“Using valid sources in order to develop understanding and empathy .”

In October 2013 Maja Paderewska, Anna-Lisa Granbois and Martha Cameron created this

project on poverty with the goal of creating empathy and understanding. Social Justice and Economics classes were combined to evoke an interdisciplinary approach which enhanced the

perspective, learning and experience.

This project is dedicated to Maja Paderewska who passed away in February 2014.

“To think critically is essentially to engage in deliberations with the intention of making judgment based on appropriate criteria.”

1. Create criteria – what kind of data/information are you looking for, where do you find it, how do you determine the “real” facts (sources), how do you use these to solve the problem/answer the question/create the question ü Relevant Sources ü Explore Options ü Detect Propaganda

2. Teach the tools – knowing and using valid sources, applying the information to the problem ü Point of View ü Uncovering the Issues ü Relevant Details

3. Habits of Mind ü Empathy

4. Assessment

We want to accomplish –

· Realize that things are more complex than they know · Empathy and compassion ** · Re poverty – stereotypes around poverty, reasons are more complex than they think, issues with the

working poor (not lazy), generational/systemic poverty (we all start somewhere, but some already ahead of others, the physical barriers, the psychological barriers

· Fill in the holes – two perspectives allow us to fill in the holes · Get more empathy and compassion by adding social justice perspective · Underlying economic causes of poverty · Assessment?

Critical Thinking on Poverty An Interdisciplinary Approach considering

Social Justice and Economics

· “Using valid sources in order to add validity to the empathy we are trying to evoke.” · http://bcpovertyreduction.ca/end-poverty-day-student-day-of-action/ · 4 Feet Up (NFB film) government goal to eradicate poverty…is that happening · TC2 – Tools for Thought Collection · Critical Thinking Approach

Timeline

1. How is our understanding of poverty affected by the study of Social Justice and Economics? KWL, **What is “know” – assumptions, untruths, myths?? (AG) Poverty Assumptions Statements (from media) – degree to which I agree/disagree (AG) Conversation about respect (AG & MP) 1 day

2. Background information (lecture, film) (AG & MP & MC) 1 day

3. Criteria - 3 mini-lessons (MC) -Relevant Sources -Explore Options -Determine Propaganda 1 day

4. Collect data/research, form groups – (in pairs, 1 std from SJ, 1 from Econ) “the place we come from” – your perspective reflects you discipline (may mean individual research) – time working apart, working together Introduce the Tools gradually (1 a day for 3 days – connected to sources introduced in the Criteria phase) -introduce tool (3), each student conducts research with their perspective in mind, come together to share findings, **the tool grounds the conversation!!! (MC) -Relevant Details -Point of View -Uncovering the Issues 4 days

5. Take it to the next level -Empathy, discussion, how are going to present this to others -Guest Speaker

6. Product – ideas must be in a presentation form as we will be inviting other NSS students to learn about this topic 4 days to produce, 1 day show

7. Reflect at the conclusion – jointly look at our beliefs now, were our preconceived ideas based on fact, misinformation or emotion. Empathy – personal understanding of poverty. Discussion – what did you learn about determining what is true and what is not? Why do we live with so much misinformation?

Assessment – quality of the thinking that supports their answers

Constant feedback Student Reflection Rubric of Criteria and Tools Group Work Accountability Record

There are many assumptions and misconceptions surrounding poverty. Before we begin our study, consider what you “know” about poverty, and what you would like to know. There are going to be times when you feel uncomfortable; part of the process will be learning to “sit” with this uncomfortable feeling and to expand and deepen your understanding of this very complex reality.

know wonder learn

Project Planning Guide

Ask – formulate relevant meaningful questions/develop a thesis statement Completed by:

Acquire – brainstorm sources of data and information

Completed by:

Analyze – collect, verify and organize information

How are you going to collect and organize info & data? Completed by:

Apply – synthesize the information and create a product

How will you use & interpret the information you have collected?

What type of product are you going to create to deliver your message?

How are you going to achieve this/what do you need? Completed by:

Assess – cite sources(easybib.com), reflect on the process

Use Easybib.com to cite your sources.

Somewhere in your project include a reflection on your learning. Completed by:

Determining the Relevance of a Source

Ø Does the source match your question/topic Ø Does the source provide up-to-date information Ø Does the source provide the type of information you need

Different “kinds” of information…

ü Primary sources – original material, created at the time of the event or by the person/people involved

ü Secondary sources – created after the event, may involve analysis & interpretation ü Analysis of fact/events ü Statistics ü Images and other graphics

ü Diaries

ü Interviews (legal proceedings, personal, telephone, email)

ü Letters

ü Original Documents (i.e. birth certificate or a trial transcript)

ü Proceedings of Meetings, Conferences and Symposia.

