Hispanic Heritage Month

Did you know September 15 - October 15 is designated Hispanic Heritage Month?

We are going to help JHMS become more educated! Go to our webquest to find your assignment!

2 new sites to find information:

1. For more information about, go to ProCon.org to read about different controversial issues about immigration and other topics your famous people fought against. It fosters critical thinking by providing quality research on hot-button issues in an unbiased pro and con format.

2. CNN Special: Latino in America - The Garcias

• Check out the program online
• Check out the Facebook Page
• There are many links at the bottom of the page. See what is happening in the news today.

~ STOP ~
Go to the webquest now!
Below are more sites if the webquest isn't enough!!

1. Go to "Classroom Resources" section of the AFT site, and then go to the Hispanic Heritage Month resource section. There is a lot of information about Sotomayor's trailblazing accomplishments! (Maybe more for teachers?)

2. Check out the "Kids Corner" of the Smithsonian Institute online! This has a great virtual field trip for students.

3. Teacher Vision - "a gold mine for teachers!"

4. The Library of Congress provides a place for many agencies and groups pay tribute to the generations of Hispanic Americans who have enriched our nation and society.

5. Great activities and resources for Hispanic Heritage Month from InfoPlease!

6. Education World - contains trivia, biographical links for projects, and other really good sites for activities.

7. National Register of Historic Places...lesson plans for teachers.

8. Colorin' Colorado - a calendar of celebrations worth checking out.

***check this one out:
lease check out this OUTSTANDING resource, free from WYLD.

Go to the Media Center Homepage http://jhmsteton.sharpschool.com/media_center/
Click on WYLD (second box, second row)
Click the S
Click on "SIRS Researcher"
On the top portion of the page are four tabs.
Click on the 4th tab that says "Database Features"
Click on Curriculum Pathfinders
On the yellow bar, click on your subject matter (Math, Science, Social Studies, LA, Fine Arts, Health)

This database contains an hundreds of ideas, tools, and links for curriculum topics. It is generously provided for us by the State.


Always wondered about what is politically correct or what all these "names" mean?
1. Hispanic - used by Cubans, Puerto Ricans and other Caribbean people who consider their cultural heritage linked to Spain.

2. Latino (Latina for women) - used by descendents of Latin America (Mexico, Central America, and South America).

3. Chicano (Chicana for women) - used by people of Mexican ancestry wishing to distinguish their heritage from those of other Latin American countries. The term Mexican-American is becoming a popular replacement.

4. Hispaño (Hispaña for women) - used by the direct descendants of Spanish conquistadors and other Spanish settlers of the US southwest (who did not immigrate from Latin America).

Documentary

Do you want to be in our Documentary about Race in Jackson Hole?
We'd love to have your voice represented!

We will explore the following questions:

1. Is there racism in Jackson schools?

2. What does RACE mean to you?

3. What messages (words, actions) hurt?

4. What messages (words, actions) heal? help?

5. What goals should Jackson schools have regarding race and racism?


Please let contact either Mr. Miller, Mr. Paciulli, or Ms. Rooks if you are interested.

I have a Dream activity....Dream a new Millennium.

10 Simple Things You Can Do!

Look at these Teacher Tools for ideas.

AND

Ideas paraphrased and adapted from
"Ten Simple Things You Can Do To Improve Race Relations"
by Charles A. Gallagher

Do you want to improve race relations in the world?
YES!?
Here are 10 simple things you can do:

1. Talk to your friends and family. Especially if someone is overtly racist or uses stereotypes, politely and without judgment, ask them questions and share your thoughts.

2. Avoid Stereotypical Language - be mindful of words like "all" or "always". These types of words should cause a red flag to go up.

3. Racism is NOT funny. Don't tolerate racist jokes. Saying, "I don't think putting other people down is funny," is a good strategy.

4. Be Introspective. How can we live our lives so social or peer pressure do not push us toward racist, prejudiced, or bigoted beliefs or actions? If you are a bystander, ask yourself why. If you let a racist joke be told, ask yourself why. What stopped you from speaking up?

