Multicultural Studies: Understanding Diversity Through Literature & Composition

DESCRIPTION: Multicultural Studies is a diversity education course that is dedicated to helping students better understand their world and the people who live in it. Through the use of select literary texts, primary sources, geographical explorations, and more, students will be educated, informed, and equipped with knowledge on a variety of topics. Critical thinking, research, writing, project-based learning, Socratic Seminar, and media literacy activities are emphasized. This class is aimed at encouraging tolerance, promoting inclusivity, and fostering equality, justice, and equity.

CLASS CODE: MCS

INSTRUCTORS:

Kimberly Teamer (MCS.teamerk@gmail.com)

Grazonte Sanders (academy@byfaithconsulting.com)

LOCATION: DCHE@ Stone Mountain First United Methodist Church

CLASS SCHEDULE: Wednesdays - 1:30 P.M. to 2:30 P.M. (60-minutes)

DEPARTMENT: Middle School, High School (Grades: 7th, 8th, 9th)

* Advanced 6th graders may be considered for participation with the instructor’s permission.

RECOMMENDED AGES: 12-15 

MAXIMUM ENROLLMENT: 12

LAST DAY FOR COURSE ENROLLMENT (First Semester): Wednesday, September 21, 2022

LAST DAY FOR COURSE ENROLLMENT (Second Semester): Wednesday, January 25, 2022

COURSE TEXT: A Different Mirror for Young People: A History of Multicultural America by Ronald Takaki 

* Supplementary literature will be recommended for this course.

AY 2022-2023 SUPPLEMENTARY LITERATURE CONSIDERATIONS:

- The Constitution of the United States and The Declaration of Independence by Delegates of the Constitutional Convention

- Words Aptly Spoken: American Documents by Jen Greenholt

- Our Nation's Documents: The Written Words That Shaped Our Country by TIME

- I, Too, Sing America: Three Centuries of African American Poetry by Catherine Clinton

- Here in Harlem: Poems in Many Voices by Walter Dean Myers

- Juba! by Walter Dean Myers

- Call and Response: The Story of Black Lives Matter by Veronica Chambers

- We Are Still Here!: Native American Truths Everyone Should Know by Traci Sorell

- The Bridge Home by Padma Venkatraman

- Unsettled by Reem Faruqi 

- Who Was Cesar Chavez? by Dana Meachen Rau

- Jessie De La Cruz: A Profile of a United Farm Worker by Gary Soto

- Mexican American Civil Rights Movement by Christine Honders

- The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank

- The Complete Maus: A Survivor's Tale by Art Spiegelman

- Escape: Children of the Holocaust by Allan Zullo

- Finding Junie Kim by Ellen Oh

- They Called Us Enemy by George Takei

- Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai

- Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution by Ji-li Jiang

- Born Behind Bars by Padma Venkatraman

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* All students who have completed the course registration process will receive the official MCS Supplementary Book List and Course Syllabus.

* All recommended supplementary reading material will be available via Open Library, Project Gutenberg, Hoopla, Georgia Pines, Overdrive, Internet Archive Digital Library, and/or through the Public Library System.

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TUITION: $40 per month per student or $150 per semester

PAYMENT METHOD 1: Cash App - $D6CCAKIM

PAYMENT METHOD 2: Pay Pal - paypal.me/MCSTEAMK

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CLASS REQUIREMENTS:

1) An active student email address will be required for this class.

2) A Computer, Chrome Notebook, or Tablet with wireless access is required. 

3) A 5-subject spiral bound notebook with pockets is strongly recommended for student use both in class and outside of class.

4) Students will need a pen or pencil and a highlighter.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

* Approximately 1-3 hours of homework time per week will be needed.

* Quizzes and tests will be incorporated in this course.

* Students will receive a course grade at the end of each semester. (Grades are determined based on classroom participation, graded assignments, projects, quizzes, & tests. Grades will not be released if assignments have not been submitted.)

* MCS offers 3 Educational Tracks: A (Audit), G (General), and ADV (Advanced)

* A final exam option will be made available for students. (Parents should contact MCS.teamerk@gmail.com to learn more.)

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* A parental advisory is indicated. While we have made every effort to screen these books, parents should understand that the listed titles may present with mature themes. Parents are strongly encouraged to engage in family read-alouds and have discussions at home, as needed. 

* Refer to gadoe.org to review course standards and codes. (2023)