Action for Critical Classrooms

Sample Action for Young Students

1. Lost Boys of Sudan
a. Issue Areas: Displacement, refugee, violence, children’s rights, slavery, human rights
b. Issue description: Thousands of young boys (and girls) in southern Sudan were separated from their families as a result of the war in that area. The boys traveled by foot over hundreds of miles of rough terrain to seek refuge in Ethiopia in the late eighties/early nineties, trying to escape slavery, death, or forced induction into the Sudanese army. In 1991, following the toppling of the Ethiopian government, they were violently chased out of that country and back into Sudan. Eventually, they made their way to refugee camps in Kenya. In 200, the U.S. government began accepting “Lost Boys of Sudan” into the country, granting them refugee status.
c. Resources for the classroom:
i. Lost Boys of Sudan – documentary by Megan Mylar and Jon Shenk http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2004/lostboysofsudan/for.html
ii. What is the What – novel by Dave Eggers http://mcsweeneys.net/books/whatisthewhat.html
iii. Brothers in Hope: The Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan – picture book by Mary Williams http://www.leeandlow.com/books/26/hc/brothers_in_hope_the_story_of_the_lost_boys_of_sudan
2. Slavery in Sudan
a. Issue areas: forced labor, children’s rights, human rights, trafficking
b. Issue description: In Sudan, as well as many other places worldwide, slavery continues. The Sudanese government has supported slave raids as part of a terror and depopulation campaigns in southern Sudan. In the late 1980’s, the government used the services of the Murahaleen, Arab armed militias who were granted freedom to attack non-Arab villages. These attacks including looting, large scale killings, and the enslavement of women and children. This same practice is mimicked by the Janjaweed militias in Darfur today.
c. Example of student action: Barabara Vogel, a fifth-grade teacher in Aurora, CO, read an article to her class about human rights abuses in her class, with a major focus on forced slavery. Her students were so affected by this story, that they started the Slavery That Oppresses People (S.T.O.P.) Campaign. Their goal was to raise enough money to redeem 1,000 slaves. The campaign consisted of selling lemonade, T-shirts, and used toys as well as wrote a letter to the editor. At the end of the campaign, which eventually caught the attention of the CBS Evening News, the children had raised over $50,000. Vogel said, “My goal is to show the power of children, to show that children want to help, and to show adults what children can do.”
d. Suggested readings:
i. Beloved – novel by Toni Morrison
ii. Nettie’s Trip South – children’s book by Ann Turner
3. Students in Action – Some basic suggestions for talking about action
a. The American Civil Rights Movement
i. See “Raising Up a Prophet” by Sudarshan Kapur. The content is certainly for older students, but it can be used as a resource for teachers. Kapur chronicles the discussion of Gandhi’s nonviolent movement in India in African American publications and political/activist circles in America. Decades before Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. became the leader and face of the American Civil Rights movement, the African American community was closely watching the movement in India and discussing it (both in print and openly) and how the Indian movement could help shape similar action in America. The result is a thoughtful discourse on the best course of action against oppression.
ii. This movement also involved a lot of action from young people, many of who not only engaged in nonviolent action, but also helped to coordinate efforts alongside Dr. King and other adult leaders in the movement. See “Eyes on the Prize” film series.
b. Chicano Student Movement
i. In areas around the country, but most specifically in Southern California, Texas, and Colorado, Latino high school students became part of the Mexican American Civil Rights movement when they fought for equality in education. For more see “Chicano!” by F. Arturo Rosales and “The Shame of the Nation” by Jonathan Kozol.