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Name-Calling Lesson
- This lesson relates to the following topics from the California State
Framework for grades 7, 8 & 10:
- "name-calling, family diversity, stereotypes of homosexuality"
Objectives
Students Will Be Able to:
- Identify derogatory names.
- Explain why name-calling is unacceptable.
- Discuss common feelings connected to name-calling, both of the person
being harassed as well as of the person doing the name-calling.
- Understand how homophobic name-calling is the same as other types
of name-calling.
- Identify ways to support people who are victims of name-calling.
- Understand how name-calling can escalate into physical violence.
Procedure - Day 1
Viewing
- Show the segment of the video starting with "LYRIC is kind of
a centerstone..." (NO PICTURE, SOUND ONLY) Continue through the
conversations between Felicia and her dad. Stop after her father, Walter,
talks about meeting Rachel.
- Discuss the students' observations. Have them profile all the people
who spoke. Emphasize the importance of creating an image from just a
few words. Replay the segment showing the visual images. Ask how their
profiles differ from their observations. Explain that stereotypes occur
when we label people and general- ize about them based on characteristics.
- Explain that there are many reasons for calling others names: low
self-esteem (including the fear of being different and of not being
accepted), general feelings of frustration, the perceived need to feel
superior. Name-calling minimizes the importance and existence of the
other person. Ask students why they would do this.
- Ask how the students feel about LYRIC, the community center for gay
and lesbian youth. Does it make them feel uncomfortable? Would they
feel comfortable hanging out there? Ask how the gay teens feel when
they spend most of their day around people who are homophobic. Identify
any organizations that exclude minorities (eg., Boy Scouts, KKK).
Procedure - Day 2
- Explain that this lesson is designed to teach students that schools
should be a safe place for all people, regardless of race, religion,
gender, sexual orientation, age or ability.
- Begin lesson by having the class brainstorm a list of the most commonly
heard slurs at school. Write them on the board, being careful to get
a broad range of categories. If students do not volunteer a wide variety
of slurs, ask them to list slurs used against particular groups of people.
Use the following cate- gories: race, ethnicity, class, religion, gender,
looks, ability, immigration status, age, sexual orientation. For example:
| Name/Slur Used |
Feelings of Targeted Person |
| fatso |
ashamed/self-conscious |
| faggot |
embarrassed/outcast |
| nigger |
disrespected/dehumanized |
| wetback |
alienated/hated |
| dyke |
ostracized/self-conscious |
| snob |
rejected/scorned |
| gimp |
belittled/defenseless |
- Discuss how, regardless of category, all name-calling is hurtful and
unacceptable.
Viewing
- Cue video to where the older man says: "My poor father couldn't
understand what was happening..." Show segment and stop at: "Not
since the crackdown of the 1950s had San Francisco's gays been the targets
of such hostility." Discuss the son's actions. Where did his hate
come from? What made him want to pick fights?
- Fast forward to the scene that begins with Anita Bryant singing. Show
segment through: "They took their cue from the civil rights movement.
They gathered, and they marched." Discuss how this anti- homosexual
movement helped fuel the fire of hatred and violence.
- Discuss stereotyping. Stereotypes result in misunderstandings of individual
people. Because they are inaccurate portrayals, they are painful and
attack a person's self-esteem. Ultimately, stereotypes result in prejudice
and negative generalizations, which can lead to violence against the
stereotyped group. Ask students how name-calling escalated into violence
and destruction.
Extension
Ask students if they can relate any personal experiences where name-calling
escalated from words into physical violence. Include experiences within
the family, at school, during an athletic event, at a concert or party.
Ask if they felt afraid, angry, inclined to fight. What could they have
done to make the situation better or to have avoided it?
Divide students into groups and have them discuss the following questions.
Have one student record the answers for the group.
- Why do people call others names?
- How does it feel when someone calls them names?
- What are some alternatives to name-calling?
- How can they help people who are victims of name-calling?
Share group answers to questions A and B. Write student responses to
C and D to post in the classroom. (Answers might include: Don't call names
at all; let people know how you are feeling instead of calling names;
be supportive of victims of name-calling; ask an adult for help.) Refer
to the list throughout the year, reinforcing how students can assist others
who are victims of name-calling.
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