DISCUSS

Thinking about teaching Do It Anyway in your classroom, reading it in your book club, or using it as part of a training? Feel free to utilize these discussion questions and activities.

Questions:

1. Courtney Martin writes about the dangerous ease with which many of us were taught that is was our charge to “save the world.” Do you remember when you first heard those words?

2. Those born in 1980 and beyond have been described in the media as “too quiet for their own good,” narcissistic, and apathetic. What are your reactions to these characterizations? Is there truth in them?

3. Martin writes that she focused on U.S.-based activists because she fears that young people sometimes romanticize international work rather than looking at problems in their own backyards. Do you think this is true? Why or why not?

4. Though Martin is grateful for her education, which trained her to think critically about issues from many different angles, she worries that she and her generation are sometimes prone to over-thinking and paralysis. Do you identify with this? What are some key issues that you fall into over-thinking about rather than eventually acting on?

5. Rachel Corrie struggles with an interesting paradox—on the one hand, she feels that she is unique and special and, on the other, she recognizes that her life is very small in comparison to the vastness of the world’s problems. Do you struggle with this same paradox? How do you resolve it in your own life?

6. Part of what makes Raul Diaz’s work so effective is that he works with people within and from his own community. What communities are you a part of? Do you see differing levels of effectiveness when you do social justice work within your own community, as opposed to outside of your familiar sphere?

7. Diaz is primarily working with young men who perpetrated violent crimes at very young ages. How does hearing their stories and getting to know their context better change how you think about juvenile crime sentencing, if at all?

8. Maricela Guzman was the victim of intimate violence within a culture that was explicitly created to prevent, confront, and sometimes, enact political violence. What is the connection?

9. Guzman is the daughter of immigrants, like so many that serve in the U.S. military. In what ways is their service evidence of the existence of “The American Dream”? In what ways does their service demonstrate that “The American Dream” is largely a delusion?

10. Guzman is first able to tell her story among a community of other women who are bravely admitting to having suffered similar injustices. What is it about the group dynamic that allows individuals to finally tell the truth? Have you ever had a similar experience?

11. At first Emily Abt is attracted to social work because she believes it is the most noble service work available, but she soon realizes that she neither enjoys it, nor is she particularly suited for it. What is the danger of having a martyr mentality when it comes to social justice work? What is the role of joy and authenticity in your own activism?

12. What does Abt mean when she advocates for “social courage” in interracial interactions? Do you agree with her? Why or why not? Do you think you possess “social courage?”

13. Abt loses a friend in the process of making one of her documentary films, Take It From Me. Were you in her position, how would you weigh the responsibility to make a compelling, honest film with the responsibility to be a good friend?

14. Nia Martin-Robinson is faced with working on urgent environmental issues within a very slow legislative system. What is the role of compromise in such a predicament? How can one keep working toward an ideal law while recognizing that it will never pass in its ideal form?

15. Martin-Robinson is very tough while engaged in her work in the outside world, but shows a more sensitive side among her family. What do you think about her father’s statement: “She’s too caring. Always has been. You gotta be tough in this world, or people will take advantage of you”?

16. Do you believe, as Tyrone Boucher does, that accumulating wealth is immoral? Why or why not?
How does social justice philanthropy differ from traditional philanthropy? Were you a donor, which would you prefer to be involved in? What about if you were a recipient?

17. Boucher fears that the professionalization of activism within the non-profit sector has pacified people, making them less likely to engage in radical activism like that which exploded during the late 60s and early 70s. What do you think of this critique? Have you ever been involved in direct action (a protest march, boycott, sit-in etc.)? Why or why not?

18. Many young people in the Resource Generation community are queer or non-gender conforming in some way. Boucher feels that these experiences of “otherness” fostered social critique and empathy in his peers—first steps towards questioning the fairness of financial inheritance. Have you ever felt “other”? How did it affect your understanding of systemic oppression?

