BEING WHO WE WANT OUR CHILDREN TO BECOME

For the study of perceptions and how we view one another, here is a short but powerful exercise for students that can be done in one class period or even part of a period if need be.Gary Trudeau’s cartoon classic ” Street Calculus” provided excellent basis for conversation.Be sure students have some time after studying it to try it out themselves and even present a visual of their own version of the cartoon.Have students get in pairs and create their own cartoon of each other.Though this can be a light hearted look initially, it represents an important feature of racism, perception and is a perfect activity for African American History month.Imagine the first time white Europeans saw Africans brought here for slavery. What was that street calculus picture and what does it tell you about where we went from there?