My Name Is, Sneetches, & Let Them Play; Bully 4

Discrimination

Discrimination is not a thing of the past; incidents of prejudice and discrimination happen every day.  People are called hurtful names, excluded from educational opportunities,  excluded from job opportunities, and paid less for the same work.  Acts of vandalism of homes and places of worship, and acts of violence toward people are the worst forms of prejudice.  Children are not born prejudice, it is a learned behavior.

My Name Is...

Hi, my name is Tuyen.  I come from Vietnam where my name means Gentle River.  Here boys and girls in school laugh at my name which makes me very sad.  I want to make friends with other children, but it’s hard.

Hi, my name is Tark and my family comes from Bosnia.  We were very poor and I use to beg for food on the streets.  Now we live here, but my English is not good and I am made fun of and teased.  I just want to get along with the other children.

My name is Maria.  My parents are migrant workers and pick vegetables in the fields.  We move around a lot for their work.  I have trouble reading and some of the other kids at school call me stupid, which hurts my feelings.  If we didn’t constantly move, maybe school would be easier for me.

The Sneetches, by Dr. Seuss; Younger

The story is about prejudice and discrimination.  The Sneetches who have a green star on their bellies are the in crowd, while the Sneetches without stars are shunned.  In the end the Sneetches find that neither plain-belly or star-belly Sneetches are superior, and they are able to get along and become friends.

Art Activity: Sneetches Bookmark
Scroll to bottom of post for outline.  Trace Sneetch bookmark on yellow card stock, cut out and draw on face.  Trace and cut out collar from white card stock and glue on.  Cut thin pieces of black card stock, curl up somewhat and glue on the head.

Let Them Play, by Margot Theis Raven; Older
True story about segregated Charleston, South Carolina, 1955:  There are 62 official Little League programs in South Carolina.  All but one team is composed entirely of white players.  One YMCA formed an all black team (Cannon Street), and had hopes of playing in the state's annual Little League Tournament.  The other leagues refused to play against the black team and pulled out of the program.  As the remaining Little League team in the state, Cannon Street was named state winner by default.  While the Cannon Street team is invited to the game as guests, they are not allowed to participate since they have not officially played and won their state's tournament.


Activity: Let Them Play
Write how it would make you feel if you were not allowed to do something because of the color of your skin?