Guest blogger

Hello Issues and Theories Students,

I would like to thank you for the fantastic videos about zines and zine-making.  Mr. Boley, the other ELP teacher at Hoover and  I wanted to share with you some of the things that we have been doing with our students to lead up to creating our zines.

We started this unit a few weeks ago with a video about human rights called A Path to Dignity, which you may have seen.  After watching the video and talking about the importance of human rights, as a whole, we looked at the UNCRC and the special considerations that children needed due to their vulnerability and dependence.  In looking at the articles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, we broke the articles down into four main categories: Survival, Development, Protection and Participation.  Students worked in groups to create a short presentation on one of these categories to share with their peers.  

We then had our students begin reading The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie. As we read the novel, students kept track of which rights the main character, Arnold was denied and which rights he was able to exercise.  During this time, students have also been reading blog posts on the Exploring Children’s Rights Through Artistic Self-Expression blog.  This week, students have been investigating and exploring individuals and organizations that advocate for children’s rights.

Next week, students will begin learning about the zine project.  We will have them watch the video lessons you created and begin to brainstorm ideas for their zines.  We will also be reading more of the Absolutely True Diary… and some supplemental reading about life on reservations in the U.S.  Some of their zine brainstorming will be happening on the class blog.  

One thing that you can do to help with next week’s blog is to take a look at my students’ ideas for their zines and offer constructive ideas for extending them and/or asking clarifying questions that may challenge them to think more deeply about the project.  

Thanks so much for the work you have done, so far, on behalf of our students.  I am excited to see what they are able to do with the guidance you have given them.

Sincerely,

Jeremy Prouty