On March 9, eighth grade students hosted LREI’s annual Social Justice Teach-In, the culminating event of months of research and field work conducted on human rights and social issues through their humanities studies. The teach-in opened with an assembly for middle school students, in which some eighth graders dressed as activists from history (Susan B. Anthony and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr,) and urged their audience be the next generation of change-makers.

 

Eighth graders then ran workshops, attended by their fifth, sixth and seventh grade peers, which were planned around the issues they chose to study in depth. Groups focused on the following issues: children in poverty, climate change, education inequality, freedom of speech, gun control, health and food, overconsumption and pollution, sexualization of women, police brutality, and hunger. The eighth graders described the field work, research and interviews they conducted over the past several months and then led the students in an activity geared to help them better understand and be inspired by the issue. The “Don’t Waste Your Waste” workshop engaged participants in upcycling used cartons and bags. The police brutality group made a mural (click to view). The Canstructing a Solution to Hunger group brought in a speaker from a local food pantry where LREI students often volunteer.

 

View photos of each of the workshops by clicking the name of each group below:

 

The lobby and hallways were also decorated with posters students created in digital art to bring awareness to their topic and provoke discussion. View the designs here. The day of civil and human rights activism wrapped with a keynote speech from Amy Goodman, executive producer host of Democracy Now!. Read about her visit here and view photos here. Learn more about the Social Justice Project at LREI by visiting the students' blog here.