Marymount School

The following is a list of celebrations and resources of diversity-related themes for March 2010, many of which are integrated into the Marymount curriculum. The list will be updated as the year progresses.

March 1, 2010: First Day of Women’s History Month

• Beyondmedia Education. Beyondmedia Education’s mission is to collaborate with under-served and under-represented women, youth, and communities to tell their stories, connect their stories to the world around us, and organize for social justice through the creation and distribution of media arts. Videos available for viewing and purchasing.
• 230th anniversary of the enactment of the first slavery abolition law. Pennsylvania’s “Gradual Abolition” act did not actually free any slaves. It stated that all slaves born before the law came into effect would remain slaves and children born after that date would remain slaves until they were 28.
• The Abolition of the Slave Trade by the New York Public Library. This extensive multimedia website explores the history and events leading up to the abolition of the slave trade.

March 5, 2010: 40th Anniversary of the Ratification of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

• Understanding the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty by Educators for Social Responsibility. This lesson will help students understand the purpose, structure, and nature of the treaty. You will have to create a free account to access the lesson.

March 8, 2010: International Women’s Day

• In 1910 German socialist Clara Zetkin proposed March 8th as a working-class women’s holiday to celebrate past victories and carry the fight forward.
• MADRE. As a human rights organization, MADRE works internationally with women who are affected by violations to help them win justice and change the conditions that gave rise to human rights abuses. Website includes videos, blogs, papers and other resources that can be used in the classroom.
• Three Women’s Stories of Another Color. This site provides three lesson plans with audio downloads of women storytellers. 1) Nepantla: Caught Between Two Worlds: Growing up Mexican American in Los Angeles. 2) The Spirit Survives: The American Indian Boarding School Experience: Then and Now. 3) Hidden Memory: Internment: Knowing Your Family’s Story and Why It Matters.

March 12, 2010: 20th Anniversary of Wheels of Justice Protest in DC for Disability Rights

• During this protest, then the largest disability demonstration of its kind, hundreds of disability rights activists filled the Capitol rotunda to demand passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. When they refused to disperse, Capitol police arrested them.
• The DisAbility Project. This theater production company focuses on issues of disability. Their website includes a long list of lesson plans and resources related to different disabilities.

March 20, 2010: 7th Anniversary of the Iraq War

• On this day organizations and individuals around the country hold vigils for peace, justice and human rights in Iraq.
• The Cost of War in Iraq: How Does it Affect My Community? This math project examines how much the war in Iraq costs and what alternatives there are to spending that money (for example, on social services).
• Camouflaged: Investigating How the U.S. Military Affects You and Your Community by NYCoRE. This resource collection is a tool for educators to help students explore the role of the military in their lives and in their communities.
• Survey of Latino Attitudes on the War in Iraq. This survey examines the attitudes of U.S. born and foreign-born Latinos and their perspectives on the War in Iraq.

March 21, 2010: International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

• The United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination commemorates the lives of the anti-apartheid demonstrators killed on March 21, 1960 in Sharpeville, South Africa.
• Know Your Rights on Campus: A Guide on Racial Profiling, and Hate Crime for International Students in the United States by Harvard’s Civil Rights Project. This guide provides students with the facts they need to protect themselves in school. Written with college students in mind, this is also a helpful resource for high-schoolers.
• Choices and Decisions: Dealing with Racism, Modern Issues that Affect You by Pete Sanders and Steve Meyers. This comic-book narrative about a young girl who is the target of racism examines the roots of hate in history and in individuals, and how it affects everyone.

March 22, 2010: World Water Day

• World Water Day is an international day of observance and action designated by the UN in 1992 to draw attention to the plight of the more than 1 billion people world wide that lack access to clean, safe drinking water.
• Measuring Water with Justice. This article discusses several strategies to teach about the costs of producing water. It explores areas such as who should have rights to drinking water and how oil spills affect ecosystems and communities.

March 24, 2010: 30th Anniversary of the Assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador

• Oscar Romero promised history that life, not death, would have the last word. “I do not believe in death without resurrection,” he said. “If they kill me, I will be resurrected in the Salvadoran people.”

March 25, 2010: 25th Anniversary of Haing S. Ngor Winning an Oscar

• Ngor was the first Asian American and Cambodian American to win an Oscar. He received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in the film, The Killing Fields.
• The Cambodian Genocide Program. This website hosts bibliographic records, photographs, documents, translations, maps, and an interactive Cambodian Geographic Database about the Cambodian genocide that occurred between 1975 and 1979.
• Refugee: Revisiting the Killing Fields. The film follows three young Cambodian American men on their journey to Cambodia to find family members. Students evaluate the sacrifices and benefits of becoming a refugee in another country.
• Independent Lens: Refugee.

