For your final activity, you will complete an assignment in blackboard addressing the GE Student Learning Outcome – Personal and Social Responsibility: Demonstrates knowledge and skills necessary to take responsibility for one’s own life and actions, and to recognize opportunities and responsibilities to become engaged in our various local, regional, national, and international communities. You will have the opportunity to recognize unsustainable values, norms, perspectives, and practices that marginalize individuals as a result of their gender and sexuality. You will identify sources of your own biases and stereotypes and will be given the opportunity to develop a more fluid and inclusive view of gender and sexuality. This SLO will be assessed through selected activities and the oral presentation. You will use what you learned in class this semester to write a 2 – 3 page essay regarding personal and social responsibility regarding the content of this course. Remember to be sensitive and not offensive or judgmental. 1. Compose your essay as if you were writing a “letter to the editor” of a newspaper on a specific topic. The cohesiveness of your letter is determined by the extent to which you can stay on topic. Sample topics include bullying of LGBTQ children or other LGBTQ issues (including parenting by same sex couples), gender inequality or stereotyping, misconceptions of intersex or transgender, or media stereotyping. You are not limited to these sample topics. If you are not sure if your topic is appropriate, please send me a message in Blackboard. 2. In your letter, discuss three things that you have learned in this class regarding children’s gender and sexuality development and name your sources on the specific topic that you have chosen (don’t jump around regarding your topics). You may use the sources discussed in class, or you may use an outside source as long as you identify the author(s) by name and cite the source at the end of the assignment using APA style formatting. Lecture videos are not considered sources because the editor would not have access to them. 3. Give an example of your own bias or stereotype and how you have confronted or changed your bias. Even if you don’t think you are biased, you may have a stereotype because you may not know a lot about certain individuals. You could address a cultural stereotype or bias that you may have had; for example, the article by Jamil et al. (2009) discussed cultural differences in GBQ male ethnic minorities. 4a. Identify a value, norm, perspective, or practice that marginalizes GLBTQ children and/or families OR children regarding their gender development. This point should also be related to your topic. 4b. How would social policy or a societal value be changed to be more inclusive? Marginalizing means that a particular group does not have equal access to resources or is not valued for the human capital and potential that the group has. This may also be based on gender stereotypes. You might discuss contexts in which LGBTQ children are discriminated (social), and biological aspects of sexual orientation (biological), and synthesize with a social policy discussion of equality. There are weblinks, such as the American Psychological Association weblink in Blackboard that may help you to formulate your ideas in addition to the content in the Social Policy area of the course. 5. What does being inclusive mean? Be specific and detailed (you may want to give an example). For more information regarding what it means to be inclusive, see the Denver Foundation’s inclusiveness project: http://www.nonprofitinclusiveness.org/definitions-inclusiveness-and-inclusive-organizations-0 What are your recommendations for making children’s or family environments more inclusive (e.g., school environment is a context that would be applied to high school teachers and students)? Here is an example of a website that promotes inclusivity in schools from tolerance.org (you may have to copy and paste into your browser). http://www.tolerance.org/lgbt-best-practices 6. End with a conclusion. Submit your activity to the link in Blackboard. If you have problems with submitting your assignment, you must contact me right away. Delaying may result in you turning in your assignment late, which will result in a deduction of points. You are ultimately responsible for when your assignment is turned in. Grading – Please see the grading rubric posted in this folder and the assignment link. Your presentation will be evaluated on: 1. Writing mechanics, including organization, grammar, and spelling. 2. Presentation of information and documentation of sources 3. Components of personal and social responsibility as identified above.