Ethnicity and Race

Growing up in rural Alabama in the 1970's was as close to race and ethnicity as a person could get in my mind...I grew up in a time when I could not even go to the same school as my best friend because we were "different colors."

Today, I sit in a classroom with all different ethnic backgrounds and am mesmerized by everything I see and hear about my classmates' cultural differences and similarities. I shared with my classmates that I have raised my own children to embrace those different than them. Our book talks about children "acting white" but sometimes we find ourselves "acting whatever" because we love to experience other cultures firsthand.

I shared with my classmates that because of the period of time and location of where I grew up--I have made sure that my generation of children were taught to respect those different from them. The example I shared with them is how my own children refer to others...they don't say--who is the black guy in your office...they say, who is the man in the blue shirt?

Ethnicity is important because it helps explain where we are from--our cultures, our values, our history. Race is also a foundational term but has negative connotations because of the history we have experienced in our nation.

Foundations Indeed

As I walk into the second class of Diverse Learners, I see the faces of fellow educators glancing up from their conversations to acknowledge my presence. I fumble my way to a front row seat, digging through my belongings in an attempt to find my glasses.

It is hell getting old, I think to myself. After a day at the office and a mad dash to the bookstore to score the precious textbook for the course--I settle in for another experience in graduate studies. The professor, a familiar-face to me, enters the room and greets her waiting group of tired teachers, parents, and other types. We are talking about foundations, diversity, and multicultural issues.

My mind wanders beyond the discussion and I begin to reflect on the word--foundation. When I was teaching 2nd grade at a private school--foundation was a common word in many of the subjects I covered. At the beginning of each staff development, there was a memo from the dean that was signed, "Building on the Foundation." What is a foundation? In education, it is the best place to start...