Lesson Reflections: Violent Vs. NonViolent Action

On Wednesday, I began a unit on Revolution and Resistance. My intention is to discuss different revolutionary leaders including Lenin, Stalin, Mao Zedong and Gandhi and different ways to bring change. As a way to introduce my students to this topic I had them do a looping activity. I gave each of them a blank sheet of paper then asked them to respond to the following prompt: “How do you change a system you do not agree with– through violent or nonviolent action? Explain your choice and give an example of violent or nonviolent action.”  As they were writing I told them to write legibly, leave out their name and respond to the question fully as someone, aside from me, would see their paper. When I said this some students were immediately weary and protested that they did not want anyone to read their response. I tried to reassure them by reiterating they could leave out their name. I collected all of the papers then redistributed them, I was careful about who I gave papers to and made sure I swapped my ELL students papers and gave my advanced students papers with longer responses. I advised them to read the person’s response then write back to the person by expressing whether they agree or disagree and why. Following this activity we defined revolution, resistance, oppression, power and authority; and ended class with an exit ticket. I think that the students enjoyed the looping activity after they got through the initial anxiety. My Penn mentor conjectured that about 80% of students were engaged during the activity. When I reviewed the responses most students gave thoughtful responses to the initial question and very simple responses to their classmates responses. Most of my students expressed that nonviolent action was the best means to bring about change. Others expressed that sometimes there is a need for violent action when you are not being taken seriously. When I do this activity again I will provide a model   of how to respond to another person’s response and ask for their vocal feedback of the activity and content.