By, Caroline Hearle

At Winsor, we are often encouraged to unwaveringly pursue our ideals and unapologetically voice our opinions. However, we are presented with few tangible opportunities to practice this important skill. Politics of Identity, taught by Mr. Braxton, is one of these rare occasions. This senior elective culminates in a project called Taking A Stand, which, in Mr. Braxton’s words, allows students to design their own “blueprint for change.” He agreed that it was crucial to “have a project in which students not only became aware of an important issue, but decided to create some sort of change about the issue that they are passionate about.” He also remarked that he sees it as a “culminating project of everything students have learned over their Winsor years and a way to practice leadership skills.”

A vital requirement of the project is contacting someone to interview who has professional insight on the topic. While the idea of reaching out to strangers was more than slightly intimidating, the process also taught us to be persistent and take an initiative to create change. Our interest in our chosen topics sparked conversations that simultaneously served to make us more informed on the multiple viewpoints while also voicing our concerns.

Topics included homelessness in Boston, food deserts, gender stereotypes, charter schools, and gentrification, among many others. Similar to the range of topics, the shape the final project took varied considerably. Some chose to educate others or motivate legislators, while others sought to fill a void of support for certain groups. One student who researched racial prejudices in the criminal justice system wrote letters to raise awareness, while another student created a children’s book that normalized showing emotion for young boys. Additionally, two students worked together to create a short documentary on gentrification in different areas of Boston. Mikako M. ’18 reflects that this project “gave me freedom to learn what you wanted to learn about and change what you wanted to change in the world.” She chose to “create an organization called BAY, Black Asian Youth, that serves as a base for the Blasian community online. I chose to do this project because I noticed there was not any space for Blasian people and I wanted to create that.” The common denominator of these projects was that each student developed a deeper understanding and connection to an issue that they cared about, and was given the opportunity to translate this information into action. We were able to take our learning beyond the classroom and apply it to the “real world” outside of our Winsor bubble and were met with both encouraging progress and grim realities. And while some students realized there was more work to be done than they expected, it seemed to only add to their motivation.