Diversity Training (Day 1)

Today I participated in a full day of regional diversity training, with another full day tomorrow.  By "regional" I mean to say that participants were drawn from across many school districts in our metropolitan vicinity.

I've long been active in my district's formal and informal efforts to promote equity in our schools--but it is a role that can often feel exhausting.  This is primarily because it is difficult in my district (as in every district in my state) to find many educators who are people of color.  The experience of growing up black or brown in the United States can not be fully understood by someone from a Caucasian background.  And so although a vast majority of educators are sympathetic to the challenges facing students of color, sympathies alone are not enough to promote the needed systemic change. 

Today's training involved packing what must have been about 200 educators into a large conference room. Minority educators such as myself accounted for about twenty of the total.  The facilitator was simply excellent--far exceeding the low expectations I brought with me into my car as I pulled out of my driveway this morning.  On the other hand, the audience was far too large, and the ratio of minorities to non-minorities far too small for meaningful dialogue to occur.  And race is a topic that cries out for deep, honest dialogue.

Here are a couple of important concepts that I learned or of which I was reminded:

• When children of color enter a school, they are entering an environment that is alien to them culturally.  Therefore, it is imperative for us as educators to do what we can to help them feel welcomed and valued.  
• The concept of "assimilation" is not necessarily neutral in its connotation.  For immigrants and families of color, assimilation means having to say good bye to most or all of their native culture, especially their language.  This is because assimilation isn't fully realized until the dominant culture finally accepts you as such.  
• Children of color walk a complex and harrowing line that runs between their family culture and the culture of schools which were designed around the value system of a majority Caucasian populace.  Successfully navigating back and forth between the two cultures is a skill that somehow must be taught explicitly.  (How that teaching can happen in schools, I don't know.)  

 More after day 2 tomorrow!