The identities we hold and the privileges we possess influence the way that we move in the world.
In this unit, we invite you to think about how we each carry our own dynamic identities and bring our own personal histories to the way that we move in the world. How can we learn from how others tell their stories? How are our own stories and experiences similar to or different from other people? How do we connect our stories to historical events, policies, and structures? What is part of the story that you want to tell about yourself? We invite you and the youth in your life to reflect on your own personal and ethnic/racial and migration histories.
Some of the content in this curriculum includes topics that could be uncomfortable for some. As you engage with this content, we encourage you to take care of yourself in whatever way works for you.
This unit aligns with the following standards and concepts:
Learning For Justice
- Identity 1: Students will develop positive social identities based on their membership in multiple groups in society.
- Identity 2: Students will develop language and historical and cultural knowledge that affirm and accurately describe their membership in multiple identity groups.
- Identity 3: Students will recognize that people’s multiple identities interact and create unique and complex individuals.
- Identity 4: Students will express pride, confidence and healthy self-esteem without denying the value and dignity of other people
- Identity 5: Students will recognize traits of the dominant culture, their home culture and other cultures and understand how they negotiate their own identity in multiple spaces.
- Justice 14: Students will recognize that power and privilege influence relationships on interpersonal, intergroup and institutional levels and consider how they have been affected by those dynamics.
Critical Consciousness
Critical Reflection: A social analysis and moral rejection of societal inequities, such as social, economic, racial/ethnic, and gender inequities that constrain well-being and human agency. Those who are critically reflective view social problems and inequalities in systemic terms.
CASEL 5 Social Emotional Learning Competencies (Equity Elaborated)
Self Awareness: Involves understanding one’s emotions, personal identity, goals, and values. This includes accurately assessing one’s strengths and limitations, having positive mindsets, possessing a well-grounded sense of self-efficacy and optimism. High levels of self-awareness require the ability to understand the links between one’s personal and sociocultural identities and to recognize how thoughts, feelings, and actions are interconnected.