ü Survey Research (such as market surveys and public opinion polls)

ü Works of Literature

ü Biographies

ü Books

ü Commentaries

ü Dissertations

ü Indexes, Abstracts, Bibliographies (used to locate primary & secondary sources)

ü Journal Articles

ü Almanacs

ü Encyclopedias

ü Fact books

For this assignment, you are asked to focus your research using

ü Statistics – Statistics Canada

ü Published, Peer Reviewed Articles – online databases

ü Fact Books – Canada Year Book

1. Statistics Canada Statistics Canada is Canada’s statistics gathering agency. The collection of statistics in all areas, economics, population etc., is vitally important for the running of government. Policy and budget decisions at all levels of government depend upon good statistics gathering. Go to http://www.statcan.gc.ca/start-debut-eng.html

Begin by clicking on Browse by Subject, the Income, Pensions, Spending and Wealth. You will see a host of publications related to our topic. Spend some time looking at some of these reports.

If you click on the sub-topic Low Income and Inequality, you will find some especially relevant statistical information and analysis on poverty in Canada, both raw statistics and analysis. Especially interesting is The Daily, which is a daily publication of Statistics Canada which highlights reports on specific topics.

2. Published Articles

An Online Database is a comprehensive collection of information in electronic form and organized for quick retrieval. Typically it is comprised of a large collection of encyclopedia, magazine, and/or newspaper articles, and occasionally other media such as transcripts, interviews, maps, historical documents, photos and videos. Databases, like encyclopedias can be general or subject specific. The Surrey School District subscribes to a suite of databases through a supplier called Ebsco. For this assignment, you will use the Ebsco tutorials to learn more about online databases. ü go to the Library Catalogue Home page and click on Access the Surrey School District’s Online Resources HERE ü click on Secondary, then Academic Search Primer

ü check the Full Text and Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals boxes under Limit Your Results

ü in the search box type Poverty Canada

ü click on search and you will get a number of articles. Click on PDF Full Text (bottom) to read.

3. Canada Year Book

The Canada Year Book has been published since 1867. It charts key trends and indicators in the nation's economy, population, society and environment. It offers a wonderful snapshot, with statistics and analysis, of Canada today and in the past. It offers great opportunity to compare; what does poverty in Canada look like today, as compared with twenty years ago.

ü Go to http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11-402-x/index-eng.htm

ü Under 2012, click on Chapters in PDF. Then click on Income, Pensions, Spending and Wealth. The article is rich with data, especially comparative data on this topic.

ü Other chapters that are relevant to our topic include: Aboriginal Peoples, Children and Youth, Families Households and Housing, Labour, and Prices and Price Indexes.

ü Again, the Canada Year Book offers you an easy way to compare not only historically, but across the subject as well. (For example you may ask: What is the relationship between income and the labour market situation).

Detecting Propaganda

Ø Understand the difference between Propaganda and a Reasoned Argument Ø What do you know about the group/individual who is responsible for this information Ø What techniques are being employed

Selectivity: selecting only facts that suit the propagandists’ purpose Repetition: if a statement is repeated often enough, it will be remembered Lies and half-truths: telling a lie to gain audience support Rhetorical questions: questions that do not require an answer because the answer is obvious Targeting the enemy: unifying a group by identifying a real or imagined enemy Assertion: making bold statements rather than reasoned arguments to defend a position Bandwagon: convincing others to do or believe something by saying everyone else does Comparison: amplifying values, qualities and/or actions by comparing themselves to someone else Embarrassment: making opponents look foolish or undesirable by presenting embarrassing stories about them Humour: use humour to get on the good side of audience or become friendly to win trust

Relating the awarding of Canada’s airwaves to natural resources, ignoring issues such as lack of competition and high costs of cell service in Canada.

“giant foreign corporation…”

Is the analogy to water a fair one? Are airwaves a “natural resource” in the same sense as water?

“Then why are we letting them buy half of Canada’s newest prime airways?”

“Giant, foreighn cell phone corporation…”

“You would (should) be outraged.”

“81% of Canadians said no…”

Comparing Canada’s water/natural resources to “airwave” resources

“Now, the Canadian government’s auction…”

"The Critical Thinking Consortium." - Tools for Thought Collection. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Oct. 2013. <http://tc2.ca/teaching-resources/online-resource-collections/tools-for-thought/tools-for-thought-collection.php>.

