celebrating diversity

I was very proud to be a teacher at our school today. Our "multi-cultural week" culminated today in an all-school assembly. They began with a parade of flags. Probably sixty of them when all was said and done, circling the gym. Kids and teachers decked out in costumes and colors that reflected their cultural heritage. It was really something to see the diversity in our school embraced in such a wonderful way.

Aside from the diversity, it was simply amazing to see the amount of creativity churned about by these young people. Live poetry, Kung fu, African dance, a scene from Waiting for Godot (in French), Can-Can dancers, Polynesian belly dancers, and Cantonese rappers. Fantastic!

I couldn't help but wonder, standing there enjoying the show, about my own heritage. My father's family comes from Alsace-Lorraine, and we're pretty sure my mother's family comes from a mix of English and French (I'm over-simplifying here . . . ). And I've spent a lot of time learning about both sides of my family, a hobby I look forward to exploring again in the future.

But I don't think I feel close enough to any of those cultures to show up in a costume. I just never spent any time celebrating that heritage. But I have learned to embrace and celebrate the connection I have with my lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender brothers and sisters throughout history. And they were unfortunately absent from today's festivities. And that would be one thing if I was the only gay person at our school. But I'm not.

I'm not the only gay teacher, and I know there are also students who identify as gay. I wonder if they felt left out today? I wonder if, like so many gay people, they felt shoved under the rug, tolerated in our school community as long as they keep their mouths shut. That really sucks. This is the twenty-first century, and frankly, there's no reason why any kid should ever have to go through that kind of stuff again.

And I think our multi-cultural celebration this week was a good example of how far we've come. But the lack of a rainbow flag today is a reminder that we have a long way to go . . .

Posted: Thu - April 29, 2004 at 10:40 PM

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celebrating diversity

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