We all believe that we can be perfect. Well, at least some of us. But when it comes to being perfect we all have bits of holes in our persona that creates imperfections.
The same can be said of our beliefs and values. We all believe that we do have any bias or that we know ourselves so well that we have no prejudices and that our values are unquestionable.
In the story of "The Jacket", young Phil, a sixth grader, has stumbled on a quandary that affects what he believes his values are. When he accuses another school mate of stealing a jacket, which he had given to his younger brother, he finds that is now questioning his values and beliefs. We are all not perfect and we have bias and prejudices based on our own experiences and what we acquire from different sources, whether they are true or not.
To teach students about how our bias and prejudices can affect our judgements and decisions, we need to create a lesson in which students can come to these conclusions on their own. If we tell them what they should think, then it is not their own decisions and they learn nothing from the exercise.
The story "The Jacket" has many different scenarios and not with just Phil. There is the bias of Daniel in that he believes that his grandmother was given the jacket out of pity, instead of out of gratitude from Phil's mother. Daniel believes that the type of work his grandmother does for Phil's mother is degrading. This is because he has been given the information that when someone works in this type of position it means they do not deserve the same respect as someone who works in an office or as another professional. This is something that our students also have to deal with in real life and something that I have dealt with in my own life in the history of my grandmother. Respect of one's job profession comes from how do the job, not what type of job it is. His grandmother had earned the respect of Phil's mother by doing her job well and so did my grandmother.
Another point in the story is the fact that it delves in how we determine relationships in our lives. For instance, Phil believes that being friends with everyone and being someone's friend are
two different things. This is how he segregates his relationships with different students and peers. But students can question are whether Phil is saying this because he does not want to be classified as someone who is prejudiced against Daniel or is this really how everyone else classifies their peer relationships.
This also creates critical thinking and can get students to develop their own understanding of self and how we interact with our environment as it relates to relationships, including friendships and our motives behind how we choose our friends.
Here are great lesson ideas that can be used in conjunction with the book to help new teachers how to engage their students and create critical thinking skills.
http://www2.stillwater.k12.mn.us/sites/363874ed-8822-4032-b432-366a02d38aa1/uploads/The_Jacket_by_A._Clements.pdf
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