S2S Issues

Issues

Photo Š 2007 Roland Geisheimer

A girl reads a textbook at her school in Guinea-Bissau.

Media Monitoring Goal: Participants explore how youth are portrayed in the media in their country.

Standards: Visual Arts – Understanding Context by Analyzing the Role of Theater, Film, Television, and Electronic Media in the Community and in Other Cultures  Students describe and compare universal characters and situations in dramas from and about various cultures and historical periods; illustrate in improvised and scripted scenes; and discuss how theatre reflects a culture.  Students explain the knowledge, skills, and discipline needed to pursue careers and vocational opportunities in theatre, film, television, and electronic media.  Students analyze the emotional and social impact of dramatic events in their lives, in the community, and in other cultures.  Students explain how culture affects the content and production values of dramatic performances.  Students explain how social concepts such as cooperation, communication, collaboration, consensus, self-esteem, risk taking, sympathy, and empathy apply in theatre and daily life.

Activity length: One hour or after school Materials: Access to television, the Internet, and print media Activity:  The facilitator divides the group into smaller teams. Each team will be responsible for analyzing one type of media. These may include: television shows, movies, newspapers, magazines, and Internet sites.  Each section should gather 10 youth-focused samples of their media type.  Participants analyze their samples. Were most of the samples positive, negative, or neutral? Or a combination? What else can they draw from their findings?  The facilitator brings the class together for a group discussion. Were any topics particularly popular overall? Within a certain type of media? Did some media types tend to look more positively or negatively at youth than others?

Questions for Participants to Consider:  Do you think the media accurately portray youth?  What stereotypes, if any, do the media promote? Why do you think this is?  If you could do a news/media story about youth, what would it say?  Does the media portray youth in your country differently than youth in other countries? Compare what you have found with the information from your linking partners.

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To Tweet or Not to Tweet?

Goal: Participants reflect on technology’s impact in their daily life.

Standards: Technology – Social, Ethical, and Human Issues  Students understand the ethical, cultural, and societal issues related to technology.  Students practice responsible use of technology systems, information, and software.  Students develop positive attitudes toward technology uses that support lifelong learning, collaboration, personal pursuits, and productivity.

Activity Length: 45 minutes Materials: Pen and paper Activity:  Technology is increasingly becoming a bigger part of our lives. How we use technology in our daily lives seems to constantly change. The participants can analyze the role of technology in their lives and in the lives of their linking partners.  Divide the group into small sections. Each section should brainstorm the answers to the following questions: o How do you define “technology”? o How often do you use technology? Be as specific as possible. o What types of technology to you most use? o What types of technology are most common in your society? Does it seem to differ between men and women? Adults and children? o Do you use technology mostly for work or fun? What other purposes does technology have? Make sure to consider social media, the Internet, communication, transportation, entertainment, school, health, etc. o Are we too dependent on technology? What are the pros and cons of using technology in our lives? o How do you think we will use technology in the future? How will it change your daily life? Do you think humans will have a positive or negative relationship with technology in the future?  Participants should share their answers with the linking partners and compare the answers with their own. What are the similarities and differences?

Questions for Participants to Consider:  What technologies would offer the greatest impact if they were widely used in the developing world?

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What technologies that we use today do you think will be extinct in five years?

Twenty years? What will replace them?

How will social media affect the way people interact in the future?

In what ways will technological advances make the world feel even smaller? In what ways could they cause divisions among people?

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Whose Responsibility?

Goal: Participants gain a better understanding of what it means for children and youth to have rights, and explore who is responsible for protecting those human rights.

Standards: Social Sciences – Civics and Government  Civic life  Politics  Purpose of government Activity Length: 30 minutes Materials: Pen and handouts in Appendix Activity:  The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (the CRC) is a human rights treaty.

The CRC was in development for 10 years and was finally completed in 1989.

Countries in the United Nations worked together with non-governmental organizations (NGOs), like Plan International, to create the CRC. It has been signed by 193 countries around the world. The CRC is similar to the UN Declaration of Human Rights, as it contains a list of human rights that all children possess.  Divide the group into smaller sections. Each section should choose one right to further explore from the Convention on the Rights of the Child (see Appendix).

Participants should talk about what that right means in their life.  Participants should try to answer the following questions in their small teams: o What parts of your life does this right affect? o How does it affect children and young people in developed and developing countries? o What are the benefits and challenges to protecting this right? o What actions or activities need to happen to protect this right? o Who is responsible for doing those things? o How do actions and words in your daily life protect or fulfill that right (for example, being supportive of someone who is being bullied)? o What is your role as a child to protect your rights?  Once finished with the discussion, participants fill in the responsibility diagram with their answers (see Appendix). Place government responsibilities in the top circle, parent responsibilities in the left-hand circle, and children and youth responsibilities in the right-hand circle. Where the circles overlap, write down responsibilities that two or three of the groups share.

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Questions for Participants to Consider:  Is it important for children and youth to know about their rights? Why or why not?  What rights do you think are the most important? Which do you think are most commonly violated? Why?  How do you think these rights impact the daily lives of your linking partners?

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Climate Change Action Plan Goal: Participants create an action plan to reduce the impact of the school or community on the environment.

Standards: Science – Personal and Social Perspectives  Personal health  Populations, resources, and environments  Natural hazards  Risks and benefits  Science and technology in society Activity Length: One hour or more Materials: Pen and paper or a computer Activity:  Divide the group into smaller sections.  Participants should walk around the school or immediate community to observe how people and man-made structures affect the environment. Participants should be encouraged to look for both positive and negative contributions. For example, planting native trees or wasting electricity by keeping computers on all day.

