Teens, Crime, and the Community
Session 27
Learning Objectives: In this session, teens will focus on hate crime. They will examine the causes of hate crime, . . .
Learning Objectives:
In this session, teens will focus on hate crime. They will examine the causes of hate crime, investigate and report on examples of hate crime involving teens, and look at how hate crime can range from discrimination to genocide. Teens then explore some positive teen-led ways to respond to hate crime.
Tips to Enhance Session 27:
- Students can learn about the number of hate crimes in their state, the type of crime committed, and information about the offenders and victims of the hate crime from the FBI’s Hate Crime Statistics 2004 (PDF) report (to supplement Step B).
- Use the NCPC flier Putting A Stop to Hate Crime (PDF) during Step D, to teach teens how both youth and adults can help prevent hate crimes.
Web Resources:- Anti-Defamation League, Combating Hate: Provides current news releases about hate crimes, statistics concerning criminals’ motivation to commit hate crime, and ways to prevent intolerance.
- Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2005: Includes the full text of the bill.
Community Resource People:
- Holocaust survivor, Rwandan genocide survivor, Apartheid victim: Can relate information to students about the breadth of hate crimes.
Remember to give the CRP the session materials at least one week before he or she participates in your class.
Service-Learning Project Ideas:
- Short Project: Students can record the newscasts they created during Step C and have them played during their school’s morning news.
- Medium-Length Project: Students can hold an essay contest, asking students to share their personal reflections of the impact of hate crimes, prejudice, or diversity intolerance. The winning entry could be read over the school’s public address system, or be published in the school’s newspaper.
- Long Project: Students can study an era of genocide and write a series of editorials in their school or community newspaper explaining what they have learned from studying hate crimes and genocide, and how they can help stop hate crime.
