Freedom & oppression

“Freedom is not worth having if it does not connote freedom to err. It passes my comprehension how human beings, be they ever so experienced and able, can delight in depriving other human beings of that precious right.”

~Mahatma Gandhi

Do NOW:

You live in America, a country nicknamed “The Land of the Free,” what does having freedom mean to you?

HISTORICAL THEME:

Working with a partner, identify at least 3 historical examples that demonstrate the theme of “freedom & oppression.” Please try and provide 1 (or more) example that is not related to American History.

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SUMMER READING THEME:

Think: Consider this on your own. How did the idea of “oppression” manifest in book A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah?

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Pair: With a partner, complete the “Escalator Graph” below to demonstrate how Ishmael Beah gained freedom from oppression in the book A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier.

Share: Open class discussion about items that you came up with when thinking on your own and working to complete the graph above with your partner.

Content and Thinking Questions:

Please reference these items when directed to by your teacher. Your teacher will let you know if you should respond in an open discussion format or in your notebook. Some of these items might be assigned as homework, pay attention to your teacher’s oral directions.

  1. Commenting on how a rebel soldier had interrogated an old man, Ishmael writes: “Before the war a young man wouldn’t have dared to take to anyone older in such a rude manner. We grew up in a culture that demanded good behavior from everyone, and especially from the young.” Where else in A Long Way Gone did you encounter the brutal, thuggish, or even sadistic behavior of young revels – or of other young people?
  1. Who is the anonymous man with the fishing hut near the ocean, and how does he help to soothe and heal the severely scalded feet of Ishmael and the others? And later, how are the lives of all seven boys saved by rap music – specifically the music of LL Cool J?
  1. What do Ishmael and the other boy soldiers do when they’re not out on a mission? What movies do they like to watch, and why? What else do they do with their space time? At one point, the lieutenant tells them, “We are not like the revels, those riffraffs who kill people for no reason.” Is this true? Also, why is Ishmael promoted to junior lieutenant? How did he achieve this new rank?
  1. The memoir ends with a striking image, as Ishmael sees a mother telling her two children a story that he had also heard as a child. It’s a memorable fable that touches on several of the key themes of this book, including violence, family, storytelling, childhood, and African village life. But it also carries a message of sacrifice. Explain how this last message also reverberates throught A Long Way Gone.
  1. Violence is, of course, a major theme in these pages – physival, psychological, social, and otherwise. Indeed, some of the more violent passages in this book make for very difficult if nit unsettling reading. In a brief response, reflect on what Ishmael’s many violent experiences taught you about the consequences or aftereffects, both intended and unintended, of violence.
  1. “I could no longer tell the difference between dream and reality,” Ishmael writes early in his tale. Indeed, memories, dreams, nad troubling or inescapable thoughts are perhaps even more important to this book than firsthand events are actions are. Discuss how A Long Way Gone is a psychological memoir, comparing and contrasting it with other works you have experiences in this vein.
  1. How are “civilians” depicted in this book? How are they thought of? How are they treated? As a class, explore how our narrator’s relationship with them changes over time.
  1. Discuss this harrowing account of civil war and childhood as a meditation on finding one’s ultimate purpose. How does Ishmael, at a relatively early age, arrive at what seems to be his calling in life?

Mock Millennium Development Goal Conference:

"Eradicating extreme poverty continues to be one of the main challenges of our time, and is a major concern of the international community. Ending this scourge will require the combined efforts of all, governments, civil society organizations and the private sector, in the context of a stronger and more effective global partnership for development. The Millennium Development Goals set timebound targets, by which progress in reducing income poverty, hunger, disease, lack of adequate shelter and exclusion — while promoting gender equality, health, education and environmental sustainability — can be measured. They also embody basic human rights — the rights of each person on the planet to health, education, shelter and security. The Goals are ambitious but feasible and, together with the comprehensive United Nations development agenda, set the course for the world’s efforts to alleviate extreme poverty by 2015. "
-United Nations Secretary-General BAN Ki-moon

In the book A Long Way Gone Ishmael Beah experiences poverty, hunger, child morality, disease, and fights to obtain an education. These items are all part of what the UN Millenium Project is trying to combat by th year 2015.

Today, you will break into groups to discuss the political action campaigns that you created for your summer assignment. Once you have broken into your groups follow the steps below.

