The
"BIG IDEA" behind our chosen topic of gay marriage is the fight to
make same-sex marriage legal in all 50 states. As the presidential election
draws closer, this topic will become more and more prevalent, given the vast
difference in where the two parties stand on the issue. According to the Human
Rights Campaign, President Obama has led the way on significant advancements in
equality for the LGBT community. From his historic endorsement of gay marriage
equality, to repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" within our military,
to fighting for hospital visitation rights for same-sex partners, Obama has made
the Democratic stand clear. President Obama has done more to improve the lives
of the LGBT community than any other president in history. While this is a kudo
for Obama, the reality is that this is due, in large part to the LGBT community
finding a voice and fighting for their rights.
One critical attribute of this big
idea is equality, something all people should have regardless of race, gender,
or sexual orientation. Equality does not mean "separate but equal," a
concept that plagued the civil rights movement. Equality means equal, in every
sense of the word. It should not called
"gay marriage" but simply "marriage. Segregation, another
critical attribute of the topic, is an idea thought archaic by most of the United
States, but for many people the idea of segregation only applies to issues of
race. Why? The act of segregating is defined as "the separating of one
person, group, or thing from others, or the dividing of people or things into
separate groups kept apart from each other." By telling the LGBT community
that they are not entitled to the same rights as heterosexual couples, those against
same-sex marriage are perpetrating acts of segregation. Many of these same
people would be outraged by acts of racial discrimination.
As a
country, we need to stop accepting acts of discrimination and segregation. We
can no longer take on the attitude of "It doesn't affect me, so who
cares?" or "I'm only one person, what can I do?" One way to
accomplish this change in attitude is to start teaching students the facts
early. Of course the subject is controversial, and must be handled with care. But
if it is introduced in a way that is unbiased and age-appropriate, we as
teachers are ensuring that students gain only the relevant information and are
allowed to form their own (educated) opinions.
To
provide Information Knowledge, teachers will need to present a general overview
of the gay marriage, including facts (when policies were put in place, when
laws were changed, etc), concepts (the parties' opposing viewpoints, for
instance, or the idea of equality), and generalizations (for example, relating
the topic civil rights movement of the 1960s). While this information is
important, it is somewhat hollow without Procedural Knowledge; that is, explaining
how to make sense of the Information Knowledge that has been presented. Our
textbook says that the purpose of Procedural Knowledge is to "empower
people to set aside bias and subjectivity in order to engage in impartial
analysis of new knowledge for the sake of more objective ideas." This
would involve asking students to use executive processing functions and think
critically. In other words, we are asking them to apply the Information
Knowledge.
To break up this
concept as a lesson to teach, we would do the following:
Step 1: What are gay rights? What are the issues that people
are currently fighting for? What are some recent developments (positive and
negative) in the fight for gay rights? (Information)
Step 2: What has President Obama done so far in his presidency
to support gay rights and the LGBT community? What is the stance on gay rights
in Massachusetts? (Information)
Step 3: Which political party opposes gay marriage? If their
candidate is elected president, what may happen to the LGBT citizens of this
country? (Procedural)
Step 4: What can YOU do to take a stand? (Procedural)
During our class
discussion, we will:
Take a poll to find out where our group stands on the issue
of gay marriage. Do they think that any compromise other than full equality is
acceptable? After we get a baseline idea of the group's stance on the issue, we
will introduce facts about gay marriage that the group might not be aware of,
including the rights that are denied to same-sex couples by banning gay
marriage. (Even though most of our class has already expressed their views -
supportive - on gay marriage, some might not know why they really support it. It may just "seem like the thing
to do") In order to provide an unbiased overview of the issue, we will
introduce both parties' viewpoints, as well as the reasoning behind them. After
our presentation of facts, we will re-poll the class and see if opinions have
changed. If there is no change, we will ask our classmates if any of the
information we have presented has helped to firm-up their support of gay
marriage, or made them question where they really stand.
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