Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird and
Recognizing Discrimination
“You never really know a
man until you stand in his
shoes and walk around in
them.” – Harper Lee
Grade 10
George Westinghouse College Prep High School
Student Name: ____________________________________________
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Framing Questions
How do the literature and an understanding of the geography and culture from which it came
expand your world view?
Why do we study World Literature?
Why it is important to study other cultures and other people’s perspectives?
Essential Questions
What is discrimination?
Can you distinguish between various forms of discrimination, or are all forms of discrimination
equally destructive?
Unit Content Questions
How do I choose the best evidence for a given thesis statement?
How do I cite evidence correctly?
What are types of discrimination and examples of discrimination from TKAM and in the news?
Skills
Sentence Structure and Formation 16-27
Main Ideas and Author's Approach 16-27
Sentence Review: Independent/Dependent Clauses, Run-ons, Fragments
Evidence Selection: Correct Citations, Internal Citations, Works Cited, Paraphrases
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English II
Persuasive Essay: Discrimination
Project Summary: For this assignment you will be writing a persuasive essay about the
different forms of discrimination found throughout the world. You will be answering the
question:
Can you distinguish between various forms of discrimination, or are all forms of discrimination
equally destructive?
Purpose: You are writing to persuade the reader that your view of discrimination is the most
accurate using AWEs from To Kill A Mockingbird and various classroom texts to back up your
thesis.
Writer’s Role: You are a politician using research to convince people of your side.
Audience: The audience for this essay is your teacher and peers.
Form: Your writing should be in the form of a Mel-Con essay
College Readiness Standard Focus Areas (CRS):
CRS Standard #1, Organization: Writer effectively grabs the attention of the audience. Writer
demonstrates clear purpose and a clear understanding of the prompt with clear connecter and
thesis statement. Writer provides focus for the essay with a clear use of AWEs to back up
your main idea and thesis. Writer effectively summarizes the main points and restates the
thesis. Writer circulates the attention-getter. Writer clearly reiterates the purpose of the essay.
Writer effectively closes the essay with a great clincher statement.
CRS Standard #2: Position: Writer has a thorough, clear thesis statement. Writer effectively
answers the question using a formal tone. Writer demonstrates a clear understanding of the
prompt/issue through his/her thesis.
CRS Standard #3, English Focus: Writer includes no run-ons or fragments.
Focus Correction Areas (FCA’s):
FCA #1: Organization:
Your writing should be in Mel-Con Form with 5 paragraphs.
 Introduction: ACTS
 Body paragraph Mel-Con #1: (includes at least 2 AWE using proper MLA citation)
 Body Paragraph Mel-Con #2: (includes at least 2 AWE using proper MLA citation)
 Body Paragraph Mel-Con #3: (includes at least 2 AWE using proper MLA citation)
 Conclusion: STAC
Focus Correction Area (FCA) #2: The body of the essay, where you explain your three best
supporting arguments and back them up with at least three examples or pieces of evidence
that you found in the texts. You must have 2 AWEs cited correctly in each paragraph. The
other piece of evidence can be paraphrased, or your words only. Mel-Con Body Paragraphs
Focus Correction Area (FCA) #3: Editing for clarity: Using both the peer editing process
and personal editing process, students ensure writing is in a clear and formal tone.
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Biopoem
A biopoem is an eleven-line poem that tells the reader about a character or the person who wrote
it. For this assignment, you will pair with one or two other people to write a biopoem and select
evidence from the book that supports your poem. Prepare to read your poem aloud to our class.
Atticus
Fair, Responsible, Paternal, Educated
Father of Scout and Jem
Lover of Justice
Who feels love for his family, trust in the law, and empathy for others
Who needs Calpernia, Boo Radley, and a gun
Who fears ignorance, intolerance, and injustice
Who gives time, understanding, and his pocketwatch
Who would like his community to be more tolerant, the jury to find Tom innocent, and Scout to
stop fighting
Resident of Maycomb County
Finch
Evidence:
“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view - until
you climb into his skin and walk around in it” (Lee 30).
“Real courage is not a man with a gun in his hand” (Lee 116).
“The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience” (Lee 114).
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Biopoem Format
Please create yours on a separate piece of paper.
