Multicultural, National, & Religious Observances in October 2014

Home , Native American Day

Multicultural, No Place for Hate News National, & Don't Forget to Register for Religious ADL's Youth Leadership Conference! Observances in October 2014

September 15-October 15 NATIONAL HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH Celebrates the contributions, heritage and culture of Hispanic and Latino Americans.

Full Month LGBT HISTORY MONTH Register now for the best event of the year! ADL's Marks and celebrates the lives annual Youth Leadership Conference, Exploring and achievements of lesbian, Diversity, Challenging Hate, will be held on November 17, gay, bisexual and transgender 2014 from 8:30 AM - 3:00 PM at the University of people in the United States. Pennsylvania. The conference is free-of-charge, and offers an unparalleled opportunity for 8 students and 2 teachers Full Month from your high school to learn about issues of diversity and NATIONAL DISABILITY EMPLOYMENT AWARENESS discrimination. Students and staff use the resources they MONTH acquire at the conference to challenge bias and bullying in Recognizes the contributions of their schools. See this introductory letter and flyer for workers with disabilities. more information, and submit your registration forms to [email protected] by October 29! Don't let your students miss out on this amazing opportunity!

Page 1 of 7

Saturday, October 4 Celebrate National Bullying Prevention Month! YOM KIPPUR * Jewish The "Day of Atonement" marks We know that many students are targeted on the basis of the end of the Ten Days of their race, religion, social class, sexual orientation or other Penitence that begin with Rosh aspect of their identity. Bias-motivated name-calling and Hashanah. ADL offices closed. bullying have the potential to escalate into more serious

Saturday, October 4 incidents of violence if they are left unchecked. DASSERA * Hindu Anniversary of the day when Rama killed the evil demon Ravana. Also known as Durga Puja, which celebrates the goddess Durga.

Sunday, October 5 EID AL-ADHA * Islamic The "Feast of Sacrifice" concludes the Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca), and is a three-day

festival recalling Ibrahim's Check out ADL's resources for willingness to sacrifice his son in National Bullying Prevention Month! obedience to God. National Bullying Prevention Month is an opportunity to Thursday-Wednesday, reflect on our classroom and school cultures, and ensure October 9-15 that we are engaging in best practices when it comes to SUKKOT * Jewish creating respectful and inclusive school environments. The The week-long "Feast of large body of research on effective responses to name- Booths" commemorates the 40- calling and bullying shows that schools and other year wandering of the Israelites educational institutions can best address these behaviors in the desert on the way to the through ongoing, comprehensive plans that include both Promised Land. ADL offices are intervention and prevention strategies and engage all closed October 9 and 10. people in the school environment: students, educators,

Tuesday, October 11 school staff, families and other community members. COMING OUT DAY Encourages honesty and A basic premise of ADL's educational programming is that openness about being lesbian, the cycle of name-calling and bullying behaviors is best gay, bisexual or transgender. interrupted by motivated allies. This National Bullying Commemorates October 11, Prevention Month, empower your students to act as allies 1987, when 500,000 people and contribute to creating a positive "ally culture" at school. marched on Washington, DC, for gay and lesbian equality.

Monday, October 13 COLUMBUS DAY Marks Christopher Columbus's landing at San Salvador on October 12, 1492. Known as Día de la Raza, "Day of the Race", in Spanish-speaking countries and communities, and

Native American Day in South Dakota and various American Educators, students and parents can use cities. ADL's resources to challenge bullying.

Page 2 of 7

To help you in this effort, ADL has compiled our best Tuesday, October 14 resources on bullying, including statistics, handouts, lesson NATIVE AMERICAN DAY plans, webinars, blogs and books. See the full list here. Celebrates Native American history and culture. Perfect Your Project

Thursday, October 16 SHEMINI ATZERET * Jewish What Does Columbus Day REALLY Celebrate? "The Eighth (Day) of Assembly" is observed on the day Columbus Day inspires more controversy than possibly any immediately following Sukkot. other national holiday in the United States. Many Americans ADL offices are closed. celebrate Columbus for sparking European settlement of the Americas, which led to the eventual creation of the Friday, October 17 United States. Diverse groups lay claim to Columbus - INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Greek, Polish and even some THE ERADICATION OF Jewish groups believe that Columbus came from their POVERTY Call to action for the eradication ranks, and find great pride in his accomplishments. of poverty worldwide. However, many others find Friday, October 17 Columbus Day deeply SIMCHAT TORAH * Jewish problematic, claiming that the "Rejoicing in the Torah" holiday commemorates a celebrates the conclusion of the person and historical event that public reading of the Pentateuch caused great damage to Native and its beginning anew. ADL Americans. Critics see offices are closed. Columbus Day as a symbol of