Point of View

Ø There are numerous ways to view ideas, things or events Ø Understand that there are various Points of View Ø There are many circumstances where understanding the role of Point of View is valuable

New Titanic Film Told From Iceberg's Point Of View News in Brief • environment • Entertainment • movies • ISSUE 43•29 • Jul 17, 2007

LOS ANGELES—Director James Cameron told Variety yesterday of his intentions to write and direct the Academy Award–winning Titanic's companion film, Iceberg, which will be told completely from the infamous chunk of frozen water's point of view.

"Nobody ever talks about the iceberg's side of the tragic saga—how it formed millions of years ago, eventually became a glacier, then calved off the Arctic ice shelf and floated away into the Atlantic Ocean toward its rendezvous with death," said Cameron, adding that the three hour film will begin with the evaporation of liquid water, transition to snow falling and freezing, and include the most expensive gradual ice cap formation sequence ever filmed. "It's a nature vs. man struggle on an epic scale. The world needs to hear this story."

"New Titanic Film Told From Iceberg's Point Of View | The Onion - America's Finest News Source." 17 July 2007. Web. 09 Oct. 2013. <http://www.theonion.com/articles/new-titanic-film-told-from-icebergs-point-of-view%2C5754/>.

Ø Point of View is a way of looking at something that shapes our opinions and observations Ø Point of View can be based on a position or based on thinking Ø Differences of opinion often emerge due to differing Points of View

Relevant Details

When conducting any research, it is important to be able to identify the relevant details related to your research question or purpose. The purpose of your research, and your research question must be very clear; a detail that serves one purpose well, may not be as important for a different purpose/question, even if the topic is the same).

Ø Are the details key to understanding your topic or question? Ø Do the details help to meet the purpose of your question or topic? Ø Do you have a clear understanding of what the important aspects of the topic itself are?

(reading an article from a general encyclopedia can provide you with the important sub-topics) Ø Look for clues: prominent location (headings, topic sentences, summaries, indexes) Ø Look for clues: repetition (points emphasized or made several times) Ø Look for clues: stands out (info that is unusual, exaggerated, unexpected)

Research Question: What caused the sinking of the Titanic.

Johnston, PF 2013, 'Titanic', World Book Student, World Book, Chicago, viewed 15 October 2013, <http://www.worldbookonline.com/student/article?id=ar559340>.

Based on the “contents” of the Titanic article from World Book Student, I need only read and take notes on the first two sections of the article, The Ship and Disaster, to address my question. Information on the Rescue and the Legacy of the disaster are not relevant to my question.

Johnston, PF 2013, 'Titanic', World Book Student, World Book, Chicago, viewed 15 October 2013, <http://www.worldbookonline.com/student/article?id=ar559340>.

Remember, don’t waste your time recording details that are irrelevant to your purpose.

Ø Identify details that are important to the topic/question Ø Determine contribution to research purpose

Unpacking the Issue

For any issue or topic there are relevant facts, stakeholders (or people involved) and implied interests or values. You cannot completely understand and analyze an issue without knowledge and understanding of these three components. Let’s consider this Vancouver Sun article on Insite, Vancouver’s safe injection program.

Evidence trumps ideology over public health benefits of insite

BY THOMAS KERR AND JULIO MONTANER, VANCOUVER SUNJULY 25, 2013 Insite is a supervised injection site for drug users.

It has been nearly 10 years since Insite, Vancouver's supervised injection site opened and two years since the Supreme Court of

Canada unanimously determined that it should remain open to protect public health.

A large body of scientific evidence demonstrates that Insite and other harm reduction programs, such as needle exchanges, are

effective in reducing the harms associated with illicit drug use. Sadly, ideological debate about harm reduction continues, despite

widespread agreement among health authorities, including the World Health Organization, that such programs are essential to the fight

against HIV/AIDS and other drug-related harms.

A recently released report summarizing 15 years of data on the drug situation in Vancouver provides further evidence that harm

reduction programs have helped reduce illicit drug use and improve public health: fewer people are injecting drugs; more are accessing

addiction treatment; and HIV transmission related to injection drug use has plummeted.

Likewise, a large body of scientific evidence shows that Insite is meeting its objectives. Peer-reviewed studies involving dozens of

researchers from Canada, Australia, Britain and the U.S. demonstrate clearly that Insite does not increase crime or perpetuate active

drug use. More than 30 peer-reviewed studies show that Insite saves lives and health care dollars, reduces disease transmission, and

promotes entry into addiction treatment.

The program now has the support of leading national health organizations such as the Canadian Medical Association, the Canadian

Association of Nurses, and the Canadian Public Health Association. Health organizations in other parts of Canada are now advocating

for similar programs in their jurisdictions.

