A Special Celebration
For the third year in a row, the National Middle School Association (NMSA),
Court TV and AT&T are joining forces to celebrate October as "Month of
the Young Adolescent." Opening the Door to Diversity: Voices from
the Middle School, a Choices and Consequences Special Presentation
is this year's contribution and the focus of an all day programming event
on Court TV called "A Day of Diversity."
About The Program
On October 26, 1999, twenty-five extraordinary young adolescents will
assemble at AT&T's National Digital Television Center (NDTC) in Littleton,
Colorado for a live telecast of Opening the Door to Diversity,
a national dialogue on tolerance and diversity. Their candid views on
identity and stereotyping will be the cornerstone of this hour-long program
that will reach thousands of middle schools across the country via local
cable systems, satellite providers and an internet webcast.
An Innovative Approach
Middle-school students at the NDTC studio will be part of an interactive
classroom connected via AT&T@Home broadband with other middle school students
at remote sites located at Caesar Chavez Middle School in Hayward, CA;
Carey Junior High in Cheyenne, WY, and Eberhart Elementary School in Chicago,
IL.
What Students Will Learn From The Program
o An understanding that differences are OK and are needed to create the
strong foundation upon which the United States is built.
o Information on the harmful impact of intolerance.
o A chance to see positive ways adolescents are dealing with diversity
issues.
o The opportunity to be heard and have their voices counted on this topic
in a nationwide forum.
o A foundation for valuing the importance of diversity.
o Tools to help them develop appropriate strategies to use in real situations.
When to Watch
This program will be telecast live at 12noon ET on Court TV and will be
rebroadcast at 7PM ET and 11PM to encourage family viewing.
* If the local cable system does not carry Court TV-
Court TV's signal can be down-linked at no charge from GE-1 103 west latitude,
Transponder 13 audio channel 1 and put on PEG channels or Local Origination
channels at the cable system. If a school or district has its own C-band
dish, it can also access the show through the same coordinates at the
noted times.
In Preparation
Four pre-produced video segments will be part of the program. These segments
will define diversity, explore cliques and stereotypes, examine how media
images affect our understanding of the world, and provide an example of
young adolescents working to create an environment of acceptance and tolerance
in their school or community.
After September 1, the four segments will be available online at www.courttv.com/diversity/guide.html
In addition, they will air on Court TV's Cable in the Classroom program
time at 4AM ET on October 2, 9, 16, and 23. Teachers are encouraged to
tape the program for classroom use in preparation for the October 26 show.
There are also four lesson plans that have been developed for teachers
to prepare students for the live show. These lesson plans are also available
through Court TV's website, and can be ordered through the NMSA's fax-on-demand
service at 1-888-FAX-NMSA- request document #7009. The complete show will
air again on October 30 at 4AM and videotapes may be purchased through
Court TV's VideoTape Library Service at 1-800-888-4580.
Follow-up Activities
A resource guide featuring the first four lesson plans and six additional
lesson plans designed to aid teachers in addressing tolerance and diversity
issues will be available after October 4. This resource guide also suggests
connections to learning standards and provides links to several sites
for support material. Five hard copies of the resource guide will be sent
to every middle school/Junior high school in the country the first week
in October, and additional copies can be order through Court TV's Choices
and Consequences Hotline at 1-800-333-7649. The resource guide will also
be available online at www.courttv.com/diversity/guide.html.
Special Thanks
This program and its ancillary materials have been produced through the
cooperation of Court TV, AT&T, the National Middle School Association,
the Anti-Defamation League, Cable in the Classroom, and the US Department
of Education with assistance of the US Department of Justice.