Occupy

Students consider nonviolence as a strategy for intentionally building public support in both the Civil Rights Movement (as expressed by Martin Luther King, Jr.) and the Occupy movement.

The nation's total student debt load now exceeds $830 billion, and the problem has touched off protests. Two student readings explore the scope of the student debt crisis and some proposals for dealing with it. Discussion questions follow each reading.

  Through two readings and class discussion, students think critically about the effect of corporate campaign donations on our political system and consider efforts to reform campaign finance.

Students work in groups to come up with a definition of 'democracy,' then read and discuss an article on Occupy Wall Street's decision-making process.  

  for grades 4-7  Students explore the meaning of democracy and how Occupy Wall Street is using elements of democracy in their protests. Then students think of and analyze ideas that might make their classroom more democratic.

Students learn about the protest and its message, and consider how the Occupy Wall Street protest is related to public protests in other countries in the past year.

Students explore the question of taxes, Obama's recent 'Buffett Rule' proposal, and Republican charges of 'class warfare.'

Students learn about the Occupy Wall Street protest, discuss wealth disparity, consider some statistics, make their own charts, and find out what some of the protesters want and and why.

Student readings explore unemployment statistics and the human impact of joblessness, and examine the effect of government proposals on the crisis. Discussion questions and an opinion continuum activity follow the readings.

  In the wake of the execution of Troy Davis on September 21, students consider the death penalty through a web, a social barometer activity, readings and videos.