Circle your assigned character: Scout, Jem, Walter Cunningham, Judge Taylor, Heck Tate, Dill,
Calpurnia, Boo Radley, Bob Ewell, Ms. Maudie, Mayella, Mrs. Dubose
First Name
4 adjectives that describe him/her
Relationship to…
(Choose the most important relationship in her/his life)
Lover of…
(Who, or what, do he/she love most of all?)
Who feels (three things)
Who needs (three things)
Who fears (three things)
Who gives (three things
Who would like (three things)
Resident of…
(Where does he/she live? This can be her/his home, neighborhood, state, country, planet...)
Last Name
Three quotations with page numbers that support your choices:
1.
2.
3.
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Preparing for “The Danger of A Single Story”
Think about the last conflict you had with someone. What happened in your opinion? What do
you think the other party would say had happened?
Your Version:
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
What You Think Your Other Party's Version Might Be:
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
What might be the danger if this conflict was brought before a judge, a parent, or a teacher to
decide the consequences of the conflict and only your opponent was allowed to tell his or her
story?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
TED Talks: Novelist Chimamanda Adichie Discussion Questions
1. Comprehension: What does it mean to have only one single story of literature?
2. Comprehension: What are the dangers of a single story, according to Chimamanda
Adichie?
3. Application: Because we likely did not grow up in Nigeria, and likely only know about
Africa from popular images, how can we keep from thinking it’s just “a place of beautiful
landscapes, beautiful animals, and incomprehensible people, fighting senseless wars,
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dying of poverty and AIDS, unable to speak for themselves, and waiting to be saved, by a
kind, white foreigner”?
4. Inference: Adichie says, “Show a people as one thing, over and over again, and that is
what they become.” Why is this a problem?
5. Inference: What does Adichie mean by, “And the problem with stereotypes is not that
they are untrue, but that they are incomplete”?
6. Connection: Is there a single story of a people or a country that you have?
Paragraph topic: In her speech on the “Danger of the Single Story,” Adichie states, “The single story
creates stereotypes. And the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are
incomplete. They make one story become the only story.” What does Adichie mean by this statement?
What problems arise from “one story” becoming “the only story”?
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Anticipation Guide
The word prejudice means a preconceived idea or judgment. The Latin prefix pre- means
“before.” The Latin root -judic- meansto “judge” or “decide.”Other words using this root include
judge and judicial.
Respond to the following statements by placing either A (Agree)or D (Disagree) next to each one
to indicate your feelings. Your response should simply be your first impression in response to
each statement. You can also jot down comments about a statement, examples to support your
point of view, or mixed feelings you have about the statement. Be prepared to present your
perspectives to your classmates.
A = Agree D = Disagree
Start
of
Unit
End
of
Unit
1. All men and women are treated equally in society.
2. Girls should act like girls, and boys should act like boys.
3. In society, it’s okay to be different from what others consider “normal.”
4. People are either all good or all evil; there is no in-between.
5. Some words are so offensive that they should never be stated or written.
6. Under our justice system, all citizens are treated fairly in our courts of law.
7. This old saying still applies in society today: “Sticks and stones
may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”
8. Speaking standard English proves that a person is smart.
9. Children are products of their community.
10. We should follow only the laws in society that make sense to us.
11. Education gives everyone an equal opportunity to succeed.
12. When the law does not succeed in punishing a criminal, citizens should
be able to punish the criminal themselves.
13. If someone is on trial for murder, that person is probably guilty.
14. Discrimination under any circumstance is wrong.
15. Every individual in society is prejudiced about something
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Directions: Read the assigned pages by the assigned class period. Complete the comprehension
questions or vocabulary sections that go along with those chapters. Please answer in
COMPLETE sentences and with textual evidence. These are due when the entire part is
completed.
Out of Class Work:
Vocabulary you’ll need to know!
Words
What I THINK the word
means.
Diminutive
What the word really means.
Dispensation
Cleaved
Aberrations
Changelings
Obstreperous
Asafetida
Myopic
Fractious
Auspicious
Scuppernongs
SUMMARY of Chapter 4-6: This summary will constitute some of the novel that you
aren’t required to read. READ IT INSTEAD (unless you’re understanding and enjoying
the book, then read the book!)
