Spring - National Peace Corps Association

9-12 Corner: Diversity and Discrimination
By Angene Wilson
Anyone reading this newsletter probably agrees that the diversity of our nation and our world is a positive thing, but also realizes
that discrimination occurs both in our country and around the world. The spring issue of WorldView magazine takes diversity as its
theme. The articles offer an opportunity for teachers to engage students in learning about diversity and discrimination from a global
perspective.
I remember more than 25 years ago when I volunteered with an American youth exchange organization some American host families
were surprised, even shocked, to discover that a German exchange student was black – had Ethiopian-German parents – and that a Dutch
exchange student was brown – had Indonesian-Dutch parents. Of course, citizens of other countries have stereotypes of Americans as
well. “You cannot be American,” a Chinese-American Peace Corps volunteer was told in Morocco. Serving while black in El Salvador
was not easy for a Peace Corps volunteer. Navigating race in Benin was not easy for another African-American volunteer. An Indian-
American volunteer was mistaken for a possible Pakistani spy in Ukraine. And how do gay volunteers deal with their identity overseas
These are the topics of articles in the spring 2013 WorldView Magazine.
The following lesson idea may fit in an English class in which writing a personal essay is a goal. A possibility in social studies,
perhaps a psychology class, would be to use all the WorldView articles in the special section on diversity as resources.
Objective:
After reading the WorldView essay
by Ravi Shah, write a two-page essay
about an experience in which you or
someone you know was discriminated
against. Include the outcome of and
reflections about the experience.
Materials:
WorldView article “Skin Deep” by
Ravi Shah
Procedure:
Ask students to read Ravi Shah’s
essay. In discussion of the essay, ask
questions such as:
• What is the challenge that is the
focus of Ravi’s letter from the Peace
Corps
• How does Ravi begin to assuage his
concerns
• What are his other worries as a
Californian moving to Ukraine
• How did his Ukrainian host family
make him feel welcome
• What was his bad experience in the
capital city of Kiev
• What was the prejudice of his new
host family at what was to be his
permanent site
• What was the happy ending
• How and why might Ravi’s story
have turned out differently
Also discuss how Ravi puts together his
essay to keep the reader interested as he
describes the two instances of prejudice
because of the color of his skin and the
condition of his skin. Finally, ask students
to write their own essay.
Reminder to English
Teachers:
You will find wonderful essays and
stories and lesson plans at peacecorps.
gov in the publications Voices from the
Field and Uncommon Journeys, available
in pdf form. For example, the last
of 11 essays in Uncommon Journeys is
“Mr. John and the Day of Knowledge”
about the first day of teaching English
in Ukraine. Both publications aim to
broaden students’ perspectives and
inspire students to respond to the texts
and create original narratives. Among
my favorite essays in Voices from the
Field – and I have even used these with
undergraduate and graduate students
-- are “Magic Pablo,” “Cross-Cultural
Dialogue,” and “A Single Lucid Moment.”
HREA Distance Learning Programme: Upcoming e-learning courses
This a reminder about HREA’s e-learning courses offered in early 2013. These e-learning courses are generally six weeks in duration
and involve approximately 30 hours of reading, interaction with participants and instructor(s) on discussion boards, webinars, quizzes
and other assignments. Discounted tuition rates apply if you register and pay 4 or 8 weeks befor the course start. The following courses
will be offered in April-May 2013:
Gender-based Violence (3 April-14 May 2013)
NEW! - La Programmation axée sur des droits de
l’enfant (3 avril-18 juin 2013)
Monitoring Children’s Rights (3 April-18 June
2013)
Forced Migration (10 April-21 May 2013)
NEW! - Health and Human Rights (10 April-21
May 2013)
Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender
Identity (10 April-21 May 2013)
NEW! - Monitoring & Evaluation in the NGO
Sector (10 April-21 May 2013)
Project Development and Management in the
NGO Sector (10 April-4 June 2013)
- Human Rights Advocacy (10 April-25 June
2013)
- Armed Conflict, Human Rights and Humanitarian
Law (17 April-28 May 2013)
- Genocide: What Role for International Law
(17 April-28 May 2013)
- Human Trafficking and Smuggling (17 April-28
May 2013)
NEW! - Monitoring Women’s Rights (17 April-28
May 2013)
For further information about each course please click on the course link above. Please note that we no longer have registration
deadlines. Instead we offer early registration discounts up to 25% of the full tuition rate.
For an overview of all courses, please visit www.hrea.org/courses.
2 Global Education News, Spring 2013 www.peacecorpsconnect.org