Day 2: Learning about Refugees

Discussion Starter

Today we got a little deeper into the discussion about refugees. We began the session with a great conversation starter/ice breaker that Caitlyn developed called "4 Corners". We had four labels set up in the corners of the classroom- Race, Belief System, Social Class/Education, and Gender/Sexuality. During this time, the Balfour scholars were asked a series of questions and then reported to one of the four corners in our classroom that represented the way that that label would affect them. For example, "Which of the four corners are you most proud of or love about yourself the most?" Students reported to corners and partook in some good dialogue about how each of these four corners represented them and affected them in their lives. We then asked how these four corners would represent the Syrian refugees. Students went back to their table groups to continue this discussion.

The Eye-Opener

Next, the scholars were asked to brainstorm who the "average American" would be. In their journals, they drew pictures, made lists, and wrote descriptions of this average America. Then, we watched a video that described the made it evident how diverse our country really is. We found that some students were happily surprised by what they heard. For example, there are 3 million Muslim Americans living in the United States, which is nearly three times the amount of people active in the US military.

Syrian Refugees

To help the scholars see some different examples of how they could do a photograph and/or map project, Dan gave an awesome presentation to show them several resources to help them brainstorm. He showed this resource from 2016:  http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/29/us/indiana-syrian-refugees-lawsuit/ which explains how the federal court is blocked Pence's order to block Syrian refugee settlement in Indiana. He also showed students how to use maps to make a visual representation of where Syrian refugees came from and what journey they took to reach Indiana. Really good discussion came about as student asked about refugees and looked at journeys that were taken to get to the United States and other countries. One of our students shared a personal story about refugees.

Projects

After the scholars were assigned to start their projects today, groups began brainstorming about, planning for, and working on their projects. They all seem to be pretty excited about what they're working on!