Diversity, Equality & Inclusion
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Students/Parents/Teachers Need to be Seen & Heard in Society
All schools are comprised of stakeholders. Every adult and child, if seen, heard and valued for their strengths and gifts, has much to offer directly and indirectly to the emotional and academic health of the school community. One of our deepest longings, deeper than we even perhaps recognize day-to-day, is that other people should acknowledge our feelings and experiences. At key moments, we want our challenges and injustices to be understood, our anxieties noticed and our sadness lent legitimacy. In our society, various groups have been marginalized, thus unseen and unheard. How can we begin to forcefully counteract the ways in which society makes some of our children and families feel invisible and undervalued? I. Watch “Why We Need to Feel Heard” https://youtu.be/uYyvbgINZkQ II. Small Groups Discussion: How do you think your students might feel unseen and unheard in society? What decision can you make today, and carry out in the classroom going forward, that would help students from marginalized groups to know they are seen and heard by you and the school community? What concrete action can you take so that untold stories are told? What might be a barrier to making this happen? How can that barrier be removed? III. Read Case Study 1 (Maria’s Student Experience in a Well-Intended School) from Ohio State Univ Curriculum “K-8 Scenario Workbook” Case Studies on Diversity and Social Justice Education by Gorski https://kirwaninstitute.osu.edu/implicit-bias-module-series Conquering Misconceptions via Our Inner Circles The area of micro-misconceptions and micro-aggressions may be the most “close to home” for people. Much of the DEI literature discusses that misconceptions we have about people with identities different from ours are a function of our socially-segregated society. Though we now work in the same professional circles in the 21st century, we tend to live, socialize and worship separately. Research tells us that there are tremendous personal and societal benefits to having meaningful interracial and inter-ethnic friendships. When our social circles are homogeneous, sometimes people make statements that reflect racism, xenophobia, and other -isms. How do we respond when friends make ignorant statements? How do you do it one-on-one? How do you do it at a dinner party? (three guiding questions) Together, let’s discover what works! I. Show Video “Implicit Bias Make Friends to Tackle Bias” https://www.pbs.org/video/pov-implicit-bias-make-friends-tackle-bias/ II. Small group discussions on interracial friendships using set of three guiding questions (above) III. Pew/NCBI Research Statistics on Interracial Friendships in the US https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5053833/ https://csblab.com/2023/06/05/interracial-friendships/ IV. Read Christine Pride: “An Essay on the Importance of Interracial Friendships” https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/an-essay-on-the-importance-of-interracial-friendships V. Read https://www.embracerace.org/resources/why-and-how-to-encourage-cross-racial-friendships-among-children on benefits of interracial friendships VI. Questioning Frame of Mind: What do you do when you happen upon -isms in friends, relatives, colleagues, or students? (Guided by questions from National Museum of African American History Talking About Race | National Museum of African American History and Culture (si.edu) https://nmaahc.si.edu/learn/talking-about-race ) VII. Follow Up: Let’s Challenge Ourselves and our school community: If you work at a school that is relatively homogeneous where students come from homogeneous communities, think about starting a pen pal program with a classroom in another community or suburb with a different homogeneous population. Also, what can you do to form meaningful friendships as an adult? Report Back! a) Answer Reflection Questions b) Then Read “Maria’s Student Experience in Bias-Conscious School” c) Answer Reflection Questions IV. In small groups -then in the whole group – discuss the case of Maria’s student experience. V. Show a painting of George Washington and explain that a funder would like to display a large painting in your school, prominently such that it is the first thing that they see when entering the building. His reasoning is that George Washington is the “father of our country” and the very first President of the United States. Also, this funder is a prominent donor to the school. Soon after the painting is hung, a group of four parents asks to meet about the painting. Not only do they object to the painting being large and hung in such a prominent location. They object to the fact that it is hung in a school that is 90% African-American and 10% Latino, given that George Washington was a slave holder, owning some 317 Black people. In small groups, decide: a) What do you do as the principal of this school? Why do you take this path? b) What do you do if the same scenario happens at a school that is 90% White, 6% Latino, and 4% Black? Follow Up: Now, as a whole group, reflect on conclusions/plans that have been made in part II above. What are effective vehicles for your school population to make sure parents, students and teachers are heard, seen, and understood. Now form an inclusive committee to develop and administer plans, and decide what comes after data
· With your partner, return to each racial group you’ve listed, one at a time. Search the internet, look up the racial group, one of the four categories, and the word “policy” (limit your search to U.S. policies and seek out fact-based sources). Browse through the results for things that strike you. Discuss with your partner: · Was it easy or difficult to find useful information on policies in these categories having to do with race? Why do you think that was? · For those racial groups that you thought had the best service/experience/outcomes, were you able to identify specific policies that helped them? Why yes? Or why not?
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