Learning to Give, Curriculum Division of The LEAGUE
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Purpose:
To introduce students to famous people who have acted for the public good and to identify how philanthropy affects the public good.
Duration:
One or Two Fifty-Minute Class Periods
Objectives:
The learner will:
- list sports and philanthropic accomplishments of Jackie Robinson, Arthur Ashe, Tiger Woods and Jackie-Joyner Kerseee.
- identify the benefits of private action for the public good.
Materials:
- Sports Heroes Analysis Chart Attachment One
- Athlete Biographies (Optional):
Jackie Robinson Attachment Two
Arthur Ashe Attachment Three
Tiger Woods Attachment Four
Jackie Joyner-Kersee Attachment Five
- Internet access may be used instead of the handouts.
Instructional Procedure(s):
- Anticipatory Set:
- Write Jackie Robinson, Arthur Ashe, Tiger Woods on the chalkboard.
- Ask students if they know anything about them. What is their sport? (baseball, tennis and golf) Why is each well known? (They excelled in their sports and were excellent athletes.) What do they have in common? (various answers possible-they were great achievers in their sport; two were famous long ago; they broke racial barriers)
- Discuss and/or list the information on the overhead or board.
- Explain to students that they will be learning something else about these celebrity athletes that they probably do not know.
- Distribute Sports Heroes Analysis Chart (see Attachment One). Using the following questions, discuss the column labeled philanthropy:
- What does philanthropy mean? (the giving of one's time, talent or money to the benefit of humanity)
- Ask students to give an example of philanthropic actions. (These examples might include United Way, Red Cross blood donors, church youth groups, soup kitchen volunteers, Andrew Carnegie building libraries, groups to change laws, civic participation for improving communities.) What are the benefits of private action for the public good? Can students identify how these actions they listed help the public?
- Ask the students if these philanthropic actions show responsibility? In what philanthropies do they already participate? (For example, they might suggest scouting projects, school projects that help others, such as collecting cans of food for the needy, neighborhood clean up projects, or environmental projects.)
- What does philanthropy mean? (the giving of one's time, talent or money to the benefit of humanity)
- Ask the students what they might like to do to be a responsible citizen. What is a responsible citizen? (One who acts in a virtuous and ethically responsible way as a member of society.) Ask students to consider the effects of an individual's actions on other people. Explain that they are going to learn with what philanthropies Jackie Robinson, Arthur Ashe and Tiger Wood were or are involved.
- Divide the class into groups of three to five students and assign each group one of the athletes listed on the chart. Using Jackie Joyner-Kersee as an example, show students how to fill in the chart for their athlete:
Hero Sports Achievement Philanthropic Achievements Impact on the Community Jackie Joyner-Kersee - Gold Medal: 1988 & 1992 Olympics (heptathlon)
- Gold Medal: 1988 Olympics (long jump)
CEO, JJK Youth Center Foundations (supports development of leadership programs in East St. Louis) - Co-author: A Woman's Place Is Everywhere
- President & Founder: JJK & Associates (represents 15-20 athletes)
- Have each group research their sports hero, filling in the information on the chart. The information may be gathered as a research project on the Internet or in the library or using the attached handouts as the source of information. When all groups have completed their task, return the class to a whole group format. Combine the information obtained.
Assessment:
Pair each student with a partner. At the completion of the lesson, each student should describe to his or her partner a way that society as a whole benefits from philanthropy or the good actions of its citizens. Taking turns, each partner should state a sports achievement, philanthropic achievement and the impact on the community of a sports hero studied today.
Extension:
Have students visit http://www.utexas.edu/students/jackie/robinson/barriers.html. This site is the source of information on "African American Barrier Breakers in Sports." Have students complete the chart below and then visit the biography site at the same address and find out more about these athletes and others. This chart can also be edited to include women or other ethnic groups.
Baseball Football Basketball Hockey Golf Tennis Jackie Robinson Charles Follis Earl Lloyd Willie O'Ree John Shippen Althea Gibson
Bibliographical References:
- Ashe, Arthur: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/tennis/features/1997/arthurashe/sport1.html (This site is a good site for Ashe's philosophy and philanthropic activities.)
- Joyner-Kersee, Jackie:
http://espn.go.com/classic/biography/s/joyner-kersee_jackie.html (sports).
http://www.onphilanthropy.com/op2002-04-17.html (philanthropy).