5. Be a Good Citizen - Vote or Participate in Elections until you can. Make sure you take time to find out candidates' positions on policies that have implications for race relations. Tolerance.org has a lot of information about politicians and hate groups.

6. Be a "Critical Reader, Viewer, and Listener" - When you watch TV and movies or while you read books, magazines, internet sites, or while you listen to music, be critical. What stereotypical images or messages are you getting about ethnic and racial groups and/or gender? How are racial and ethnic groups and/or the different genders being represented? "The mass media provides the images, symbols, and narratives that shape the way we understand society (Gallagher)." How is mass media trying to manipulate you?

7. Learn Your Family's and Community's History. Learn about race relations in your community. How has it changed? How has race influenced your family members? "Your elders are resources. Talk to them about the past and the present (Gallagher)."

8. Teach Through Example. Be a positive role model for your friends and all the younger - and older - people in your life. Often times children and especially GRANDchildren can more influence the thinking of the generations that came before. YOU are the future! Show us all the way.

9. Step Out of Your Comfort Zone. Involve yourself in activities that place you in an environment where you are exposed to people of different racial and ethnic backgrounds. Where do you sit during lunch? Is this a time to reach out and make new friends?

10. Know Thyself. Consider the following questions:

• Do you live in a community that is racially homogeneous?
• Outside of school, is your life composed of people who look like you?
• Are you best friends all the same race?
• In what ways is your school segregated?
• How has your upbringing influenced your racial attitude?
• How might being in the minority shape a person's point of view? self-esteem?
  
• Have your ideas of race ever changed? What happened to change them?

Passage from Guardian by Julius Lester:
"...this is a novel about identity. Whom and what we identify ourselves with determines our characters, determines who we are, and what we do. Whose opinion matters to you most? When you know that, when you know whom it is you most care about pleasing, you know who you are. We make choices every day that shape the content of our characters (p 127)."

"If you're not part of the solution, You're part of the Problem."

Quotes to consider:

Vincent Rocchio, "Racism is something that people can transcend through friendship."

Fredrick Douglass, "People are asking me about the race problem.... I know of no race problem. The great problem that confronts the American people to-day is a national problem -- whether this great nation of ours is great enough to live up to its own convictions, carry out its own declaration of independence, and execute the provisions of its own constitution. (1893)"

Bertrand Russell, "Collective fear stimulates herd instinct, and tends to produce ferocity toward those who are not regarded as members of the herd."

Franklin D. Roosevelt, "Remember, remember always, that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrations and revolutionists."

Harry A. Blackmun, "In order to get beyond racism, we must first take account of race. There is no other way. And in order to treat some persons equally, we must treat them differently."

Martin Luther King, Jr., "I look forward confidently to the day when all who work for a living will be one with no thought to their separateness as Negroes, Jews, Italians or any other distinctions. This will be the day when we bring into full realization the American dream -- a dream yet unfulfilled. A dream of equality of opportunity, of privilege and property widely distributed; a dream of a land where men will not take necessities from the many to give luxuries to the few; a dream of a land where men will not argue that the color of a man's skin determines the content of his character; a dream of a nation where all our gifts and resources are held not for ourselves alone, but as instruments of service for the rest of humanity; the dream of a country where every man will respect the dignity and worth of the human personality."

Franklin Thomas, "One day our descendants will think it incredible that we paid so much attention to things like the amount of melanin in our skin or the shape of our eyes or our gender instead of the unique identities of each of us as complex human beings."

Jack Paar, "Immigration is the sincerest form of flattery."

I swear to the Lord
I still can't see
Why Democracy means
Everybody but me.
~Langston Hughes, The Black Man Speaks

Racism is man's gravest threat to man - the maximum of hatred for a minimum of reason. ~Abraham Joshua Heschel

Martin Luther King, Jr., "Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away, and that in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty."

Do you have an inspirational quote that should be included?
If so, give it to Ms. Rooks and she'll add it to this post!