Spring 1999
Vol 7 Issue 2
IN THIS ISSUE...
Celebrating Diversity
Renewing Our Commitment to Understanding and Faith
Developing Instruction that Promotes Diverse Perspectives
SEE ALSO...
The Labyrinth
Maricopa Center for Learning and Instruction
Celebrating Diversity: A Student's Perspective
Kathy Farrish, CGCC Student (chona8503@aol.com)
Once, after telling an acquaintance about being from the bordertown of Nogales, Arizona, and my upbringing in this predominately Spanish speaking community, I was given a very surprising compliment. I was told that I was very "cultured." This was a word not often thrown around in my circle and certainly not a word often used to describe me. Between my MTV obsession and my measly attempts at controlling the profanity that seems to fly out of my mouth, I would hardly describe myself as "cultured." But much to my surprise, ever since coming to the Phoenix area to attend Chandler-Gilbert Community College, I have encountered many who seem slightly envious of my "diverse" background.
What they don't realize is that I have had no more of a diverse upbringing than any other student. Like many of the kids that I've met from the greater Phoenix area who have spent their lives learning about American history, reading the great American classics, and speaking the American language, I have been raised with a single culture: the Mexican culture. Although English was spoken by the teachers in our classrooms, the predominant language of the town was Spanish.
The diversity that I have learned this year has come from being in a Composition/Humanities, and Technology Learning Community class with other students who have been encouraged to share their own stories. This allows each of us to learn about the many cultures we represent. As we have sat together reading literature that has varied from The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros, to excerpts from Amy Tan's, The Joy Luck Club, we were all hit by the revelation that just as these different pieces of literature reflect different cultures, we did as well. We realized that we all came from different backgrounds; we all had a different city or state to call home, whether it be Chandler or Gilbert, Arizona or New York. The literature started the wheels turning in our heads, and suddenly we found correlations between the stories we read and the stories we had actually lived. We shared these stories with each other in our written vignettes. We allowed the different lives that we had led as children to emerge and help us to better understand each other as adults.
The problem in too many classes is that teachers will look outside their classrooms for diversity, never realizing that the diversity is already there, rarely turning to the students to offer their perspectives. Unless every one of the students is from the same town, the same culture, and the same family, the diversity is probably sitting in desks, wearing baggy pants, donning pierced bodyparts, with the tired look that comes from juggling teachers, kids, bosses, and parents, on top of the rent and the boyfriend. But teachers must create an atmosphere that makes it comfortable for each student to share their different voices.
My Learning Community is the perfect example. Patrick, a Native American student from Window Rock, shares stories of his people's traditions and spirituality. He sits with Maria, a Mexican-American student, and together they comment on the struggle growing up in a bilingual family who speaks only English. They share the frustration of not understanding family jokes because the punchline is always told in their native tongue. Patrick tells of the educational struggle on the reservation. This allows us to share in his pride for being the first person in his family to attend college.
Each of us is encouraged to allow our voices to come through in our writing. Mike, an African and Asian-American student, had given our teacher the chance to hear his voice, not only through his writing, but also in the performance of one his rap songs. He had asked her to listen to one of his songs one day after class, and she decided that it would be valuable for the rest of the class to hear. The next day he performed that "rhyme" for the class. By inviting us into the head of someone who is the product of New York "street life."
under the mist of the street life,
my feet graze the gravel
as I watch the thunder strike,
traveling all around
on these nature made plates,
overlapping each other
for when the earth makes its quake,
military standing
with this coppertone complexion,
reading people's lies
with telepathic perception,
tying ya' brain up with mental vasectomies,
I generate malicious thoughts
like eggs in ovaries,
I'll make ya' have a dogfight
within ya' own cockpit,
high-resolution lyrics
will blind and burst both of ya' optics...."
After his performance, the entire class sat amazed by his talent as a writer and a rapper. Also, we were amazed at the fact that he was given the chance to display this talent. Most teachers would simply dismiss the writing style of a rapper as vulgar nonsense, unable to recognize the complexity of the words, rhythm, and rhyme combined in such a powerful musical form.
My voice was heard when I was given the chance to share the stories of my family. I wrote about being raised by a committee of aunts, grandmothers, godmothers and the comadres that lived in my neighborhood, who would dish out pearls of wisdom between sips of margaritas and rounds of karaoke. "Do this, mija," "do that, mija." Advice was thrown at me like darts, everyone hoping to say the words that hit the bullseye; the words that would stay with me, guiding me forever. I remember taking the essay home to my mother and seeing the smile on her face. I know that the unique way she has raised me is a source of pride.
After living the majority of my life feeling like just one of the crowd, I am given the chance to be different and to have my voice validated. During discussions regarding the political aspects of bordertowns, I was able to give my opinions on immigration and foreign policy issues, opinions that were educated, not only in a textbook sense, but with the realistic point of view that comes from seeing the situation first hand. We are all given the chance to pull out the stories that make up our respective backgrounds and add them to the collage of diversity that makes up our learning community.
This is the magic of our class. We are not only given the chance to show our differences, but celebrate them.
Teachers need to tap into the diversity that sits before them by involving students in the dynamic of the class. It will make for an environment where the students are engaged and willing to contribute. The students will feel connected to the curriculum as well as to each other. In short, it will make our $38 per credit hour worth more than just a semester full of book work and multiple choice tests.
My mother always said that if school was supposed to be entertaining, all the teachers would dress like Mickey Mouse and there would be a ferris wheel. However, it wouldn't hurt if teachers created a place that attracts students, a place where everyone gets to be part of the ride and the voices of many cultures flow freely. From a student's perspective, that's where I want to be.