Lifeboat discussion

The ELA teacher and I modified a lesson called "Lifeboat" for the students today. There are 15 people on a sinking ship and the life boat only holds 9. Who do you save? Here was our list: 

white pregnant women

black boy

black girl

hispanic teacher

black priest

white rabbi

black fisherman

white boatbuilder

middle eastern professional athlete

middle eastern single dad

President Obama

white cancer patient

hispanic male doctor

white female doctor

(I can't remember the last one)

The outcomes... Some groups made decisions based on skill with a little emotional reasoning. Others went purely by the heart. Every group chose to save the white pregnant women. Reasons ranged from the very practical "You're saving two lives with only one spot on the boat" to the more emotional "You can't let her die...she's pregnant, can't do that." After each group had shared we went back to the single dad. We brought up the point that while not pregnant, he does have kids. Not only that, he is a "single dad" meaning he is the primary caregiver for that child(ren). Not a single group put him in their top 5. Why? Here is where things took a turn. The first reason was that his kids could just go live with someone else. I think this attitude is telling of where my students come from and their experiences growing up. The second answer though elicited a lot of conversation. "We didn't save him because he might be a terrorist." After further probing at least one group felt it was acceptable to not take the dad, even at the expense of his children's welfare because "his kids are probably going to be terrorist." Wow. We discussed at length the assumptions that were being made and if they were justified. Briefly we touched on the effects the media has on our perceptions as well. This lesson didn't fit any science standards but it certainly fit the "how to be a better person" standard that was left out of the CC standards.