Martin Luther King – An example of a Moral Model

 

Below is a PowerPoint presentation I made when teaching Morality to Third Year students. I used Martin Luther King as an example of a Moral Model. I began the lesson by discussing with the class the main characteristics of a moral person. I asked the students if they could identify any examples of a moral person in today’s society. I asked the students if they had a prior knowledge of the issue of civil rights for black people in America.

 

The students were shown a video clip which outlined the life and works of Martin Luther King and they were asked to answer the following questions:

• Who was Martin Luther King?
• How were black people treated during the 1950s?
• Who was the lady who would not give up her seat on the bus?
• What did Martin Luther King do for the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1956?
• How was Martin Luther King treated by white people?
• Was the Montgomery Bus Boycott successful?
• What Bill was passed in 1964?
• What happened to Martin Luther King?

 

The students were then divided into groups and they were asked to engage in a brief discussion of the issue of racism and civil rights in America and the importance of Martin Luther King as a moral model in society. Each group was asked to identify and summarise any comparisons there may be between Martin Luther King and Jesus. Each group was asked to provide examples to explain any of the comparisons that they may have identified.

The lesson ended with showing the students Martin Luther King’s ‘I have a dream’ speech from August 28th, 1963.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Because I am a Girl Campaign

 

 

http://plan-international.org/girls/index.php?lang=en

As I have decided to focus my Thesis on women in leadership roles in education I have been researching a lot online about the subject of gender and education, female education and women in education. It was through this research this morning that I came across the website for Plan International’s ‘Because I am a Girl’ Campaign and I felt it was necessary to share what this campaign is about. The campaign began on the 11th October 2012, coinciding with the first International Day of the Girl Child. I think this issue would be an excellent topic to bring into the Religious Education classroom. It is an issue which is relevant in the world today and it will give the students the opportunity to realise how lucky they are to be sitting at their desk soaking in the education they are both entitled to and allowed to receive.

Some facts to consider:

• 1 in 5 girls worldwide is denied an education.
• Forced into arrange marriages at a very young age.
• Experience severe violence and abuse.

 

According to the website this campaign by Plan International seeks a number of changes in order to improve the lives of girls around the world.

• girls’ education to be prioritised by world leaders
• girls’ completion of a quality secondary education to be a major focus of international action
• funding for girls education to be increased
• an end to child marriage
• an end to gender-based violence in and around schools
• girls and boys to participate in decision making and inspire those with power to take action

http://plan-international.org/girls/plans-goals.php?lang=en

Plan International’s goals are not solely about changes but also numbers.

• Reaching 4 million girls directly.
• Reaching 40 million girls and boys through improving gender equality.
• Reaching 400 million girls through policy change.

http://plan-international.org/girls/plans-goals.php?lang=en

 

 

Some statistics to think about

Useful video clips for the classroom

 

Useful Links

 http://plan-international.org/girls/index.php?lang=en

http://plan-international.org/girls/plans-goals.php?lang=en

http://plan-international.org/girls/why-girls.php?lang=en

http://plan-international.org/girls/about-the-campaign/our-work.php?lang=en

http://plan-international.org/girls/stories-and-videos/all-videos.php?lang=en

http://plan-international.org/girls/day-of-the-girl.php?lang=en

http://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/teacher-blog/2013/oct/10/five-ways-teach-girls-rights

Nelson Mandela 18th July 1918 – 5th December 2013

Thursday the 5th of December 2013 will be remembered in the years to come as the day the world lost a truly heroic and inspirational figure. Through his endeavours, trials and triumphs, Nelson Mandela changed the course of not only the history of South Africa but also the world doing so almost always with a smile on his face, a dream in his heart and unwavering determination. Words cannot describe how much he will be missed and the legacy that he leaves behind.

Below is the official statement which was released by The Nelson Mandela Foundation, The Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund and The Nelson Mandela Rhodes Foundation:

“5th December 2013

It is with the deepest regret that we have learned of the passing of our founder, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela – Madiba. The Presidency of the Republic of South Africa will shortly make further official announcements.

We want to express our sadness at this time. No words can adequately describe this enormous loss to our nation and to the world.

We give thanks for his life, his leadership, his devotion to humanity and humanitarian causes. We salute our friend, colleague and comrade and thank him for his sacrifices for our freedom. The three charitable organisations that he created dedicate ourselves to continue promoting his extraordinary legacy.” Hamba Kahle Madiba

It is essential as educators of Religious Education and History that we strive to do all that we can to teach our students about the importance of who Nelson Mandela was, what he did, why he did it and the changes and results that came from his actions. Our students are not the only ones who can take inspiration from the life, thoughts and actions of Nelson Mandela as we too as educators can look to him as a source of guidance, motivation and inspiration for the journey of our vocation.

Below is a selection of pictures, quotes, video clips and website links that are all incredibly useful for the classroom whether you are teaching students about Nelson Mandela as a moral model or as a historical humanitarian and political figure or if you as an educator need some advice about the path you have chosen into the world of education.

PICTURES

QUOTES

VIDEO CLIPS

USEFUL LINKS

http://www.nelsonmandela.org/?origin=p90

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/famouspeople/nelson_mandela/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20713377

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22006386

http://www.rte.ie/player/ie/tag/nelson%20mandela/

REST IN PEACE.

Teaching World History Through Popular Culture

 

The below link illustrates children studying 7th Grade History connecting what they learn in the classroom with popular culture in the world around them. I am very impressed with this idea and I believe it has the potential to not only work in conjunction with teaching History but also within Religious Education as we are constantly looking to find ways to connect certain topics within Religious Education with the personal lives of our students.

