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What’s the New What Lesson Ideas
Youth Radio’s Alana Germany says she was inspired to write this commentary by years of getting the wrong kind of attention on the streets of her city. Practically everywhere she goes, she says, guys approach her with comments—rarely respectful ones. She started talking to her mom and other elders from her community, who described what dating was like in their day: “When addressing the parents, it was all, ‘Yes ma'am, yes sir.’ If the parents didn't approve of the boy, my mom wouldn't go out with him. It may still be like that in some towns, but that isn't the case here. Now anything goes.” In this story, Alana shares some basic lessons for how she’d like to be treated, including:
Lesson Two: Don’t flail your arms and yell at girls to get their attention—
you just look like an idiot.
“Alana’s story provides a provocative way for educators and health providers to explore several themes related to history, social studies, and language arts, while inspiring students to do their own writing about how they are treated, and how they treat others, in public and private space.”
Click here to find the full script and audio for this story.
Teach Youth Radio
For this month's feature, you will be able to view these strategies and resources:
1. How teachers can align this Youth Radio story to National Standards in the classroom.
2. Suggestions for lesson plans that link the story's content to your classroom's themes and subject areas.
3. Suggestions for lesson plans that explore media literacy, using the story to re-read mainstream media.
4. Bios of the Youth Radio reporters who produced the story.
5. A list of resources and further research related to the story's themes.
6. Links to Youth Radio’s media production techniques as guides and inspiration for your students’ creative media-making projects.
1. NATIONAL STANDARDS: Standards Alignment
Subject: LANGUAGE ARTS
NL-ENG.K-12.1 READING FOR PERSPECTIVE
NL-ENG.K-12.3 EVALUATION STRATEGIES
NL-ENG.K-12.4 COMMUNICATION SKILLS
NL-ENG.K-12.5 COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES
NL-ENG.K-12.6 APPLYING KNOWLEDGE
NL-ENG.K-12.7 EVALUATING DATA
NL-ENG.K-12.8 DEVELOPING RESEARCH SKILLS
NL-ENG.K-12.11 PARTICIPATING IN SOCIETY
NL-ENG.K-12.12 APPLYING LANGUAGE SKILLS
Subject: HISTORY
NSS-USH.9-12.10 ERA 10: CONTEMPORARY UNITED STATES (1968 TO THE PRESENT)
Subject: HEALTH
NPH-H.9-12.3 REDUCING HEALTH RISKS
NPH-H.9-12.4 INFLUENCES ON HEALTH
NPH-H.9-12.7 HEALTH ADVOCACY
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2. NEWS YOU CAN USE: Story content in your classroom, Suggestions for lesson plans
Language Arts:
What’s Your New What:
Alana Germany’s Disrespect is the New Chivalry is the first segment in an ongoing Youth Radio series called, “What’s the New What.” Before delving into Alana’s story, have your students brainstorm what they see as new trends, issues, and developments emerging in their worlds. What, in short, are their “New Whats”? Come up with a long list from the group, and then have students vote on the most generative/provocative top three. Under each of those three “New Whats,” ask students to identify: 1. Evidence of the shift they describe; 2. Counter-evidence—i.e., information that challenges their premise; 3. Possible relevant sources of change; 4. Individuals they’d want to interview to learn more about their “New What,” and 5. Research sources they’d need to tap in order to verify and strengthen their proposal. As a final step, we’d encourage you to submit your students’ “New Whats” to us at WTNW@youthradio.org
History:
Music tells the story: Alana opens her commentary comparing two sets of lyrics, one classic 1970s love song from the Four Tops, and a remix by the contemporary rap legend, Too Short. Have your students find, analyze, and compare the full lyrics for both songs. To what extent do they represent “moments in time” and reveal historical changes over the past 30-plus years? Are there passages in the Four Tops’ version that feel current—or lyrics from Too Short’s song that your students think could have played decades ago? How much, do your students think, have times really changed? To what extent can (or should) creative, sometimes sensationalized lyrics be “read” as indicative of real-life patterns? Have your students find their own songs from the 1970s and today that capture something important about youth culture, then and now. You might have them carry out research to find one newspaper article or primary source material that bolsters the cultural/historical analysis they want to make through music.
Sources of change: Alana offers several possible culprits for the shift she sees from chivalry to disrespect: “Talking to people,” she says, “there were lots of theories. Some people said the feminist movement led to the demise of chivalry. Others thought the media’s portrayal of women as sexual objects was to blame. But 50 year old high school teacher Ms. Nichols says there’s another reason. Parents these days often neglect to put the idea of chivalry in their lesson plans.” What do your students think? Are there other structural or institutional forces at play that Alana’s story doesn’t touch on? You might assign your students roles and hold a discussion (like a radio roundtable) where characters representing various points of view debate and devise recommendations for transforming the way young men and women interact. Have them do some research before the roundtable and require them to cite credible expert opinions on the “theories” they represent as sources of the shift in behavior Alana describes. Make sure at least one participant disagrees fundamentally with Alana’s perspective. You might use this discussion to work with your students to come up with their own, updated definition of “chivalry” in today’s world.
Health:
Lesson plan continued: Alana closes her story with three “lessons” to “all the dudes in the universe”: for example, “Don’t flail your arms and yell at girls to get their attention—you just look like an idiot.” What lessons would your students add to Alana’s list? Are there lessons the young males in your class would want to offer to young females, about how they want to be treated? What about lessons for girls to other girls? Boys to other boys? How about teachers’ lessons for how they want to be treated by students—and, of course, students’ lessons for their teachers?
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3. MEET THE REPORTER
Alana Germany
Alana Germany has reported on youth culture and religion in schools for Youth Radio. She just completed her first year at University of Southern California, where she hopes to major in communications and minor in music business.
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4. RESOURCES AND RESEARCH
• Check out Alana’s outtakes, and more
• Racewire post
• What’s The New What blog
• Four Tops’ lyrics
• Too Short’s lyrics
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5. MEDIA PRODUCTION FOR LEARNING: Making Audio Narratives
Click here to link to Youth Radio's guidelines for conducting interviews, writing commentaries, and producing features.
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