DIGNITY IDENTITY CARING
 

     “Race, gender, and cultural studies in the postmodern curriculum are about shattering myths, especially those that perpetuate repression of the dignity and identity of the self and those that perpetuate bigotry, political repression, and cultural elitism” (Slattery 125).

     A student is an empowered individual capable of changing society, one who actively questions information and proscribed conditions and contributes a unique cultural perspective providing new insight to the given community.
     A teacher and a student travel on the same path.  Each individual presents and considers ideas and information, and each constantly comments and reflects upon the information of the other.  A teacher is a member of the group and contributes to the collective exploration.
     It is the responsibility of the educator to demonstrate the need to address issues of race, gender, ethnicity, economic and cultural elitism; to question the “norms” and look issues in the face rather than ignoring them.  The educator cannot ignore issues of self-identity and dignity which continually oppresses and represses students.  The educator must offer opportunity for student empowerment.  The educator must assist in revealing myths in an open forum in order to expose them for what they really are, and discuss possible outcomes of this realization and the meanings it holds for the individual.  The educator must learn from examples given by students and constantly deconstruct all aspects of society with the students in order to discover unexamined biases and expose false assumptions.
     In this four week unit, we will be dealing with issues of oppression.  I will begin by introducing symbolic representations of various kinds of oppression; an apron, cosmo, a barbie doll, the Indians logo, a green card, an old army jacket, a casino chip, and cartoons and ads displaying stereotyped images.  I will encourage exploration of these items and discuss meaning - if any exists, what form does it take and how did it arrive?  I hope to elicit responses regarding personal experiences which will pluralize into discussions of the of the various types of oppression within our lives.  I will encourage students to find stories of oppression by turning to family members, friends, books, mass media, artwork, or any other source.  We will then explore various ways to theatrically communicate these stories.  I will introduce some of Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed techniques and, depending on student direction, we will plan a series of exercises and games.  We will divide into groups and each group may choose to lead an exercise in simultaneous dramaturgy, image theatre, forum theatre, myth theatre, masks rituals, and so on utilizing acquired stories.  Groups may also choose to express stories through games, pantomime, improvisation, rendering, etc. . ., and are not limited to Boal’s techniques.   We will then begin preparation for  invisible theatre concerning an issue of importance to the students which will be conducted in the local community.  The content, location, and time frame of the piece will be determined by the students.  They will also decide how many pieces there will be and will select their individual roles.
     Knowledge that empowers and liberates is highly valued.  The student is encouraged to maintain an interactive relationship with knowledge and to consistently question information.  It is also important that the student actively participate in selection of knowledge which is an empowering activity in and of itself.
     The majority of the resources will be Early American Attic, found items that can be used in various capacities.  The off campus location will be determined by the students along with the time and length of the activity.   Time options are: during class time, evenings, or weekends.
     Evaluation will take place at the unit’s finale.  Students will reflect on their experiences and may discuss what did and did not work, the effect on the community, new insights, the way oppression and domination of others suppresses ourselves, and the power of the individual to fight against oppression and change the system.
                                                                            Developed by S.R.