  1. Each person in your mini conference needs a title:
  2. Speaker – will present to the class
  3. Secretary – will record meeting minutes and ideas
  4. Assemblyman 1 – will make sure everyone has a voice and that a variety of ideas are shared
  5. Assemblyman 2 – will keep track of time and help keep the discussion moving
  1. In a round robin fashion, Assemblyman 1 will begin sharing the most creative political action campaign that he/she created. The Assemblyman will then allow the person to his/her left to introduce one of their campaigns, etc.
  2. Assemblyman 2 should ensure that each person is allowed to speak for at least 1 minute without interruption, but also ensure no group member exceeds 2 minutes on one idea.
  3. The Secretary should record all ideas.
  1. Conference members should then vote on the political action campaign that they feel will be most successful in helping to achieve the MDGs.
  2. If there is debate or disagreement, the Assemblymen should find a democratic way to make a unanimous group decision.
  1. The Speaker will then be tasked with presenting your conference’s political action campaign to the class. The Speaker will use the secretary’s notes and turn them in after presenting.

JULY 12, 2013, 1:20 PM

Malala Yousafzai, Girl Shot by Taliban, Makes Appeal at U.N.

By JENNIFER PRESTON

In a speech at the United Nations on her 16th birthday, Malala Yousafzai, who was shot in the head by the Taliban for promoting education for girls in Pakistan, called on world leaders to provide “free, compulsory education” for every child.

“Let us pick up our books and our pens,” Ms. Yousafzai told young leaders from 100 countries at the United Nations Youth Assembly in New York. “They are our most powerful weapons. One child, one teacher, one book, and one pen can change the world. Education is the only solution.”

Ms. Yousafzai, noting that she was proud to be wearing a shawl that had once belonged to Benazir Bhutto, spoke in a calm, self-assured voice as she delivered her first major speech since she was shot on the left side of her head Oct. 9 on her way home from school in Pakistan’s Swat Valley.

In her speech, she recalled how the attackers had also shot her friends. “They thought that the bullets would silence us,” she said, “but they failed.”

And then, out of that silence came thousands of voices. The terrorists thought that they would change our aims and stop our ambitions but nothing changed in my life except this: Weakness, fear and hopelessness died. Strength, power and courage was born. I am the same Malala. My ambitions are the same. My hopes are the same. My dreams are the same

As my colleagues, Taha Siddiqui and Declan Walsh report, Taliban militants have pressed their violent campaign against girls’ education in northwestern Pakistan, attacking more than 800 schools in the region since 2009.

From that time, Ms. Yousafzai was a outspoken critic of the Taliban campaign. Her efforts were included in a 2009 video report by my colleague, Adam Ellick.

She was greeted by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon of South Korea. He introduced her to the youth assembly. “By targeting Malala, extremists showed what they feared the most: a girl with a book,” Mr. Ki-moon said. “Malala is calling on us to keep our promises — invest in young people and put education first.”

Gordon Brown, the former British prime minister and now United Nations special envoy for global education, also introduced Ms. Yousafzai and helped organize what was being called the Malala Day event at the U.N. On Twitter, thousands of people shared updates about the speech with the hashtag #malaladay.

She’s here! Ban Ki-moon just welcomed Malala to the United Nations. Friday is #MalalaDay & #UNYouthTakeover.

— United Nations (@UN) 12 Jul 13

But Ms. Yousafzai stressed in her speech that it was “not my day” but “the day of every woman, every boy and girl who have raised their voices for their rights.”

“Thousands of people have been killed by the terrorists and millions have been injured,” she said. “I am just one of them. So here I stand, one girl among many. I speak not for myself but for those without voice.”

She also emphasized that she had no desire for revenge against the Taliban or any other terrorist group. She included the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, Gandhi and Mother Teresa as among the leaders who have inspired her.

She said she wanted education for every child, including the “sons and daughters of the Taliban” and terrorists.

“I do not even hate the Talib who shot me,” Ms. Yousafzai said. “Even if there was a gun in my hand and he was in front of me, I would not shoot him.”

She attributed her nonviolence philosophy and ability to forgive from lessons “learned from my father and my mother.”

It was her father, according to Mashable, who joined efforts with a Grammy Award-winning producer to produce a YouTube video with three young, undiscovered artists and more than 30 choir singers from around the world, to help promote a foundation to promote education for girls that was formally launched on Friday.

Think: How is Malala Yousafzai similar to Ishmael Beah? What makes Yousafzai’s and Beah’s stories different? Consider the themes of freedom and oppression.

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