With the passing of civil rights advocate and former South African president Nelson Mandela, teachers across the division found ways to bring his legacy into the classroom.
Government teachers examined the impact of his life during current event discussions. Students at the Advanced Technology Center developed online social media platform templates honoring Mandela’s life and career. One science teacher at Bayside Middle School even found a way to connect Mandela with a physical science lesson.
Beverly Felder’s eighth-grade science students paid tribute to Mandela’s legacy by viewing a lesson on the periodic table in a new light.
Felder said her students, led by student-teacher, Sheila Anacta, researched Mandela’s writings and interviews. Over and over, the message of equality kept ringing through, which led to a connection for Felder’s physical science lesson.
“We were trying to tie it into science,” Felder said. “Since we were working on the periodic table and we’re working with elements, let’s start pulling out the elements that deal with the human body… because we are all made up of the same elements.”
As a tribute, students then created a poster of the nine basic chemical elements for life: hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, chlorine, phosphorous, sulfur, nitrogen, sodium and potassium. It also bore a special message: “Nelson Mandela’s legacy has taught us that no matter what our background, religion, race, or gender, we are all equal and made up of the same basic elements . . .”
The poster is still on display in the school’s hallway.
I am pleased to see student teaching by a mature African American.
Congratulations Mrs. Felder and students. History, science, and character education — cross curriculum at work!