Summary: Chapter 4
The rest of the school year passes grimly for Scout, who endures a curriculum that moves too
slowly and leaves her constantly frustrated in class. After school one day, she passes the Radley
Place and sees some tinfoil sticking out of a knothole in one of the Radleys’ oak trees. Scout
reaches into the knothole and discovers two pieces of chewing gum. She chews both pieces and
tells Jem about it. He panics and makes her spit it out. On the last day of school, however, they
find two old “Indian-head” pennies hidden in the same knothole where Scout found the gum and
decide to keep them.
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Summer comes at last, school ends, and Dill returns to Maycomb. He, Scout, and Jem begin their
games again. One of the first things they do is roll one another inside an old tire. On Scout’s turn,
she rolls in front of the Radley steps, and Jem and Scout panic. However, this incident gives Jem
the idea for their next game: they will play “Boo Radley.” As the summer passes, their game
becomes more complicated, until they are acting out an entire Radley family melodrama.
Eventually, however, Atticus catches them and asks if their game has anything to do with the
Radleys. Jem lies, and Atticus goes back into the house. The kids wonder if it’s safe to play their
game anymore.
Summary: Chapter 5
Jem and Dill grow closer, and Scout begins to feel left out of their friendship. As a result, she
starts spending much of her time with one of their neighbors: Miss Maudie Atkinson, a widow
with a talent for gardening and cake baking who was a childhood friend of Atticus’s brother,
Jack. She tells Scout that Boo Radley is still alive and it is her theory Boo is the victim of a harsh
father (now deceased), a “foot-washing” Baptist who believed that most people are going to hell.
Miss Maudie adds that Boo was always polite and friendly as a child. She says that most of the
rumors about him are false, but that if he wasn’t crazy as a boy, he probably is by now.
Meanwhile, Jem and Dill plan to give a note to Boo inviting him out to get ice cream with them.
They try to stick the note in a window of the Radley Place with a fishing pole, but Atticus
catches them and orders them to “stop tormenting that man” with either notes or the “Boo
Radley” game.
Summary: Chapter 6
Jem and Dill obey Atticus until Dill’s last day in Maycomb, when he and Jem plan to sneak over
to the Radley Place and peek in through a loose shutter. Scout accompanies them, and they creep
around the house, peering in through various windows. Suddenly, they see the shadow of a man
with a hat on and flee, hearing a shotgun go off behind them. They escape under the fence by the
schoolyard, but Jem’s pants get caught on the fence, and he has to kick them off in order to free
himself.
The children return home, where they encounter a collection of neighborhood adults, including
Atticus, Miss Maudie, and Miss Stephanie Crawford, the neighborhood gossip. Miss Maudie
informs them that Mr. Nathan Radley shot at “a Negro” in his yard. Miss Stephanie adds that Mr.
Radley is waiting outside with his gun so he can shoot at the next sound he hears. When Atticus
asks Jem where his pants are, Dill interjects that he won Jem’s pants in a game of strip poker.
Alarmed, Atticus asks them if they were playing cards. Jem responds that they were just playing
with matches. Late that night, Jem sneaks out to the Radley Place, and retrieves his pants.
Questions based on summary—circle the best answer and then, tell why you chose it:
1. If Boo Radley is so scary, what can you infer from them playing the “Boo Radley”
Game?
a. They liked the pennies and hoped Boo would leave more.
b. They knew Boo was watching and wanted to entertain him.
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c. They wanted to make fun of him because the gum was stale.
d. Jem wanted to show his sister and friend he was not afraid.
Why I chose this response:
2. What generalizations can you draw about Boo Radley from the information?
a. Miss Maudie has always liked Boo Radley.
b. That his father’s overzealous religious beliefs drove him crazy.
c. The kids acting out his family drama drove him crazy.
d. Atticus is worried about appearances.
Why I chose this response:
3. Why is Atticus alarmed at the kids playing strip poker with cards?
a. Cards are expensive and they do not have much money
b. Because they shouldn’t be playing strip poker at all let alone with cards
c. He is afraid of the “Negro” watching them and hurting them
d. He thinks Dill is a bad influence on his children
Why I chose this response:
4.
Chapters 7–8
Summary: Chapter 7
A few days later, after school has begun for the year, Jem tells Scout that he found the pants
mysteriously mended and hung neatly over the fence. When they come home from school that
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day, they find another present hidden in the knothole: a ball of gray twine. They leave it there for
a few days, but no one takes it, so they claim it for their own.
