Hug a Muslim

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/muslim-man-stood-blindfolded-centre-13106174

Following the attack on the MEN Arena in Manchester in May 2017, a Muslim man Baktash Noori stood blindfolded in the centre of the city with a sign saying, 

"I'm a Muslim and I trust you. Do you trust me enough for a hug?"

and he waited.

Some people walked past but after about 30 seconds an older man walked past and read the sign, he then turned back and approached Baktash and hugged him. As he hugged the older man said, "You're not alone, kid. And don't think you're outside."

Straight away a woman approached Baktash and hugged him, saying, "Love you". Dozens of people then did the same.

Baktash said, "With every hug I received the comments were amazing. Some were getting all teary and it's not hard to tell by a person's hug and tone of voice how much better their and my day became because of this."

Show the first picture

What do you see? What do you think is happening? Where is the picture taken? What do you notice about the person standing in the photo with their arms outstretched?

Explain the story

Show the next photos as you tell the story to show the different people that hugged Baktash. What do you notice about the people hugging Baktash.

- Why is Baktash doing this?

- Why do you think he wore a blindfold?

- At first no one stopped - why?

- The first hug came from a man who read the sign as he walked past and then he went back to hug Baktash. Why do you think he carried on walking at first?

- Why did the man say to Baktash, "Don't think you're outside"? What does he mean?

- Straight away another person hugged Baktash - why?

- Baktash was hugged by many people; black, white, old, young, male female, with disabilities, probably different faith, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender; what does this show about people of Manchester?

- Do you think this could happen in our city? Why? Are people in our city different to people in Manchester?

- Next week a small group of people who don't understand about No Outsiders or about diversity say they are planning to hurt people. What could they learn from this story?

- Baktash is a grown man and he did this as an experiment. Is it safe for a child to do this experiment? Would Baktash want to see children doing this? Why not? 

- Why are some people afraid of difference? (because some people don't understand about No Outsiders; some people think we all have to be the same. We know that's not the case - we know it's ok to be different, and our city is better because we are all different)

- If you see something that makes you feel worried, what must you do? (Keep safe, tell an adult)

- Think about this story and all the stories we've looked at in assemblies this year; what do they show most people in the UK think about diversity and difference?

- What can we learn from this story?

- Why is this story about No Outsiders

Gender Equality Barbie

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/03/06/us/barbie-dolls-inspiring-women-trnd/index.html

To celebrate international women's day the makers of Barbie dolls have released a new group of dolls based on real life, inspirational women. Mattel surveyed 80,000 mothers around the world and found that 80% were worried about role models for their daughters.

Among the inspirational women is Amelia Earhart, the first woman to fly across the Atlantic ocean, Katherine Johnson, an African-American mathematician whose work in NASA space programmes ensured successful space travel, and Mexican artist Frida Khalo.

There are 14 'Sheroes' from 11 countries. The group includes a film director, journalist, a fashion designer, an entrepreneur and an Olympic snowboarder. Mattel Spokeswoman Marissa beck says, "The inspiring women series pays tribute to incredible heroines of their time; courageous women who took risks, changed rules and paved the way for generations of girls to dream bigger than ever before."

What do you see in the picture?

Are these dolls different to dolls you usually see in shops? How?

What do you think the story behind these dolls might be?

Explain the story

- What is a Barbie doll?

- What is the image you have of a Barbie doll? 

- What is a role model?

- Why do you think so many mothers were worried about role models for children who play with dolls?

- Think about dolls that are male and dolls that are female- how are they often different?

- Why do you think Mattel want children to play with a doll of the first woman to fly across the Atlantic, or a doll of an Olympic snowboarder? 

- Are these dolls just for girls?

- What are these dolls teaching children?

- Why is this story about No Outsiders?

"No Outsiders in our school: teaching the Equality Act in Primary School" by Andrew Moffat

"Reclaiming radical ideas in schools: preparing young children for life in modern Britain" by Andrew Moffat

Civil rights

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/09/civil-rights-pioneer-viola-desmond-is-first-woman-on-canadian-currency?CMP=share_btn_fb

In 1946 Viola Desmond was on a business trip when her car broke down 100 miles from Halifax, Canada. While her car was being repaired she decided to go to the local cinema. The cinema was segregated; white people were seated downstairs and black people were seated in the balcony. Viola tried to buy a downstairs ticket because she was short sighted, but she was refused. She bought a ticket for the balcony but sat downstairs. Viola was dragged out of the cinema, arrested and spent 12 hours in jail. She was later fined $26.

Viola died in 1965 but her story helped start the civil rights movement in Canada.

In 2010 the government apologised to Viola and pardoned her. 

On 8th March 2018, 72 years after Viola stood up to discrimination, the government announced her face would feature on the new $10 bill. Viola is the first Canadian woman and first black person to have their face used on a bank note. Viola's sister, Wanda Robson, unveiled the banknote. Wanda said, "It's beyond what I ever thought. It's beautiful. I say thank you thank you thank you. Our family will go down in history - in history, imagine that!"

What do you see in the picture?

What do you think is happening?

Where is it? 

Are there any clues on the screen as to what  the story is about?

Explain the story

- What does segregation mean?

-  Why were some places segregated? (Because in the past many people didn't understand about difference and diversity and thought black and white people could not work together. This meant some countries had laws separating people because of their skin)

- What law do we have in the UK today to make sure segregation does not happen today? (The Equality Act 2010)

- In 1946 Viola broke the law when she sat downstairs in the cinema. Why did she choose to do that?

