Emir Abd Elkader

Group reading

Postville and Local Diversity

Evaluate a peer project today and tomorrow using the form provided in class?

Group Presentations Day, Peer Evaluation

Please fill out the form at http://bit.ly/ELP312016 before starting work today.

Sample Quiz Artifacts

1.  Newspaper or media headlines.  Can you identify bias or stereotypes?

2.  Public figures. Can you identify the civil discourse or evidence of the Golden Rule in their thinking?

3.  Basic principles:  What are the main beliefs, a religious custom or ritual, a holiday, a related document, and the ranking of Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and humanism.

4.  Religion and Culture. How do we show respect for other customs and religions through our manners and etiquette?

e.g., halal or kosher or meatless Fridays

5.  Welcoming Others.  As the world becomes more crowded, why does respect, welcoming others, and the Golden Rule become even more important?  How do leadership and consensus differ in this process?

Questions will be taken from these artifacts:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34131911

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/02/reformists-leading-iran-parliament-vote-160227034528583.html

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/michigan/flint-water-crisis/2016/02/19/flint-water-donations/80643158/

Two Days Left of a Four Day Project

First, the self-evaluation rubric.  This is designed to see if you have gone deeply enough into your project.


Second, the upcoming quiz on Tuesday:  5 questions will be used, and I will choose from these ideas.

1.  Newspaper or media headlines.  Can you identify bias or stereotypes?
2.  Public figures. Can you identify the civil discourse or evidence of the Golden Rule in their thinking?
3.  Basic principles:  What are the main beliefs, a religious custom or ritual, a holiday, a related document, and the ranking of Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and humanism.
4.  Religion and Culture. How do we show respect for other customs and religions through our manners and etiquette?
e.g., halal or kosher or meatless Fridays
5.  Welcoming Others.  As the world becomes more crowded, why does respect, welcoming others, and the Golden Rule become even more important?  How do leadership and consensus differ in this process?

Project: World Religions, Acceptance, Tolerance, Bias, Golden Rule

Option 1:  Design thinking  (assigned to four students already) leading to a presentation about cultural religious impacts on school systems

Option 2:  Reading project (read 30 pages), create a collage that explains two religions, acceptance, bias, tolerance, and the Golden Rule in America

Option 3:  My hero study (see Mrs. Powell) or trading cards.   4 influential figures in the world of interfaith acceptance.

Option 4:  Self-determined

Golden Rule

What CAN'T you tolerate?

Def: Religion: http://www.uri.org/kids/world.htm 

Def: Civic organization:  The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few

Def:  Belief framework:  There is a specific way to act based on beliefs that have been defined by a framework or platform.  Your needs should not violate this framework.

• Because of beliefs, we all struggle with tolerance for some actions.  
• Fear can keep someone from acting in a calm and reasonable manner.

Faux pas in Muslim culture

Other cultural gaffes

How will you do on this quiz?

Cultural Quiz - Across Borders from Stuart Friedman

EMAIL me a Summary:  

Paragraph 1: Explain to me five things that others might do that would offend you from the perspective of being a believer in Christianity or Judaism.

Paragraph 2;  Explain to me five things that you will not do because they might offend a Muslim or a Hindi

Leadership Does Not Always Agree with Consensus

Several days ago, we listened to De Lay Rey, the story of a general in the Boer Wars.  By clicking on the link, you will see the translation of the story.  What do you think the story is telling us to do?


John Lewis is another leader with a totally different style than De Lay Rey.  Listen to just the first 7 minutes of his story and how his faith informed his choices.


It's tough to know where to stand.  Think about the two stories above, and then check your moral compass with this reflection.


Homework:   Make a Venn diagram that compares the two heroes.  What things do they share in common?  What is different?  How did each show leadership?  Who were the people with whom they had consensus?  Who were the people with whom they did NOT have consensus?

Leadership versus Consensus

Even when we do not share basic assumptions, we can cultivate civility and understanding by exposing our students to a variety of viewpoints; by creating opportunities to develop empathy; and by engaging in challenging new experiences with them.

"We must remember that any oppression, any injustice, any hatred, is a wedge designed to attack our civilization." 

- Franklin D. Roosevelt

America is a land where freedom OF religion and freedom FROM religion is part of our culture, as long as your beliefs do not harm others as a result of violent action.  

We need to be aware of the consensus of people around ideas, but we also need leadership that allows us to act even when there is not always a total consensus.  That is a tricky balance.

Step 1: Take a look at the video (V)

Step 2:  Take a look at three or more of these resources

1. http://www.anglicanprimate.org.au/news/historic-muslim-declaration/
2. http://www.cartercenter.org/health/guinea_worm/index.html 
3. https://www.mercycorps.org/articles/iraq-jordan-lebanon-turkey-syria/quick-facts-what-you-need-know-about-syria-crisis 
4. http://thumbnails-visually.netdna-ssl.com/religion-in-america_502918c1e7503.jpg 
5. https://seekingageneration.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/world-of-religion.jpg 
6. http://www.debate.org/opinions/do-christians-need-to-apologize-for-the-crusades 

Step 3: Complete the reflection.

Bias and Tolerance with Teens

It doesn't take long to see examples of bias against teens....too young, too immature, too whatever.


Your goal is to use a TedxTalk to gather evidence to refute the claim

"Teens should not be a part of the rules committee for the revision of the student handbook or serve on the school improvement task force.

Use the attached form to write down evidence about the teen or teens featured in your video

The Journey From Acceptance to Tolerance

Monday:  Hand in completed work on Abrahamic religion.

