november 14, 2022
Last week we saw a film in which the main character named Terren was Trans. Classmates not only made fun of Terren, but physically assaulted them. Unfortunately, verbal abuse and physical violence against LGBTQ+ people are extremely common:
Do you think our school is friendly or hostile to students with different gender identities like trans, gender fluid, gender creative, and agender people? What about to our LGBTQ+IA students?
I can tell you that I hear a lot of “That’s mad gay!”, “Aye Yo’s”, and “no homo’s”. What about you? If the answer is “yes”, is there anything we can do to change how students act? Here’s a commercial that tries:
Here’s a movie that reverses the world to wake people up to LGBTQ+IA bullying at school:
So, what can you do to help change the culture at our school? How about making a podcast? Here’s one made by me and my daughter Ruby a while back:
Here’s how to create a podcast in Soundtrap:
For your journal today, fill out the first paragraph of this podcast script:
Here are a couple of examples from Island Schoolers this week!
november 7, 2022
Over the last few weeks, we’ve addressed gender stereotypes. This is the idea that there are correct ways to look and act like a “boy” or a “girl”. We learn these correct ways from places like TV, music, social media, and our families. When people remind you nicely or meanly that you need to look or act like the gender assigned to you at birth they are acting as The Gender Police (TGP).
The problem is that these gender stereotypes often don’t allow people to look and act in ways that feel good to them. Instead, they bury their emotions, interests, and ideas so as not to raise the suspicions of TGP.
We also learned that some people’s sense of their gender doesn’t fit neatly into the definition of a boy OR a girl. Instead, they may feel like a girl sometimes and a boy other times, like a creative combination of both genders or like no gender at all.
To make things more complicated, some people feel like they were assigned the wrong gender at birth (transgender). Along with this, some people have both male and female body parts and hormones. These people are called Intersex.
So! As you’ve seen there is A LOT to learn about gender. Now it’s time to add Sexuality into the mix.
Sexual orientation is who you are attracted to and it’s not the same as your gender.
Just like gender, there is no right kind of person to be attracted to. If it feels right, then it’s right (although doing something about it needs to be safe, consenting, and legal). And, again, just like gender, there are a lot of sexual orientations. Here are some flags representing different sexual orientations:
For your journal entry today, draw one of the flags to show your support. It does not need to be a flag representing YOU, just one that you could be an ALLY (defender) of.
If you’re interested, use embroidery to create a flag with or without a message.
Now, test your understanding with this Kahoot!:
october 31, 2022
Pretend students at your school are joining an organization called THE GENDER POLICE (TGP). As a member of the TGP, you must STRICTLY ENFORCE rules about what girls and boys DO at your school and what they should LOOK like.
So that all new members of the TGP can identify the correct way to be a boy and a girl, they created a training video. In your journal, make 2 lists.
| GIRLS MUST: | BOYS MUST: |
Now, watch the following videos and fill out the list. Do not use your own opinions— just get your ideas from the videos.
While the TGP training video I made is fake, gender policing is real and it happens at our school. Sometimes people do it on purpose–“damn, you shoot like a girl”– while other people do it by accident– “Can I get some strong boys to pick up heavy boxes in the main office?”. TGP can be seen when people laugh or shake their heads at people who appear to be boys wearing skirts or makeup. TGP happens when people who appear to be girls get made fun of for shaving their heads or not shaving their legs.
So, who among you will stand up to the TGP? Create a new symbol (and name?) for a force that goes up against TGP? Here are some ideas to steal:
This week we’ve been speaking about The Gender Police and how many of us are members without even knowing it. But gender isn’t always as simple as being a girl or a boy. “Bi” means two. If you have a binary gender identity it means you feel like either a (1) girl or a (2) boy. If you’re non-binary, it means you don’t see yourself as falling into the category of girl or boy. Instead, you may feel like a unique blend of genders (gender creative) or neither a girl nor a boy (agender).
For your journal entry today, create a color for each way of expressing gender:
Now that you’ve used color to form different gender expressions. Use the image below to inspire a drawing of a gender fluid person or a person who doesn’t fall under the spell of gender stereotypes:
Let’s keep diving into our explorations of gender. If you’re transgender it means that the gender you’re assigned at birth doesn’t describe what you feel deep in your heart. Instead, most transgender people feel that they are of the opposite gender.
So why is this important to learn about? Well, first off, there are likely many people in your life (or maybe you yourself) that are transgender or non-binary, but are afraid to say it. The problem is that when you can’t be your REAL self it’s depressing. Many transgender and non-binary people get bullied, kicked out of their homes, and may consider suicide because of this rejection.
