Case Study #1

Restorative Circle and Definitions

DAY

1

What to Expect: Today’s Lesson

Warm Up

Questions

Vocabulary

Exit Ticket

Learning target

Questions on identity

Creating definitions

Wrap-up

Warm Up

I can draw on my past and my cultural identity as well as those of others to understand racism, racist policies, antiracism, and civic action.

SECTION ONE: WARM UP

Learning Target

My day so far has been most like this image because…

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Check-In

SECTION ONE: WARM UP

Check-In

SECTION ONE: WARM UP

Questions

What norms do you need to feel supported and challenged when discussing race and racism in our class?

Round One:

Circle Agreements

• One person talking at a time
• Right to pass
• Speak your truth
• Listen to understand, not just to respond
• Avoid stereotypes
• Find connections
• Expect to experience discomfort
• Be aware of intent; own your impact
• Help me understand what I am missing?
• What you said bothered me, could you help me understand where you’re coming from?
• Permission to speak a first draft
• Choose to be present

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SECTION TWO: QUESTIONS

“Not everything that is faced can be changed. But nothing can be changed until it is faced.” –James Baldwin

SECTION TWO: QUESTIONS

I like to compare culture to a tree. �A tree is a part of a bigger ecosystem that shapes and impacts its growth and development. Shallow culture is represented in the trunk and branches of the tree while we can think of surface culture as the observable fruit that the tree bears. Surface and shallow culture are not static; they change and shift over time resulting in a cultural mosaic just as the branches and fruit on a tree change in response to the seasons and its environment. Deep culture is like the root system of a tree. It is what grounds the individual and nourishes his mental health.

Dr. Zaretta Hammond (2014)

SECTION TWO: QUESTIONS

Inside-Outside Discussion Circle

Round Two:

Circle Agreements

1. Students stand in pairs in two concentric circles.
2. The inside circle faces out; the outside circle faces in.
3. The teacher poses a question or assigns a brief task.
4. All students in the inside circle respond for a minute or two.
5. Then the students in the outside circle respond to the same question.
6. After each partner has had a turn, everyone from the inside circle moves one step to the right, and the process is repeated with new partners.

SECTION TWO: QUESTIONS

Inside-Outside Discussion Circle

Round Two:

Surface Identity

This level, the leaves, is made up of observable and concrete elements of culture such as food, dress, music, games, literature, stories, and holiday. (pick one question to respond to)�

• What is your name? What does it mean? (*)
• How do you and your family identify racially (learn more about what race is)?
• What is a food you love to share with your family?

SECTION TWO: QUESTIONS

Inside-Outside Discussion Circle

Round Two:

Shallow Identity

This level, the trunk, is made up of the unspoken rules around everyday social interactions and norms, such as respect, courtesy, attitudes toward elders, concepts of time, personal space, nonverbal communication, eye contact, ways of handling emotion, and gestures/animations. (pick one question to respond to)�

• Are you allowed to question, talk back to adults? What would happen if you did? (*)
• What does personal space look like for you?
• What does ‘on time’ mean for you?

SECTION TWO: QUESTIONS

Inside-Outside Discussion Circle

Round Two:

Deep Identity

The roots, is made up of tacit knowledge and unconscious assumptions that govern our worldview, such as notions of fairness, definition of family, spirituality, competition, cooperation, decision making, and connection with nature (pick one question to respond to)�

• What does fairness mean to you?
• How do you make important decisions?
• What grounds you?

SECTION TWO: QUESTIONS

Whole Group

Definitions: Racist (adj.)

Use the following three examples to construct your personal definition of “Racist” (adj.)

SECTION THREE: VOCABULARY

Racist (adj.)

Use your own words to define:

Norman Huyck was a wealthy real estate developer in Rochester. He was also the president of the Rochester Builders Association. He helped build thousands of homes in Rochester’s suburbs. When you buy a house you get a document called a deed that proves you own the house. The deed also has rules for how you can use your house. Huyck made a rule on all the homes he built that said Black people were not allowed to live in the homes he built.

EXAMPLE:

SECTION THREE: VOCABULARY

Brooklea Builder Norman Huyck

Identify civic actions from the three readings, as well as the forms of civic action.

SECTION THREE: VOCABULARY

Brooklea Builder Norman Huyck

Racist (adj.)

Use your own words to define:

Until 1968, many schools, churches, clubs, and business across Monroe County held annual Black face minstrel shows. White students would paint on ‘Black face’ and sing songs mocking the intelligence of Black people. The Democrat and Chronicle wrote hundreds of articles supporting and affirming these shows.

(Click here to see the shows in your district)

EXAMPLE:

SECTION THREE: VOCABULARY

1939: School 44 RCSD

Identify civic actions from the three readings, as well as the form of civic action.

SECTION THREE: VOCABULARY

Racist (adj.)

Use your own words to define:

Mary Nicolosi and Dr. Louis Cerulli worked together to prevent Rochester schools from integrating white and Black students in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Nicolosi spoke at school board meetings, organized white parents, and sometimes resorted to violence against students of color and school board members in favor of integration.

Former RCSD school board president Dr. Cerulli, fought against school integration. In 1971 he led a rally against integration with close to 4,000 people. He urged parents and students to be ‘militant’ in preventing school integration.

EXAMPLE:

SECTION THREE: VOCABULARY

Dr. Cerulli speaks at a rally of white parents organizing

against school integration at the War Memorial

Identify civic actions from the three readings, as well as the forms of civic action.

SECTION THREE: VOCABULARY

Dr. Cerulli speaks at a rally of white parents organizing

against school integration at the War Memorial

Racism

Racist (adj.)

Possible definition:

A marriage of policies and ideas that produce and normalize racial inequities (such as power, prestige, property, and privilege).

Possible definition:

Believing and acting as if something is wrong or right, superior or inferior, better or worse about a racial group.

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SECTION THREE: VOCABULARY

INDEPENDENT WORK �Definitions: Antiracist (adj.)

Use the following three examples to construct your personal definition of “Antiracist” (adj)

SECTION THREE: VOCABULARY INDEPENDENT HANDOUT

Antiracist (adj.)

Possible definition:

Believing and acting as if racial groups are equals and actively resisting racism.

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SECTION THREE: VOCABULARY

Racist Policy

Up until the 1960s Kodak had a policy designed to prevent the hiring of people of color. In 1939 they were called out by the NYS Commission on the Condition of the Colored Population for having one Black employee out of 16,351. Bausch and Lomb was noted for have 0 Black employees out of 3,000.

EXAMPLE:

VOCABULARY TO CONSIDER

Any rule, policy, or law that creates or keeps inequity between racial groups.

Exit Ticket

I can draw on my past and my cultural identity as well as those of others to understand racism, racist policies, antiracism, and civic action.

SECTION FOUR: EXIT TICKET

Learning Target

What does this quote from the President Obama mean to you?

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What zone are you in?

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SEL: OPTIMISTIC CLOSURE

“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” —President Barack Obama

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