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Finding Our Identities through our Capital

The Implications of Labeling and Stereotypes on Individual and Collective Identity: Curriculum for High School, Two weeks and Six, One hour Classes

This curriculum aims to help students think critically about the implications of labeling and stereotypes. Goals include creating a heightened sense of awareness of labels and stereotypes. Labeling in this curriculum refers to the ways in which we distinguish differences by putting a name on that “thing” or person. These labels carry deep meaning and are embedded in social context, as well as racial, gender and class hierarchies. For example, white are rich and powerful, people of color are not.

Ashton Dwyer

Ed Curriculum Project

Introduction

For my praxis, I participate in a program that facilitates Philadelphia high school students in their post-secondary institution admissions process. I have been observing and mentoring high school seniors at their high school for four weeks.

It is crucial to point out that there are about 40-50 high school seniors and about 20 college mentors. The program allows mentors to interact with the high school seniors in small groups once a week for a 90-minute class period. Email addresses are also exchanged to touch base with both mentors and mentees.

            Creating a curriculum to enact in any environment is difficult, but in a space as restrictive and foreign as prison can sometimes be to students as privileged as we are, there are several extra factors to take into account. As the pilot group of students going to work on a literacy program at X Correctional Facility (XCF), we’ve already had the opportunity to direct and shape the “curriculum,” so to speak, of our class. But, in doing so, we face some interesting, and sometimes frustrating, dynamics. What are our goals for this class, and how do they map on to what the social worker has asked us to do?

Curriculum Project: Time in Prison

Identity, Access and Innovation in Education
Curriculum Project

Walking in Morris Woods, I felt strongly the passage of time. I felt the interconnectedness of life and death. I felt a connection between myself and those who came before me, a connection that in reality, doesn’t exist. The environment in which we exist has a powerful ability to foster a connection between us and those who came before us. Although it changes like we do, it is something that has existed long before any of us and will exist long after we are gone. This type of shared connection to the environment is extremely powerful. I realized I have been able to experience this shared history with women going back hundreds of years in part because of the work of Bryn Mawr’s founders, Joseph Taylor and Carey Thomas.

Going into Morris woods was an experience for me. As some of the people in my class know, I am not an outdoors girl. I've lived in the city for my entire life and when I went off to boring school, in what was considered a rural part of Pa, I was still never outside that much so it didn't seem like that big of a deal to me. But, this was something new. I went on a rather nice day, so initially I was in a good mood. Morris woods heightened a sense of curiosity and apprehension within me at the same time.

Wenjun Wu

Paper #7

Nov. 7th, 2014

Lovable Trees