Stepping into a whole new world of thinking

By Auron Bernardoni

Step out of your mind for a moment and just put yourself into this scenario for a second. You try to look in the mirror, but get scared when you look in it because you don't see yourself and you don't recognize the face or the eyes or the smile; you feel out of place like you shouldn’t be in this body; you feel like someone else is in control, you don't have memories of certain events and you can't figure out where that writing on your wall came from; you feel like something is constantly wrong or missing from you. Does this make you feel uncomfortable?

Well, this is a tiny insight into the mind of someone suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), or sometimes it's referred to as multiple personality disorder (MPD). This disorder isn't quite what we think it is, in fact, psychologists to this day are trying to fully understand this disorder. DID is something that actually develops from childhood trauma and is closely associated with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) because of the similar symptoms and causes of it. It is basically something children do that is a coping mechanism that later in life can develop into dissociative identity disorder or derealization depression, which is another disorder closely associated with DID. living with this mental disorder can be quite mentally taxing.

The symptoms include the following: changing levels of functioning from highly effective to disabled or disrupted, derealization, depression, anxiety, eating and sleeping problems. These are just a few symptoms that need to be discussed for a basic understanding of DID.

This disorder can be very minor for some and won't affect their day-to-day life all too much, whereas in other cases, they cannot function in every day to day life without the assistance of others because they cannot comprehend the world in a logical way in order to understand things. Hopefully this helps those of us that don't have to fight their unwinnable battle see the world vaguely through their eyes.

Throughout time, those included in different minority groups have faced several hardships. To this day, discrimination against them is present. Where the root of the problem lies, who is in the right and who is in the wrong, these are things that truly cannot be answered. However, the climate society lives with now will not stand.

Minorities include people of color, indigenous people, ethnic groups, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and many others. Art teacher Taylor Hopkins notes differences in the way members of these groups express themselves, saying, “Sometimes they’re hesitant, they’re lost. They don’t know quite how to assimilate to the lesson like other students might.” How can this be overcome? For most, the answer is obvious. The easiest way to achieve a more stable coexistence is to open the doors to education.

As with all new things, concern for the effects it could have are present. English II teacher Emily Sampson says, “If education becomes over-regulated or 'micromanaged' by people in government who themselves have never taught in a classroom, it presents issues all around.” She then says that she worries about “losing good teachers who love what they do” because of this kind of curriculum being forced on them.

Mr. Hopkins shares a similar fear. He preaches more about opportunity and his desire to include minority education as it fits and flows best with the typical curriculum. As of now, he is sure to cover periods of time where only certain people could succeed in art. There are moments in history where if you were not of a certain archetype, your art was not seen by the public. By teaching about these time periods, big steps are already being taken in making students aware in just how many shapes discrimination has taken through the years. Mrs. Sampson also does this, particularly when she teaches her unit on To Kill A Mockingbird. This unit helps to familiarize students not only with racism, but also sexism.

Mr. Hopkins discusses what might be required in a person to do the job justice. Authenticity is important and he questions the idea that just anyone can teach this topic well. Mr. Hopkins believes it is more “desirable” to have an educator who is knowledgeable in the subject and feels inclined to do it. If they are only teaching the subject because they feel they have to, it will be harder for the messages to come across as they are meant to.

One big question revolves around where hate and discrimination come from. Mr. Hopkins and Mrs. Sampson willingly offered their ideas on this topic. Mrs. Sampson believes that discrimination is born from “base fear and anger.” She says, “There is fear in what was once unknown, different, misunderstood, at times considered 'unnatural,' flies in the face of several religious teachings, etc. Fear leads to anger, both emotions tend to block out logic and some individual’s ability to remain unbiased and calm.” In her eyes, this applies to both sides of conflicts, fear and anger originating among minorities from a lack of acceptance and brutality.

Mr. Hopkins discusses “inherent bias” and how different upbringings can affect discrimination. He as a teacher discusses his attempts to be understanding and thoughtful of these different upbringings. That in itself can go a long way in helping students, both in and outside of minority groups, learn and be more understanding of both sides.

Both teachers believe that improving education about minorities can have several benefits. Providing students with this opportunity has the potential to help some of the conflict go away. Mr. Hopkins draws specific attention to “giving those within minorities a voice.” However, both also warn against the toll this could take on teachers. Mr. Hopkins expresses concern about finding those with “deep-seated aggression” and strong discriminations against minorities and that “their voices will be very loud.” There is fear of the backlash that could come from students and parents alike.

All in all, Mrs. Sampson feels as though this is not a good time. She says, “I’ve been keeping track of what some of the minority education or diversity/anti-racism training has looked like in other districts (both in and outside of Missouri) and I don’t think it’s on a path to help right now. The intention behind it is good, but the execution as it’s currently playing out is only going to further divide us, and keep parents from wanting to send their children into public education for fear of specific agendas being pushed on them.”

Mr. Hopkins raises one final question: what are you willing to do? He says, “The equity and diversity inclusion in this district is strong. Always room for growth, but I think that there are also structures that students need to start looking into and investigating why things are the way they are. And if it doesn’t fit the current community status quo, what is the student’s responsibility to make sure that it changes for the better? That’s the question I would have for you guys as students. If this is important enough, who is on board, what are they working towards?”

MVHS gateway library book reviews for all the bookworms

By Esmeralda Flores

Don't forget to visit the library ASAP or email Mrs. Trish Johnston to put a book on hold if there is any interest shown to these reads.