My students need a field trip to the Museum of Tolerance.
FULLY FUNDED! Ms. Lee's classroom raised $875
This project is fully funded
Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month
This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
My Students
“Frankie” was recently reprimanded for wearing a swastika. He said he admires the way Hitler overcame poverty to become a “great leader.” Having continually failed at school, “Frankie” is clearly seeking models of empowerment. I fear he may find solace in hatred and hostility if we don’t intervene.
"Frankie" is like many of my 38 remedial English students - from low-income, minimally educated, immigrant families.
Many live in crime-ridden neighborhoods where gang violence riddles their streets with gunshot, police sirens, and muggings. "Thug life" is upheld as a model for rebelling against the inequities and condescension that my students endure. Bullying and disrespect are so ingrained in their lives, they don’t even recognize when they are putting each other down.
Recently I noticed "Frankie" and other students calling their friend a degrading nickname. I asked “Simon” if he liked that nickname, and he said, “No.” When I asked the students to stop degrading him, “Frankie” argued that it was okay because “Simon” always called him names too. Bullying has become a daily ritual - a way of life. I want students to see alternative means of empowerment.
My Project
The Museum of Tolerance offers an excellent field trip program and lesson plans for teens. In state-of-the-art interactive exhibits, students are exposed to the dynamics of prejudice and discrimination historically and today. It's a powerful program that elicits deep and provocative discussions about the every day problems of bullying, stereotyping, hatred, and racism.
I would use this field trip as a culminating event to mark off an entire unit about empowerment. My students not only need to build their English language skills, they also need help to heal from the scars of poverty and prejudice.
We'll be reading and writing poems, memoirs, and short stories about our lives, dreams, and goals. And I'll be sharing the poems and stories of famous authors who have empowered themselves through education - Jimmy Santiago Baca, Malcolm X, Luis Rodriguez, Mona Ruiz, and Nikki Giovanni. I'd like students to see and be inspired by alternatives to the "thug" models they so like to emulate.
This field trip will reward students for their hard work in exploring the deep-seated resentment that many feel towards the educational system and society.
Through this field trip, students will not only explore the connection between bullying in school and the deep-seated prejudice that led to the Holocaust, they'll also examine the ways that victims of the Holocaust became heroes and "upstanders" - people who found power within themselves to fight injustice in positive ways.
Nearly all students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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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 Ms. Lee and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
