Thursday, October 1. 2020

Today's classes are: 

9:15 - 11:50 D Block Social and Environmental Science

12:30 - 3:05 A Block Criminology 

D Block Social and Environmental Sciences - Today we start Vanier's Terry Fox Day with a video presentation at 9:20. This should run for approximately 25 minutes. It is a combination of our pre-taped "assembly" and a Terry Fox Foundation video. After, as a group of grade 11's, you'll be called down to take part in the "Vanier Terry Fox Run". 

Later, with Young, we'll be back in the Learning Commons to continue work on the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe protest from 2016 in the Oceti Sakowin Oyate Territory over the Dakota Access Pipeline. From Hyphen magazine:

Between 1779 and 1871, the US entered over 500 treaties with Native American tribes, all of which have been broken or nullified. One of the largest acts of abuse was the Dawes Act, which allowed the federal government to divide land for Westward expansion and began a period of forced assimilation by turning Native Americans into subsistence farmers and removing tribal governments. The consequences of this act carried on into the 1970s during the Boarding School Era, where Native American children were taken from their families, made to cut their hair, change their names, and relinquish their language and traditions, often while facing physical and sexual abuse...a pattern similar to here in Canada.

So first...please watch the Mni Wiconi video then complete the handout I gave you yesterday

The Standing Rock protest is a modern version of the conflict of worldviews between the European settler/colonial worldview and the Indigenous worldview. So who is a settler? What are the differences between Indigenous Peoples Worldviews vs Western Worldviews? From Dismantling the Western, Settler-Colonial Worldview:

Our current American, settler-colonial, cultural morality and spirituality are developed from a particular worldview. For example, how we understand nature is firmly rooted in the particular ways in which we view the world. From a Western worldview, nature is to be studied, harnessed, developed and exploited. From an Indigenous worldview, humanity is formed by nature — not the opposite. In an Indigenous worldview we are intricately related to all other parts of creation. This worldview, when it was the dominant worldview on Turtle Island (America), generally produced harmony and a relatively light impact on the earth, at least up until the spread of settler-colonialism and modern capitalism.

We are using North America as an example but there are water issues between Indigenous people and European settlers in Ecuador, Colombia, Chile, Brazil and Peru as well. Lastly please try to answer the following:

1. Robert D. Bullard, the dean of the school of public affairs at Texas Southern University, defines environmental justice like this: Environmental justice is defined as the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. Is the Dakota Access pipeline an example of environmental injustice? Why or why not?
2. Is completing the pipeline — or stopping the pipeline — necessarily a win-lose situation? Is there a compromise solution that might please both protesters and pipeline supporters? And if not, is there a resolution that at least might be deemed fair and equitable considering all of the circumstances?

To help: Dakota Access Pipeline: What You Need to Know

A Block Criminology - We'll continue our look at sexual assault today. I need you to answer the question:

Identify and explain the causes for sexual assault

So to help answer the question I'd like to share the CBC DocZone Documentary "Sext Up Kids" with you. The documentary exposes how growing up in a hyper-sexualized culture hurts our kids and sends the wrong messages that could potentially lead to sexual assaults. From the CBC site:

From tiny tots strutting bikini-clad bodies in beauty pageants to companies marketing itty-bitty thongs and padded bras to 9-year olds, images of ever-younger sexualized girls have become commonplace.  Add to that: ever-younger boys with 24-7 access to hard-core internet porn.   It saturates their lives - from skate parks to the school bus – by the time they’re eighteen, 80 percent of boys are watching porn online.

So we'll watch the documentary and use information from it to help with our blog entry from Monday.
 

For more info check out the following sites:

What Teenagers Are Learning From Online Porn
Pornography is more than just sexual fantasy. It’s cultural violence.
United Nations What is Sexual Violence
Why Do Men Sexually Assault Women? Sexual violence against women manifests, rather than violates, society’s norms
Government of Quebec Media Kit on Sexual Violence

And check out:

Love is Respect
Alberta Association of Sexual Assault Centres
Sexual Assault in Canada
Victoria Sexual Assault Centre
The Devastation of Sexual Assault (pdf)
Comox Valley Transition Society
Comox Valley Family Services

For more info check out the following sites:
Teen Handbook on Sexual Assault (Sarnia Sexual Assault Survivor's Centre)
The Devastation of Sexual Assault (Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime)
Prevent Sexual Violence: Love Shouldn't Hurt Youth Zone
Alberta Association of Sexual Assault Centres