Unsurprisingly, Scout is as unhappy in second grade as she was in first, but Jem promises her
that school gets better the farther along one goes. Late that fall, another present appears in the
knothole—two figures carved in soap to resemble Scout and Jem. The figures are followed in
turn by chewing gum, a spelling bee medal, and an old pocket watch. The next day, Jem and
Scout find that the knothole has been filled with cement. When Jem asks Mr. Radley (Nathan
Radley, Boo’s brother) about the knothole the following day, Mr. Radley replies that he plugged
the knothole because the tree is dying.
Summary: Chapter 8
For the first time in years, Maycomb endures a real winter. There is even light snowfall, an event
rare enough for school to be closed. Jem and Scout haul as much snow as they could from Miss
Maudie’s yard to their own. Since there is not enough snow to make a real snowman, they build
a small figure out of dirt and cover it with snow. They make it look like Mr. Avery, an
unpleasant man who lives down the street. The figure’s likeness to Mr. Avery is so strong that
Atticus demands that they disguise it. Jem places Miss Maudie’s sunhat on its head and sticks
her hedge clippers in its hands, much to her chagrin.
That night, Atticus wakes Scout and helps her put on her bathrobe and coat and goes outside with
her and Jem. Miss Maudie’s house is on fire. The neighbors help her save her furniture, and the
fire truck arrives in time to stop the fire from spreading to other houses, but Miss Maudie’s house
burns to the ground. In the confusion, someone drapes a blanket over Scout. When Atticus later
asks her about it, she has no idea who put it over her. Jem realizes that Boo Radley put it on her,
and he reveals the whole story of the knothole, the presents, and the mended pants to Atticus.
Atticus tells them to keep it to themselves, and Scout, realizing that Boo was just behind her,
nearly throws up.
Despite having lost her house, Miss Maudie is cheerful the next day. She tells the children how
much she hated her old home and that she is already planning to build a smaller house and plant
a larger garden. She says that she wishes she had been there when Boo put the blanket on Scout
to catch him in the act.
5. Knowing about Boo’s family, what conclusion can you draw from Mr. Nathan Radley
plugging the hole in the tree?
a. The tree was dying.
b. Boo was giving away everything in the house and they were going poor.
c. That Boo was crazy and Mr. Nathan was afraid for the kids.
d. Mr. Nathan held the beliefs of his father.
Why I chose this response:
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6. What does the snow and fire symbolize?
a. winter and heat
b. cold and warm
c. hibernation and new beginnings
d. a new beginning
Why I chose this response:
Summary: Chapter 9
At school, Scout nearly starts a fight with a classmate named Cecil Jacobs after Cecil declares
that “Scout Finch’s daddy defends niggers.” Atticus has been asked to defend Tom Robinson, a
black man accused of raping a white woman. It is a case he cannot hope to win, but he tells Scout
that he must argue it to uphold his sense of justice and self-respect.
At Christmastime, Atticus’s brother, Jack, comes to stay with Atticus for a week during the
holidays. Scout generally gets along well with Uncle Jack, but when he arrives in Maycomb, she
begins cursing in front of him (a habit that she has recently picked up). After supper, Jack has
Scout sit on his lap and he warns her not to curse in his presence. On Christmas Day, Atticus
takes his children and Jack to Finch’s Landing, a rambling old house in the country where
Atticus’s sister, Alexandra, and her husband live. There, Scout endures Francis, Alexandra’s
grandson, who had been dropped off at Finch’s Landing for the holiday. Scout thinks Francis is
the most “boring” child she has ever met. She also has to put up with the prim and proper
Alexandra, who insists that Scout dress like a lady instead of wearing pants.
One night, Francis tells Scout that Dill is a runt and then calls Atticus a “nigger-lover.” Scout
curses him and beats him up. Francis tells Alexandra and Uncle Jack that Scout hit him, and
Uncle Jack spanks her without hearing her side of the story. After they return to Maycomb, Scout
tells Jack what Francis said and Jack becomes furious. Scout makes him promise not to tell
Atticus, however, because Atticus had asked her not to fight anyone over what is said about him.
Jack promises and keeps his word. Later, Scout overhears Atticus telling Jack that Tom
Robinson is innocent but doomed, since it’s inconceivable that an all-white jury would ever
acquit him.
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7. What can you infer about the town and its citizens from the children in this chapter?
Explain.
My response:
8.
