It Gets Better: Homophobia, Bullying, and Suicide in the High School Setting
The “It Gets Better” campaign was sparked by the drastic increase, and in a sense, epidemic, of homophobia-related suicides among teens in North America. This is a subset of depression that is important to raise awareness about, and in turn, prevent.
Resource:
www.itgetsbetter.org
“It Gets Better” youtube clips:
- Cam and Mitchell from Modern Family (Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbTMUplPjnQ
- President Obama: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geyAFbSDPVk
- Fort Worth City Councilman Joel Burns: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ax96cghOnY4
- Broadway singers for the Trevor Project “It Gets Better” performance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeKI8biAglU
Activities:
Journal Entry
Sel-Reflection
Class Discussion
Open-Mind Portrait with Rationale
After watching various “It Gets Better” videos, and exploring the main website, students will first introspectively explore the videos, the messages, the repercussions, and future action individually. This will be done through a journal entry format in which students will record their thoughts and feelings. Once students have had a chance to explore their own feelings on such a sensitive topic, they will share thoughts and feelings in pairs. After talking about these videos with their peers, students will create an open-mind portrait of a hypothetical student suffering from depression, and how this may be amplified due to bullying, specifically homophobic bullying. The objective of this assignment is for students to think deeply from a different person’s perspective by visually representing various “thinking” moments in the person’s head. Students will then provide a rationale of why they depicted the thoughts and feelings that they did, and provide strategies and ways to help a person suffering cope and heal.
These activities not only build a safe and caring classroom community, but also link very closely to the ELA curriculum, specifically with representation: http://www.learnalberta.ca/ProgramOfStudy.aspx?lang=en&ProgramId=370511#
For more information on how to create an open-mind portrait, consult "50 Literacy Strategies:Step by Step" by Gail E. Tompkins
Resource:
www.itgetsbetter.org
“It Gets Better” youtube clips:
- Cam and Mitchell from Modern Family (Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbTMUplPjnQ
- President Obama: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geyAFbSDPVk
- Fort Worth City Councilman Joel Burns: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ax96cghOnY4
- Broadway singers for the Trevor Project “It Gets Better” performance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeKI8biAglU
Activities:
Journal Entry
Sel-Reflection
Class Discussion
Open-Mind Portrait with Rationale
After watching various “It Gets Better” videos, and exploring the main website, students will first introspectively explore the videos, the messages, the repercussions, and future action individually. This will be done through a journal entry format in which students will record their thoughts and feelings. Once students have had a chance to explore their own feelings on such a sensitive topic, they will share thoughts and feelings in pairs. After talking about these videos with their peers, students will create an open-mind portrait of a hypothetical student suffering from depression, and how this may be amplified due to bullying, specifically homophobic bullying. The objective of this assignment is for students to think deeply from a different person’s perspective by visually representing various “thinking” moments in the person’s head. Students will then provide a rationale of why they depicted the thoughts and feelings that they did, and provide strategies and ways to help a person suffering cope and heal.
These activities not only build a safe and caring classroom community, but also link very closely to the ELA curriculum, specifically with representation: http://www.learnalberta.ca/ProgramOfStudy.aspx?lang=en&ProgramId=370511#
For more information on how to create an open-mind portrait, consult "50 Literacy Strategies:Step by Step" by Gail E. Tompkins