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The Power of Protest

Fernanda Balderrama

Arizona State University

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Demographics

My desired school district to work for is the Glendale Union High School District. This

district’s demographics consist of predominately Hispanic members. According to the proximity

website, 73.4 % of members were born in Latin America (Resources to create and apply insight,

2009). Despite the Hispanics/Latinos predominance, there are members of other ethnicities

such as Asians, African Americans, Native Americans, Caucasians, and other ethnicities that

reside in this area (Resources to create and apply insight, 2009); however, their population is

smaller in comparison to the Hispanic/Latino community. Additionally, 76.5% of individuals that

reside within the district are non-US. Citizen (Resources to create and apply insight, 2009). As

for social characteristics, 79.4 % of members have graduated from high school and 17.9% have

a bachelor’s degree or higher (Resources to create and apply insight, 2009). Furthermore, the

family income fluctuates in this community. The highest percentage, 22% of the families within

this district make between $50,000 to $74,999 a year (Resources to create and apply insight,

2009). Knowing this information will help me shape my lesson to address the needs and interest

of my students.

Application to Lesson

Based on the cultural background of this district, I will adapt my lesson plan on the

power of protest to relate to my students. We will look into and how certain issues were

addressed and advocated for through the use of ethos, pathos, and logos. The students will later

apply these rhetoric methods to a protest sign of their own. Since the majority of the individuals

of this community are minorities, I will adjust my lesson by using not only using Martin Luther

King Jr’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail as an example of the power of protest but also, reveal
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the protest efforts of Caesar Chavez and of current DACA members. I will also have students

bring their issues of interest to my attention so that I can include them in my lesson. These issues

relate to the ethnicity of most the students. Also, most members of the community are minorities.

It is important for students to realize that they are minorities yet, they have a voice; for this

reason, it is essential that students may learn how to make their positions known and how to

convince others of their stance through the use of rhetoric. In my lesson, students will identify

and apply the methods of rhetoric such as ethos, logos, and pathos. I will include the information

of protest on DACA because it is a current issue, especially for Arizonian’s. Additionally,

several members of this community are not U.S. citizens and only a small portion of these

members go into higher education. Although not all members relate to the issue on DACA,

students may relate to having a desire to inter into high education, which is a goal of DACA

advocates. This community has a small percentage of people who have a bachelor’s degree, thus,

it is important for my students to witness how certain people fight for access to a work, higher

education, and legal status. Furthermore, in this community the median household income is

$43,939. Thus, individuals in this community should seek out opportunities to make more money

through multiple opportunities; opportunities that may take away from them or are currently

deprived from. For this reason, it is essential for all students to know how to advocate and

convince others of changes that they want to make in their community. Students will be affirmed

in knowing that people in the past and in the present, have fought for their rights. Some students

can relate to the issues due to their ethnicity and social issues. On the other hand, the few

students who are not minorities, might not relate to the Martin Luther king or Caesar Chavez’s

advocacies but they can relate to the idea of wanting to better themselves and to have the

accesses to more opportunities like DACA advocates. Unfortunately, students who cannot
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directly relate to the presented advocacies may feel suppressed due to their race/ethnicity, social

status, and beliefs. Nonetheless, my lesson is intended to demonstrate how ethos, pathos, and

logos are effectively used in real life situations.

Conclusion

Adapting lessons so that they may relate to the students is essential because students will

realize the value of their education. The content is no longer just information that is learned in

class but it transforms into skills that can be used in the real world. By showing students how

rhetoric has been used in protest through members who are similar to them, students may better

understand and retain the information taught. Students will be more confident in voicing their

positions and in convincing others of their stance.

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References

Resources to create and apply insight. (n.d.). Retrieved March 31, 2018, from
http://proximityone.com/acs/dpaz/dp2_0403450.htm