I have had some interesting lessons in dealing with race and ethnicity this week.
My children are going to a new public school that we are not zoned for. The goal in us transferring to this school was to enroll Vivianna in the Dual Language program. It has been a lot of fun to watch her dive in as though going to a Spanish only classroom every other day is what all kids do. But a part of me has been scared for her. She must be a little scared too as she has thrown up now twice in the wee hours of the night because of her excitement and nervousness. She has not expressed not wanting to go, but instead tells stories of how exciting it all is. Her reason for throwing up last night, "I am nervous about spirit day." The day the kids wear their school colors! LOL.
Every day she scampers off with a smile and I spend the day biting my nails in worry about how she is getting by all day not knowing the language.
Yesterday, she told me the cutest story about how the teacher read the book Arthur. I asked, "Was it all in Spanish?" She said, "yes..it was hilarious!" I thought...how does she know it is hilarious when she cannot understand the language? She said that Arthur was in his underwear and the whole class laughed and laughed. I had this image of her sitting cross legged on the group rug and when the page was turned revealing the cartoon character unclothed, the entire class erupted in giggles. She surely would have looked to the tan faced child to her right and the black haired child to her left and giggled right along with them...they all got the joke no matter what language it was told in.
The thought occured to me,
Laughter is universal.
Smiling, playing, running on the playground, laughing, eating, coloring a picture, going to music class...all the things she does side by side with Spanish speaking kids all day long are universal. Language is no barrier to friendship.
And I LOVE that.
At the parent orientation for Vivi's class, the Spanish and English teachers gave their presentations. The Spanish teacher was so animated in hers and seemed to give much more information. I sat wishing I knew what she was saying and thanking God that one day my daughter will.
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I overheard an interesting conversation between two fellow cheerleading moms last week. One mom mentioned that they put their house up for sale and when the other mom asked why... she said they wanted to move to a better community and named 3 different high income towns that they were looking to buy in. The other mom said "Oh, so you are moving up in the world."
"Very much so," she replied.
If this statement wasn't shocking enough, she followed it lamenting the bad turn her child's school in our same town had taken, "They are bussing kids in from I~~ Elementary School" she said with an annoyed look on her face. "And it's not good."
Well...she has no idea that I went to great lengths to transfer my children into I~~ Elementary School. I chose not to inform her of this fact because sometimes ignorance just speaks for itself.
So what is so wrong with the children from this school that she has such disdain for...annoyed that her precious little blonde haired, white middle class child has to sit next to "them" in class?
They are low income Hispanic children.
You see, the district must be taking some action to make all the schools more diverse.
The fact is, my kids go to a Title 1 school.
What does that mean? It means that there is a higher rate than normal of low socio economic status students who attend. Therefor, the state gives extra funding to special programs and highly qualified teachers (Isaac's has a Master's degree for example) to make sure that No Child Is Left Behind. The children are given spelling tests based on their skill level, not a general list for the entire class. They are grouped into equal reading and math groups, they are given Ipads in class and go to computer and science labs weekly. The school has a goal to be innovative and technologically driven, multicultural and diverse in its practices, and desires to be an Exemplary campus. It is a school that the district uses as a model for other districts.
I am thrilled that my children have a chance to go to such a fine school. It is beautiful and new and full of so many opportunities that they would not have had at our previous school.
The school is full of Asian, Hispanic, Indian, Middle Eastern, Caucasian, and a handful of African American children. Each class is a mix of races and cultures on every grade level. The school colors are red, white, and blue and the mascot is an eagle.
Seems quite fitting of the environment.
I often wonder, what are people so afraid of when it comes to mingling with people who are not like you? Are you afraid they are less smart then you? Less moral? Does the fact that they may talk differently or even smell differently offend you?
Or are you just nervous around the unknown?
I am sometimes. I get it.
I am hoping that the awkwardness I often feel when out of my comfort zone will not be something passed onto my children.
I hope they will notice differences and likenesses amongst their peers. And I hope they will celebrate it with an attitude of "so what?"
Those things that are universal amongst them will be what brings them together and make them leaders that bust through stereotypes, fears, and ignorance to pave a way for all people to be valued on the same level...with the same dignity given to them by a God who created us ALL in His image.
I have a strong feeling this year will be a growing opportunity for all of us and am so so proud to be an Eagle parent.
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