History & Politics
Focus Question: How does the history and politics of a country play into the way we see a possible injustice?
Patron Saints of Nothing is set in both the United States and the Philippines of present-day. The majority of students in the San Ramon Valley Unified School District will not be familiar with the Philippines's history or politics. The texts provided below are a video, an article, and a photo gallery that are designed give an overview of the context in which the novel is set. In viewing each text, students will think of the focus question above and how it connects to the essential question of the entire text set. It will also allow students to put themselves in Jay's position as he unravels the evidence surrounding Jun's death and learns more about his motherland.
Connection to Standards:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.2 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of how key events or ideas develop over the course of the text.
National School Library Standards; Inquire, Create Learners engage with new knowledge by following a process that includes: 1. Using evidence to investigate questions. 2. Devising and implementing a plan to fill knowledge gaps. 3. Generating products that illustrate learning
This is recommended to be individual-led and has a lower-level text complexity.
Video: The History of the Philippines
This video provides an overview of the history of the Philippines. It opens by discussing the first arrival of humans on the islands approximately 60,000 years ago. From this point it then delves into the other nations that came to rule, the various religions that took over, imperialism, and colonization. The end of the video quickly summarizes the various presidents once the Philippines gained their independence.
As students view the video, they will take notes on the various leaders of the country. Through the notes they will gain understanding of the historical context. A follow-up discussion can occur that asks students to consider how people are affected by various leaderships and governments causing them to think critically about the unsaid injustices throughout history. For example, when the United States took control, what were some of the ways that the people were forced to change?
This article looks specifically at the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte and his first year in office. As we learn in reading Patron Saints of Nothing, there is a very strict anti-drug policy that mostly results in the deaths of low-level drug users and dealers. This article gives specific statistics about the deaths of people and the toll all of the deaths take on the country. As we learn in the opening line of the article, "39 people were slain in drug-related killings" (Padilla) on the first day of Duterte's presidency.
Students will read this to directly answer the focus question in this section. In considering their answer, they will also decide if Duterte's policy is an injustice. Students will write their own op-ed piece in a response to this text that will allow them to decide where they stand on the essential question of the text set. For guidance on writing an op-ed, students can model after the op-ed text in the Identity section, but the teacher will also have to give specific guidelines on the writing expectations.
Connection to Standards:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary describing political, social, or economic aspects of history/social science.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.1 Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
This is recommended to be teacher-led and has a higher-level text complexity.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
National School Library Standards; Collaborate; Grow Learners actively participate with others in learning situations by: 1. Actively contributing to group discussions. 2. Recognizing learning as a social responsibility.
This is recommended to be peer-led and has grade-level text complexity.
Warning: Graphic content (violence, blood, death)
One of the key elements in Patron Saints of Nothing is the Instagram account that Jay finds out about which depicts pictures of people that have died because of the anti-drug policy. While the Instagram account is fictional, the photos of what is actually happening in the Philippines show a lot more than the written word. This gallery will allow students to connect what they read in the above article with images.
Students will view the photo gallery and choose one photo to reflect on. In thinking of the focus question and essential question, students will write about why/how an injustice is seen in the photo. A small group discussion will follow the writing in which students share their reasons for choosing the particular image and what the injustice is.
References
Berehulak, D. (n.d.). The are slaughtering us like animals [Photographs]. https://www.danielberehulak.com/philippines
Knowledgia. (2020, May 11). The history of the philippines in 12 minutes [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-I4Bay5SXo
Padilla, M. (n.d.). Looking back: Day one, year one of the antidrug campaign. The drug archive. https://drugarchive.ph/post/174-day-one-year-one-of-the-antidrug-campaign