19. Most of the activists featured in Do It Anyway are organizing to help people get more power. In contrast, Rosario Dawson has an excess of power that she is trying to figure out how to use strategically and ethically. In what ways do you currently have to fight for more power? In what ways do you have an excess that you are or could leverage in the service of others?

20. Dawson’s mother had a huge influence on her activism. In fact, despite the general diversity of the activists featured in Do It Anyway, one thing they all have in common is citing their mothers as an activist influence (even if she didn’t explicitly claim that label). Do you think of your own mother as an activist? What have you learned from her?

21. Another thing that all of the activists had in common is that they had all traveled through post-Katrina New Orleans at some point. What are the benefits and detriments of New Orleans becoming a training ground for so many young activists?

22. Dawson’s “outlier” success, in the parlance of Malcolm Gladwell, is dependent on a combination of fate, family, and dedication. How do you see these three elements influencing your activism?

23. Many experts believe that what low-performing students in low-income areas need is more self-initiation and discipline, and yet, Dena Simmons’ classroom is more structured around love and interdependence. What do you make of this?

24. Simmons has very high expectations for her students, despite the odds. Do you find this inspiring, delusional, both? Is she being realistic enough with her students?

25. Simmons was greatly influenced by growing up with a twin sister who suffered from a chronic disease. What kinds of personal experiences of suffering have you or your close friends or family experienced that have shaped your desire to make the world better?

26. Dena is critical of Teach for America, which she believes normalizes a temporary mentality when it comes to teaching and doesn’t push its fellows to face their own assumptions and bias. What do you think about her critique?

27. Do you think Dena did the right thing in leaving the classroom to pursue a Ph.D.? Why or why not?

28. Which activist did you identify with the most? Which one did you like the least? Why?

29. Martin was shocked when her father admitted that he actually thought he could change the world when he was her age? Do you believe that you have the power to change the world? Why or why not?

30. Martin writes, “Good failures are what you achieve when you aim to transform an entire broken system and end up healing one broken soul.” What have been some of your best failures along the way? What did you learn from them?

Exercises:

1. Find an article in the mainstream media over the last six months in which Generation Y or Millenials are discussed. Compare and contrast the way in which Martin portrays her generation in Do It Anyway from the way the author of the article does.

2. Create a timeline, beginning with your birthday and ending with today’s date. What are the seminal political and cultural moments that have shaped how you look at social justice work? (To get you started: Martin mentions the terrorist attacks of September 11th and Barack Obama’s election in 2008, among others.)

3. Research the current litigation surrounding Rachel Corrie’s death. Do you think the legal process and the resulting decisions are honoring her sacrifice, and the sacrifice of her family and friends? Why or why not?

4. Research the current laws in your community around sentencing minors. Do you think they are fair? Why or why not? What might you do to act on your convictions?

5. Research the American Dream Act. Find an immigrant attending your school and interview them about their ideas about nationalism, education, and immigration policy. What did you learn?

6. Watch one of Emily Abt’s documentary films and write a review of it.

7. Create a poster to educate your fellow students about the urgency of climate change legislation, making clear why it is personal to them. Hang them around campus and note the reactions.

8. You have just unexpectedly inherited $400,000. Write up a budget for what you plan to do with it.

9. Many teachers don’t receive the gratitude they deserve. Write a letter to the teacher that made a biggest difference in your life and send it to them via old-fashioned mail.

10. Martin advocates that each of us must find where our gifts meet the world’s needs. Draw a line down the middle of a piece of paper. On one side, list all of your gifts. On the other, list some of the world’s needs. Now draw lines between those that have some relationship. Do any of these connections excite you?

11. Write a profile of a local activist in your community. Rather than focusing on what he or she does, focus on why he or she does it. What did you learn?

12. Write an op-ed or a letter to the editor to your favorite publication, website, or blog, asking that they publish more stories about the interesting things young people are doing to try to make the world a better place.