Voices into Action – Activism meets Education on Anti-Discrimination Course Site
Are you interested in an education website that tackles tough issues related to immigration or discrimination? Check out Voices into Action, a website with free study materials that launched in 2015.
Voices into Action is the recent and second initiative from FAST (Fighting Antisemitism Together) founded in 2005. Their mission is to “explore the human rights issues around anti-semitism, discrimination, prejudice and hatred.” Obviously the initial motivation of FAST is to battle anti-semitism but the Voices site widens the scope to include discussion of issues like fairness in immigration law, and the treatment of refugees (as seen in Unit 4, Immigration).
In a letter on the website, sponsors Elizabeth and Tony Comper outline some of the topics and rationale behind the project: “The harsh facts about immigration, the Holocaust, genocide, homophobia, and the aboriginal experience will open your students’ eyes to the unspeakable atrocities of the past that continue to happen around the world.”
Will teachers use this with students? Will students be interested in this subject matter? It’s tough to say. There’s little doubt that more promotion of the benefits of multiculturalism is always welcome, yet I feel this subject matter is obviously difficult. Will a LINC ESL teacher use be able to use these materials with a class that has refugees from war torn areas? I don’t know the answer to that- but I welcome you to comment and share your opinion,
The website looks slick, and has a variety of content. I intend to explore it and update this post in the coming weeks.