Still, critics continue to launch personal attacks against scientists, misrepresent existing research, and cite bogus reports that have

never been subjected to scientific scrutiny or published in recognized journals, reducing public discourse about harm reduction to the

same level as past debates about global warming and the harm of cigarette smoking.

The most vocal of those arguing against Insite is the Drug Prevention Network of Canada (DPNC). This is an organization that covertly

accepted RCMP funding to produce pseudo-scientific reports on Insite. Ultimately the RCMP acknowledged their wrongdoing and

distanced themselves from the reports, admitting the reports were commissioned to "provide an alternative analysis" to existing

research and "did not meet conventional academic standards." Ironically, when a Supreme Court justice asked lawyers representing

the federal government if they had any scientific evidence indicating that Insite was not meeting its objectives, they did not offer one of

the DPNC reports - they offered nothing.

Kerr, Thomas, and Julio Montaner. "Evidence Trumps Ideology over Public Health Benefits of Insite." Vancouver Sun 25 July 2013: n. pag. Print.

We need to determine:

Relevant Facts Main Stakeholders Implied Interests or Values 10 years since program began People delivering the program

Illicit drug users Believe in the merits of the program

Evidence the program reduces harms asst’d with illicit drug use

Illicit drug users Do we care about illicit drug users? Implied that we want to help.

Has helped reduce drug use and improved public health

Illicit drug users Do we care about illicit drug users? Implied that we want to help.

Has not increased drug use or crime

Illicit drug users public

Drugs are asst’d with crime.

More drug users accessing treatment

Illicit drug users Belief in treatment.

Large drop in new HIV infections

Illicit drug users Dangers in the spread of disease.

Evidence that it saves lives and reduces spending of health care $$

Illicit drug users Tax payers

$$ usually a big part of any issue. Insite costs big bucks – does the public buy the “success” story?

Critic – Drug Prevention Network of Canada (DPNC)

DPNC Difference between prevention and treatmeny approach here!

DPNC funded by RCMP to produce pseudo-scientific studies

DPNC RCMP Insite

Why would the RCMP be involved with this group. Strong connection for them between drug use and crime.

RCMP now distancing itself from DPNC and their studies in Insite

DPNC RCMP Insite

Value scientific integrity. Reputation!

Poverty Rubric Exceeds Expectations Fully Meets Expectations Minimally Meets

Expectations Does Not Meet Expectations

Criteria -relevant resources: fully understands importance of assessing relevant resources, identified best resources -detect propaganda: excellent distinction between propaganda and a reasoned argument

-relevant resources: mostly understands importance of assessing relevant resources, mostly identified best resources -detect propaganda: mostly distinguished between propaganda and a reasoned argument

-relevant resources: sometimes understands importance of assessing relevant resources, some best resources identified -detect propaganda: sometimes distinguishes between propaganda and a reasoned argument

-relevant resources: does not understand importance of assessing relevant resources, best resources not identified -detect propaganda: does not distinguish between propaganda and a reasoned argument

Research Tools -uncovering the issues: fully understands the role of fact, stakeholder and values in an issue or topic -relevant details: determines and uses the relevant details of an issue or topic -point of view: fully understands the role of your own point of view

-uncovering the issues: understands the role of fact, stakeholder and values in an issue or topic -relevant details: mostly determines and uses the relevant details of an issue or topic -point of view: mostly understands the role of your own point of view

-uncovering the issues: minimally understands the role of fact, stakeholder and values in an issue or topic -relevant details: minimally determines and uses the relevant details of an issue or topic -point of view: minimally understands the role of your own point of view

-uncovering the issues: does not understand the role of fact, stakeholder and values in an issue or topic -relevant details: does not determine and use the relevant details of an issue or topic -point of view: does not understand the role of your own point of view

Overall Project -content accuracy and coverage; topic is thoroughly covered and information is accurate -writing conventions; excellent writing and editing -graphics; excellent use of graphics -originality; work shows excellent originality

-content accuracy and coverage; topic is mostly covered and information is accurate -writing conventions; very good writing and editing -graphics; very good use of graphics -originality; work shows very good originality

-content accuracy and coverage; topic is minimally covered and information is accurate -writing conventions; satisfactory writing and editing -graphics; satisfactory use of graphics -originality; work shows satisfactory originality

-content accuracy and coverage; topic is incompletely covered and information is accurate -writing conventions; poor writing and editing -graphics; poor use of graphics -originality; work shows no originality

Reflection & Citing Sources -excellent reflection on learning achieved -all sources accurately cited

-very good reflection on learning achieved -most sources accurately cited

-satisfactory reflection on learning achieved -some sources accurately cited

-poor reflection on learning achieved -sources not accurately cited

Cameron 2013