > they shaped my life--though at 94 she doesn't even

> remember saying them!

> >

> >

> > Yes, I too "wish we had more 'citizenship' classes

> and curriculum to

> > help build bridges and dialogue."  Sometimes I do

> think we need them

> > even more in the U.S. these days, than in India.

> >

> > Laurie

> >

> > Laurie Sheridan, Workforce Development Coordinator

> > World Education/SABES Central Resource Center

> > 44 Farnsworth St.

> > Boston, MA 02210

> > (617) 385-3737

> > lsheridan at worlded.org

> >

> > SABES:  Training Leaders in Adult Basic Education

> >

> >

> > >>> Ujwala Samant <lalumineuse at yahoo.com>

> 4/29/2008 5:11 PM >>>

> >  Oh Laurie, what a sad thing to happen! To

> discourage

> > dialogue is really depressing. I will now follow

> this

> > story to see what happens.

> >

> > I was raised post Indian Independence and have

> seen my

> > father fight and be decorated for three wars

> against

> > Pakistan. The Indian media does a bang up job of

> > demonising Pakistan and I (to my shame) bought

> into a

> > lot of it, growing up in India. Till my work took

> me

> > to Pakistan. My father gave me one bit of advice:

> "The

> > anti Pakistan sentiment is not yours. This is a

> > problem I grew up with, I lived through the

> Partition.

> > You didn't. Your generation's job is to make

> friends,

> > make peace." Given his military career, I was not

> sure

> > what to make of it, till I visited his classmates

> in

> > Pakistan and realised that there was deep

> friendship

> > and affection between them, despite the wars they

> > fought against each other. (Had to go back and

> admit

> > he was errr right.)

> >

> > I wish we had more "citizenship" classes and

> > curriculum to help build bridges and dialogue.

> > Ujwala

> >

> > --- Laurie Sheridan <laurie_sheridan at worlded.org>

> > wrote:

> >

> > > I think that is a fair question.

> > >

> > > Unfortunately, one answer is to be found in the

> > > story that was in the

> > > news yesterday about a young American educator,

> > > Debbie Almontaser, who a

> > > few years back decided to start a new public

> school

> > > in New York City

> > > that would promote dialogue and understanding of

> > > Muslim and Arabic

> > > language and culture.   The school's students

> are

> > > half Islamic and half

> > > others, and it teaches many languages and

> subjects.

> > >  But, she was

> > > recently forced to resign, and the school seems

> to

> > > be in some jeopardy.

> > >  Apparently, she and the school fell victim to

> > > anti-Arab

> > > sentiment--there was a lengthy and organized

> > > opposition to her and the

> > > school, as somehow being linked to terrorism and

> > > "Islamic radicalism,"

> > > though she seems to have been an Islamic

> moderate

> > > and a long-time

> > > educator who grew up in this country and decided

> to

> > > honor her Islamic

> > > heritage and Arabic language in this way.

> > >

> > > If someone can't even start a school to promote

> > > intercultural

> > > understanding and learning, without provoking a

> > > right-wing

> > > fundamentalist reaction like this, what hope is

> > > there?   If the response

> > > to 9/11 is to generate witch hunts against

> schools

> 

=== message truncated ===>
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