What can you create to help people better understand Gender Identity and create a more welcoming environment in our school and your neighborhood? Here are some ideas:
- Create a clay symbol to show the acceptance of all gender identities
- Make Ally buttons
- Make a children’s book like THIS ONE from Jazz, to help young children to understand different kinds of gender identities
october 25, 2022
Learning gender rolls start at at a very young age. Just think about what boys and girls learn is “OK” to play with:
For todays’ journal entry, draw 2 pictures. One of a “boy” doing a “girl” thing and one of a girl doing a “boy” thing. If you don’t know what to draw, look at the list you created in your journal last class.
For those of you interested, partner with 2-3 people and do a photo shoot of girls doing “boy” things and boys doing “girl” things. Print out one of the pictures, glue it onto a canvas, and paint a question like, “WHY NOT?”.
october 24, 2022
Grab your journal and a pencil. Divide your paper into three columns. Title the first column “Girl Stuff”, the second column “Boy Stuff”, and the third column “Both”. Now, look at this list of things and write each in only one of the columns.
Question: Who decides what’s “Girl Stuff” and “Boy Stuff”?
A huge part of mental health is feeling comfortable with who you are and the life you live. What happens when the things that make you feel good are “wrong” for your gender? Let’s learn more:
How about creating art to crush gender stereotypes?
For those of you filming documentaries on social media, it’s time to start editing the footage. Here’s how:
october 18, 2022
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS THE PERFECT BODY
october 17 2022
A couple weeks ago we compared POSITIVE Self-talk to NEGATIVE Self-talk:
It’s so important to recognize when you’re doing negative self-talk and switch-it-up to positive thinking. Here are some strategies I came up with almost 10 years ago (with my 3 year-old Ruby):
The first part of your documentary on social media has made it clear that there may be a problem with social media. That maybe– just maybe– it causes tweens and teens to feel like they aren’t good enough, takes away from time spent in-person with your friends, and makes bullying worse.
So, now that we see a possible problem, it’s time to give your audience some solutions. That’s SOCIAL ACTION! Imagine if your documentary actually helped a struggling tween or teen to feel better about themselves! Imagine if your documentary SAVED A LIFE!
Here are some interview questions to help turn your documentary into social action.
- What’s your personal strength? Tell about a time you used it.
- What advice would you give tweens or teens who want to feel more confident?
- Have you ever helped a friend or family member who was being bullied on social media? If yes, how? Did it work?
- What can you do to take a break from social media?
Open your journal, turn to someone at your table and ask them one of the questions. Write down their answer as best as you can.
october 13 2022
For today’s journal entry– pretend you’re about to do a documentary on cigarette smoking. What question would you ask someone you’re interviewing? Now, let’s watch this Island School film and see if they asked similar questions:
Yesterday many of us began the process of documentary filmmaking. So many things went right! Most of the people interviewed answered the questions thoughtfully and the filmmakers themselves were focused on capturing all the action. BUT there were some common mistakes too– let’s go over a few in this video:
Here’s another Island School documentary–this one is about ending the use of plastic straws. Before watching it, in your journal, think of a question you would ask if you were interviewing people about this issue.
october 11 2022
Let’s begin today’s session by watching an Island School documentary. As you’re watching, I’d like you to consider this: What makes a good interview question?
For today’s journal entry, Write down 1 of the questions below in your journal:
- How much time do you spend on social media like Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, and Snapchat each day?
- Is there such a thing as spending too much time on social media? Why or why not?
- Do you know someone who was bullied on social media? What’s their story?
- Is bullying online any different from bullying in person? Explain.
- Do you think most tweens and teens are happy with what they look like? Why or why not?
- Can social media make you feel bad about yourself? If yes, how?
- Do you ever feel like you’re addicted to your phone (or tablet or computer)? Explain.
- Would you spend more time hanging out with friends IN PERSON if social media didn’t exist? Why or why not?
- If you could sit at home and live your life in virtual reality, would you? Why or why not?
Now, interview someone in the classroom using this question. Write down their answer as best as you can.
If you enjoyed interviewing people, grab a camera today and use these questions for a documentary about the effect of Social Media on teens!
october 7 2022
In your journal, answer the following question:
If there was one thing you could change about your body, what would it be?
This week, students brainstormed positive messages for tweens and teens. Here is what we came up with:
If you like one of the messages above, make some art we can put in the hallways!
october 4, 2022
Last session we discussed how social media often makes you feel not good enough. With all the influencers living a perfect life filled with perfect skin, super skinny bodies or bulging muscles, tons of money, and love– it’s hard not to look down on yourself. This leads to NEGATIVE SELF-TALK which poisons your life. It’s important to realize that these perfect lives are FAKE. Let’s take a look:
Now that you see the fakeness, let’s continue to create things that help us with POSITIVE SELF-TALK. Think of an important piece of advice you can give other teens so that they don’t believe the perfect world social media often shows.
