How do I show high school/middle school kids the beauty of generic clothing, etc? What is a good lesson to teach that shows them the dangers in getting caught up in the material life?
2006-08-18 08:46:30 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Education & Reference ➔ Teaching
Oprah did a good show about the "Debt Diet"..See if you can get a copy of that to play for your students. And there is a documentary called "Born Rich" that I think you should play for your students.
I was born poor and black in the ghetto, and I can tell you that the reason why many blacks live in poverty is because they choose to spend thier money on gucci handbags, air jordan sneakers, and tommy hilfiger clothes when they cant even afford a decent home, or afford to pay for their kids college education. Its a old cycle...The reason I made it Out of the ghetto is because I had a mother who refused to buy her kids designer clothes, designer shoes, and expensive cars--so she could save her money to put a down payment on a house in the suburbs in one of the best school systems in America--so I could get a top of the line education. (Now I'm a writer at a magazine, and I am starting my own business--and I still shop at thrift stores--and look like a million dollars!)...That Oprah Show had a black married couple (The Bradleys) that was in $170,000 debt because the wife spent all the money on fancy cars and expansive clothes--trying to live the "glamorous life"---Meanwhile, they're about to lose their home.
Poor and many middle (and upper) class blacks get their self esteem from expensive clothes--they have no idea that their value comes from the gifts that God has given them that mney CAN NOT BUY--Intelligence, Beauty, Artistic Abilty, and Talent.
Thats a great lesson that you want to show--and it can change the course of their lives...But its tough living in this materialistic society. And its not just poor blacks who believe that material items give them value: People like Donald Trump and Paris Hilton live extravagent lifestyles showing off their wealth in audacious ways--instead of starting college funds for poor Americans like Bill & Melina Gates.
Maybe you can do a long Lesson Plan starting off with making your students NOT wear designer clothes for 3 weeks--and telling them to write about how that makes them truly feel. They can share and discuss how their self esteem is tied into material items..Then that they list the qualities that have that Money Can Not Buy...and ask if they would trade those quailties for 1 million dollars--like, would they be willing to Not be able to write creatively agian in life--for a million dollars. Or, would they trade their beauty or the ability to walk--for 1 million dollars.
Then, if you know any millionare's kids--maybe you can bring them into your class to talk freely about how money has not made them happy--and how they would like to have some of the things Your students have--instead of money. There is this great documentary called "Born Rich" that profiles America's wealthiest kids--and it's a glimpse into how glamorous, shallow, sad, and insulated their lives are. Play it for your students.
Maybe your students will see that what they have--is better than what rich people have.
Good Luck.
2006-08-18 12:19:31 · answer #1 · answered by Plus-Sized &Proud 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It's probably not really your place to counsel your kids on "the beauty of generic clothing" but maybe you could create a lesson based around poverty and try to make the kids be grateful for what they have.
2006-08-18 08:52:21 · answer #2 · answered by Samantha 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
maybe you can go to wal mart or target or jc penny, and take pics (or cut them out of ads). ask people to guess how much, or rate how "cute" it is, etc.....
or if u have money, u can buy some cute outfits that are cheap at kmart or whatever, ask a few kids to model them, and ask the class what they would think of the person wearing those clothes; preppy? chic? fashionable? etc.....
at the end, a lot of kids will probably guess the clothes are from Gap or Banana or expensive places, and u'll be like, Nope it's all from Target! hahaha :)
OOH also u can get pictures of clothes that mimic famous designers, and pics of the real designers..have them choose which one looks like the expensive one....!
2006-08-18 11:22:47 · answer #3 · answered by sasmallworld 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I found school uniform codes work very well at dong this. My kids were on uniforms while they were in school (now homeschooled) and they now they see a difference between them and kids who pay too much attention to clothing. I guess you could put a challenge in front of them. Can they go 1 month without designer clothing? If not, could they explain why?
Good luck!
2006-08-18 08:56:22 · answer #4 · answered by coolmom 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies (Hardcover)
by Naomi Klein -- make it mandatory reading
2006-08-18 09:03:16 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
show them how poor third world children are living by getting a video of poverty in africa from your library and still have beauty in them on the inside.
2006-08-18 08:55:28 · answer #6 · answered by I-C-U 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You might have them analyze the text and subtext of various ads.
2006-08-18 09:39:26 · answer #7 · answered by Benjamin N 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
require all work be submiited use open source software.
teach file extensions.
use .txt, html,odf, and pdf
then get fired
sadly, it's true
2006-08-18 14:00:18 · answer #8 · answered by greatire 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
make the book no logo required reading.
2006-08-18 08:51:39 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
you can't, they will have to learn themselves
2006-08-18 08:52:08 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