March 27, 2010: Earth Hour

• Earth Hour is an international event that asks households and businesses to turn off their lights and non-essential electrical appliances for one hour from 8:30 p.m. local time until 9:30 p.m. to promote electricity conservation and lower carbon emissions.
• Earth Hour Website. This site provides information about Earth Hour and what else people can do to protect the environment.

March 31, 2010: César Chávez Day

• Viva La Causa: The Story of Cesar Chavez and a Great Movement for Social Justice by Teaching Tolerance. This short documentary and accompanying teacherís guide explores the Grape Strike and Boycott led by César Chávez and Dolores Huerta. The free teaching kit includes a 39-minute film on DVD and a teacher’s guide.
• Model Curriculum and Resources for Teachers. This curriculum on the life and work of César E. Chávez from the California Department of Education includes biographies, pictures, and other resources to help teachers prepare lessons for this holiday.

Haiti Resources: Teaching for Change

February 2010: Black/African American History Month

• The Do’s and Don’ts of Celebrating Black History
• The History Behind Black History Month
• The African American Experience and Issues of Race and Racism in US Schools—Working to Improve Education (WISE) has compiled a list of resources.
• African American Odyssey by the Library of Congress is a comprehensive online display of materials and primary sources.
• US History—African American: Lesson Plans by EDSITEment

February 3, 2010: 140th anniversary of the ratification of the 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution

• The 15th Amendment prohibits the government from denying a citizen the right to vote based on that citizen’s “race, color or previous condition of servitude.” Check out this information on Voting Rights.

February 6, 2010: 190th anniversary of the first emigration of black Americans to Africa

• On this day the ship Elizabeth, nicknamed The Mayflower of Liberia, set sail for Liberia with eighty-six freed African Americans. Check out this website for more information.

February 11, 2010: 20th anniversary of the release of Nelson Mandela

• On this day in 1990, Nelson Mandela, future leader of South Africa, was released from jail after having spent twenty-seven years as a political prisoner. Check out this website for more information.

February 12, 2010: 110th anniversary of the first performance of “Lift Every Voice and Sing”

• The performance took place at a black school as part of a celebration of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday. The poem was written by James Weldon Johnson and then set to music by his brother John Rosamond Johnson. It is popularly known as the Black National Anthem.
• Sweet Chariot: The Story of Spirituals
• Lift Every Voice and Sing

February 14, 2010: Chinese New Year/Tet-Vietnamese New Year—The year of the Tiger.

• Lunar New Year books reviewed by the Asian American Curriculum project. This is a review of children’s books from several Asian cultures about the Lunar New Year.
• Vietnamese Americans Interdisciplinary Curriculum Guide by Teaching Tolerance.

February 14, 2010: Valentine’s Day

• Valentine’s Day in the Classroom by the International Labor Rights Forum (LRF). This lesson plan initiates discussions about workers rights in the cut-flower industry and encourages students to think about consumerism on Valentine’s Day.

February 15, 2010: Birthday of Susan B. Anthony

• Susan B. Anthony, promoter of women’s rights, was born in 1820 and died in 1906.
• Not for Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B Anthony.

February 2, 2010: World Day of Social Justice

• United Nations General Assembly video

February 27, 2010: Dominican Republic Independence Day

• My American Girls by P.O.V.

January 9, 2010: 125th Anniversary of Tape v. Hurley

• The case of Tape v. Hurley established the law that public schools cannot exclude Chinese American students. In 1884, Mamie Tape, then eight years old, was denied admission to a public school because she was Chinese. Her parents sued the San Francisco Board of Education.
• Becoming American: The Chinese Experience (PBS curriculum and documentary).

January 18, 2010: Martin Luther King Day

• The “Do”s and “Don’t”s of Celebrating MLK Day.
• Putting the Movement Back into Civil Rights Teaching.
• Liberation Curriculum lesson plans.

January 25, 2010: First Day of No Name-Calling Week

• No Name-Calling Week is organized by the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN).
• The Power of Words: Examining the Language of Gender, Ethnic, and Sexual Orientation Bias.

• Bodhi Day commemorates the day that the historical Buddha, Shakyamuni, or Siddartha Gotama experienced enlightenment after sitting and meditating under a pipul tree.

December 10, 2009: Human Rights Day

• Human Rights in Action is the UN’s cyber-school-bus page for students to explore the history of human rights and ways to advocate for human rights.
• Human Rights and Service Learning Manual by Amnesty International-USA and Human Rights Education Associates.
• The Human Rights Education Program of Amnesty International.

December 11-19, 2009: Hanukkah

• Chanukah, Hanukkah, Festival of Lights.
• See also the BBC’s website on Hanukkah in education.

December 26, 2009: First Day of Kwanzaa

• The official Kwanzaa website maintained by Dr. Maulana Karenga.