Participants should create a list of their observations.  The whole group should come back together after the exercise to discuss what the school or wider community is or is not doing. Participants should develop a Climate Change Action Plan with concrete activities to decrease the environmental impact of your school or community.  Participants can share their findings with an environmental club or the administration at school, or with members of the local government.

Questions for Participants to Consider:  Do you think children and youth can impact climate change? Why or why not?  What do you think is the most effective action people can take in their daily lives to decrease their impact on the environment?  How do you interact with the community on a daily basis? How is this similar to or different from your linking partners’ interactions with their local environment?

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Cultural Exchange Topics and Issues

(Adapted from e-pals.com The Way We Are – A Global Classroom Exchange Project) Goal: To encourage participants to engage in meaningful dialogue about relevant topics with their linking partners.

Standards: Social Sciences – Other Nations and World Affairs  What is the relationship of the United States to other nations and to world affairs?  How is the world organized politically?  How has the United States influenced other nations and how have other nations influenced American politics and society?

Science – Personal and Social Perspectives  Personal health  Populations, resources, and environments  Natural hazards  Risks and benefits  Science and technology in society English – Multicultural Understanding  Students develop an understanding of and respect for diversity in language use, patterns, and dialects across cultures, ethnic groups, geographic regions, and social roles.

Activity Length: Varies Materials: Internet Activity:  Participants can ask each other the questions below. Participants should also have responses ready for when they are asked the same questions by the linking partners.  Participants should think of their own questions relating to these and other topics.

See where the conversations go from there.

School Life  Is school free or is tuition required? Until what age do you have to go to school?

Do both boys and girls go to school in equal numbers? Do more students attend public or private schools?

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 Do many students go on to university/college? Do you plan to go to a university/college?  What is the teacher’s role in the classroom? How much do students participate in the classroom? Would you like to become a teacher? Why or why not?  What does your school look like? What special facilities does your school have?

What do the hallways and classrooms look like? Where are the bathrooms? Are they different for boys and girls?  What types of school supplies do you have?  Is school challenging? What are your favorite subjects? Which are the most difficult? How much homework do you have each night?  What after-school activities do you participate in?

Environment  What is the primary environmental issue facing your country/community?  What do you do in your daily life to help with this issue? What do you do at home? At school?  Do you have access to clean water on a daily basis? How and where do you get your clean water?  What is your environment/weather like? Do you have seasons? Are there mountains or rainforests? Are you near the ocean or bodies of water?  Does your community have air pollution?  Is your environment changing? Is it hotter, colder, or drier than it used to be? If so, why do you think it has changed?

Friends, Family, and Community  How big is your family? How many siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, etc., do you have? Who lives in the same home as you? How often do you see your extended family?  Do you share household chores with your family? What are your duties and what duties do other members of your family have?  How much time do you spend with friends outside of school each week? How do you spend your time together?  What is your responsibility toward your community/school/town?  What do you do to make your community better?  Is your community/country involved in a conflict with another community/country? What is the conflict about? How does it affect you on a daily basis?  Are there organizations or groups that are helping to resolve this conflict? Is it working? Why or why not?

Discrimination (define this term based on your own experiences)  Do you think that you respect other people’s differences? If so, how did you learn to do that? If not, why do you think that is?  Have you ever experienced discrimination? If so, what was the situation? How did you handle it? Did anyone help you, and if so, who?

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 Is there discrimination within your school? Who is discriminated against? Why does this happen? Do you want to change the situation? If so, how do you think you could help change the situation?  Is there any person or group within your school or community who helps to raise awareness about discrimination? Who are they and where are they from? Do they help? Why or why not?  Are there different language groups within your school or community? What are they? Is there any tension between these different groups? What causes these tensions?  Do you speak more than one language? What is your native language? Is this the language that you speak with your friends and at school? At home? Are you expected to be bilingual where you live?  Are there different roles for boys and girls where you live? If so, what are the expectations? Is everyone treated equally within the home or at school?  Could a woman become the leader of your country? Why or why not?

Human Rights and Child Rights  Do you live in a democracy? If so, what does this mean to you? If not, what is your form of government and how does it impact you?  Can you vote? If you are too young, how old do you have to be to vote?  Have you ever voted? If so, what was it like? Do you think that the election was fair?  What do human rights mean to you? What do you think are basic human rights?

Should men and women share these equally? Do they now in your community?  What are child rights? What are your community’s policies on child labor, child marriage, and access to education? What changes, if any, would you make to current laws?  Are there other groups of people who lack basic human rights in your community?

What can be done to change this?

Health Issues  What is your favorite food? How many meals do you eat each day and when do you eat them? What do you typically eat for each meal?  Are there any foods that you purposefully do not eat?  Do you take your lunch to school or is food supplied there?  Do you get enough food every day to grow? How often do you feel hungry?  How do you get your food?  Are there diseases or health issues that affect your community? What are they?

Has it affected you? How?  Are there any organizations that help your community deal with these issues? Who are they and what do they do? Is there anything that you do to help with these issues? If so, what do you do? If not, why not?  How often do you see a doctor? How long does it take you to get to the doctor?

What is usually the reason for your visit?

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Economics  Do you have an after-school job? How often do you work? Do you get paid? How much?  Do both of your parents work? Have your parents ever had trouble finding work?  Are people in your community worried about the national economy? The global economy?  Do you consider your community to be wealthy or poor? Why do you feel this way? How do you define wealth?  Is your school wealthy or poor? Why do you think this?  Does your community have any natural resources that help your country grow and prosper? What are they? Do these natural resources stay within your country or does your country export them to other countries? Do these natural resources cause conflict within your country? If yes, how so?

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