Future Anti-Bias Leadership Opportunities for our 8th Graders

We’ve hit the pavement running in the leadership and moderator realm by having 8th graders take the lead on our first two public presentations. Our Human Rights Campaign’s “National Coming Out Day” panel discussion was expertly moderated by Anna Partridge and Traciemichael Robinson, while our Dr. Bernice Sandler presentation was handily hosted by Anja Brandon-Drevitch and Emma McCune. On the horizon are a myriad of other leadership opportunities as the 8th grade takes the lead in the SGS anti-bias program. Based upon the all-school anti-bias program survey the Anti-bias Committee administered at the beginning of the month, we’ve come up with the following workshops/ seminars/presentations:

• November: Personal Choices: SGS aspires to be a place where everyone can feel validated as an individual. Sometimes we miss the mark as we seem to project an SGS agenda that feels exclusive rather than inclusive. This session will examine those areas of personal choice that can separate us rather than bring us together: political affiliation, liberal versus conservative stances, herbivores versus omnivores, musical predilections, clothing choices…the list is long. We will entertain the notion that "there's a right answer to anti-bias issues” and will seek to embrace the complexity of personal choice.

• January: Humor and the role it plays in both oppression and liberation! In addition, we’ll examine the role “political correctness” (or the lack thereof) plays in humor. What makes stuff funny? Who has permission to tell a certain type of joke, and who has permission to laugh?

• February: “Male-bashing” - particularly as it plays out in our SGS community. SGS students have sometimes wondered if by promoting women we aren’t subtly and not-so-subtly “bashing” men; this presentation is aimed at addressing this concern. In addition to a panel made up of many of our own SGS male faculty and staff, we’ll also welcome Jo Sanders, Gender Equity Specialist, who’ll add some historical perspective.

• March: Body Image Issues: size, looks, eating disorders… we’re hoping to convince Jean Kilbourne (author of “Can’t Buy Me Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel” and award-winning documentarian of “Killing Us Softly,” “Slim Hopes” and “Calling the Shots” which deal with various women’s issues in the media) to join us for this investigation of female body image issues.

• May: Ally-ship revisited. Our intention is to close each academic year with a renewed call to active and effective ally-ship as we work together to generate a real and vibrant anti-bias climate at SGS. Rather than stopping short at “What’s going on?” we’ll seek to take the next step as we address “And what can I do about it?”

In addition to the all-school programs, which we’ll help develop and orchestrate, the 8th grade will also begin working on an interactive anti-bullying workshop that we’ll present to the 5th and 6th grades. In this manner, we’ll not only hone our burgeoning leadership skills, but will also continue to strive to improve our SGS community and commitment to social justice right here in our own backyard.