We have introduced many concepts to our middle school teachers to incorporated into their school curriculum, including a priority on participation in active social justice programs. One of my projects was to introduce the ability for students to make their decision on their own adherence to patriotism via the "Pledge of Alegiance." The materials I presented involved the protests that were started by NFL Quarterback Colin Kaepernick and other sports members, mostly of color, were enough so that teachers were able to show the systematic racial oppression this country has brought about many of its citizens. To that end, we used this lesson to allow the students, as a live exercise, to vote on whether or not they should recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Not one student voted in favor of retaining this hypocritical practice! This opened the eyes to a lot of students, particularly to their awareness of race relations in class, and we will be using this learning experience to explore how destructive constructs like fossil fuel reliance, capitalism, and undemocratic voting practices can be alleviated in the future.
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