Do school rivalries still exist?
- Is there still a rivalry between ETHS and New Trier?
- What other high schools around Chicago have intense rivalries that sometimes result in violence, cyber-bullying or hating?
"Why do you hate us so much?"
—
ETHS student to New Trier student and
New Trier student to ETHS student, 2003
Part I - Resolutions: Introductions
This video is part one in a three part series called Resolutions: A Digital Dialogue conducted in 2003 between students from New Trier High School and Evanston Township High School. Mindy Faber (ETHS) and Stephen Murphy (New Trier) collaborated to serve as project leads and curriculum designers. The project was funded by a grant from Northwestern University School of Education and Social Policy.
Resolutions took place over an entire semester. The project was influenced by theories and practices of Paulo Friere, community art practice and youth media education. The project was student-centered and student led with teachers serving as mentors/guides and facilitators helping students answer an inquiry based essential question that was compelling to them all - “why is the rivalry between New Trier and Evanston so intense that it often leads to violence?”
"I think they do [look down on us]. What do they call us? Ghetto High."
— ETHS Student, 2003
Part I of Resolutions: A Digital Dialogue - First Impressions.
Students from ETHS and New Trier formed questions that they posed on video to their classmates and one another. This video shows responses to two of those questions: 1) Does New Trier look down on ETHS, 2) What is the first thing you think of when you hear “New Trier” or “Evanston”? The video shows ETHS first and then New Trier.
"I’m not even gonna lie, straight up, they get a better education than us."
— ETHS Student commenting on New Trier students, 2003
From Part I of Resolutions: Perceptions on Education Quality
This video contains excerpts from DVDs students created from New Trier and Evanston Township High School about their perception of the quality of education between the two schools.
"I don’t know why you guys think we’re racists…I was just born into a family and this is just where I live and this is where I go to school. I wish you wouldn’t judge me."
— New Trier student, after viewing Part I of Resolutions, 2003
Part II of Resolutions: Reactions and Identity Corrections - The students from the two high schools exchanged and watched each others’ videos on the same day. After the viewing, they recorded their reactions. As teachers, we asked if there were misperceptions or representations of identity that they wished to “correct.” These videos about their reactions were then also exchanged. After that, the students from the two schools came together to create Part III.
"When we were in that room…it was a real deep moment because people started sharing their personal feelings. And when that started happening, we figured out so much more about why this actually exists. It goes beyond so much more than just a sports rivalry."
— ETHS Student at conclusion of project, 2003
Part III - Resolutions: A Digital Dialogue.
This video was made by ETHS students and interweaves footage shot from when the students shadowed each other at one another’s schools as well as clips from a three hour discussion that took place in the TV studio at ETHS. That discussion was catalyzed by the videos each group made and was facilitated by Ra Joy. The discussion probed issues of how race, class and white privilege impact student’s personal, social and educational lives. After the students all met one another, the teachers then asked the students if their views had changed.
Choice excerpts from the face to face conversation. This two hour dialogue between New Trier and Evanston high school students was facilitated by Ra Joy. It was transcribed and analyzed by Professor Sophie Hartounian-Gordon for her study on Deep Listening and Learning Transformation. Sophie is the Chair of the Dept of Learning and Social Sciences at Northwestern University and author of Turning the Soul: Teaching through Conversation in the High School.
The names have been changed in video and numbers refer to lines in transcript.