Part Two, Chapters 12–13
Summary: Chapter 12
By this time, Jem has reached the age of twelve, and he begins to demand that Scout “stop
pestering him” and act more like a girl. Scout becomes upset and looks forward desperately to
Dill’s arrival in the summer. To Scout’s disappointment, however, Dill does not come to
Maycomb this year. He sends a letter saying that he has a new father (presumably, his mother
has remarried) and will stay with his family in Meridian. To make matters worse, the state
legislature, of which Atticus is a member, is called into session, forcing Atticus to travel to the
state capital every day for two weeks.
Calpurnia decides to take the children to her church, a “colored” church, that Sunday.
Maycomb’s black church is an old building, called First Purchase because it was bought with the
first earnings of freed slaves. One woman, Lula, criticizes Calpurnia for bringing white children
to church, but the congregation is generally friendly, and Reverend Sykes welcomes them,
saying that everyone knows their father. The church has no money for hymnals, and few of the
parishioners can read, so they sing by echoing the words that Zeebo, Calpurnia’s eldest son and
the town garbage collector, reads from their only hymnal. During the service, Reverend Sykes
takes up a collection for Tom Robinson’s wife, Helen, who cannot find work now that her
husband has been accused of rape. After the service, Scout learns that Tom Robinson has been
accused by Bob Ewell and cannot understand why anyone would believe the Ewells’ word.
When the children return home, they find Aunt Alexandra waiting for them.
Summary: Chapter 13
Aunt Alexandra explains that she should stay with the children for a while, to give them a
“feminine influence.” Maycomb gives her a fine welcome: various ladies in the town bake her
cakes and have her over for coffee, and she soon becomes an integral part of the town’s social
life. Alexandra is extremely proud of the Finches and spends much of her time discussing the
characteristics of the various families in Maycomb. This “family consciousness” is an integral
part of life in Maycomb, an old town where the same families have lived for generations, where
every family has its quirks and eccentricities. However, Jem and Scout lack the pride that Aunt
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Alexandra considers commensurate with being a Finch. She orders Atticus to lecture them on the
subject of their ancestry. He makes a valiant attempt but succeeds only in making Scout cry.
9. What can you predict Part Two is going to be about based on this summary? Explain.
My response:
10. What do you think Aunt Alexandra means by “feminine influence”?
a. Make Scout where a dress
b. A “mom” figure
c. The house is not clean enough
d. That every family should know their ancestry in Maycomb
Why I chose this response:
QUOTE SURVEY
(Themes in To Kill A Mockingbird)
 Directions: Discuss these quotes with a partner. On a separate sheet, summarize your response
in paragraph form.
1.“In order to know good things, you must experience evil.”
2. “In order to know pleasure, you must experience pain.”
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3. “Children are naturally innocent and good. Society changes them.”
4. “People with power usually abuse their power.”
5. “When people are treated unfairly, they should stand up for themselves, no matter what the cost.”
6. “One person can make a difference.”
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Greek athlete expelled from Games
Predict why the athlete was expelled:
Updated: July 25, 2012, 10:49 AM ET
Associated Press
ATHENS, Greece -- Triple jumper Voula Papachristou was expelled from Greece's Olympic team
Wednesday for her comments on Twitter mocking African immigrants and expressing support for a farright party.
The Hellenic Olympic Committee said Wednesday that Papachristou is "placed outside the Olympic team
for statements contrary to the values and ideas of the Olympic movement."
Is Papachristou being discriminated against for her beliefs?
Papachristou is in Athens and has not responded to calls from The Associated Press. The committee said
she was to travel to London shortly before the track events start.
Papachristou's Twitter account contains several retweets and postings of YouTube videos promoting the
views of Golden Dawn, a formerly marginal extreme right party that entered the Greek Parliament in the
recent two national elections -- in May and June this year -- by polling almost 7 percent of the vote.
But it was her attempt at a joke Sunday that went viral. Commenting on the widely reported appearance
of Nile-virus-carrying mosquitoes in Athens, Papachristou wrote: "With so many Africans in Greece, the
West Nile mosquitoes will be getting home food!!!". Her tweet prompted thousands of negative comments
that snowballed Wednesday.
Why is this considered discriminatory?
