Learning to Give, Curriculum Division of The LEAGUE

The LEAGUE

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Power, Power, Who Holds the Power?

Lesson 1:

From Unit For Goodness Sake, Why Don't We Give More Power to the People?

Lesson

Handouts

Academic Standards

Philanthropy Framework

9th-12th Grade

Subjects:

Library / Technology, Philanthropy and Social Studies

Key Words/Concepts click to view

PHIL:	African American; Altruism; Asians; Business; Charity; Citizenship/Civic Engagement; Hispanics; Native Americans; Nonprofit Sector; Women
SOC:	Advocacy; Business; Citizenship/Civic Engagement; Common Good; Discrimination; Diversity; Good Character; Government; Historical Biographies; LEAGUE Optional Lesson: King Day; Persecution; Personal Virtue; Research; Rights/Responsibilities

Purpose:

The learner will define the third sector and explain why it is important. Students will research United States nonprofit institutions, specifically those which minority groups accessed and used as an alternative power structure.

Duration:

Four Fifty-Five Minute Class Periods

Objectives:

The learner will:

define and use the vocabulary of philanthropy.
research and describe historical institutions and leaders that acted as an alternative power structure in American society to improve conditions for the common good.

Materials:

Student copies of "Learning to Give" Glossary of Philanthropic Terms (Attachment One)
Student copies of Philanthropic Historical Web Sites (Attachment Two)
Rubric for Historical Research (Attachment Three)

Handout 1: "Learning To Give" Glossary of Philanthropic Terms
Handout 2: Philanthropic Historical Web Sites (Alternative Power Structure)
Handout 3: Rubric for Historical Research

Instructional Procedure(s):

Anticipatory Set:

As students enter the room, address as many as possible by saying, "Welcome, Citizen Smith or Citizen Brown, etc." Ask students to signal with a "thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs sideways motion" whether they felt a "positive, negative, or neutral" reaction to being addressed as "citizen." Discuss.

Distribute "Learning to Give" Glossary of Philanthropic Terms (Attachment One) and have the learners read the definition of the word "citizen."
Write the following journal statement on the board: Choose from one of the following two quotations and describe what the statement means to you.
"The highest office in a democracy is that of citizen."
— Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter
or
"As citizens, we have every right to raise hell when we see injustice done, or the public interest betrayed, or the public process corrupted."
— John W. Gardner
Give the learners about five minutes to write their answers, and take another five minutes to discuss their answers.
Have the learners read the following definitions: business, government, and nonprofit sector. Get examples of the terms from the learners.
Explain to the learners that the nonprofit sector is much more important than they may realize. According to Lester M. Salaman and Helmut K. Anheier:
In the United States, the third sector [nonprofit sector] accounts for over one half of all hospital beds, one half of all colleges and universities, most of the social services, and almost all of the cultural activity. It has also given rise to a variety of social and political movements like the environmental, women's, and civil rights movements that have challenged business and government.
Go over the remaining terms in Attachment One: "Learning to Give" Glossary of Philanthropic Terms. Divide the learners into groups of five, assigning two words from the list to each group. Give them time to design a short role-play illustrating the term, and have the rest of the groups write down what they think the term is. Announce the winning teams.
Give the learners Philanthropic Historical Web Sites (Attachment Two) which lists philanthropic historical Web sites listing groups that were used as alternative power structures to create positive changes in American society. Form the learners into groups of two. Have each team choose a group within a time period that they wish to portray. The groups available are in five categories: African-Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, Asians, and women. There also will be four different time periods: 1800-1850,1851-1900, 1901-1950, and 1951-2001. Distribute Rubric for Historical Research (Attachment Three) and discuss the rubrics for the task. If you have a computer lab, have the learners access the various Web sites that are listed or go to the library/media center and have them research various books and periodicals. Allow three days for preparation of the material and presentations to the class. Give extra credit to learners who use props and/or dress as a person in the group would have dressed during the time period, thus making the presentation more authentic.

Assessment:

The learner will complete a written paragraph concerning a philanthropic journal question.
Participating in a cooperative learning group, the learner will help to design a skit/role-play of terms that are indicative of the three different sectors of a civil society that we are focusing on in this lesson.
The learner will perform research on a historical philanthropic organization, and be able to tell the story of how the organization acted as an alternative power structure in American society to improve conditions for the common good.

Bibliographical References:

Halperin, Samuel. A Guide for the Powerless and Those Who Don't Know Their Own Power:
A Primer on the American Political Process. Washington, DC: American Youth Policy Forum, 2001, p.2, p.9.
Salamon, Lester M. and Helmut K. Anheier. Defining the Non-Profit Sector: A Cross-National Analysis. New York: Manchester University Press, 1997, p.3.