Would you be interested in doing something like this is your classroom? 🙂

 

Teacher Motivation

For any teachers today struggling to shake off their morning blues before they enter the classroom. 🙂

Also, for all NQTs like myself struggling to find employment and to stay positive during this challenging time for teachers the video below will help to remind you of the reasons why we chose this career path and the significance of our role as educators. 🙂

Thesis thoughts: Women in leadership roles within Education

For my Thesis I have decided to explore the area of women in leadership focusing specifically on women in leadership roles within education. The prospect of writing about this topic got me thinking about what are the main issues faced by women in leadership roles or in pursuit of leadership roles within the area of education. This lead me to three issues in particular which I think could serve as building blocks for investigating what kind of relationship women have with leadership within education and if this relationship does exist what problems and challenges does this relationship bring to the doorstep of women in the area of education today? 🙂

Three points of discussion related to this topic:

1. Gender Equality: Although people may say teaching has become a somewhat feminine profession it is noticeable that many of the higher job positions within Education remain quite male dominated. (Eg. Principal and Vice-Principal positions) I would like to know how women can look to not necessarily eliminate men from these positions but rather contribute to ensuring a more balanced ratio between men and women can occur for these positions of leadership.
2. Empowering Young Women: Women are needed to take on leadership roles in order to ensure the success of empowering young women. Young women from second-level education and onwards especially are very impressionable and are in search of the right role model for themselves. Young women can be filled with self-confidence and self-belief just from witnessing women in leadership especially in the area of education.
3. Creating a Sisterhood and Eliminating Negativity: Women need to support one another and women in leadership roles especially in the influential area of education. The creation and encouragement of a sisterhood of women within the educational sector is necessary to prevent the negativity that is seen between women in the corporate world seeping into schools and education departments. Women should all look to create a sisterhood mentality not just within the staffroom but also within the classroom amongst students.

Three questions to be asked in relation to this topic:

1. Is there a gender equality issue in existence within education and if so is more women in leadership roles the solution?
2. Do women in leadership roles within education successfully empower young women?
3. Is it possible to encourage a sisterhood mentality within education both amongst staff and within the classroom?

The History of October 14th….

 

I just came across a very interesting website called http://www.on-this-day.com/ which I think could come in handy in all variates of history classes. The website provides facts about what historical, important and interesting events took place on each day of the year way back when. We spend so much of our time teaching students about the hugely significant historical events which at one point or another during a particular year helped to shape the course of history and life as we know it today. However I think it would be nice to take a few moments either at the beginning or the end of a lesson to reflect upon and connect the present day with its possible significance in the past. Who knows what we might find? 🙂

OCTOBER 14TH 

1066 – The Battle of Hastings occurred in England. The Norman forces of William the Conqueror defeated King Harold II of England.

1879 – Thomas Edison signed an agreement with Jose D. Husbands for the sale of Edison telephones in Chile.

1887 – Thomas Edison and George E. Gouraud reached an agreement for the international marketing rights for the phonograph.

1912 – Theodore Roosevelt was shot while campaigning in Milwaukee, WI. Roosevelt’s wound in the chest was not serious and he continued with his planned speech. William Schrenk was captured at the scene of the shooting.

1922 – Lieutenant Lester James Maitland set a new airplane speed record when he reached a speed of 216.1 miles-per-hour.

1926 – The book “Winnie-the-Pooh,” by A.A. Milne, made its debut.

1928 – The first televised wedding took place in Des Plains, IL. James Fowlkes and Cora Dennison were married in a radio studio.

1930 – Ethel Merman debuted on Broadway in “Girl Crazy.”

1933 – Nazi Germany announced that it was withdrawing from the League of Nations.

1934 – “Lux Radio Theater” began airing on the NBC Blue radio network.

1936 – The first SSB (Social Security Board) office opened in Austin, TX. From this point, the Board’s local office took over the assigning of Social Security Numbers.

1943 – The Radio Corporation of America finalized the sale of the NBC Blue radio network. Edward J. Noble paid $8 million for the network that was renamed American Broadcasting Company.

1944 – German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel committed suicide rather than face execution after being accused of conspiring against Adolf Hitler and the execution that would follow.

1944 – During World War II, the Second British Parachute Brigade liberated the city of Athens.

1947 – Over Rogers Dry Lake in Southern California, pilot Chuck Yeager flew the Bell X-1 rocket plane and became the first person to break the sound barrier.

1954 – C.B. DeMille’s “The Ten Commandments”, starring Charlton Heston, began filming in Egypt. The epic had a cast of 25,000 people.

1960 – U.S. presidential candidate John F. Kennedy first suggested the idea of a Peace Corps.

1961 – “How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying” opened on Broadway.

1962 – The Cuban Missile Crisis began when U.S. reconnaissance aircrafts photographed Soviet construction of intermediate-range missile sites in Cuba.

1964 – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his non-violent resistance to racial prejudice in America. He was the youngest person to receive the award.

1968 – The first live telecast to come from a manned U.S. spacecraft was transmitted from Apollo 7.

1970 – Anwar el-Sadat became president of Egypt following the death of President Nasser.

1984 – George ‘Sparky’ Anderson became the first baseball manager to win 100 games and a World Series in both leagues.

1986 – Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev charged that the U.S. wanted to “bleed the Soviet Union economically” with the arms race in space.

1987 – Jessica McClure, 18 months old, fell down an abandoned well in Midland, TX. The rescue took 58 hours.

2001 – Toys “R” Us introduced the new version of Geoffrey the giraffe in a 60-second commercial before WABC-TV aired Disney’s “The Emperor’s New Groove.”

2002 – Britain stripped power from the Catholic and Protestant politicians of Northern Ireland. Britain resumed sole responsibility for running Northern Ireland.

2011 – The Apple iPhone 4S was released.

The website also provides us with Famous Birthdays which occur on each day of the year.

On this day 1890, former US President Dwight David Eisenhower was born. 🙂