Since anyone can access an unprotected Twitter account, Papachristou's YouTube links and retweets
inevitably became known. Several of her retweets were original tweets by Ilias Kasidiaris, the Golden
Dawn spokesman and one of the party's 18 Parliament members, who became notorious a few weeks
ago for striking a woman Communist MP in the face and throwing water at another female MP during a
TV talk show. Papachristou tweeted to Kassidiaris on his name day, last Friday, "Many happy years, be
always strong and true!!!"
Papachristou's initial reaction to the negative comments, on Tuesday, was to tweet: "That's how I am. I
laugh. I am not a CD to get stuck!!! And if I make mistakes, I don't press the replay! I press Play and move
on!!!"
Her attitude changed completely Wednesday and she has posted five apologetic tweets in less than two
hours. The last tweet, a very long one in English, which she has also posted on her Facebook account,
reads: "I would like to express my heartfelt apologies for the unfortunate and tasteless joke I published on
my personal Twitter account. I am very sorry and ashamed for the negative responses I triggered, since I
never wanted to offend anyone, or to encroach human rights.
Why do you think she changed her tone (not apologizing to apologizing)?
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Do you think she is sincere in her apology?
"My dream is connected to the Olympic Games and I could not possibly participate if I did not respect
their values. Therefore, I could never believe in discrimination between human beings and races. I would
like to apologize to all my friends and fellow athletes, who I may have insulted or shamed, the National
Team, as well as the people and companies who support my athletic career. Finally, I would like to
apologize to my coach and my family."
Before the publication of the last tweet, Democratic Left, one of the three parties in Greece's coalition
government, had published a statement assailing the "racist humor" and calling on the Hellenic Olympic
Committee to expel Papachristou from the Olympics
"Let her make any miserable 'jokes' on social media while watching the games on TV. She definitely
cannot represent Greece in London," the Democratic Left statement said.
Is Papachristou being discriminated against for her beliefs? Why or why not?
Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press
----Article Analysis:
1) Circle the thesis that this article best supports:
a) All discrimination is equally bad.
b) All discrimination is bad; however, there are levels of destructiveness.
c) Some forms of discrimination are positive, and some are negative.
2) Give three examples from the text (AWEs) that support your choice of thesis:
a)_______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
b)_______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
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c)____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
3) What do you think the author’s biases could be, based on the author’s word choices?
4) After discussing the article in class, add two more AWEs that support you thesis or
that could be used to refute your thesis.
d) Supports/Refutes______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
e) Supports/Refutes _____________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
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Amnesty International:
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/muslims-discriminated-against-demonstrating-their-faith-201204-23#.UBg6hMfMAao.email
23 April 2012
Muslims discriminated against for demonstrating their faith
Anti-Muslim banners protesting against the establishment of a Muslim prayer room, in Catalonia, Spain
© Jordi Moreras
European governments must do more to challenge the negative stereotypes and prejudices
against Muslims fueling discrimination especially in education and employment, a new report by
Amnesty International reveals today.
“Muslim women are being denied jobs and girls prevented from attending regular classes just
because they wear traditional forms of dress, such as the headscarf. Men can be dismissed for
wearing beards associated with Islam,” said Marco Perolini, Amnesty International’s expert on
discrimination.
“Rather than countering these prejudices, political parties and public officials are all too often
pandering to them in their quest for votes.”
The report Choice and prejudice: discrimination against Muslims in Europe, exposes the impact
of discrimination on the ground of religion or belief on Muslims in several aspects of their lives,
including employment and education.
It focuses on Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Spain, and Switzerland where Amnesty
International has already raised issues such as restrictions on the establishment of places of
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worship and prohibitions on full-face veils. The report documents numerous individual cases of
discrimination across the countries covered.
“Wearing religious and cultural symbols and dress is part of the right of freedom of expression.
* STOP AND THINK*
Who is being discriminated against?
What evidence does the author provide of discrimination?
It is part of the right to freedom of religion or belief – and these rights must be enjoyed by all
faiths equally.” said Marco Perolini.
“While everyone has the right to express their cultural, traditional or religious background by
wearing a specific form of dress no one should be pressurized or coerced to do so. General bans
on particular forms of dress that violate the rights of those freely choosing to dress in a particular
way are not the way to do this.”