Discussion and Explorations

CLOSE Reading:  Pocket Full of Keys
CLOSE Reading2:   What is the Hajj?
CLOSE Video:  The Western Wall
CLOSE Reading: What is the Kotel
CLOSE Reading:  St. Peter's Basilica
CLOSE Site Intersection:  Temple Mount/Dome of the Rock/Well of Souls
CLOSE Video: Forgiveness (Archbishop Desmond Tutu)

• You will never achieve universal popularity, and you do not need to accept every point of view.
• Fear of another religion and threats of violence is  an indicator that tolerance is not present.

Reflection Questions Form

Acceptance To Tolerance Definitions
Acceptance def:
Tolerance def:

Personal GutCheck

Student Information	Exceptional	Acceptable	Needs Some Extra Effort
Claim 1 (3 points)	Makes a solid claim that explains what strengths you have as a student, includes photo or clipart of personal artifact , includes four or more pieces of evidence to back up explanation, includes a 2 sentence reasoning	Makes a solid claim that explains what strengths you have as a student, includes photo or clipart, includes two or more pieces of evidence to back up explanation, includes a 1 sentence reasoning	Makes a unclear claim that explains what strengths you have as a student, or does not include photo, includes one or two or more pieces of evidence to back up explanation, includes a 1 sentence reasoning
Claim 2 (3 points)	Makes a solid claim that explains what weaknesses you have as a student, includes photo or clipart of a personal artifact, includes four or more pieces of evidence to back up explanation, includes a 2 sentence reasoning	Makes a solid claim that explains what weaknesses you have as a student, includes photo using webcam, includes two or more pieces of evidence to back up explanation, includes a 1 sentence reasoning	Makes a unclear claim that explains what weaknesses you have as a student, does not include photo, includes one or two or more pieces of evidence to back up explanation, includes a 1 sentence reasoning
Claim 3 (6 points)	Makes a solid claim that explains what you have in common with a _______, includes photo using webcam, includes four or more pieces of evidence to back up explanation, includes a 2 sentence reasoning	Makes a solid claim that explains what you have in common with a _______,includes photo using webcam, includes two or more pieces of evidence to back up explanation, includes a 1 sentence reasoning	Makes an unclear claim that explains what you have in common with a _______, does not include photo, includes one or two or more pieces of evidence to back up explanation, includes a 1 sentence reasoning
Tells me about self (3 points)	Makes a solid claim that explains one or two things that make you unique, includes two photos of something supporting the claim, includes a 2 sentence reasoning of how the photo connects to the claim.	Makes a solid claim that explains one or two things that make you unique, includes two photos of something supporting the claim, includes a 2 sentence reasoning of how the photo connects to the claim.	Makes a solid claim that explains one or two things that make you unique, includes two photos of something supporting the claim, includes a 2 sentence reasoning of how the photo connects to the claim.

Getting to Know You

Today and tomorrow is the getting to know you version, Powell style.

1.  Create a Google Document that is a Presentation or a Doc.
2. Title the Document as follows:    YourFirstName_LastName_Grade_hour (e.g.,  Marcia_Powell_Grade14_3rd hour)
3. Insert a picture with a webcam
4. Share the document with me (mpowell@oelwein.k12.ia.us)
5. Complete a series of claims and evidence that meet the rubric below

Student Information	Exceptional	Acceptable	Needs Some Extra Effort
Claim 1 (3 points)	Makes a solid claim that explains what strengths you have as a student, includes photo or clipart of personal artifact , includes four or more pieces of evidence to back up explanation, includes a 2 sentence reasoning	Makes a solid claim that explains what strengths you have as a student, includes photo or clipart, includes two or more pieces of evidence to back up explanation, includes a 1 sentence reasoning	Makes a unclear claim that explains what strengths you have as a student, or does not include photo, includes one or two or more pieces of evidence to back up explanation, includes a 1 sentence reasoning
Claim 2 (3 points)	Makes a solid claim that explains what weaknesses you have as a student, includes photo or clipart of a personal artifact, includes four or more pieces of evidence to back up explanation, includes a 2 sentence reasoning	Makes a solid claim that explains what weaknesses you have as a student, includes photo using webcam, includes two or more pieces of evidence to back up explanation, includes a 1 sentence reasoning	Makes a unclear claim that explains what weaknesses you have as a student, does not include photo, includes one or two or more pieces of evidence to back up explanation, includes a 1 sentence reasoning
Claim 3 (6 points)	Makes a solid claim that explains what you have in common with a _______, includes photo using webcam, includes four or more pieces of evidence to back up explanation, includes a 2 sentence reasoning	Makes a solid claim that explains what you have in common with a _______,includes photo using webcam, includes two or more pieces of evidence to back up explanation, includes a 1 sentence reasoning	Makes an unclear claim that explains what you have in common with a _______, does not include photo, includes one or two or more pieces of evidence to back up explanation, includes a 1 sentence reasoning
Tells me about self (3 points)	Makes a solid claim that explains one or two things that make you unique, includes two photos of something supporting the claim, includes a 2 sentence reasoning of how the photo connects to the claim.	Makes a solid claim that explains one or two things that make you unique, includes two photos of something supporting the claim, includes a 2 sentence reasoning of how the photo connects to the claim.	Makes a solid claim that explains one or two things that make you unique, includes two photos of something supporting the claim, includes a 2 sentence reasoning of how the photo connects to the claim.