Lesson #1 -
Long Hair: Sign of What?
Objectives
Students should know that:
1.
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Long hair was a form of expression
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2.
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Long hair symbolized many issues from the peace movement to the First Amendment’s guarantee of free speech.
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Note to teacher
: This lesson should come at the end of the first week as part of a lesson on the visible signs of the counter-culture. The teacher could start the class by asking students to describe what a typical “hippie” of the 60s looked like. These characteristics could be listed on the board:
1.
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distinctive dress blue jeans, embroidered shirts love beads, hand-made sandals, arm bands, fringed vests, buttons with slogans
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2.
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long hair on men;
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natural hair on women (frizzy, curly or straight - whatever was natural for them)
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Ask students whether they think that the youth of the 60s were just starting new trends in fashion or if possibly they were expressing something by their appearance?
Hand out a passage from James S. Kunen’s
Strawberry Statement
on hair (pp. 71-73). In this reading, Kunen, a Columbia student who was moderately radical and who took part in many of the demonstrations in 1968, argues with his father about the length of his hair and the bad associations people make when they see someone with long hair. Kunen defends himself, saying that long hair is a badge of peace because armies shave men and thus depersonalize and humiliate them. He makes other analogies in the section that students would probably find amusing, while informative. The whole section could probably fit on one long ditto.
When students finish reading the article ask them what they think about people who wear/wore long hair. What were some popular stereotypes or myths about men with long hair?
What reasons did the author (Kunen) give for wearing long hair? Was he just following a fad or was he saying something to society?
What about men’s hair styles today? Do they reflect fashion?
Are they expressing a message?
If time permits, students can read another article from
Voices of Dissent
entitled “Is Long Hair Unconstitutional?” If class time is up, assign this for homework. In this article, students will read about the case involving a young man suspended from school because of his hair length. His parents appealed the decision and sought legal aid from the American Civil Liberties Union. At a meeting of the Board of Trustees and the ACLU lawyer, the question of freedom of expression as guaranteed by the First Amendment is discussed. Questions of conformity and disobedience are raised.
Ask students to review the First Amendment to the Constitution. Students can either discuss or write about answers to the following questions:
1.
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Does the First Amendment intend to mean only “speech” or does it include other forms of expression?
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2.
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Should there be any limits on what students should wear to school? If so, what are they?
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3.
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Should students be allowed to participate in making laws that regulate their behavior? Do you feel that there is an opportunity for students to do so at Lee?
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Lesson #2 -
Dissent
Violent or non-violent tactics:
Objectives
Students should know that:
1.
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Dissent takes many forms
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2.
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Some forms of dissent are more effective than others.
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Note to teacher
: This lesson comes at the end of week two or at the beginning of week three when students will have already read accounts by King, Malcolm X, have read about the four episodes of student protest (see Unit Outline Week Two), and have seen filmstrips listed in activities for week two.
Ask students to review the meaning of the words “dissent” and “dissenter”. A good discussion of this can be found in
Voices of Dissent
(pp. 4-14).
Then ask students to name the ways in which individuals might dissent from policies or actions with which they do not approve. List them on the board. Some actions might include the following:
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- writing letters
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- “sitting-in”
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- boycott (stores, classes, etc.)
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- occupying a building
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- leaving the country
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- speaking out against policies or actions
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- threatening others with physical harm
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- voting against government officials
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- refusing to vote
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- using violence when necessary (throwing rocks at law enforcement officials, etc.)
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- marching to protest against policies or actions
Ask students to rank these in order of what they think their effectiveness is, placing Chose which they believe to be most capable of bringing about change at the top, and those which they believe to be least effective at the bottom. Then ask them to explain why they ranked them as they did.
Discuss with students the following:
Is dissent good for society?
When is dissent not good?
When, if ever, should dissent be forbidden?
At what point does an individual turn to violence in the expression of dissent?
Why did students of the 60s gradually become more violent in their dissent?
What are the destructive results of violent dissent?
At what point would you become violent in expressing dissent?