Michael Downs
Bishop O'Dowd High School
Service Learning / Sustainability
Mission Statement: Through solidarity with those who experience injustice, we empower O’Dowd youth to grow as a community of learners and agents of change. Vision: We will serve the community by advocating for and working with marginalized groups in order to leave an impactful legacy that inspires future leaders. Objectives: -Transform curriculum and classrooms to create even more diverse, safe, and inclusive classroom environments. -Educate the Bishop O’Dowd community on a wide range of social justice topics through social media and events such as Dragon Talks and the Bay Area Social Justice Teach-In. -Learn how to appropriately communicate with organizations outside of Bishop O’Dowd in order to collaborate on projects. -Engage local schools to advance Bay Area social justice causes. -Host events which provide a safe space for all youth to share their ideas and collaborate on projects. -Advocate for what we believe at the local and national level.
fall 23, year-long, met with
2
8/14—started class, will talk later today
Revising my syllabus for my third year of teaching social action to high school seniors. Prior Application — This course development program is a perfect fit for what we already have institutionalized at our Catholic high school: a student leadership experience through a course that is committed to meaningful social action, and open to growth in the wake of a pandemic that took a toll on our social action skills and instincts. Also, having seen Scott in action, I am drawn to his passion and precision of his pedagogy. I know my school community and students will benefit from the resources gained from an experience with college and university professors. At a school committed to community in diversity, strength of character, and social justice in Oakland, we are situated to be a leader among Bay Area high schools committed to social action. Furthermore, if accepted as a tandem, my colleague Isabel Rodriguez-Vega and I can continue our collaboration between eco-leaders and social justice leaders at the intersection of racial, economic, gender, and environmental justice.
Yes. I have integrated TSA pedagogy with Catholic Social Teaching for a senior social justice team at a Catholic high school in Oakland, California. Prior Application — Yes, social action was incorporated into my 9 years of teaching Social Justice at Bellarmine, and the past few years of teaching Solidarity in Action at Bishop O'Dowd.
Though it's hard to know until I get to know the students (and see what is happening in the city/state/nation/world), below are some of the issues that students have recently addressed: -racial justice -gender justice -environmental justice -economic justice in Oakland -housing insecurity -immigration -education (in)equity
California
Course Description:
Mission Statement: Through solidarity with those who experience injustice, we empower O’Dowd youth to grow as a community of learners and agents of change.
Vision: We will serve the community by advocating for and working with marginalized groups in order to leave an impactful legacy that inspires future leaders.
Objectives:
- Transform curriculum and classrooms to create even more diverse, safe, and inclusive classroom environments.
- Educate the Bishop O’Dowd community on a wide range of social justice topics through social media and events such as Dragon Talks and the Bay Area Social Justice Teach-In.
- Learn how to appropriately communicate with organizations outside of Bishop O’Dowd in order to collaborate on projects.
- Engage local schools to advance Bay Area social justice causes.
- Host events which provide a safe space for all youth to share their ideas and collaborate on projects.
- Advocate for what we believe at the local and national level.
Specifically, while working in teams to pursue a social action campaign, students will be able to:
- learn about issues
- build power
- implement various strategies and tactics
- conduct research (historical analysis, power mapping, target analysis)
- work with the media
- perform campaign implementation and evaluation plans
- practice self-reflection, small-group facilitation, and public speaking
Taught By:
Michael Downs
Director of Justice and Kinship
Bishop O'Dowd High School
mdowns@bishopodowd.org
Read profile here.