Influential Student

Linda Brown vs. the Board of Segregation

This article is a beautifully written and poetic piece published in honor of Linda Brown who passed away on March 25, 2018, at age 76. This article addresses segregation on scientific, social, and individual levels. Written in short, one to three sentence stanzas, the author uses several poetic devices to grip the reader and propel them to think deeply about segregation. I chose this article to couple my first publication, because they address similar issues but in very different ways.

I would have my students read my first and second article in conjunction with one another, which may lead them to ask questions such as:

• “How did the first article make me feel versus the second article? Did one one seem more convincing than the other?”
• “How can journalists and writers effect the way we view certain social issues simply by their narrative and style of writing.”
• Are there any historical/political/news/media figures that affect the way I feel about a certain issue not from what they are specifically saying but by the way they deliver their message?”
• “Are their any instances of segregation that I see in my own community that are mentioned in this article?”

The Grand Challenges that this article connects to are the same as the first:

• Valuing World Cultures
• Understanding the American Experience

Sub bullets again include: the generation of learning experiences that invite students to pursue the creation of knowledge, providing provocation for reflection and activism.

Montana Social Studies Content Standard 2: Students analyze how people create and change structures of power, authority, and governance to understand the operation of government and to demonstrate civic responsibility.

Upon Graduation — End of Grade 12:

5a. Analyze the effectiveness of various systems of government to protect the rights and needs of citizens and balance competing conceptions of a just society.

6. Analyze and evaluate conditions, actions and motivations that contribute to conflict and cooperation within and among groups and nations (e.g., current events from newspapers, magazines, television).

Because this article is written so beautifully, I have chosen to use Found Poems from the 50 Routines book. Although this is an exercise more typical of teaching English, I think that this subject and article is so powerful that having students re-write their own poems will help them find meaning in the reading. This would be an independent activity as I would want my students to create their own unique piece. Following the writing portion we would have a class share. Respect for their peers being emphasized, each student would be encouraged to read their poems aloud. Afterwards we would have a group discussion of which phrases were used the most and why those seemed to have the most impact.