Part VII: Topics and Model Lesson

“Immigrants are a living bridge
between nations and cultures
and to other global citizens
around the world.”
E.H. Braley.

Ultimately my dream is that immigrants are mined and appreciated for what they bring to our country and that they are valued. But whether their stay in the US is permanent or temporary, their education should prepare them to meet the needs of the new global work world. Learning should show how they are connected to other ideas and communities (Local, glocal and/or global) and visibly show how they can affect positive change in the world. Finally I offer a simple lesson format that could be adapted to any one of the topics below or a new me.

Consider Important Topics

Topics should have a local and global angle or impact.
• Immigration Issues
1. Immigrants Rights
2. Protests
a. Walks and sit ins
b. Letter writing campaigns
3. Hate Crimes
• The environment
1. city recycling
2. light bulbs
3. oil recycling (www.thefamilycar.org)
4. weatherproofing your home
5. composting
• Community Leadership
1. How to start a community garden
• Volunteerism
1. not for profit companies
2. schools
3. religious organizations
4. music/the arts

Other Examples: Newspaper article examples for discussion
• (Made in China). The human cost of doing business. Their lungs shut down, they lose fingers, limbs, all so Americans are guaranteed an unfettered flow of cut-rate merchandise. (Mercury News, Sunday business. 10/28/2007)
• Aging is no fun and it’s harder for immigrants. Fremont volunteers showing them how to access the system. (S.F. Chronicle, 9/20/2007)
• Bank apologizes after denying account to Moroccan woman, citing terror risk. (Mercury News, 10/29/07)
• Bloggers in Burma tell world what’s happening. (S.F. Chronicle, World, 9/28/2007)
• Hair and mushrooms create a recipe for cleaning up oily beaches. (SF Chronicle, November 14, 2007)
• Hmong revive their written language on the Internet. (SF Chronicle 5/14/2006)
• Indian American is elected GOP governor of Louisiana. (S.F. Chronicle, Section A, Politics 10/21/07)
• Scattered Hmong revive their written language on the Internet. (SF Chronicle 5/14/2006)
• Treacherous Catch. Choosing between the health of Stockton’s Cambodian families and the survival of their subsistence culture. (San Francisco Chronicle Magazine, 10/26/07)
• Two Afghan Women Reach Across World to Help Kids. Cal State East Bay Students heed calling to found 2 schools in troubled homeland. (S.F. Chronicle, Datebook, 10/20/2007)
• Women join police force in Ar-Ramadi, Iraq for 1st time. (Mercury News, Section A, 10/28/07)

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Model Lesson for a Current Event

Level: High Intermediate ESL to University level
Newspaper article title: “Tourists boycotting Burma.”

1. Show the interconnectedness of the world, blogs, online communities
a. How communities merge to help other communities, beyond borders
2. Discuss a variety of viewpoints
a. Read blogs about local concerns
3. Ask students to discuss what the options are for the Burmese citizens and what choices they have.
a. Investigate how this boycott could affect people inside and outside of Burma/Myanmar.
b. How does it affect the triple bottom line of the globe?
c. Could it affect you personally? What choices would you make?
4. New questions to integrate:
a. What did you learn from this subject that could work in other countries? Would something like this in your home country? Why or why not?
b. What other points of view are there? Can you see how different solutions to this situation could harm people inside and outside the country?
c. What solutions are sustainable? How does it effect the environment, economy, population over time? What are the trade-offs?
d. Can any of the negative behaviors be changed? What could someone (or you) personally do to change the outcome?
e. What ideas are connected to this idea?
f. What related ideas would you like to bring from your country to this country? Or from this country to your home country?
5. Write an individual or class letter [of support for] or to non-violent protester Aung San Suu Kyi. Discuss other human rights activists in other countries or for other issues. Discuss mild and extreme forms of protest.