Barriers to Education within a U.S. High School Lesson Plan

Goal: Build understanding about barriers to education faced by classmates

Objectives:

• Students will identify the barriers students face in realizing their right to education in U.S. high schools.
• Students will consider the roles of different members of society in guaranteeing the right to an education.
• Students will connect the responsibility of school climate and educational rights to their own behavior.

Essential Question: Is the right to an education extended to all U.S. students?

Time Frame: 1-2 class periods

Age Level: High School

Minnesota High School Social Studies Standards

• Government and Citizenship, A #4: Students will understand the importance of informed decision making and the roles of public speaking, conducting a public meeting, letter writing, petition signing, negotiation, active listening, conflict resolution and mediation, defending a public policy position in a civil conversation.
• Government and Citizenship, B #2: Students will examine the tensions between the government’s dual role of protecting individual rights and promoting the general welfare, the tension between majority rule and minority rights, and analyze the conflict between diversity and unity which is captured in the concept “E Pluribus Unum.”
• Government and Citizenship, A #3: Students will know and analyze the points of access and influence people can use to affect elections and public policy decisions.