6/14 - Class Recap

Sunset over our time together! Photo taken in Hawaii in 2011.

Hello everyone,

Today was our last class together, as we had finals! Thank you for your hard work all semester, everyone! Here's what happened in class today:

Learning Targets Addressed:
I can communicate effectively both verbally and in writing.
I can apply understanding of ideas and concepts to a new context or problem.
I can demonstrate an understanding of the role of governments in current issues.
I can effectively conduct and apply research.
I can self-direct my learning.

Soundtrack: "Thankful" by Kelly Clarkson. Selected for today because I always use it as the last song of the semester, as we are truly thankful to be your teachers! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 6/14/18:
Check-In/Review Agreements
What Can I Do Today?

Share Final Projects
Reflection
Action

Homework: Continue to advocate for social justice in your life!
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Check In/Review Agreements: At the beginning of class, we went over the Courageous Conversations Agreements, as always, to begin our work together for the day. After checking in, we talked for a bit about what is happening in the world outside of class, before moving on.

What Can I Do Today?: We also asked students if there was anything they wanted to add to the "What Can I Do Today?" poster up at the front of the room, in terms of actions outside of class. We also noted that the list is live on the blog here on the upper right corner, with links!

Share Final Projects: As today was our finals period, we had students share out their final projects and presentations in small groups. If you have not already, you need to upload your final project to Google Classroom immediately, as we will be going through and grading them together very soon.

Reflection: After sharing the final projects, we had students write an overall course reflection about what they will take away from DSJ. What went well? What could we improve on? Your feedback is helpful in this regard!

Action: At the end of class, we celebrated our time together by hanging out and talking about what we would be up to next semester, as well as how we could put what we have learned into practice. Thank you, everyone, for all of your hard work and participation all semester! It was a pleasure to be your teachers! Make sure to continue to stay engaged and to encourage others to sign up for the class in the future!

6/12 - Class Recap

So close to the end of the semester - we only have one more class together after today!

Hello everyone,

Welcome to your last full week of the semester! Here's what happened in class today:

Learning Targets Addressed:
I can communicate effectively both verbally and in writing.
I can apply understanding of ideas and concepts to a new context or problem.
I can demonstrate an understanding of the role of governments in current issues.
I can effectively conduct and apply research.
I can self-direct my learning.

Soundtrack: "At Last" by Etta James. Selected for today because this is the start of our last week together! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 6/12/18:
Check-In

Finish Lift Ev'ry Voice
Discussion
Final Project

Homework: Read the blog! Continue working on your final project, which is due to be presented next class (our last)!

Take Zoe's survey, here:

Google Forms - Zoe's DSJ Final Survey

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Check In/Review Agreements: At the beginning of class, we went over the Courageous Conversations Agreements, as always, to begin our work together for the day. After checking in, we talked for a bit about what is happening in the world outside of class, before moving on.

What Can I Do Today?: We also asked students if there was anything they wanted to add to the "What Can I Do Today?" poster up at the front of the room, in terms of actions outside of class. We also noted that the list is live on the blog here on the upper right corner, with links!

Lift Ev'ry Voice: We finished watching this excellent documentary from OPB about the history regarding race in Portland (specifically about the African-American community):

OPB.org - Portland Civil Rights: Lift Ev'ry Voice

We started today at 58:30 into the film and finished the rest.

Here is the worksheet that goes along with the documentary:

Google Drive: Lift Ev'ry Voice Documentary Questions

I think it is super important that we understand our own history regarding race in Portland, especially as I think there are some common assumptions that are just not true. As such, I was glad to see that almost everyone was glued to this in class. Thanks for your focus and willingness to learn about our own history!

Discussion: After the documentary, we went through the questions together and talked about our own experiences with race in the Portland. Thank you for the conversation! The film notes will be graded as a Behavior target: self-directed learning.

Final Project: The rest of class was devoted to work time on your final project, which will be due to be presented next class during our finals period. As a reminder, here is the final assignment:

Google Drive - DSJ Final Assignment

Please continue working on this outside of class and let us know if we can help clarify anything!

6/8 - Class Recap

We began watching the documentary "Lift Ev'ry Voice" in class today, which is about Portland's history with the African-American community. One key section is about the building of the Memorial Coliseum and Moda Center. Photo taken in 2009.

Dear class,

As we start to wind down new content in DSJ, we wanted to be sure to leave students with a better understanding of how race has played a role in the history of Portland and Oregon. Here's what happened in class today:

Learning Targets Addressed:
I can communicate effectively both verbally and in writing.
I can apply understanding of ideas and concepts to a new context or problem.
I can demonstrate an understanding of the role of governments in current issues.
I can effectively conduct and apply research.

Soundtrack: "Coming Home" by Mat Kearney. Selected for today because it is a song about Oregon. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 6/8/18:
Check-In/Review Agreements
What Can I Do Today?

Race in Oregon
Lift Ev'ry Voice
Final Project

Homework: Read the blog! Continue working on your final project!
--
Check In/Review Agreements: At the beginning of class, we went over the Courageous Conversations Agreements, as always, to begin our work together for the day. After checking in, we talked for a bit about what is happening in the world outside of class, before moving on.

What Can I Do Today?: We also asked students if there was anything they wanted to add to the "What Can I Do Today?" poster up at the front of the room, in terms of actions outside of class. We also noted that the list is live on the blog here on the upper right corner, with links!

Race in Oregon: As we tried to point out today, there is a LOT of history in our own community of racism, that I think students do not typically know about. But, there is a reason that Portland is one of the whitest major cities in the United States. A few links for curious students to check out:

Gizmodo.com - Oregon Was Founded As a Racist Utopia

TheAtlantic.com - The Racist History of Portland, the Whitest City in America

Google Search - "Oregon Racist Utopia"

Ms. Labossiere also wanted to be sure that we talked about the laws that prevented people of color from owning property in places like Lake Oswego and throughout Oregon. Here is an example:

We also watched the first 4 minutes or so of this video, to help set the stage for the main documentary we wanted to show in class:

Lift Ev'ry Voice: For the rest of class, we started watching this excellent documentary from OPB about the history regarding race in Portland (specifically about the African-American community):

OPB.org - Portland Civil Rights: Lift Ev'ry Voice

We stopped today at 58:30 into the film and will finish it next class. If you were not in class today, please watch up until this point over the weekend.

Here is the worksheet that goes along with the documentary:

Google Drive: Lift Ev'ry Voice Documentary Questions

I think it is super important that we understand our own history regarding race in Portland, especially as I think there are some common assumptions that are just not true. As such, I was glad to see that almost everyone was glued to this in class. Thanks for your focus and willingness to learn about our own history! We will continue with this next class and have a discussion.

Final Project: As a reminder, here is the final assignment:

Google Drive - DSJ Final Assignment

Please continue working on this outside of class. See you next week, when we will finish the documentary and discuss on Tuesday, then your final is on Thursday!