I was a semi-shy freshman at a large high school located in an extremely diverse area of the city who decided I wanted to overcome my shyness and meet more people, so I started researching what groups/programs my school offered. I came across "Cultural Relations", a school group that emphasized promoting awareness of cultural/lifestyle differences through essentially just sitting down and talking with your fellow students! "Perfect opportunity for me!"
This wasn't an after-school group that met up and talked a couple nights a week though. It started with about 90-100 students of all grades, religions, sexual-orientations, races, socio-ecomonomic backgrounds, etc... joining. A couple weeks later we were off to a camp on a nearby NW-ern island for a couple nights where we were assigned randomly to cabins, were split into discussion groups a few times each day (each a different topic - would range from body image, stereotypes, religion, race, sexuality, lifestyles, suicide, etc...), listened to and met with speakers, and most importantly - received thorough facilitation training. Going through this brought SO much sense of community for me. I felt a lot more comfortable walking through the halls because I'd met so many people (school population was about 1600 I think, so about 1/16th of the school). A couple weeks after we returned from the trip, the school held a week of mandatory group discussions for all students. As a trained facilitator, a partner and I were assigned to a random classroom and given a topic to encourage the students assigned to our room to engage in. We'd start with introductions and icebreakers then work up to general questions about the topic. I heard the religion discussion groups got really heated/chaotic!
I think Cultural Relations is an important program because it tackles, and gives students an opportunity to discuss, issues that aren't offered in everyday cirriculum, but are on the minds of so many highschoolers! It promotes awareness and acceptance of differences as well as it builds a stronger sense of school community.
I think I could have done a better job explaining this... :p Any questions, ask!
I would have loved this program in high school. My high school was probably 98% Mormon and they didn't understand, nor comprehend, that there were people out there, in Utah, who WEREN'T Mormon. I think this program would have helped them realize that and realize that we're all the same on the inside.
Actually, this should have been implemented in my first Utah elementary school. Maybe then, my sister and I wouldn't have been crying all the time.
Oh wow, I can't imagine going through that! What religion was your family affiliated with (if any) and what caused all the crying? Kids can be cruel...
BTW - HEROES ROCKS!!! I need to check out the third season, how'd it start?
Quoting _Tam_:I would have loved this program in high school. My high school was probably 98% Mormon and they didn't understand, nor comprehend, that there were people out there, in Utah, who WEREN'T Mormon. I think this program would have helped them realize that and realize that we're all the same on the inside.
Actually, this should have been implemented in my first Utah elementary school. Maybe then, my sister and I wouldn't have been crying all the time.
HEROES SPOILERS BELOW IF YOU AREN'T CAUGHT UP!
Nathan's not dead. Neither is Nicki, it would appear, but the jury's still out on that. Mohinder's a super now. There are doubts as to Sylar's parentage...You should join the "Heroes" group!
To your OP, though...WOW. I was in the international club in high school, which basically just meant that I hung out with all the foreign exchange students. NOTHING like this, though!
See, to me, it seems, bringing something like this to high schoolers (and even early collegers) is BRAVE. Kids that age are basically PASSIONATE about whatever Mommy and Daddy have taught them (or, in some cases, whatever goes AGAINST whatever Mommy and Daddy taught them). But the point is, kids that age think they know everything, and to say to them, "Hey, maybe there's another way to look at this," and make them UNDERSTAND that...that's just incredible. I love that they had this program, and I hope it gets adopted nationwide. I'd LOVE to send my kids to a camp like that!
Quoting anonymom4change:
Oh wow, I can't imagine going through that! What religion was your family affiliated with (if any) and what caused all the crying? Kids can be cruel...
BTW - HEROES ROCKS!!! I need to check out the third season, how'd it start?
Hi - Yeah - tell me about it! My high school was about 98% mormon (I wasn't) and it was HELL. This program would have saved me, but there is no way it would have survived with the faculty being who they were. It sounds AWESOME. I hope I can get something like this started in my daughter's school down the line!
Quoting _Tam_:
I would have loved this program in high school. My high school was probably 98% Mormon and they didn't understand, nor comprehend, that there were people out there, in Utah, who WEREN'T Mormon. I think this program would have helped them realize that and realize that we're all the same on the inside.
Actually, this should have been implemented in my first Utah elementary school. Maybe then, my sister and I wouldn't have been crying all the time.
Fabulous program. I was in rainbow coalition program. Only a one day event, but still very worth wild. It focused more on black/white relations, since that was an ongoing problem in my school, apparently. (I was unaware there was a problem. Blissfully colorblind that I was and still am.) A bunch of kinds from all over Long Island got together and shared experiences. It was very enlightening. I had no idea of the hurt and anguish black males felt on a daily basis, from the body language of whites. "They don't trust us, they are afraid of us, they think we are going to hurt them" that's what they heard every time a white person crossed the street to move away from them!!!
Like I said I was colorblind, but that wasn't a good thing, I didn't see any difference between us, but there was a huge difference between the way a white woman is treated and let's say a black man. I never factored that in before. So yes your program sounds great. I'll have to do some research and see if I can get puch for a program like that in my school district.
Great post!
