Lit(eracy) Journal
 
Action Steps, Cont.
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
This is a Current Events literacy too!
 
Although we have interesting and valid ideas for our Causes, coming up with Ephemera and Action Steps has not been easy. Today we started our group work by looking at TODAY in the news. First we listened to a short radio broadcast about the “mothers of the disappeared” in Argentina. After clarifying the history (this protest has been going on weekly for 30 years), we looked at the picture above, answering these questions:
    *Is there ephemera here?
    *Was organization involved?
    *Is there follow-up to the protest?
    *What are the goals of the protest? Why do mothers continue to join?
    *Do we suppose there is a record of some type of who takes part in the protest?  
    *How did this protest get onto the radio?
 
Then we looked at a news headline from today, Immigration Protests. Skimming the article, we asked the same questions of this protest, connecting it to other events (the USA-Mexico wall, protests of this summer, local events) and reviewing our understandings.  
 
We reflected: Is taking part in a protest “a waste of a day?”  What needs to happen to make sure that an Action Step is successful?
 
This short lesson underscored the need for each group to plan carefully and completely, target a group, record the event and the participants in some way, and follow-up with the participants and with other necessary parties (organizations, etc.).
 
Some groups have realized that ephemera can be used effectively as part of an Action Step; other have realized that ephemera  can be powerful publicity. Many groups have refined and redrawn ephemera to make the message more powerful. Here are examples of some of the ephemera currently on the board in Room 241:
    *flyers:  CATS (Coalition Against Treacherous Strays), Freeport Recycles
    *buttons/pins: Paintball Freeport, Anti-Litter
    *baseball cap: Don’t Litter
    *Pencil: Don’t Litter
It is interesting how even ephemera takes time and planning in order to be effective! We have used digital tools and “old-fashioned” tools to create the ephemera - and we are ready for Action.