“Power of Identity” Stories Go Viral

“Power of Identity” Stories Go Viral

Posted on 07/06/2015

Eighth grade history students begin the year with a unit on identity, which establishes the course’s essential questions:

• What is a just society?
• How do societies change?
• How can individuals and groups make a difference?

At Putnam Avenue Upper School, teachers Jenny Chung (History) and Woodly Pierre-­Louis (ELA) guide students in thinking about the ways identity stories can combat stereotypes. Public Radio International’s (PRI) Jeb Sharp recently featured their work, including students’ personal narratives. WGBH first aired Sharp’s “The World” story on May 27. The PRI story sparked Metro to follow up with an article on the power of one student’s story, which in turn was picked up by the Huffington Post.

You can check out the stories at the following links:

• PRI broadcast and transcript  
• Metro’s “Thirteen-­year-old Cambridge Girl Sumaiya Mahee Takes on Islamophobia” 
• Huffington Post's "13-Year-Old Sumaiya Mahee Challenges Islamophobia"

Photo: PAUS teachers Jenny Chung (History) and Woodly Pierre-Louis (ELA) and their students; photo courtesy of Jeb Sharp for PubIic Radio International