- How do you think she felt when she chose to sit downstairs?

- When Viola was arrested and fined, how do you think she felt?

- What was the Civil Rights movement?

- The government has chosen to put Viola's face on a $10 bill. What does this show us about how they feel about her actions in 1946?

- What does this show us about ideas and how ideas can change?

- How would Viola feel if she knew she was on a $10 bill in 2018?

- Why does Wanda say, "Our family will go down in history- imagine that!"?

- What can we learn from Viola?

- What can we learn from the Canadian government?

- Why is this story about No Outsiders?

"No Outsiders in our school: Teaching the Equality Act in primary schools" by Andrew Moffat

"Reclaiming radical ideas in schools: Preparing young children for life in modern Britain" by Andrew Moffat 

Thomas the goose

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-43054363

Thomas the goose died on February 6th 2018 aged 40 years. Thomas was famous throughout New Zealand; he became a symbol for diversity and different families across the world.

In 1990 a white swan named Thomas met a black swan named Henrietta who flew in to Waimanu Lagoon, an estuary on the coast of New Zealand. Thomas and Henrietta formed a bond and nested together for 18 years. However, in 1998 a young female swan entered the lagoon and was often seen with Henrietta. Before long, to everyone's shock the female swan laid an egg. For 18 years everyone had assumed Henrietta the black swan was a female swan, but it turns out she was male. Thomas and the black swan has been in a happy gay relationship for 18 years. Henrietta was renamed Henry and the new female swan was named Henrietta.

Thomas became jealous of the female swan Henrietta, and showed aggressive behaviour towards the couple. But everything changed when their chicks were born; Thomas took to the babies and joined the family, helping them to grow. Henry and Henrietta went on to have 68 cygnets over the next 6 years and Thomas stayed with them, helping to raise the swans, teaching them to fly and taking care of them when their parents did not.

Thomas became famous and tourists came from across the world to watch him help the cygnets to grow and follow Henry and Henrietta around.

In 2009 Henry the black swan died of old age and Henrietta found a new partner. After a while Thomas found a new female partner and had 10 chicks of his own. His eyesight began to fail and by 2013 Thomas was blind; he was moved to a bird sanctuary where he was cared for for the rest of his life.

A memorial was held for Thomas the goose and it was decided to bury him next to Henry the black swan. An epitaph by New Zealand performer Pinky Agnew has been written on a plaque in tribute to Thomas:
Here lies Thomas, the great-hearted goose,
Nestled near Henry in their final roost,
Here where they raised young and found sanctuary,
Somewhere above us these great souls fly free.

What do you see in the picture?
What do you notice about the animals (similarities, differences)

Explain the story

- Why do you think Thomas the goose became famous?
- What does this story demonstrate about families? (families can be different, families can change)
- What does Thomas's fame show about how people around the world view different families?
- Some people say Thomas is bisexual; what does this mean? (definition from Stonewall 'Getting started' toolkit: "Bisexual is a word to describe someone who falls in love with, or wants to have a relationship or partnership with someone of the same gender as them or with someone of a different gender to them. A bisexual person might say that the gender of the person they fall in love with doesn’t matter to them.")
- Why does the epitaph call Thomas 'great-hearted'?
- What can we learn from Thomas the goose?
- What can we learn from New Zealand and their reaction to Thomas the goose?
- Why is this story about No Outsiders?

No Outsiders in our school: Teaching the Equality Act in Primary Schools by Andrew Moffat

Reclaiming radical ideas in schools: Preparing young children for life in modern Britain by Andrew Moffat 

Olympic ski story

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more-sports/mexican-skier-takes-time-celebrate-dead-article-1.3825255

The cross country skiing event at the Winter Olympics 2018 was won by Dario Cologna of Switzerland but the race became famous for the people who came in last, 23 minutes later.

Finishing in 114th place, 3rd from last, seen here in the picture was Pita Taufatofua from Tongo, who had never seen snow a year ago. Pita practised on roller skis and his first time on snow was only 12 weeks ago. Pita said his aim in the event was to finish before the lights went out and avoid skiing in  to a tree.

Pita then waited at the finish line with other competitors from Colombia, Morocco and Portugal for the person who came in last; German Madrasgo from Mexico who came 116th. As German crossed the line he was greeted with huge cheers and was hoisted up on the shoulders of his competitors while he waved his flag. German only started skiing last year. This picture quickly went viral around the world.

As he was interviewed later, Pita Taufatofua said, "I'd rather be finishing towards the end of the pack with all my friends than in the middle by myself. We fought together, we finished together."

What do you see in the picture?

Where do you think the picture was taken and what is happening?

Say the picture was taken at the finish line of a race. Who do you think the people are?

Explain the story

- Why are they smiling and cheering?

- The man on their shoulders came last; why is he celebrating?

- Why did Pita and other competitors wait for German?

- The three men in the picture are all different nationalities and may have different language, faith, culture; what does this demonstrate about different people? (we have things that unite us)

- Why did the picture go viral?

- Why didn't a picture of the person who won the race go viral? What does this show about people around the world?

- What can we learn from Pita and German?

- Why is this story about No Outsiders? 

"No Outsiders in our school: teaching the Equality Act in Primary schools" by Andrew Moffat

"Reclaiming radical ideas in schools: Preparing young children for life in modern Britain" by Andrew Moffat