Help us get students to experience the people, places, and events that shaped the Civil Rights Movement and American History by sending us on a four-day tour of Southern states in the Summer of 2019.
The Civil Rights Tour benefits the Game Changers of Ritenour High School, which was formed in 2014 as our social justice club. Our purpose is to improve educational equity, encourage involvement between the school and the community, and educate others on the topics of social justice. As Game Changers, we are finding new ways to educate our younger generation about how to have courageous discussions about often difficult topics related to race and equity. We also want to spread awareness to these topics to our community and create change in our community. As of this year, Game Changers is a group of about 35-40 devoted students, and we hope to continue to grow.
This project was written by a few members of the group, including Derick, Hope, Kierra, Clarissa, Alanna, Harry, and Chris. With your help, we hope to send 25 student members of the Game Changers on a four-day Civil Rights Tour throughout the South.
Students will have an 8-day emersion experience into the Civil Rights Movement. We start with two 8-hour days of intensive study of the Civil Rights Movement that include a Socratic seminar, student research presentations, podcasts, inquiry-based assignments, and roundtable discussions. Afterward, we leave on our four-day tour of southern monuments to the Civil Rights Movement and see firsthand, many of the people, places, and events we learned about in class. We finish up our experience back at Ritenour High School where students create presentations on the trips impact to share with administrators, teachers, and parents returning from summer break.
In Their Own Words
Our goal is to expand student understanding of the Civil Rights Movement while giving us a hands-on way to experience history. This trip is also an excellent way for students to learn and appreciate history from sources other than a traditional classroom setting or textbook. We bring home with us, knowledge of the methods used to protest that help us to fight injustice in our community.
Students will make the most of this leadership opportunity by grasping as much information as possible about the Civil Rights Movement to share with district leadership, teachers, and students through presentations following the trip. Information gathered regarding activism will be used to help our school respond to social justice issues, such as institutional racism, sexism, and school violence in our community.
This project is personal to us because it is a once in a lifetime experience to connect with history. We will hear first-hand accounts from survivors, build empathy, and learn about the challenges people endured during the Civil Rights Movement. It affects my school because, for the students fortunate enough to go, it is an amazing bonding experience. We also learn much more information about this influential time period not found in our history textbooks. This trip will help to educate more people on the Civil Rights Movement, and allow everyone to get a new take on the struggle for rights, personal forgiveness, education, and will help us to grow as leaders.
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mr. Terrance and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
