Select and Read Books in the General Area of Prejudice. a Sample

Home , Herman Wouk, John Hersey, The Edge of Sadness

DOCUMENT RESUME ED 025 503 TE 000 889 By-Babcock, David Understanding Prejudice. Pub Date Apr 67 Note- 3p- Journal Cit- The Teachers Guide to Media & Methods; v3 n8 p16- 7 Apr 1967 EDRS Price MF-$0.25 HC-$0.25 Descriptors-Culture, Discussion Groups, *En9lish Instruction. Ethnic Groups. Films. ItalianAmericans. Jews. *Literature, Maiority Attitudes, *Mass Media, *Minority Groups, MinorityRole. Negro Culture. Negro Literature, Novels, Racial Discrimination. Secondary Education. *Social Discrimination.Television To help students understand prejudice. teachers in Verona.New York. planned a unit which incorporated the use of fiction,television, and film. Students were asked to select and read books in the general area of prejudice.A sample reading list of works under the headings of Negro. Jew. Italian, andIrish was provided. After writing extensive analyses of their books, the students wereassigned to panels to discuss such questions as (I) "Are the people depictedinferior?" and (2) -What are the qualifications of inferiority?" Next, the films, -A Raisin in theSun" and -No Hiding Place.- were shown for their depictionof existing problems of the Negro. Finally. theTv show. "I Spy", was used to give the students an opportunity to react to aNegro appearing as a "normal unexceptionablehuman being," not as an object of prejudice.(The sample reading list for a unit on prejudice is included. ) (SW) THE TEACHERS GUIDE TO edta E 0025503 & eth s An Expansion of SCHOOL PAPERBACKJOURNAL

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April,1967 Vol. 3, No. 8 ADVISORY BOARD EDITORIAL Barry K. Beyer Ass't Prof. of Education THE IMMEDIACY OF MEDIACY The Ohio State University John Crilkin, Si. 6 Max Bogart Asst. Dir.. Div. of Curriculum & Insbuc. 1r* PAPERBACKS State Dept. of Educ., Trenton, N.J. Charlotte Brooks Frank McLaughlin on YEVTUSHENKO 10 Supervising Dir. of English THE MAN WHO INVENTED TODAY Wash., D. C. Public Schools John Rouse 30 Alexander M. Butman PAPERBACKS . Director, Paperback Programs WHERE AND HOW TO GET THEM 40 A.E.P., Middletown, Connecticut NEWSWORTHY PAPERBACKS 43 John Cu lkin, S.J. Director, Center for Communications Fordham University, New York City FILMS AND MEDIA-MIX Daniel Fader UNDERSTANDING PREJUDICE Project Dir., Dept. of English David Babcock 16 U. of Michigan at Ann Arbor FILM IMAGES OF THE NEGRO Sidney Forman Frank Manchel -19 Prof. of Education and librarian JAMES BOND: Teachers College, Columbia U., N.Y. EXPLOITS OF A CULTURE HERO Morris Gall Richard R. Dow 34 Social Studies Dept. Head CAN FILM STUDY SUCCEED WITHOUT POPCORN? Norwalk Public Schools, Conn. Richard A. Blake 38 Donald Klemer M &M VISITS . .. OKLAHOMA Superintendent of Schools 41 Hastings-on-Hudson, N. Y. Dr. Sidney Forman Peter Kontos Dir., Princeton Co-op. School Program TELEVISION Princeton, N.1. COLOR TV IN BLACK AND WHITE Philip Lewis Ned Hoopes 26 President, Instructional 29 Dynamics, Inc., Chicago, Illinois TELELOG Joseph Mersand Chm. of English Dept. RECORDS AND TAPES Jamaica HS, New York City AUDIOFILE Frank E. Ross - Kirby Judd 46 Assoc. Prof. of English E. Mich. U., Ypsilanti, Michipn Bertram Siegel DEPARTMENTS Chm. of Science Dept. FEEDBACK 2 Bedford Jr. HS, Westport, Conn. ESSENTIALLY COUTH David Sohn E002503 Barry Robinson 33 Instr. of English 16mm LN-SIGHTS Middlesex Jr. HS, Darien, Conn. William J. Sloan 44 M. Jerry Weiss Chinn., English Dept. Jersey State College, NJ.

