Intervention Reflection Assignment

Assignment #1: Intervention Reflection

Millions upon millions of people in the 20^th and 21^st centuries have died as a result of genocidal events. A genocidal event does not happen overnight. Rather, it is the horrific culmination of years of discrimination, power imbalance, dehumanization, and propaganda.

As active and engaged citizens in our communities and our world, we must begin to call out injustice and discrimination. This can be done in subtle, yet vital, ways. We can stand up for somebody who is being picked on. We can talk to our friends if we hear them making fun of a homeless person. We can eat lunch with someone who usually sits alone. We can report any kind of aggression or abusive language, instead of letting it slide.

Over the course of this unit, you are expected to complete two reflections of situations or moments of injustice in our community that you believe required an intervention. The purpose of this assignment is to enhance awareness of the discrimination that exists around us. It is the hope that you will all have two opportunities to actively intervene; however, for a variety of reasons, it can be very difficult to do so. What is important is that we reflect on why we did or did not act in a certain situation. You will be marked solely on your reflections, not on the actions you did or did not take.

You can achieve full marks by being thoughtful in your answers. Again, the purpose is that we start observing and critically thinking about the events that unfold around us. Please submit a 1 page, typed response to the following questions:

1. Describe the specific situation that was unfolding
2. What intervention occurred, or could have occurred? What were/could have been the results?
3. Which of our “Factors of Genocide” did you observe in this situation? Explain. (reference Coggle Map on the class blog):
4. Reflect on what about this situation was challenging for you, and why?
5. Reflect on what you would do differently in a similar situation, and why?

Note:

1)   DO NOT PUT YOURSELF AT RISK. If you see any kind of situation or behavior that is potentially dangerous, immediately report it to the proper authority (principal, teacher, police etc), but do NOT intervene.

2)   These reflections will be handed in on our last day of class. You are advised to complete at least one by our third lesson, when we have our “School Discrimination Convention” day.