Monday-Friday, the anti-Native American racism October 20-24 still manifested in American NO PLACE FOR HATE WEEK culture today. As an educator, it Schools and organizations in is important to help your Pennsylvania celebrate their students recognize the commitment to understanding challenges posed by Columbus diversity, promoting respect for Day, so they develop a deeper understanding of differences and challenging bias Christopher Columbus as an individual and as a symbol to and bullying through the Anti- diverse peoples. Defamation League's No Place for Hate initiative. For generations, school children have celebrated the Monday, October 20 achievements of Christopher Columbus, attributing to him BIRTH OF THE BÁB * Baha'i such feats as figuring out the world was round, discovering Baha'i observance of the America and bringing Western civilization to the New World. anniversary of the birth in 1819 However, under closer scrutiny, Columbus's achievements of Siyyid, "the Bab," the prophet- are more uncertain. Explorers had known the world was herald of the Baha'i Faith, in round since ancient Greek times. Human beings had lived Shiraz, Persia. in the Americas for thousands of years before Columbus "discovered" them. The Western civilization brought by Thursday, October 23 Columbus pushed out varied, rich and ancient native DIWALI * Hindu Also called Deepavali, "Festival cultures, with diverse political and economic systems, of Lights", it celebrates the religions and arts already in existence. victory of good over evil, light over darkness, and knowledge over ignorance.

Page 3 of 7

Friday, October 24 UNITED NATIONS DAY Commemorates the founding of the world organization in 1945.

Saturday, October 25 MUHARRAM * Islamic The month of Muharram marks the beginning of the Islamic liturgical year. The first day of the month, al-Hijra, remembers the migration of Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Furthermore, students rarely learn that Columbus's Medina in 622 CE. It also marks intentions and actions were sometimes morally the beginning of the ten-day questionable. In the quest to bring back wealth for his royal Shiite Remembrance of Spanish investors, Columbus's forces killed and enslaved Muharram, a period of intense many of the native peoples he encountered. According to grief and mourning of the the priest Bartolome de las Casas, who in 1508 lived in the martyrdom of Hussein, the son of Ali and grandson of Hispaniola colony under Columbus's governorship, "there Muhammad. were 60,000 people living on this island, including the Indians; so that from 1494 to 1508, over three million people Friday, October 31 had perished from war, slavery, and the mines." Columbus's REFORMATION DAY * harsh treatment of Native Americans set a poor precedent Christian for future European explorers, colonists, and the American Commemorates the start of the government to follow. Protestant Reformation in 1517. Critics believe that Columbus Day is more than a Friday, October 31 celebration of the explorer himself; it also represents a HALLOWEEN The eve of All Saints' Day. yearly endorsement of past and present mistreatment of Native Americans. After Columbus, European and American For more information, visit settlers continued persecuting Native Americans across the ADL's Calendar of Observances continent. By some estimates, 75-90% of Native Americans

died, and many of the survivors were forced to live in deeply oppressive and impoverished conditions. Our country has Upcoming yet to grapple with the legacy of our treatment of Native Resources and Americans. Poverty and social disease are still too common on Native American reservations. Major professional sports Events teams use names and logos that defame Native Americans. Textbooks gloss over the experience of Native American Brand New groups in favor of mythologizing American heroes. In this Current Events Classroom context, it is understandable that some people find honoring Lessons! Christopher Columbus with a national holiday deeply troubling.

Current Events Classroom is a collection of timely and relevant lesson plans that assist K-12 educators in teaching news

Page 4 of 7 topics and other issues of the This year, consider teaching a more nuanced picture of day. Each lesson helps Columbus Day. Follow the lead of South Dakota in students analyze the topic declaring October 13 Native Americans Day, and reframe through an anti-bias, diversity lessons, activities and celebrations to teach about the rich and social justice lens. Click the history and cultures of Native American groups. Have every lessons below to download free full lesson plans. class highlight a different Native American culture's language, architecture, food , legends, etc., and then let SCHOOL DRESS CODES: students visit other classes to learn about diverse Native WHAT'S FAIR? American groups. Compare and contrast Columbus's treatment of Native Americans to other encounters between Europeans, Americans and Native Americans (using lessons like Lewis and Clark: The Unheard Voices) Split your class in half and provide each group with either an

This middle school lesson anti-Columbus Day article or a pro-Columbus Day article, provides an opportunity for and let them debate their article's point of view. students to reflect on their own opinions regarding school dress By exploring Columbus Day in a wider context, you will help codes, identify school and students develop a more balanced understanding of student needs/perspectives and Christopher Columbus and his impact on American history. design their own dress codes that satisfy both student and school needs. The Latest from Anti-Bullying Expert Rosalind Wiseman WHO ARE THE CHILDREN ON OUR BORDER?

