Making a difference in the world

To celebrate all the brave men, women and children who have, and continue to, effect change in the world around us, the NYC Department of Education Office of Curriculum, Standards and Academic Engagement, Division of Teaching and Learning, is dedicating the month of February to activism.  Activism is defined as an intended action to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change, mostly through influencing laws. [i] When we think about individuals involved in activism, we may think of people like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who helped African-Americans and other disenfranchised groups obtain progress on civil rights in the United States or Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of the Indian independence movement, who introduced the world to nonviolence through boycotting.[ii] We learned from Dr. King and Gandhi, that one does not have to be famous, or wealthy to make a difference in the world around us in a big way. Every day people who are passionate about a specific cause, are also able to stand up for and implement. This action can take place in many forms, such as writing a letter to your elected official to see issues that students care about addressed or submitting a proposal for an after-school program in your community to keep students involved in constructive activities. In the spirit to foster activism in all NYC public schools, we will cover the following themes: Black History Month, the U.S. Census 2010, Haiti, and President’s Day.