Programming Spotlight: X: Or Betty Shabazz v. The Nation at the New Victory Theater

All four photos X: Or, Betty Shabazz v. The Nation, by Marcus Gardley, directed by Ian Belknap
The Acting Company

Photo Credit: T Charles Erickson

On Friday, March 24th, a small group of teachers at Belmont accompanied our placement students to Manhattan's New Victory Theater to see Marcus Gardley's X: Or, Betty Shabazz v. The Nation.  Teaching artists Chad Beckim and Janet Oneyenuchea returned to Belmont on Monday to debrief with our students, some of whom spoke at length in response to the discussion questions the teaching artists posed.  It was wonderful to see them draw out the synthesis that had taken place in many attendees' minds since the start of the unit back in February as they reflected on their learning experiences.

We are grateful to everyone at the New Victory Theater for their steadfast support of our students' learning and unwavering encouragement to New York City's detained youth, and to Literacy for Incarcerated Teens (LIT) for the funding to purchase such a large block of tickets so that all placement students and their chaperones could share this special theater-going experience together.  Thank you!--Jessica Fenster-Sparber

I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World by Malala Yousafzai with Patricia McCormick

Many students here at Passages have heard of Malala Yousafzai, but for those who have not, a quick mention of the fact that she was shot at close range and that a bullet entered her head and travelled down under her skin to her shoulder quickly grabs their attention.  Patricia McCormick, with whom readers may be familiar from her works of fiction based on in-depth research and lengthy interviews on the Cambodian genocide, sex slavery, self-harm, and war, has collaborated with the Nobel Peace Prize winning teenager to provide younger readers with access to Malala’s story and the context in which it unfolded: life in Pakistan’s Swat valley before the 2007 earthquake that set the stage for the Taliban to come to power and eventually issue an edict in 2009 that no girls were permitted to go to school.  

Readers may be inspired by Malala’s courageous activism while beginning to develop schema for understanding Sunni Islam and its conflict with Islamic jihadists, life in rural and urban Pakistan, and Pashtun culture.  This edition contains two sections of reproductions of color photographs which help readers visualize the Swat valley, public floggings, Malala’s everyday life, and her travels as an activist and humanitarian. --Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Yousafzai, Malala with Patricia McCormick.  I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World.  New York: Hachette, 2016.  Print.