The Year's Plans

This unit will bring together current events with historical context, ranging from the Vietnam War and the Secret War of Laos to discussions around "what is the 1%" and classic American texts such as "Civil Disobedience." We will look at nearly three centuries of opposition to injustice, addressing systemic problems such as hunger, prejudice and poverty, and how people collectively speak out against these difficult issues.

Readings/Media:

• Native Son by Richard Wright

• Native Son (2019) - film

• Selections from California Collections - 12th Grade textbook: "Civil Disobedience" - argument essay by Henry David Thoreau; "Speech on the Vietnam War" by Martin Luther King, Jr.; "Imagine the Angels of Bread" - poem by Martin Espada; "Elsewhere" - poem by Derek Walcott; "A Modest Proposal" - satire essay by Jonathan Swift; "Third World America" - photojournalism by Alison Wright

Main Project: Analytical essay and poetry

From reacting with violence to reacting with peace, when it comes to change, humans have a variety of responses. This unit rises the issue of whether it is more important to revenge evil acts or end conflict through reconciliation. We can further connect this to current events and the peaceful protests occuring in the foreground of violence and looting.

Readings/Media:

• Tragedy of Hamlet by William Shakespeare

• Hamlet (2009) - film

• Selections from California Collections - 12th Grade textbook: "Hatred" - poem; "Hamlet's Dull Revenge" - literary criticism; "Tell Them Not to Kill Me!" - short story; "Blocking the Transmission of Violence" - newspaper article

Main Project: Analytical and argumentative essays

This unit explores the traditional roles of men and women as well as changes in gender roles that have occurred in recent decades. Gender roles are cultural and personal and in many societies, gender roles determine how we should speak, think, dress, and act. How do these roles impact how we interact with each other, how we see ourselves, and how we view others?

Readings/Media:

• A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen

• Bombshell - film

• Selections from California Collections - 12th Grade textbook: "Pink Think" - argument essay; "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman" - argument essay; "In a Scattered protest, Saudi Women Take the Wheel" - newspaper article; "The Men We Carry in Our Minds" - essay from textbook

• Video: NCAA Controversies from Samantha Bee

• Video: Equal Rights Amendment - caution this is satire/comedy and does use R-rated language!

• "Equal Rights Amendment Explained" (research article from nonprofit org.)

• Video: How the Pink Tax Is Ripping Off Women

Main Project: Debate an issue (partner project)

As we begin to look toward the end of the school year and the closing of your high school career, this unit shows how success may be sweet but it can also require great sacrifice and hard work, and in some cases great risk if it means finding happiness and liberty. The idea of success is also relative to the individual. What happens when we take away individual choices? What does the definition of success then become?

Readings/Media:

• Selections from California Collections - 12th Grade textbook: "The Secret to Raising Smart Kids" - science article; "A Walk to the Jetty" - short story; Don't Eat Fortune's Cookies - multimedia speech

• Video: Baz Luhrmann - Everybody's Free To Wear Sunscreen

• Stranger Than Fiction - film

Main Project: Present a reflective narrative (portfolio and "Lines to Live By" presentations)