The report highlights that legislation prohibiting discrimination in employment has not been
*STOP AND THINK*
List two examples of religious or cultural dress:
appropriately implemented in Belgium, France and the Netherlands. Employers have been
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allowed to discriminate on the grounds that religious or cultural symbols will jar with clients or
colleagues or that a clash exists with a company’s corporate image or its ‘neutrality’.
This is in direct conflict with European Union (EU) anti-discrimination legislation which allows
variations of treatment in employment only if specifically required by the nature of the
occupation.
“EU legislation prohibiting discrimination on the ground of religion or belief in the area of
employment seems to be toothless across Europe, as we observe a higher rate of unemployment
*STOP AND THINK*
Do you think that private employers should be allowed to discriminate if religious or
cultural symbols will offend their clients? Explain your answer.
among Muslims, and especially Muslim women of foreign origin,” said Marco Perolini.
In the last decade, pupils have been forbidden to wear the headscarf or other religious and
traditional dress at school in many countries including Spain, France, Belgium, Switzerland and
*STOP AND THINK*
What does Perolini mean when he says that the legislation is “toothless”?
the Netherlands.
“Any restriction on the wearing of religious and cultural symbols and dress in schools must be
based on assessment of the needs in each individual case. General bans risk adversely Muslims
girls’ access to education and violating their rights to freedom of expression and to manifest their
beliefs.” Marco Perolini said.
The right to establish places of worship is a key component of the right to freedom of religion or
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belief which is being restricted in some European countries, despite state obligations to protect,
respect and fulfill this right.
Since 2010, the Swiss Constitution has specifically targeted Muslims with the prohibition of the
construction of minarets, embedding anti-Islam stereotypes and violating international
obligations that Switzerland is bound to respect.
In Catalonia (Spain), Muslims have to pray in outdoor spaces because existing prayer rooms are
too small to accommodate all the worshippers and requests to build mosques are being disputed
Vocabulary:
minaret: a tall slender tower of a mosque having one or more balconies from which the
summons to prayer is cried.
as incompatible with the respect of Catalan traditions and culture. This goes against freedom of
religion which includes the right to worship collectively in adequate places.
“There is a groundswell of opinion in many European countries that Islam is alright and Muslims
are ok so long as they are not too visible. This attitude is generating human rights violations and
needs to be challenged,” said Marco Perolini.
*STOP AND THINK*
Why do you think some countries have placed limits on the expression of Muslim and
Islamic religions?
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Article Analysis
1) Circle the thesis that this article best supports:
a) All discrimination is equally bad.
b) All discrimination is bad; however, there are levels of destructiveness.
c) Some forms of discrimination are positive, and some are negative.
2) Give three examples from the text (AWEs) that support your choice of thesis:
a)_________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
b)_________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
c)_________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
3) What do you think the author’s biases could be, based on the author’s word choices?
4) After discussing the article in class, add two more AWEs that support you thesis, or that could
be used to refute your thesis.
d) Supports/Refutes___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
e) Supports/Refutes __________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
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As you read the following article, highlight at least three AWEs that support your thesis.
Circle four words that contain roots from Word List 11 of Word Within A Word.
Rwanda made me think again about positive discrimination
Under Rwanda's constitution, one third of MPs must be female. Over time, this has brought many
talented women to the fore.
By Mary Fitzgerald
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 20 June 2010 08.00 EDT
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jun/20/positive-discrimination-rwanda
Some 92 years since women were first allowed to stand for parliament, Britain still has one of the
smallest percentages of women in government in Europe. The cabinet has a solitary group of female
members, a mere four of them. As the accusations and soul-searching over the lack of women in top
political jobs continues, London's Tricycle's theatre is staging a cycle of twelve plays entitled Women,
Power and Politics.
One of these plays looks at the subject of all-women shortlists.1 I've always found this a difficult one.
Surely, in this day and age, what could more weaken a female MP (member of parliament) in the eyes of
her colleagues, constituents and bosses than the suspicion that she'd only got the job because she had
breasts and a womb? To me, Cameron's decision to back the policy was illogical. He was making a
political move, gaining support from women because he “promoted” them while others would dismiss
the women whom, they believed, didn’t deserve their positions.
I still have many of the same suspicions about that political party, but a recent visit to Rwanda made me
think again about what we now – sensitively – call "positive discrimination."
