I read with fascination a few weeks ago in our very own Journal & Topics how there were 77 different languages spoken in East Maine Dist. 63 schools.
77!
Wow, that is what I call putting the capital D into Diversity. Now, while some may read that with a bit of hesitancy, and I know I could be tap dancing in a slightly sensitive area here, I will still tell you my first reaction to seeing that statistic was "how cool is that"?
Actually, it goes far beyond "cool". It begs the realization of what an interesting and unique education those school kids are getting, not just in the classroom, but even more importantly outside it.
When kids from so many different cultures come together in a school setting like that, they cannot help but learn from each other. The cultures, the languages, the habits, the traditions, the activities, the music played, the sports they choose -- all these different likes and dislikes -- meshed together in a single school setting.
The real beauty of this "learning experience" is realizing that the knowledge and acceptance of friends from different backgrounds is not taught to the kids. It isn't even necessarily encouraged, but instead just comes naturally, arising from really nothing more than simply spending time together in a shared setting.
The fact that the kids in school barely even recognize the significance of the blending of so many different backgrounds, is actually part of the power of the experience.
I remember personally experiencing some of the above very early in my professional career.
My first assignment as a young student teacher was at North Chicago High School, a largely African American community. I had come from a primarily white suburb, so at first I had some natural unease at adapting to the culture change in a school setting, but I quickly discovered after just a short couple of weeks, that as a teacher -- and I think the students felt the same way -- you quickly forget about skin color, and what nationality one might be, and just look at kids as they are.
Meaning...the quiet kid was the quiet kid. A good athlete is a good athlete. The funny kid is the funny kid. The troublemaker is the troublemaker. The bully is the bully, and the really nice kids you want to be friends with are just that -- really nice kids you want to be friends with. Once meshed into a school setting like this, the skin color or nationality of the students faded from your immediate mindset as you dealt with the student based on his/her actions and attitude.
Again, this was not something taught or even explained. It just came naturally.
A bit later, in my coaching career, I had spent time as a basketball and softball coach at Maine East High School. I remember at the time that the homecoming parade had something like 60 plus nationalities represented, an amazing array of diversity. I recall that there were parents and families who sometimes shied away from that kind of diversity and were worried about potential problems and even seeked out alternative schools.
I would always come back to these parents and say, "just by going to a school with kids from this many backgrounds, even beyond the classroom, your son or daughter is going to get an unbelievable education. An education of acceptance, understanding and learning of so many different cultures."
Looking at our various Journal & Topics community populations, no question we are getting more diverse. Maybe not to the point of 77 different languages being spoken at home by their student population like Dist. 63, but trending that way nevertheless.
As author, teacher, and public speaker Stephen Covey once so beautifully and simply stated, "our strength lies in our diversity."
You can witness that every day in our local grade schools, junior highs and high schools, and it is something, hopefully, that we can all celebrate.