Once you think of the advice, write it on a page in your journal. Use one of the fonts below to inspire your work:
OCTOBER 3, 2022
Last week you began creating mugs. Once they dry, they’ll need to be glazed with a color. But what color? Welp, there’s a whole art and science dedicated to how color makes you feel. Below is a circle that connects different colors with emotions.
Grab your Maker Journal. Paint the mug you drew with a color that matches what you want to feel when you use the mug.
While you wait for your mug to dry (it takes a week!), create the plate that it will sit on top of. Here’s how:
SEPTEMBER 29, 2022
In order to do the important social action work for this class, you need to be MOTIVATED. That means feeling like you can make a difference. We spent this month identifying your personal strengths. It’s easy to forget them and instead feed yourself negative messages.
There are tons of reasons why people stop focusing on their strengths. One is social media. People who spend a lot of time on social media end up feeling negative about themselves. This is because what friends and influencers post is often not what they really look like or feel like. So, you end up comparing yourself to a fake life that no one actually has!
To battle against this is hard work. It starts by seeing through the lies social media feeds you. But it also involves telling yourself positive messages. This is called SELF-TALK.
For today’s Maker Journal Entry, draw a mug and write some positive talk on it.
Afterward, if you’d like, create a real one using clay!
September 22, 2022
Here are some of the highlights from this week!
For today’s journal entry we’re taking a break from talking about our personal strengths. Instead, we’re going to focus on Empathy. What is empathy? Some people define empathy as walking in someone’s shoes, others say it’s feeling with someone. Part of having empathy is knowing that people have stories– DEEP stories– that go beyond what you see when you run into them in the hallways or on the street.
So, for today’s entry, open a journal page and divide it in half. On the left, use any art material to draw the rock just as you see it. On the right, use your magnifying glass to look closer and draw what you see. Hopefully, this activity reminds you that when you are ready to judge someone, take the time to look deeper and consider what is going on with them beneath the surface.
September 20, 2022
We’ve been talking about the importance of holding onto personal strengths to do battle against forces that make you feel like you’re NOT ENOUGH. Check out this Prince Ea video that dives deeper into this idea:
For today’s journal entry, you’ll be using Shrinky Dink to create art or jewelry that has an inspirational quote from Prince Ea:
September 19, 2022
For today’s Maker Journal entry, we are going to create a “Mirror Message” T-shirt. The goal of this T-shirt is to remind the wearer of their personal strength every time they look in the mirror.
Begin by drawing a T-shirt in your journal. Next, take a personal strength slip of paper from your Maker Journal’s pocket. hold it in front of the mirror and draw the letters exactly how you see them. Once you’re done, your strength should appear normal when you hold it in front of a mirror!
If you like the results, grab a real t-shirt and use fabric pens or cut out vinyl to create your “mirror message”. Here’s how:
September 14, 2022
Here are some A+ Maker Journal covers and Personal Strength Jewelry from this week!
Check out the symbols below. What personal strengths can they represent?
For today’s journal entry, take one of the personal strengths from your Maker Journal pocket. Think of a symbol that represents this strength. Now, use a permanent marker to draw the outline of this symbol. Fill in the symbol with watercolor.
Here’s a technique called TRANSFERRING that you can do to get the symbol onto your journal:
September 12, 2022
Below, you’ll find some highlights of our DIY journals.
Now that you have a journal, it’s time to start filling it up with ideas, designs, and inspirations! Sometimes that will mean collecting things to spark your projects. To do this, create a pocket in your Maker Journal. Here’s how:
Once you create the pocket, write down on a slip of paper 3 words that describe your personal strengths. Even if it’s something you’ve only been like once, but you want to be like all the time.
Now that you’ve chosen a few words that describe your personal strengths, create a piece of jewelry that reminds you of it. To do this, use a blank metal circle to stamp the word. Next, connect it to a necklace cord or keychain.
Below is a tutorial on how to stamp blank metal jewelry:
You can also stamp on (fake) leather!
September 8, 2022
Last year BURST with creativity and social activism!
For our first week, let’s talk about what it means to be a member of our Makerspace. We’ll begin by seeing some of the issues and the projects that students worked on last semester.
As you watch, think about the art and technology tools you will want to experiment with. In the video below, what social issues are students talking about? What’s your experience with them?
This year we will be using Maker Journals to collect our thoughts and designs for projects. Here’s a little description about journals and how to make your own:
Take a few minutes to construct your journal and decorate the cover.