STAFF Frami McLaughlin, Editor Rutgers University THIS MONTH'S COVER John Culkin, S.J., Motion Pictures An eloquent and elementary lesson In In- Fordham University terracial friendship is portrayed In the Ned Hoopes, Television Hunter College H S, N. V. movie-still from the paperback cover of Kirby Judd, Records & Tapes Patch of Moo (Popular Library, 501). Long Meadow H S, Mass. Fred Marcus, Paperbacks California State College Robert Parkinson, Materials Co-ord. The Teachers Guide to MEDIA & METHODS (formerly SCHOOL PAPERBACK Evanston, Illinois, Public Schools JOURNAL) Is published nine times per year September through May by Media &Methods Institute. Inc.. 124 East 40 Street, New York, Y. 10016. Phone: 212 MU 7445i. John Rouse, Contributing Editor Subscription: $3 per year, $4 in Canada. $2 each for 20 or more to one school address. Smithtown, N. Y. Public Schools Single copy 401. 0 Copyright, Media & Methods Institute. Inc., 1967. Printed in U.S.A. by Charles Faucher, Managing Editor world Color Press. Controlled circulation postage paid at Sparta, Illinois. West Coast Advertising: J E Publishers' kepresentatIve Co. MO Melrose Ave., Los Mk. Koeth, Art Editor 0 Angeles, California; 420 Market St., San Francisco, California. Grac Simmons, Circulation Mgr, Manuscripts: M & M pays up to 00 for ankles about creative and effective methods Frances Burnett, Business Mgr. and media In tbe classroom. A practkal, how.to approach Is preferred, but there's always Lee Laino, Advertising Manager a place In our pages for stimulating. challenging theory, tool Manuscripts should be triple- spaced, 50 characters wide-1800 wards Is a comfortable length but shorter and looser Roger Darnio, Publisher pieces are acceptable. Authors may want to check article ideas with the Editor to avoid tbe possible frustration of duplication. 411

