The 21st Century Literature subject is a gateway to the world - an opportunity to appreciate literary works and discover the author’s purpose. The JST TLP recognizes this value with a primary focus on using literature as a gateway to raise awareness and an analysis of the problems of the world and its consequences to human lives with the hopes that in the process of teaching them tools for critical thinking, our junior-senior high school students will be presented with options on how to recognize these problems and act on to prevent these problems from occurring in the lives of those they will be responsible for in the future either as future leaders, employers, or entrepreneurs of the country, or even as member of their families.

Using selected literature, the JST TLP explores the experiences of a number of groups who have experienced injustices because other people have prejudices about their race, gender, sexual orientation, disability of individuals and communities. Prejudice is an “adverse or hostile attitude toward a group or its individual members…. characterized by irrational, stereotyped beliefs“ (Britannica, 2012). Generally, stereotypes are beliefs about people over a particular characteristic they have that are often unfair and untrue (Britannica, 2022). When these prejudices are acted upon, this leads people to discriminate or to treat others unfavorably or unjustly (American Psychological Association, 2019). When groups of people systematically act on these shared beliefs through policies, structures, systems against diverse individuals or groups, then it becomes oppression (Stubbs, 2008).

The first part of this TLP focuses on guiding the students in understanding and UNBOXING the experiences of the victims of oppression to find beauty in diversity by exploring the uniqueness of individuals and their communities that in spite of the consequences of injustices, they strive to remain true to themselves and find ways to protect their uniqueness.

The second part focuses on PROBING into the specific examples of how and why individuals act upon their prejudices by discriminating and oppressing others, and how these can be solved through awakened individuals who become allies of the victims who will stop and/or prevent these from happening again.

The third part of TLP guides the students towards the understanding that no matter how difficult the outcomes of these actions are, the victims become victors and with the allies they can all be united by COMING TOGETHER to find ways to eliminate oppressions, and to help each other heal as they overcome the injustices together.

The Learning Package presented in this e-portfolio is also the final output of JST in fulfillment of our University of the Philippines Diploma on Language and Literacy Education course (DLLE 206) requirement on designing and developing a Learning Package for the 2nd Semester, AY 2021-2022. The chosen theme “beauty in diversity and inclusion” of this TLP is accorded to the UN Sustainable Goal 16 which is to “promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.” (United Nations, 2021, p 58)

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