In K12, we used the book Becoming Vanessa by Vanessa Brantley-Newton to discuss what makes us special and unique. Using Vanessa's story about sharing her personal spark and finding confidence in her name, we talked about how our identities are what makes us who we are!
Diversity for kids is all about what makes us different, or unique. We all have things in common like the air we breathe and the smiles we share. We also have things that make us the unique people that we are. Like Sesame Street says-- we're different, we're the same, and we're wonderful. Check out their message here! Students watched this video together and then got to decorate their own wonderful unique handprint. Walk by the counseling office sometime to find your K12 student's handprint!
Friendship can get a little silly and a little messy-- just check out this Friendship Soup video! Our K12ers put on their pretend aprons and chef hats and pulled out their wooden spoons to create a big pot of Friendship Soup. Afterwards, we read How to Be a Friend together and talked about the friendship skills that we use to make a difference.
Our K-5 classes read the Juice Box Bully to understand what bullying can look like, sound like, or feel like. It also helped our classrooms understand why bullies exist. Every classroom got to dive into the definition of bullying, and sign a pledge to interrupt it when we see it.
When it comes to conflicts and bullying, the lines can often blur. This makes it hard to tell the difference between a disagreement, or when someone is being rude, mean, or bullying. As a group, we dove into the different definitions here:
Conflict is a word used to describe when people aren’t getting along or when there is a problem between two or more people.
Disagreements are when people have different ideas or thoughts about a situation. All people share equal responsibility and hurt. It can usually be worked out through talking out the problem. Example: you and your friend disagree about who won a soccer game.
Being rude means that one person hurt another person's feelings by accident. One person owns more responsibility than the other. It is usually solved through apologies or restorative work. Example: your friend is sad about getting a bad grade on a test, but you announce to the class that you got an A.
Being mean is when someone hurts another person's feelings on purpose. One person owns the majority of the responsibility. It is usually solved through apologies or restorative work. Example: telling a friend that they "suck" at basketball because they missed a shot.
Bullying is when someone hurts your body or your feelings more than once on purpose. It is important to be able to identify bullying so that you can get help for yourself or someone else. Example: pushing down a younger student every day on the playground.
3-8 was tasked with coming up with definitions for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion together! Check out their shared definitions below.
"Different types of people; people who are different. People who do the same things as others but do them differently. Accepting people who are different. It’s about how everyone is different and no two people are the same. If everyone was the same, the world would be really boring!" - Room 9
"You are unique in your own way. You are different and that’s okay. Diversity can be even having different snacks– but it’s all delicious! Diversity is wonderful. There is nothing anyone can say to change you. It would be boring if we were all the same!" - Room 10
"Diversity is the differences between everyone in the world. Don’t be afraid of it. It would be boring if everyone was the same! No 2 people are exactly alike even if we have similarities. Everyone is unique." - Room 11
"Being different, like different types of donuts. Diversity is about being yourself instead of fitting in and being the same. Some differences separate us, and some bring us together. “You can’t have a lego set without different types of pieces!” - Group A
"An aspect of a person that makes them unique from other people. Just being different! There are differences between all people." - Group B
"Having differences, accepting each other’s differences, and not defining anyone based on what makes them different." - 8th Grade
"We all have different needs and we get treated differently based on what we need." - Room 9
"Getting people what they need instead of the same thing. If someone needs water, you don’t give them food– you give them water! If someone needs food, you don’t give them water– you give them food!" - Room 10
"Treating everyone not exactly the same, but instead with what they need or how they want to be treated. Some people may need more or less, but we should still treat them with equal effort." - Room 11
"Treating everyone how they need to be treated and want to be treated. Because we are not all the same, we get treated with equal care but get different things. For example, people with dietary needs or manga preferences get the things they need instead of the same thing for everyone." - Group A
"Everyone gets what they need. It meets your unique needs." - Group B
"Being fair to everyone by giving people what they need based on what makes them unique and what they communicate needing." - 8th Grade
"Including everyone in what you’re playing and not leaving anybody out. If someone wants to play, let them in! This might include taking turns or changing the game so it’s fair for everyone." - Room 9
"Including people. Letting people into your group or game. Letting people in. Not leaving people out. Inviting people who don’t have someone to play with to join you. Not letting anyone be alone." - Room 10
"Letting people join and finding a way to let others join. Including people instead of leaving them out." - Room 11
"Making sure no one feels left out, as long as they want to be included." - Group A
"Making sure everyone feels mentally and physically involved in the activity. Making sure everyone is included. " - Group B
"Making an effort to include everyone in activities or conversations and not excluding others based on what may make us different." - 8th Grade
678 had a very important conversation about why identity matters and how stereotypes and implicit bias can change the way we treat others. Having awareness about our identities not only helps us understand ourselves, but also each other. When we work to understand our similarities and differences, we prevent making stereotypes and avoid harm to one another.
As a group, we examined a few examples stereotypes, like "boys are stronger than girls" or "tall people are better at basketball." These stereotypes can lead to implicit, or unconscious, biases that occur automatically and unintentionally. Unexamined biases can become the beliefs we have about others, which in turn affects our judgements, actions, and thoughts about other people.
Students worked together to talk about how their language impacts stereotypes and how stereotypes impact language. Together, we can make a change and practice pausing before repeating a stereotype.
In every cluster, students got to dive into what it meant to be an Upstander versus a bystander. Being an Upstander means speaking up and taking action when you see something that isn't right, like bullying at recess or someone being left out. Kids can be Upstanders by including others, interrupting negativity, getting help from adults, or speaking out against harmful behavior.
In K12, students got to learn about how to Prevent Bullying by being an Upstander. We put our knowledge to the test with Nobody Knew What To Do: A Story About Bullying.
In 3-8, students dove deeper and got to learn about the psychology behind the Bystander Effect.