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WEEK of February 14, 2005 |
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PAT Diversity Committee Open for Business by Jeffrey Stanley “We allow our ignorance to prevail upon us and make us think we can survive alone, alone in patches, alone in groups, alone in races, even alone in genders.” —Maya Angelou “We really want to encourage participation at all levels at the school. We want to know what the issues, concerns and needs of the community are. I would love for people to know we exist and I’m the point-person.” Sixth grade parent Ellen Oler was talking about her role as co-chair, along with third grade parent Toukie Smith, of the PAT diversity committee. “It got started last spring in response to a growing awareness of the need to be conscious in our diversity. Michael Nill started to ask, ’are we taking our diversity for granted?’” He was referring not only to racial issues but socieoeconomic, gender, sexual orientation and other differences. “All kinds of diversity,” stressed Oler. But isn’t BFS already diverse? What’s the problem? “Often when I try to tell people about this, that’s exactly the question that comes up,” she said. “I feel committed to build a consciously diverse community, one in which we can talk about difference and openly address whatever issues and benefits might arise from our differences.” Last fall, diversity expert Gene Batiste spent a day working with faculty and staff. Knowing his excellent reputation, the diversity committee asked him to conduct a second workshop for parents. His work here left a deep impression on Oler. “Batiste mentioned that diversity is a three-part process. The first part is being a place of diversity. We’ve worked hard to achieve that, we have quantity.” The second part of the process involves taking advantage of that diversity, which Batiste stressed needs to continue as an ongoing part of the community. Oler believes that’s the stage BFS is in now. A therapist who believes deeply in the value of talking openly and encouraging honest discourse on difficult subjects, Oler said that this is where the discomfort people feel in a diverse community really becomes evident. “I think people want to be careful not to say the wrong thing, to hurt someone’s feelings, to ask a stupid question. We have to get past that. In order to make an omelet you have to break a few eggs. And we need to increase the level of trust in our community that when eggs are broken, they can be mended.” The committee crafted a mission statement last spring with a focus on putting together events and activities that foster such discussion and have a direct and lasting impact on the community. In the fall semester they worked with the faculty-run all school diversity committee to host “In Our Family,” a traveling photo exhibit featuring images of all kinds of families. “We put together a parents’ guide and wrote a brochure which included questions to ask in order to have a discussion with your kids after seeing the exhibit.” That brochure is now being used by other schools around the country. For the spring semester the committee will host a movie day at the school on May 21, screening films for kids and adults with themes of diversity. Moderated group discussions will follow the screenings. The committee has also joined the Independent Schools Diversity Network (ISDN), an association of parents, faculty, and administrators in the New York City area looking for ways to explore diversity issues at their schools and share their successes and failures. Oler attended a recent meeting and hopes that BFS will coordinate some events with ISDN member schools in the future in order to share costs and boost attendance. Oler became particularly interested in helping others embrace diversity after a life-changing experience she had right after college. A self-admitted “WASP,” Oler joined the Peace Corps and went to Africa to teach in a high school. “One thing that was an enormous awakening to me was that these people who couldn’t be any more different than me—one thing I got in a very deep way—was that we are the same. We care about the same things: our kids, our family, our friends, our community. Human beings are human beings, the world over. Getting that is crucial to overcoming the bitter divisions in our world.” One of Oler’s favorite things about BFS is that it lets her own child grow up in a diverse community. However, she stressed that it’s not all about the kids. “Parents have much to learn too.” She hopes the diversity committee and its initiatives will facilitate that. |
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