Fighting ignorance and fear withfilms and fiction

DEPARMINI Of HEAITH. EDUCAHON 8 WELEARE

OFFICE Of EDUCATION Understanding Prejudice 'PERXISSION TO REPRODUCE MIS MIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN REPRODUCED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED NOM THE OPYPiGHTED MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY Az-o-f,:Z PERSON OR ORGANIZATION ORIGINATING IL POINTS Of VIEW OR OPINIONS mlize,,,,_,,kzrziv_zaazt.,Q, STATED DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT OffICIiii OffICE Of EDUCATION by David Babcock POSITION OR POLICY. TO ERIC AND ORGANILATIONS OPERATING UNDER AGREEMENTS WITH THE U.S. OFFICE OF EDUCATION. FURTHER REPRODUCTION OUTSIDE THE ERIC SYSTEM REQUIRES PERMISSION OF THE COPYRIGHT OWNER." FICTION, TV AND FILM can be successfully ority,' Iey stated, "should be determined by used in developing a unit on prejudice. Forthe pttitude, or lack of it.It should not be deter- past two years we have been evolvingan ap- mined by such arbitrary things currently used proach to prejudice through materialsas diverse to sort peoplerace, religion, education; instead as TV's I Spy and Salinger's Franny and Zooey, it should be determined by how well eachper- Anne Frank's Diary and the film Raisinin the son does his chosen job." The second panel dis- Sun. As is true in any other teaching situation, cussed the questions "What is the author's world the trick is to involve students. view or theme?" and "What is the responsibility Three weeks before the classroom activities of the individual and of government in racial were scheduled, each student was told to select matters?" Their statements of themewere var- any work in the general area of prejudice. A ied. One of the panel members made the obser- sample reading list was provided listingbooks vationthat, though the themes ranged from under the headingsNegro, Jewish, Italian,and detached philosophy toanger, almost allof Irish. (See next page.) tnem made a plea for common sense and aban- After each student had chosena book he donment of stereotypes. After heated discussion was assigned an extensive analysis of it. The the second question was summarized: "Thegov- student discussedtheme,style,organization, ernment should provide a legal framework of plausibility, and significance. Only afterthese equality and the rest is up to the individual." papers were corrected and discussed did I feel The third panel was asked first toanswer the that each student had enough backgroundto question "Is the book propagandisticor artis- participate on one of four panels. tic?" and then to answer the purposely loaded To insure well-rounded and intelligentdis- question "Yabut wouldya wantamarry one?" cussions I structured these panels by puttinga The first question provoked littlecomment as class leader on each of them and by dividing everyone felt his book had artistic merit. The the other members up between active and inac- second question evoked a good deal of passion. tive participants. To orient the discussions I "What business is it of yours? Love is themost provided each group with two questions and personal of matters; Whowe love and why is allowed them one day to discuss them. a matter of concern to just two people." The The results were very rewarding.Infact, fourth panel discussed "Is .the book constructive each panel had at least one thought-provoking or destructiver' and "What is the cause of preju- statement to offer. The first group's questions dice and what does the future hold?" Allpraised --(Are the people depicted inferior?" and "What the constructive nature of the books, but hopes are the qualifications for inferiority?"stirred for the future were a bit cynical: "Prejudice is up these comments: "None of the characters in ignited by fear, fed by ignorance, and kept blaz- the books seeined inferior, mainly because by ing by self-interest. This is inherent in man. The reading about them you came to see themas only hope for the future is that he will shift flis human beings and not objects of fear." "Inferi- prejudice to a better scapegoatthe lazy or in- competent of all races, colors, and creeds." After four days of discussion the class was ready' for a change of pace and so A Raisin in David Babcock teaches English at Vernon-Verona- the Sun wOrked in perfectly. The class had little Sherrill Central in Verona, New York. He has an difficulty in identifying with the central con- up-coming article in English Journal on classroom movie making. flicta family breaking apartand no one felt 16 it could he dismissed as just another sermon on racial equality. In fact, the discussion leader man- aged to draw out very well that this apparently SAMPLE READING LIST FOR PREJUDICE UNIT typical family was no more interested in crusades and marches than were most families. Negro The East Side-West Side drama "No Hiding Cry, The Beloved Country Place" tied in perfectly with A Raisin in the Sun, Alan Paton (Scribner, SI.45) as it starred Ruby Dee and dealt with theprob- Lliwd Today lem of Negro housing. It differed, however, in Richard Wright (Avon, 60e) Native Son attacking the problem from another angle. The Richard Wright (Signet, 75) Negroes were wealthy and the drama centered in Black Boy the home of their new white neighbors. Our dis- Richard Wright (Signet, 750) cussion, of course, dealt with the theme of the Eight Men Richard Wright (Avon, 60) dramathere is no hiding from yourself; if you're Peaceable Lane prejudiced you have to recognize it and deal with Keith Wheeler (Signet, 750) it or else you will take it with you no matter where Blues for Mr. Charlie you run. James Baldwin (Dell, 600 To KillaMockingbird Also, they noted that characterization, without Harper Lee (Popular Library, 60) the buffering of commercials, became superfi- Go Tell It on the_Mountain cial; so much so that, in fact, the program was James Baldwin (Signet, 600) a dramatic documentary onblock busters. This Invisible Man moved into the CBS Reports documentary "Seg- Ralph Ellison (Signet, 950) A Raisin in the Sun regation: Northern Style." The class found Mike Lorraine Hansberry (Signet, 60) Wallace's report on a wealthy Negro family's attempt to find a suitable home interesting; one Jewish boy observed that the various snooping devices The Wall John Hersey (Pocket Bks., 750) used to follow the famliy's activity heightened This is My God the documentary's sense of drama. Herman Wouk (Dell, 7.50) Of course, all three of these films allowed us Marjorie Morningstar a common base for discussingthe negro prob- Herman Wouk, (Signet, 950) lem. But I still wasn't satisfied. I felt that the The Deputy Rolf Hochhuth (Dell, 950) problem of prejudice would continue to exist Exodus until we stopped discussing it as a problem. I Leon Uris (Bantam, 950 felt I must give them the chance to react to the The Diary of a Young Girl Negro not as an object of prejudice or fear, but Anne Frank (Pocket Bks., 500) To Franny and Zooey as a normal unexceptionable human being. J. D. Salinger, (Bantam, 750) accomplish this, I had them watch I Spy. The show was a good one"The Loser" (which Italian later won an Emmy for film editing). Luckily Rally Reund the Flag, Boys! it had absolutely nothing to do with race that Max Shulman (Bantam, 75) Christ in Concrete week so we spent the entire class discussing the Pietro Di Donato (Popular Library, 50) story line, the camera work, the clever writing. Just before the bell I asked them why no one Irish had mentioned the fact that Bill Cosby was a Studs Lonigan Negro -obviously significant to our discussion. The James T. Farrell (Signet Classic, 950) answer was what I had hoped for: "It isn't neces- The Last Hurrah Edwin O'Connor (Bantam, 750) sary," they said.."/ Spy is just a good show where The Edge of Sadness one of the characters happens to be Negro instead Edwin O'Connor (Bantam, 750) of Italian, Polish, or Irish." I would say they had A Tree Grows in Brooklyn come a long way. Betty Smith (Popular Library, 750) Maggie-Now Betty Smith (Perennial, 950) Father and Son Paperbacks are usually available through, James T. Farrell (Popular Library, 750 localdistributors. Check the Yellow The Cardinal Pages under "Paperback Distributors" or Henry Morton Robinson (Pocket Bks., 75) "Magazine Distributors."