Diversity is in the eye of the beholder, or at least that is what I have learned over the last few years. In the last 4 years I have had the opportunity to work in 2 different career fields, in a couple different geographic areas and at a few institutions of Higher Education. These have been great learning experiences for me and have taught me a lot about how diversity can defined. Each place I worked taught me different ”lessons in diversity”, lessons that I feel are important to share.
Lessons In Diversity (from a suburban H.S.) I worked at a “Suburban” H.S. near Akron Ohio. The HS was paired in a league for athletics with 7 other schools, all of whom had very little visual diversity at their schools. The school I worked at was by far the most diverse economically and visually, and our students learned many lessons about bias and prejudice based on peoples assumptions…
1. Living/Working/going to school in a diverse enviroment is normal and feels right until someone tell you that it’s wrong.
2. No matter how confident, big, and strong you are it only takes one hateful comment to tear you down.
3. “You only win football games b/c you have “black” kids on your team”. -said by a parent from the other team, I was mortified that an adult would say that to a 15 year old student.
4. The most important lesson i learned was that my students were far more prepared for post graduation plans, because of their experience living in a diverse area. They had higher levels of achievement and were more readily prepared for work/college/military.
Lessons in Diversity (from a small private college)
5. The assumption that everyones wealthy, carries weight with students.
6. If your “diversity” is prevalent at a private school, you either play a sport or are on scholarship
7. Expectations and Assumptions of what we should be given are high.
Lessons in Diversity (From a southern state school)
8. We don’t say Gay and we do not talk about homosexuality here (direct quote from a member of the university community)
9. Diversity is promoted at the university and to new incoming students in terms of economic diversity and racial/ethnic diversity, but not in terms of diversity of thought or sexuality.
10. Not a lesson but an interesting note, The “Southern State School” was far ahead of the times in terms of diversity student services and accessibility on campus.
Final Thoughts… My experience with diversity in an educational setting have been quite varied. I have heard people say things I will never repeat, I have corrected many, I have fought with a few, and I have been in awe of how well others display and embrace diversity. Teaching, learning about, and understanding diverse educational environments will always be a passion of mine because of some of my experiences and the lessons I have learned in diversity.
For those interested in learning more about diversity initiatives on campuses and gaining some resources, please check out a few of the links below.
NADOHE: The National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m always heartened to see the GLBT community included in discussions about diversity. Thanks for that!
According to Angela Davis, “diversity is difference that doesn’t make a difference.” The examples of stereotypes and short-sighted views on diversity that you mention in your post are sadly still widely prevalent. Without justice-oriented, anti-oppression-focused, institutionalized policy changes, diversity will continue to be just a buzz word. Diversity by itself cannot create change.