A 7th grade social studies class at Evans, taught by Cooper Smith, is currently working on a human rights unit. We have discussed the development and denial of human rights around the world. In each of our Global Issues units, we focus on how our students can truly impact the world we live in. Students have difficulty understanding that even as 12- or 13-year-old, they can have an impact on the world they live in.
To illustrate this, Smith reached out to a well-known human rights activist with Iowa roots, Mary Beth Tinker.
Tinker, a student at Harding Junior High School in Des Moines, was one of a few students who went against a school ban of wearing black armbands to school to mourn the loss of life in Vietnam as well as showing support for the Christmas truce called by Senator Robert Kennedy. Tinker and others were suspended from school. After an appeal by the Iowa Civil Liberties Union, the case eventually reached the U.S. Supreme Court in 1968. In 1969, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the students. This was a landmark decision that showed students in public schools have First Amendment rights. Tinker continues her work as an activist for human rights to this day.
Tinker will hold a virtual Zoom meeting with our 7th grade students to discuss her experiences Friday, February 19 at 9:10 a.m.