Lesson Developed and Piloted by:

Libby Brown
Jackson Public Schools
Jackson High School
Jackson, MI 49201

Handouts:

Handout 1Print Handout 1

"Learning To Give" Glossary of Philanthropic Terms

advocacy
To write or speak in favor of; to support.

altruism
Selfless concern for the welfare of others

business
A profit-making organization

charity
Money or help given to aid the needy; an organization, fund or institution whose purpose is to aid those in need - derived from the Christian concept of caritas, meaning love of one's neighbor.

church
Faith institution; a building for Christian worship; a congregation of public Christian worship

citizen
A resident of a town or city; a native or naturalized person entitled to protection from a government.

common good
Resources shared for the collective benefit of the whole group of people.

diversification
The great range of individual differences that exist in each species

government
The authoritative administration of public policy and affairs of a nation, state or city; the system or policy by which a political unit is governed; any governed territory, district or area.

Philanthropy
The giving of one's time, talent or treasure for the sake of another - or for the common good

third sector
Independent sector, non-governmental, nonprofit or non-business sector

volunteer
One who offers himself for a service of his own free will.

Handout 2Print Handout 2

Philanthropic Historical Web Sites (Alternative Power Structure)

Japanese American Citizen's League
http://www.jacl.org

United States-Japan Foundation
http://www.us-jf.org/org.htm

National Japanese American Historical Society
http://www.nikkeiheritage.org/about/about.html

Densho-The Japanese American Legacy Project
http://www.densho.org/

Japanese American Veterans Association
http://www.javadc.org

Catholic Youth Foundation
http://www.catholicyouth.org

Crow Canyon Archaeological Center
http://www.crowcanyon.org/

Great Promise, Inc.
http://www.austinpowwow.org

The Heritage Institute
http://www.hol.edu/philosophy.html

Alaska Native Heritage Center
http://www.alaskanative.net

National Indian Youth Leadership Project
http://www.niylp.org/node

United National Indian Tribal Youth
http://www.unityinc.org/

National Council of Negro Women
http://www.ncrw.org

Free African Society
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part3/3h465.html

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
http://www.naacp.org

National Urban League
http://www.nul.org/

Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee
http://www.stanford.edu/~ccarson/articles/black_women_3.htm

Southern Christian Leadership Conference
http://encarta.msn.com/ Type in "Southern Christian Leadership Conference"
http://www.cviog.uga.edu Then type in "Southern Christian Leadership Conference" under "search."

Congress of Racial Equality
http://www.core-online.org/history/history.htm

Black Panthers
http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761563992/Black_Panther_Party.html

African Methodist Episcopal Church
http://www.amecnet.org

American Female Moral Reform Society
http://womhist.binghamton.edu/oberlin/doc7.htm

Freedman's Aid Movement
http://www.binghamton.edu/womhist/teacher/aid.htm
Go to Projects and click on Women and the Freedman's Aid Movement, 1863-1870.

Women's Christian Temperance Movement
http://www.wctu.com/history.html

Female Labor Reform Association
http://www.britannica.com/women/articles/Bagley_Sarah_G.html

Hull House
http://www.chipublib.org/004chicago/timeline/hullhouse.html

United Farm Workers
http://www.ufw.org

Handout 3Print Handout 3

Rubric for Historical Research

In order to receive a 4 point score, the learner must:

Research a historical institution that acted as an alternative power structure in American society to improve conditions for the common good.

Describe how the historical institution had global impact on the modern world.

Illustrate how this institution reacted to historic violations of human dignity involving discrimination, persecution, crimes against humanity, and how the institution reacted to them.

Identify benefits and challenges in the historical institution and how it related to diversity in American life.

Show how individual rights and the concept of democracy were important to the historical institution.

Using various means, present research findings in a presentation format.

In order to receive a 3 point score, the learner must:

Research a historical institution that acted as an alternative power structure in American society to improve conditions for the common good.

Describe how the historical institution had global impact on the modern world.

Illustrate how this institution reacted to historic violations of human dignity involving discrimination, persecution, crimes against humanity, and how the institution reacted to them.

Using various means, present research findings in a presentation format.

In order to receive a 2 point score, the learner must:

Research a historical institution that acted as an alternative power structure in American society to improve conditions for the common good.

Using various means, present research findings in a presentation format.

In order to receive a 1 point score, the learner must:

Research a historical institution that acted as an alternative power structure in American society to improve conditions for the common good.

In order to receive a 0, the learner must:

Show no evidence of knowledge of any of the above elements.

Academic Standards:

State/Country:

Philanthropy Framework:

Unit Contents:

Overview:For Goodness Sake, Why Don't We Give More Power to the People? Summary

Lessons:

1.: Power, Power, Who Holds the Power?
2.: Changing for the Common Good
3.: Power to the People
4.: Surveys and Nonprofits