Rwanda still bears the scars of the genocide of 1994 that left close to 1 million people dead, not least in
the mentality of its citizens and leaders. But it has made astonishing resurgence in the 16 years since
that traumatic event. Until the global economic downturn, it was enjoying double-digit GDP growth;
even in 2009 its economy grew by 5.5%. It's frequently rated the best country in the region for doing
business, the least affected by corruption. The streets are clean, crime is low – and much of this success
is down to the government's dogged determination to force change: to shed traditional hierarchies, and,
among other things, to actively battle gender discrimination.Under Rwanda's constitution, one third of
parliamentary seats have to be occupied by females. Over time, this has encouraged many talented
women to come forward – people for whom working in government, less than a generation ago, would
1
The use of all-women shortlists (AWS) is the political practice intended to increase the proportion of female
Members of Parliament (MPs) in the United Kingdom by allowing only women to stand in particular constituencies
for a particular political party. In the 1990s in the United Kingdom, women constituted less than 10% of MPs.
Political parties used various strategies to increase female representation, including encouraging women to stand
and constituency associations to select them, and providing special training for potential women candidates.
24
have unthinkable. Female MPs now make up a record 56% of the Rwandan parliament – a higher
proportion than anywhere else in the world – and there are eight female cabinet members. Having met
many of these female parliamentarians, “just another pretty face” is the last description that springs to
mind.
Neither does the one-third rule appear to have fostered a sense of entitlement. "We're not just here just
because we're woman," MP Constance Mukayuhi told me as we stood in the Rwandan parliament in
Kigali one afternoon in May. "I'm here because I've performed for the last 11 years." When elections
come round, others tell me, the ruling RPF party ranks candidates strictly according to their track record.
The RPF's objective is, after all, to stay in power. Fielding substandard candidates, just because of their
preferred sex, would not serve this purpose too well.
Rwanda's foreign minister Louise Mushikiwabo admits that meeting the one-third criteria is sometimes
a challenge; they've found it tough to track down enough suitable female ambassadors, for instance. It's
something they're still "working on" she says. But their active willingness to look for, encourage and
promote female luminaries puts the efforts of countries like our own to shame.
Of course, Rwanda has the advantage of having started entirely from scratch: after the devastation of
the genocide, they needed to rebuild their country from "less than nothing," as one lifelong Kigali
resident put it. But they used this moment as an opportunity; the country's new constitution is the
product of a long process, where systems of government across the world were studied, and elements
from many were identified, incorporated and refined.
So we are not, by any stretch of the imagination, comparing like with like. Yet seeing how much this
small country has achieved for women in the past decade, while affluent, conflict-free Britain has
achieved so little, made me think again about positive discrimination – and even those dreaded allfemale shortlists. At a conference I attended in Kigali, Susan Page from the US state department told a
story about how, early in her career, a male colleague assumed that she'd only got into Harvard because
of its affirmative action policies. That may have been so, she conceded, but she still had to do all the
hard work to get herself out of Harvard. Just like everybody else.
1. What is Mary Fitzgerald’s purpose in writing this article?
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
2. List the potential advantages of discrimination, according to this article:
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
3. List the potential disadvantages of discrimination, according to this article:
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
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Name ________________________________
Step 1: Choose a thesis statement from the choices below:
a. All discrimination is equally bad.
b. All discrimination is bad, however there are levels of destructiveness.
c. Some forms of discrimination are positive and some are negative.
Step 2: Look at your supporting details handout and choose 6 of those from various texts to
support your chosen thesis above (AT LEAST 1 MUST BE FROM TKAM).
Supporting Detail (AWE)
Don’t forget to cite properly—shortened title in quotes and page number, example: (“Greek
Athlete” 1).
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________
Explain/Link/Analyze these details (in your own WORDS!):
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________
Supporting Detail (AWE)
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________
Explain/Link/Analyze these details (in your own WORDS!):
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________
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Supporting Detail (AWE)
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________
Explain/Link/Analyze these details (in your own WORDS!):
______________________________________________________________________________
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______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________
Supporting Detail (AWE)
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________
Explain/Link/Analyze these details (in your own WORDS!):
______________________________________________________________________________
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______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________
Supporting Detail (AWE)
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
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_____________________________________
Explain/Link/Analyze these details (in your own WORDS!):
______________________________________________________________________________
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__________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
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6. Supporting Detail (AWE)
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________
Explain/Link/Analyze these details (in your own WORDS!):
______________________________________________________________________________
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____________________________________
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