- Jackie Robinson: The Jackie Robinson Society, most complete Jackie Robinson site on the Web — http://www.utexas.edu/students/jackie/index.html
- Tiger Woods: Official Web site — http://www.tigerwoods.com
http://ww1.sportsline.com/u/fans/celebrity/tiger/course/foundation.html ("Off the Course." — Tiger Woods Foundation)
Lesson Developed and Piloted by:
Cythia MilesMt. Pleasant Public Schools
Mt. Pleasant High School
Mt. Pleasant, MI 48858
Handouts:
Handout 1Print Handout 1
Sports Heroes Analysis Chart
| Hero | Sports Achievements | Philanthropic Achievements | Impact on the Community |
| Jackie Robinson
Source: |
|||
| Arthur Ashe
Source |
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| Tiger Woods
Source: |
Handout 2Print Handout 2
Athlete Biographies: Jackie Robinson
b. 1919, d. 1972. Grandson of slaves, Jackie Robinson was born in Georgia and moved to Pasadena, California as a baby. At high school and at the University of California (UCLA) he lettered in football, basketball, baseball and track. In the army during World War II, he trained soldiers to drive army tanks but found that he encountered racism, which he actively resisted. When the war was over in 1945, Jackie decided to play pro baseball. Because at that time blacks were not allowed to play in the major leagues, he played with the Negro leagues. On long trips by bus, they often found that restaurants did not serve food to blacks and they had to eat outside. Then Branch Rickey, who ran the major league Brooklyn Dodgers, came up with a plan to integrate the major leagues. Mr. Rickey wanted someone who could stand up to taunts from bullies and racists and not lose his temper. Mr. Rickey said, "I'm looking for a ballplayer with guts enough not to fight back." When he started playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, Jackie faced many tests and he passed them all, even when there were insults, name calling, balls pitched at his head and death threats.With support from his wife Rachel, African American fans and eventually some of his fellow Dodgers, he was able to withstand the pressure and achieve great heights. In 1947, he was the National League MVP. His breakthrough into major league sports helped many Americans change their thinking and paved the way for many black athletes to come after him.
Jackie Robinson retired after the 1956 season and by that time, nearly every team in baseball had African American players and most pro teams in other sports also had black players. When he retired from baseball, he became active in the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) as a main speaker at fundraisers. He received the NAACP's Spingarn Medal for meritorious service to Black America. He also served as chairman of the Freedom Fund Drive, which aimed to raise $1 million for Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.
In 1957 he wrote a letter to President Eisenhower encouraging the president to take action against Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus, who was trying to prevent integration of the Little Rock schools. He became active in politics at the national level supporting various presidential candidates. He also traveled with Reverend Martin Luther King to Birmingham, Alabama to work on civil rights issues.
Handout 3Print Handout 3
Athlete Biographies: Arthur Ashe
b. 1943, d. 1993In 1968 he became the first African American tennis player to win a major men's tennis title, the U.S. National Amateur Singles competition. Also that year he won the U.S. Open and was the first African American to play on the U.S. Davis Cup team. He turned professional and won the Australian Open in 1970 and Wimbledon in 1975. He suffered a mild heart attack, had triple bypass surgery and retired from competitive tennis. He later had additional heart bypass surgery, which is when he contracted AIDS from a blood transfusion. He died 10 months later from AIDS-related infections. In 1997, a new tennis stadium in Flushing Meadows, N.Y., was named for him.
Arthur Ashe took a role in the political arena in opposing the Bush administration's policy toward Haitian refugees, and in projects such as demonstrations against apartheid in South Africa. The various programs he supported were combined into four categories under the Arthur Ashe Foundation. Funding and assistance are granted to programs that fall under: 1) education and literacy, 2) student athletes and mentoring, 3) at-risk youth/inner city tennis, and, 4) public health.
Handout 4Print Handout 4
Athlete Biographies: Tiger Woods
b. 1975He attended high school in Anaheim, California and college at Stanford University. Eldrick (Tiger) Woods won the 1997 Masters Tournament, breaking records. Not only was he the youngest Masters champion ever (age 21) but he was the first major championship winner of African or Asian heritage. His 1997 worldwide earnings were $2,400,832 in 45 tournaments. Tiger was the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year in 1996. He has set up a foundation called the Tiger Woods Foundation. Its purpose is to encourage and promote parental responsibility and involvement in the lives of children and to celebrate the spirit of inclusion in all aspects of human life. The Foundation also conducts golf clinics in major cities for young people historically denied access to golf. It also supports programs that promote educational achievement and job opportunities for inner-city and other disadvantaged youth, and participates in programs and events that promote racial harmony and helps people understand and appreciate the value of inclusiveness.
Unit Contents:
Overview:Sports Legends and Philanthropy—Jackie Robinson, Arthur Ashe, Tiger Woods and Jackie Joyner-Kersee Summary
Lessons:
- 1.
- Sports Heroes and Private Action for the Public Good
- 2.
- Philanthropy of Sports Heroes and Myself
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