Hehe, I got caught up online! SOOOO GOOD! Joined the Heroes group. ;)
I have no idea how I could even start to get the word of this program spread seeing that I had just attended it in highschool... I might ask the dean of Social & Human Services at my college what he thinks I should do, or could do in regards to that.
Hmm... never thought of it that way in school actually - kids being passionate about what their parents taught them... because for me that was never the case. My mom was racist (I didn't live with her, parents divorced)... and most everyone I dated was a LOT darker than me (a few major long-term relationships with black guys, some Japanese/white, black/white mixed, etc...) so it's kind of funny to me I ended up marrying a blue eyed guy and have a kid lighter than me, lol. I guess it is pretty brave to implement that program. The younger kids are reached, the less certain prejudices have time to form in their minds... Teenage years are years of figuring so much out, going through so many changes, learning so much - so I think it works with the age-frame.
There's also this local theatre production "The Tribes Project" we have out here. Each year, the director of the program goes to a local highschool and selects a group of about 15 students to create a play based on problems/stereotypes/issues in their lives they've come across relating to their race/culture. They then go on and perform at a handful of schools in the district. The plays ALWAYS always always give me hope in the goodness of humanity as well as put more perspective on race-related struggles of teens.
:)
Quoting BigMommaJesca:HEROES SPOILERS BELOW IF YOU AREN'T CAUGHT UP!
Nathan's not dead. Neither is Nicki, it would appear, but the jury's still out on that. Mohinder's a super now. There are doubts as to Sylar's parentage...You should join the "Heroes" group!
To your OP, though...WOW. I was in the international club in high school, which basically just meant that I hung out with all the foreign exchange students. NOTHING like this, though!
See, to me, it seems, bringing something like this to high schoolers (and even early collegers) is BRAVE. Kids that age are basically PASSIONATE about whatever Mommy and Daddy have taught them (or, in some cases, whatever goes AGAINST whatever Mommy and Daddy taught them). But the point is, kids that age think they know everything, and to say to them, "Hey, maybe there's another way to look at this," and make them UNDERSTAND that...that's just incredible. I love that they had this program, and I hope it gets adopted nationwide. I'd LOVE to send my kids to a camp like that!
Quoting anonymom4change:
Oh wow, I can't imagine going through that! What religion was your family affiliated with (if any) and what caused all the crying? Kids can be cruel...
BTW - HEROES ROCKS!!! I need to check out the third season, how'd it start?
Lol, do you and _tan_ live in the same state? She claimed going to school with the same percentage of Mormans. Aww, sorry to hear it was hell. :( You know what, I don't think I've ever met more than one Morman in real life over here, so I'm likely SO uninformed about Morman ways-of-life, customs, beliefs, etc... in comparison. Yeah... it would be tought to implement that type of program if the VAST majority of the school was Morman and saw no point to it. If I come across how to create a program like that in schools I will definitely let you know! I'm sure your local school-board has information regarding creation of school groups, etc... How old is your daughter?
Quoting Brooke11:Hi - Yeah - tell me about it! My high school was about 98% mormon (I wasn't) and it was HELL. This program would have saved me, but there is no way it would have survived with the faculty being who they were. It sounds AWESOME. I hope I can get something like this started in my daughter's school down the line!
Quoting _Tam_:
I would have loved this program in high school. My high school was probably 98% Mormon and they didn't understand, nor comprehend, that there were people out there, in Utah, who WEREN'T Mormon. I think this program would have helped them realize that and realize that we're all the same on the inside.
Actually, this should have been implemented in my first Utah elementary school. Maybe then, my sister and I wouldn't have been crying all the time.
Interesting! Oh wow I bet the differences in Long Island were pretty extreme. Having dated mostly black guys, and having most friends a LOT darker than me, I was kinda cued into this early on... Sometimes some of my friends would be talking trash about someone (like in middle school) and say UGH that freakking white kid so-and-so! And I'd be there so they felt like they needed to say... "Oh, Melissa you're honorary Asian, (or honorary black - depending on who was talking)". LOL.
Good to hear the rcp was beneficial to you though and that you appreciated the post! :)
Also, expand on what you mean by being blissfully colorblind for me? I'm thinking it means you've never taken race into consideration when be-friending or talking to someone? Something along those lines?
Quoting AprilMay1313:Fabulous program. I was in rainbow coalition program. Only a one day event, but still very worth wild. It focused more on black/white relations, since that was an ongoing problem in my school, apparently. (I was unaware there was a problem. Blissfully colorblind that I was and still am.) A bunch of kinds from all over Long Island got together and shared experiences. It was very enlightening. I had no idea of the hurt and anguish black males felt on a daily basis, from the body language of whites. "They don't trust us, they are afraid of us, they think we are going to hurt them" that's what they heard every time a white person crossed the street to move away from them!!!
Like I said I was colorblind, but that wasn't a good thing, I didn't see any difference between us, but there was a huge difference between the way a white woman is treated and let's say a black man. I never factored that in before. So yes your program sounds great. I'll have to do some research and see if I can get puch for a program like that in my school district.
Great post!
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- anonymom4change
on Sep. 25, 2008 at 4:38 PM