Telling Stories of Human Rights
Welcome,
The “Telling Stories of Human Rights” project developed out of the annual Model United Nations conference, in which every 9th grader at HTH has taken part. This conference has always allowed students to grasp the complexity of a multitude of world issues at a geopolitical level, but we wanted more than that this year. We wanted our students to develop an understanding of how every story has multiple ways it can be told, and telling the whole story of any global issue is in no way simple. Most importantly, we wanted students to question the assumption that the news story, in which global issues that affect and often devastate thousands of people are discussed impassively and with minimal emotion, is the best form of story to offer complete truth. Can something so distant really be the complete story?
On the students’ journey to explore their Human Rights topic, students told multiple stories. First, they created a flow chart of graphs in which they told about their topic with numbers and empirical data and the meanings that can be derived from them. They then told the story of their topics through United Nations Resolutions, in which they described and tried to solve the human rights issues from the perspective of governments around the world. Next, students attempted to tell the stories through comparisons of facts, which can be seen in their hanging mobiles. Lastly, students created written pieces and art from the perspective of a person (or sometimes animal) affected by their issue.
We believe the level of the Commerson- Ruff team students’ understanding of their human rights topics shows in their work. Please enjoy their displays and take the time to understand the full impact of their stories. They worked hard to tell them.
Sincerely,
Aaron Commerson and Juli Ruff
The “Telling Stories of Human Rights” project developed out of the annual Model United Nations conference, in which every 9th grader at HTH has taken part. This conference has always allowed students to grasp the complexity of a multitude of world issues at a geopolitical level, but we wanted more than that this year. We wanted our students to develop an understanding of how every story has multiple ways it can be told, and telling the whole story of any global issue is in no way simple. Most importantly, we wanted students to question the assumption that the news story, in which global issues that affect and often devastate thousands of people are discussed impassively and with minimal emotion, is the best form of story to offer complete truth. Can something so distant really be the complete story?
On the students’ journey to explore their Human Rights topic, students told multiple stories. First, they created a flow chart of graphs in which they told about their topic with numbers and empirical data and the meanings that can be derived from them. They then told the story of their topics through United Nations Resolutions, in which they described and tried to solve the human rights issues from the perspective of governments around the world. Next, students attempted to tell the stories through comparisons of facts, which can be seen in their hanging mobiles. Lastly, students created written pieces and art from the perspective of a person (or sometimes animal) affected by their issue.
We believe the level of the Commerson- Ruff team students’ understanding of their human rights topics shows in their work. Please enjoy their displays and take the time to understand the full impact of their stories. They worked hard to tell them.
Sincerely,
Aaron Commerson and Juli Ruff
Scheduled Activities |
Due Dates |
Links |
Week 1: (9/7-9/10)
Physics Focus: Motion and Acceleration Humanities Focus: Critique Skill and Paragraph Development |
Week 2: (9/13 - 9/17)
Declaration of Human Rights Overview of Topics Physics Focus: Accelleration and Forces |
Week 3: (9/20 - 9/24)
Overview of Topics Physics Focus: Forces |
Fri, Sep 24 :
Choose topics |
Week 4: (9/28 - 10/1)
Looking at stories told by people - "Lit Circles" Telling stories with graphs - Numbers perspective Physics Focus: Torque |
Due Fri, Oct 1:
Basic map of graph plan |
Week 5: (10/4 - 10/8)
Blogs and Reading |
Due Mon, Oct 4:
Days 1-2 of lit circle requirements |
Week 7 (10/18 - 10/21)
MUN: Real resolutions Real resolution problem description |
Final Crossbar items complete
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Week 8 (10/25-10/29)
MUN: Solution paragraphs and refine real resolutions |
Due Fri. Oct. 29:
Final Resolutions |
Week 9 (11/1-11/5)
MUN: Speeches and MUN Conference Looking at stories through comparison of Facts: Create Mobile Proposal and Design Mobiles |
Thurs. Nov. 4: Due Final Proposal and nicely hand drawn plan
Fri. Nov. 5: MUN Conference |
Week 10 (11/8 - 11/10)
MUN Reflection and Display set up Mobiles: Begin Crossbar construction |
Week 11 (11/15-11/19)
Mobiles: Finish Crossbar construction and final assembly; start photoshop explanations Writing stories, poems and/ or monologues from varying perspectives Refine stories, poems and/ or monologues from varying perspectives Revise and Poems, Monologues and Speeches |
Due Friday: Final Assembled mobiles
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Week 12 (11/ 30 - 12/3)
Mobiles: Complete photoshop explanations Prepare performances Science Perspectives - Physics: Atomic Bomb |
Due Friday:
Photshop explanation of Mobiles |
Week 13 (12/6 - 12/10)
Telling the Complete Story - Wrapping up topics and presenting to peers |
DP Reflection Directions
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Week 14 (12/13-12/17)
Exhibition Prep DP reflections |
Exhibition night: December 16th
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