The New York Civil Rights Coalition is seeking lawyers, law students, paralegals and legal assistants and other professionals to volunteer to teach their “‘UNLEARNING’ STEREOTYPES: CIVIL RIGHTS AND RACE RELATIONS” course, once-a-week, over the course of the current Fall 2014 school term. The program is placed at senior high schools and some junior high schools throughout the five boroughs of New York City.
History of the Project
The New York Civil Rights Coalition’s Unlearning Stereotypes: Civil Rights and Race Relations Project was established in the wake of the infamous 1989 racial confrontation in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, that led to the death of 16-year-old Yusef Hawkins. From a pilot program that we placed at the Bensonhurst public high school, the Unlearning Stereotypes Project has grown into a citywide effort, where volunteers–law students and lawyers and professionals familiar with the Socratic teaching method—meet with high school and junior high students weekly and serve as discussion leaders. In the course of every class meeting topics connected with race relations and civil rights issues and problems are explored through dialogue. This is an award-winning educational program. The discussion leaders are just that–they ask questions of students and get the students talking about social problems and all kinds of stereotypes, and how to counteract prejudices.
The project is their D-R-E-A-M program because it trains and deploys teams of volunteers to lead students in discussions (the “D” stands for dialogue); provides the students with role models (that’s the “R’); provides critical education (“E”) about civics; encourage “activism” and active learning (the “A”); and imparts to young people the mechanics (“M”) of social change in a democratic society. Each class is team-taught by two volunteer discussion leaders. The participants are civic-minded and all volunteers. They, of course, offer the course free of charge to the schools. To cover all the anticipated participating schools, they need a large and diverse pool of volunteers. The aim of this educational effort is to encourage students to talk with each other about current events and to explore the reasons for racial, ethnic and human relations conflicts, and gender-based and other kinds of stereotypes. In this open discussion format, students not only talk with each other but get to know each other across racial, ethnic and gender lines; and in that way their purpose is fulfilled—having students confront the problems of bias and discrimination before they manifest into acts of violence and hatred.
About the Program
Participation as discussion leaders in Unlearning Stereotypes: Civil Rights and Race Relations program entails a weekly commitment for the entirety of the Fall school semester, starting October through December. The Volunteer Discussion Leaders will “take over” and meet with the same high school or junior high school class once a week, every week, for the semester. Classes are weekdays, and last no more than 40 minutes. Our volunteer discussion leaders may be assigned to a morning or an early afternoon class, depending on class scheduling. No classes meet after 3 o’clock any day. The more flexible you are, the better chance of getting placed at a school. Again, this is a five-borough program. Including transportation and preparation time, volunteers commit to approximately two to three hours per week.
The teaching approach of the program is non-traditional, and each class is intended to be a forum that develops students’ awareness and critical thinking skills, through open dialogue and debate. Volunteer discussion leaders do not lecture, but serve as facilitators of candid discussion—about controversial topics of interest to the students, such as interracial dating, single-sex public schools, same-sex marriage, and topics related to ethnic and racial prejudice, gender discrimination, and religious bigotry.
Volunteers use an interactive Socratic teaching method, role-play exercises, and courtroom scenarios, and, when time permits, mock trials. The aim is to promote critical examination by the students of their own attitudes—as well as their classmates’.
The objective is not only to get high school students to directly confront and evaluate the stereotypes and prejudices that contribute to ethnic polarization and intergroup conflicts, but to give them the knowledge and much needed opportunity to express their opinions in the classroom and to think critically about the important issues of our day. There is no proselytizing in the classroom experience. Volunteers do not bring their ‘answers” to the classroom; instead our volunteers bring questions and facilitate debate and laughter in the classroom. It takes a very special kind of volunteer “teacher” to join and succeed at this effort. Volunteers do not necessarily need to have formal teaching experience. Rather, individuals who are dedicated to the careful examination of social problems and who have a broad knowledge of civics, law, and civil rights issues will be well-qualified to lead the weekly discussions. In addition, the discussions are likely to cover various other discrimination-related topics, such as issues of age and disability discrimination. Thus, knowledge of the legal system is helpful, so lawyers, law students, and paralegals are ideally suited for this unique classroom teaching experience.
This is a charitable effort. And there is no homework assigned, and no examinations administered in classrooms. Rather, the students evaluate volunteers, anonymously, through evaluation instruments they complete at semester’s end.
We need increased numbers of volunteers in order to meet the heavy demand from the schools. Interested persons should contact us right away for a seat at a training which is mandatory for placement at a school. Trainings will be held soon (during a weekday evening and at least one Saturday morning). Due to the volume of phone calls we receive during the recruitment training period, we urge you to E-mail us at TEACH@NYCIVILRIGHTS.ORG.
Again, in order to be accepted into the program and to be assigned to a school, all volunteers must register for and participate in a training session.
The New York Civil Rights Coalition is a non-partisan not-for-profit and an equal opportunity employer.