Week of 09/28
Responsible, respected, prestigious supporters of the treaty rarely discuss it. When they do discuss it, they talk about it in factual, low key, unemotional, reasonable terms. This doesn’t excite anyone. The overwhelming majority of Americans agree with the treaty’s supporters but they aren’t excited about it. They are not moved emotionally. They rarely listen. So what’s the result? We go home to our States. The only time we hear the Genocide Treaty brought up, it’s brought up by intense, bitter people who know the treaty only through what they read in Liberty Lobby’s Spotlight or some publication of the John Birch Society.
After spending the past month asking/wondering:
Why?
Who is responsible?
What is our responsibility?
How is this our fight?
At what cost?
Your final assessment is one in which you take action!
While I am not trying to turn you into intense bitter, individuals, I do want you to become individuals that make an impact.
Your generation – Generation Z – is characterized as multi-tasking whizzes that are lazy, unaware and apathetic. You are less engaged in politics, have short attention spans and don’t care about weighty issues that confront your generation, the nation and the world; you’re more interested in technology and celebrities than your communities and school.
You are to identify a “right” from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) that interests you and that you feel NEEDS DEFENDING. Look at the local level, national level, or even the international level. The goal is to become a defender and expose your classmates, student body and of course me to something we should care about or at the very least know about.
You will present to your classmates and perhaps the student body on January 22, 2016.
In addition to being graded on your presentation you will create flyers/brochures about your topic for distribution. But Most Importantly – YOU WILL TAKE ACTION!
BAD Components
Action Plan (due before October 20th): Typed, double-spaced, as detailed as it needs to be to get approved
· Write a narrative description of what you are going to do.
· Where? How? With whom? When are you planning on doing this or working on it?
· Why does this matter? Why do you care?
· Describe the current situation, based on your research?
· What would the ideal solution be?
· How will you provide evidence of your twenty hours of action? (turning in finished product, picture of yourself doing the work, signed note from a supervisor at location, etc.)
· Sign your name at the bottom of your proposal.
Action and Work Log:
· Complete your twenty hours of action by January 15th.
· Fill-in the work log every time you do work for this project.
Final Project Reflection Paper
Your two to four page reflection paper is due on January 22, 2016. It should be typed, well-proofed, and double-spaced. The arrangement can vary, but it should address all of the following points.
o Very briefly, summarize your project and what you did.
o Did your project turn out the way you planned it in your proposal or did it change direction as you worked on it? How, why?
o What did you learn about the issue that you wouldn’t have if you hadn’t been directly involved?
o What did you learn about process of being an activist?
o What did you learn about yourself in the process?
o What would you change if you were to do this project over again?
o What are you most proud of from this project?
o How could you continue what you’ve started, if you wanted to make it sustainable?
Presentations including your flyers/brochures about your topic for distribution