Embracing Diversity

Self-Assessment Survey: Embracing Diversity

On the Self-Assessment Survey: Embracing Diversity I scored, “You fully understand the issue of embracing diversity.” My school has a strong culture of embracing diversity. We are proud that our principal is not only a strong leader but also one of this nation's first Openly Transgender principal. We have frequent professional development (PD) to help us continue to embrace diversity. This PD started with us recognizing and appreciating our differences and looking for our similarities, recognizing how we are hardwired from ancient times to recognize and distrust differences to ensure survival, and to working to change this by emphasizing (rather than deemphasizing) diversity when we see race, understanding our biases, striving to not judge or treat people differently based on those differences, and ensuring that all our students are welcomed and treated with the respect that they deserve.

Helping Our Students Embrace Diversity!

When Embracing Diversity, it is is very import that we recognize and appreciate differences in people, cultures, and ideas. In addition, we look for similarities and make connections.

• Appreciating Ourselves
  The first step in embracing diversity is appreciating ourselves. It’s important that we explore, understand, and take pride in ourselves (race, ethnicity, Socioeconomic status, and religion) and use those reflections to recognize the preconceived biases and perspectives that we hold. We will work with students to create posters that celebrate who they are, what is important in their lives, and what they like to do.
  

• Recognizing others’ diversities
  Appreciating others' diversities
  When we hang these posters, students recognize others’ diversities and appreciate others by seeing that they have different race, ethnicity, Socioeconomic status, and religion and the role that those play in their own and their peers’ lives. Students begin to recognize that it takes a lot of empathy to recognize and appreciate our differences but different doesn't mean better or worse. Our students have seen and discussed new versions of Love has no labels (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8_598SQAts) that celebrate our continued struggle for racial equality and discussed gender biases' effects on females in our school.
  

• Planning
  Implementing
  We also take time to plan and implement embracing diversity in ways where we celebrate and respect our differences starting with ourselves, moving to the class, then the school, and then our community. We have brought in two class presents. One that was wrapped in newspaper and one that was wrapped in bright and shiny wrapping paper. We explored how even though the outside wrapping looks different it has no effect on the inside contents. This concrete example helps us recognize our own stereotypes and biases and helps us see the folly in that thinking. We plan to use lessons from the Southern Poverty’s Law Center to help us continue to plan for and implement embracing diversity.

Recommended Resources: Embracing Diversity

• "Teaching Tolerance"

• "4 WAYS TO HELP YOUR STUDENTS EMBRACE DIVERSITY"

• "Why Cultural Diversity and Awareness in the Classroom Is Important"