In the lesson, students in grades 7-12 will learn more about the unaccompanied children on our border, read and reflect on two stories of children who recently came to the U.S. on their own and will consider their opinion about the situation and what to do about it by writing a persuasive letter. Rosalind Wiseman, best-selling author and bullying prevention specialist, works with ADL to publish Rosalind's NATIONAL HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH Classroom Conversations, which includes teaching strategies and thoughtful advice.

Rosalind's Classroom Conversations for September, The Unspoken Messages of Dress Codes: Uncovering Bias and Power, addresses how a school's well-intentioned dress code can mask double standards, insensitivity and bias. Rosalind provides practical advice for how to deal with the sometimes conflicting needs of students and the National Hispanic Heritage school. Month (September 15-October 15), which began in 1968, is a

Page 5 of 7 time for people to celebrate the In a recent podcast, Rosalind talks about her partnership achievements, contributions, with ADL, teaching and raising teenagers in a complex culture and history of Hispanic world, the role and pros and cons of social media and and Latino-Americans. If you or gaming, what teachers can do to engage students, how her your colleagues are looking for own parenting informs her work and much more. We think ideas for National Hispanic Heritage Month, we have you'll find the content interesting and in line with our compiled all of our relevant approach and programming. We hope you'll listen to it and curricula and other resources in share it with others. one place.

OCTOBER'S BOOK OF THE School Showcase MONTH IS... Read the Rainbow: Conewago Elementary School Students Explore Diversity Through Literature

Stories can magically transport us to faraway lands and spark our imaginations to new heights. Through "Reading Around the ...Trudy Ludwig's Confessions World," Conewago Elementary of a Former Bully. The book, for School in Northeastern School ages 8-12, is about a girl District harnessed the power of named Katie who gets caught literature to explore real bullying a schoolmate and is international cultures as a way to told to meet with the school promote appreciation for diversity. counselor so she can right her wrong and learn to be a better Each grade read a book exploring a different part of the friend. Told from the unusual point of view of the child world, and then participated in an activity from that culture. engaging in the bullying rather The third grade students read Wabi Sabi by Mark Reibstein, than the target, the book which taught the traditional Japanese concept of finding provides children with real life beauty in imperfection, and then wrote haikus to gain an tools they can use to appreciation for Japanese poetry. Second graders read understand, identify and do Rechenka's Eggs by Patricia Polacco, which introduced something about bullying. As students to Ukrainian culture, and then designed Ukrainian always, Book of the Month pysanky painted eggs. Students in first grade read Galimoto includes vocabulary, discussion by Karen Lynn Williams to explore Malawi, and afterwards questions and activities. created galimotos - Malawian toy cars made of wire.

Celebrate Kindergarten read Possum Magic by Mem Fox and Julie No Place for Hate Week! Vivas, to learn about Australia, and baked and ate Australian anzac biscuits.

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives and Senate will officially designate October

Page 6 of 7

20-24 as No Place for Hate Week! This week, schools should celebrate their efforts to embrace diversity and challenge bullying and bias through ADL's No Place for Hate program. Make No Place for Hate Week a time when every child and adult in your school takes steps to build a more inclusive and respectful community! Click here for ideas for celebrating No Place for Hate Week 2014!

Halloween

Reminder Make sure you The whole school came together after the reading to share are prepared to their stories and projects with the other grades, so that host enjoyable and respectful every student was exposed to all four featured cultures. The holiday activities. students viewed a map with pins highlighting the countries Check out that inspired their books, and were awed that their books October 2012's took them around the world. Students enjoyed reading and No Place for Hate Newsletter hearing about other cultures, and the activities helped them for tips and tricks (and treats!) engage with diverse groups in a positive way. Consider for celebrating a culturally implementing "Reading Around the World" in your school, sensitive Halloween! using books available in your school library.

Congratulations to our Fall No Place for Hate Designees!

PA School for the Deaf Kennett Middle School St. Joseph's Preparatory School

Thank you to our sponsors: 6abc Boeing Elias Family Charitable Trust Nancy Garber Memorial Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation, Inc. Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation

Page 7 of 7