Katie Brown Educational Program: Classroom Based Educational Program

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Classroom Based Educational Program: 8th Grade
Do you remember middle school? For most of us, whether we realized it or not, those were a very busy couple of years. Along with school work and an ever-growing multitude of after-school activities, we had obligations to friends and family, and of course homework, helping out around the house, sometimes a part-time job - the list goes on and on. In addition to all of that, this is the time when many young people are just beginning to date. The KBEP curriculum for 8th graders deals with attitudes and stereotypes about gender, the expectations we have of the people we become involved with, and the expectations we place on ourselves. As with each of the KBEP curricula, the primary goal is to provide young people with the tools they'll need to keep themselves safe.

A brief overview of The Katie Brown Educational Program's 8th Grade Curriculum:
At the end of the first class session, students will:
Be able to define relationship violence
Be able to identify the four types of violence
Reflect on their current beliefs and attitudes about gender
Practice standing up for what they believe in

At the end of the second class session, students will:
Practice skills for working in groups (some single gender, some co-gender
groups),
Explore the beliefs and attitudes that exist in our society regarding gender, and
examine which of those are stereotypical, unfair, or damaging
Reflect on and discuss which, if any, of those stereotypical attitudes
they currently hold.

At the end of the third class session, students will:
Continue to build group work skills
Identify where stereotypical ideas come from
Discuss the effects of the media and its messages about gender

At the end of the fourth session, students will:
Examine their personal expectation of their own gender and the opposite gender
Practice group presentation skills
Reflect on the current climate of cross-gender expectations in their environment,
and decide if they are comfortable with the status
Reflect on students' own expectations for their relationships

At the conclusion of the fifth and final session, students will:
Examine that both genders have similar expectations for their relationships
Be able to recognize reasonable and unreasonable expectations