The culminating experience of the Social Justice Project is the Teach-In. This is the moment where eighth graders become teachers and design workshops for their peers who encounter a range of issues during the day and are asked how they, too, can make a difference. The centerpiece of the workshops are the podcasts that each team creates to tell the story of their issue and their journey towards a deeper understanding of it. The podcasts serve as the medium through which eighth graders also develop deep literacy, research, rhetorical and analytical skills. The podcasts tell the story of each team’s movement towards active citizenship as they identify a current social issue they care about and join like-minded peers to research their issue, volunteer with NYC organizations, interview experts in the field and blog about their experiences. This provides a rich ground for the cultivation of key academic skills. At the same time, they also practice and enhance important leadership and civic engagement skills such as working in a team, reaching out to professionals in the community, securing, planning and facilitating interviews, maintaining a calendar, conducting research and navigating the city. All of this work amplifies what we hope is a life-long commitment to activism and social justice.
Gender and Sex Equality Issues
Abortion Rights and Access
Seeking an abortion is currently legal for pregnant people, but this is changing. We are learning that the right to have an abortion, or get access to abortions is being challenged in many states.
Body Image and Social Media
Recent studies have proven to many people, especially teenage girls, that social media can negatively affect one’s self pride, confidence, and perception of themselves. We also know that some social media can be helping to make these negative effects better. Social media is not going away, and we want to make sure we’re informed and informing others about how Body Image and social media interact.
LGBTQ+: Conversion Therapy & “Panic” Defense
Homophobic and transphobic societies marginalize LGBTQ+ communities in many ways. We are exploring the industry of “Conversion Therapy” practices and how local and international laws are banning it. We are also exploring how “Panic” defense claims have been used to protect perpetrators of violence towards LGBTQ+ people.
Pay Gap for Women Athletes
Why do men earn more in every professional sport in the United States? Does this also happen around the world? What causes this and how is this one example of gender inequality in other parts of society. We are exploring this important issue and what people are doing to even the playing and paying field.
Street and Workplace Harassment
Gender or sexuality-based street harassment is a serious matter in New York City, the United States and the world. Street harassment typically begins by the time young people are teeangers and is a symptom of larger problems with misogyny in the society. We care about this issue and want to do more.
Caring for our Earth
Global Warming
Global warming is a critical issue for our times. We are a group that truly cares about our future and wants to learn about and take steps to address Global Warming. We know this is a global issue that will take international cooperation on a massive scale to reverse, but we can do our part.
International Nuclear Disarmament
There are enough nuclear weapons to destroy our planet multiple times over. Nuclear weapons are in the hands of a number of countries, and many others are trying to get into the nuclear arms race for protection and power. We are learning about the complicated, international effort to end nuclear weapons in our world.
Water Pollution and Climate Change
Climate change is leading to rising oceans temperatures, which is affecting marine and human life. Waterways are being polluted by people in locations around the world. We have little time to start reversing these trends and clean up our water for future generations. Our project is exploring this issue and ways we can help.
Poverty Issues
Access to Healthy Foods
We are lucky to have healthy food on our plates every day. We know that this is not the case for millions of people in our state and our country and the world. Learning about access to healthy foods for people who live in food deserts or lack the money and access to them is important to us as a social justice issue.
Homelessness in Communities of Color and Among Children
It’s hard to believe that there are millions of people in the United States who do not have homes, who sleep in on the streets or who are housing insecure, one step away from losing their housing. We want to know why this happens, how it affects children and people of color, and what little we can do about it.
Labor Issues: International Workers Rights
Societies run because they have working people to make, move, run, serve, and fix the various parts of the cities. Yet, workers are being treated very poorly around the world, and in the United States, even though there are laws that protect them. We are interested in this complicated issue and want to learn more because we will work in our futures.
Incarceration and Immigration Issues
Mass Incarceration in the U.S.
The United States incarcerates more people than nearly every country on earth. At the same time, we are supposed to be a country where “all men are created equal with life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Why are there so many individuals in prison today? Why are there so many Black and brown men in prison today? Does prison help society? We care about this issue and want to see a different reality in our futures.
Immigration: Latin America
As people whose families come from various parts of Latin America, we care about the issues facing immigrants from these regions. There are wide ranging reasons that people from all over Latin America come to the United States, and they are not always treated fairly. We want to know more and get involved.
Youth Issues
Children, Mental Health, and the Pandemic
Young people are affected by the world’s challenges in unique ways. From climate change, to poverty, racism, gun violence and the Covid 19 pandemic, the issues impact youth and many are the result of decisions made by adults. Today, increasing numbers of young people want to make a positive change in the world.
Child Welfare, Foster Care and Adoption
Children are our future. But, too many kids are being raised in home environments that are unhealthy and violent. Oftentimes, this violence is coming from the hands of parents and other caregivers. Foster care and adoption are sometimes the right answer and we are learning also have their own problems. This is a matter dear to our hearts and we want to get involved.
Homelessness in Communities of Color and Among Children
It’s hard to believe that there are millions of people in the United States who do not have homes, who sleep in on the streets or who are housing insecure, one step away from losing their housing. We want to know why this happens, how it affects children and people of color, and what little we can do about it.
