Diversity - does it matter as long as education is sound
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How important is diversity for "diverse" children - in terms of other kids, teachers or as part of curriculum where diversity is celebrated not ignored..
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Parent Answers to "Diversity - does it matter as long as education is sound"
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Sorry: After I posted I realized that I missed part of what I was saying.
Our school has a Living History program. Each school grade concentrates on a particular cultural area - first grade, Asian - Pacific Islander, fourth grade - African American history from first arriving to America to the present. Because the opportunity to hear directly from those who experienced slavery directly is so limited, Pops goes around to the schools where he has contact. He talks about his family with students and with teachers so that the message can be woven in. He takes time to listen and explain why the black kids sit together, why Ebony magazine posts anniversaries of long-married African American families and why it is important to get an education. Of his grandchildren, one is a Yale Graduate, one a Harvard Graduate, one a Northwestern Graduate and the Yale Graduate is now doing Post-Graduate work at UC Santa Cruz.
In each of the schools that the children and grandchildren attended, Pops went and made his family history a part of the school. In addition, when he bought a house in our neighborhood in the early 50s, the neighbors did not want a black family. Our neighborhood school has come a long way and now is one of the most racially integrated schools in the district.
Diversity matters. Diversity of the teachers, students, families and the living history.
Our school has a Living History program. Each school grade concentrates on a particular cultural area - first grade, Asian - Pacific Islander, fourth grade - African American history from first arriving to America to the present. Because the opportunity to hear directly from those who experienced slavery directly is so limited, Pops goes around to the schools where he has contact. He talks about his family with students and with teachers so that the message can be woven in. He takes time to listen and explain why the black kids sit together, why Ebony magazine posts anniversaries of long-married African American families and why it is important to get an education. Of his grandchildren, one is a Yale Graduate, one a Harvard Graduate, one a Northwestern Graduate and the Yale Graduate is now doing Post-Graduate work at UC Santa Cruz.
In each of the schools that the children and grandchildren attended, Pops went and made his family history a part of the school. In addition, when he bought a house in our neighborhood in the early 50s, the neighbors did not want a black family. Our neighborhood school has come a long way and now is one of the most racially integrated schools in the district.
Diversity matters. Diversity of the teachers, students, families and the living history.
You're right, Debora, I can't say I know anyone old enough to relate stories of slavery. And that's great that your neighbor can relate stories like that. But that wouldn't be in school, that's at home. I love stories that my kids learn from families of a variety of backgrounds, including their own family:
My kids hear how my father in law tried to buy tickets to a movie in the '50s and was told they didn't serve their type, and he took his money elsewhere. My inlaws just left, and caused no trouble.
With an elementary school education, he became a finisher and then a contractor, and with mentoring from his boss, learned to buy and manage rental properties.
So did skin color matter at one point? Yes, and now we've progressed to the point where a man with a limited education but willing to work hard got very far in life--he could buy the movie theatre if he wanted to. To me, that's something we learned at home, not something I want a teacher to present with some odd sympathy or perspective.
My kids hear how my father in law tried to buy tickets to a movie in the '50s and was told they didn't serve their type, and he took his money elsewhere. My inlaws just left, and caused no trouble.
With an elementary school education, he became a finisher and then a contractor, and with mentoring from his boss, learned to buy and manage rental properties.
So did skin color matter at one point? Yes, and now we've progressed to the point where a man with a limited education but willing to work hard got very far in life--he could buy the movie theatre if he wanted to. To me, that's something we learned at home, not something I want a teacher to present with some odd sympathy or perspective.
I am often asked why our family lives in Oakland and our daughter attends Oakland Public Schools when she could be learning more in a "better," suburban school district. What I know as sure as I know my daughter is that what she learned from Pops, our next door neighbor Chanel's grandfather about being the grandson of slaves outpaces anything she could learn in school.
Learning about saving money after working all day for his master, then working at night to get enough money to win the freedom of his wife and children in the South - having to carry a letter of permission from his master to travel, then coming back with a free wife and children while earning enough money to buy his own freedom - no one on this list can tell me that diversity in abstraction, personal knowledge or personal experience as given to both Chanel and Blythe by Pops is not one of the most valuable, important, loving, and thought-provoking gifts my daughter will be given in her lifetime.
So when we talk about the color of the person's skin does not matter, I beg to differ. I do not know how any white person, other than a former slave owner can pass on that level of personal testimony. Diversity is important.
Learning about saving money after working all day for his master, then working at night to get enough money to win the freedom of his wife and children in the South - having to carry a letter of permission from his master to travel, then coming back with a free wife and children while earning enough money to buy his own freedom - no one on this list can tell me that diversity in abstraction, personal knowledge or personal experience as given to both Chanel and Blythe by Pops is not one of the most valuable, important, loving, and thought-provoking gifts my daughter will be given in her lifetime.
So when we talk about the color of the person's skin does not matter, I beg to differ. I do not know how any white person, other than a former slave owner can pass on that level of personal testimony. Diversity is important.
From USDE's "“Helping Your Child Become a Responsible Citizen”:
From an early age, children need to see parents and other adults practicing the manners that they expect children to use.
"Remember that children do not learn the values that make up strong character simply by being told about them. They learn by seeing the people around them act on and uphold those values in their daily lives. In our daily lives, we can show our children that we respect others."
And from SPEAK UP! Responding to Everyday Bigotry:
"Like the workplace, school becomes the first or only place where some students, teachers, counselors, principals and others encounter a diverse and varied society. That presents opportunities for enlightenment -- and potential for misunderstanding. Schools become a place to learn not just geometry and grammar but also community building and social interaction."
From an early age, children need to see parents and other adults practicing the manners that they expect children to use.
"Remember that children do not learn the values that make up strong character simply by being told about them. They learn by seeing the people around them act on and uphold those values in their daily lives. In our daily lives, we can show our children that we respect others."
And from SPEAK UP! Responding to Everyday Bigotry:
"Like the workplace, school becomes the first or only place where some students, teachers, counselors, principals and others encounter a diverse and varied society. That presents opportunities for enlightenment -- and potential for misunderstanding. Schools become a place to learn not just geometry and grammar but also community building and social interaction."
I can answer this simply:
Diversity teaches tolerance. If you're not exposed to individuals different than you, how will you ever learn to tolerate and accept them? Answer, you can't! The earlier children are exposed to different kinds of people (races, religion, abilities, etc), the more they will be able to accept those people as equals.
Diversity teaches tolerance. If you're not exposed to individuals different than you, how will you ever learn to tolerate and accept them? Answer, you can't! The earlier children are exposed to different kinds of people (races, religion, abilities, etc), the more they will be able to accept those people as equals.
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