October 30 – November 3, 2002 Washington, DC
The conference theme “We the People: Fulfilling the Promise of Democracy Through Multicultural Education” asked us to actively examine today’s schools and society and to develop concrete actions to eliminate the achievement gap, assure educational equity for all students, and achieve social justice. This unique NAME Conference brought almost 1,800 educators, students, community activists, and others together to share the best of research, pedagogy, practice, resources and strategies. Keynote addresses, concurrent sessions, and roundtable discussions addressed educational inequities that maintain patterns of differential opportunities and achievement, giving voice to those who have often been marginalized, and fulfilling the promise of democracy and equity for all our children. Recurring themes were “how can we contribute to a system that truly leaves no child behind;” how can we ensure that democracy and equity exist in our own classrooms, schools, colleges, organizations, and other settings to meet the needs of all citizens; and how can we shape curriculum, research, educational policy and practice to foster the full inclusion, participation and success of our diverse learners?
The conference began with eleven pre-conference institutes covering a wide range of topics such as Application of Multicultural Theory, a Holocaust Museum Institute, Knowledge Bases for Cultural Diversity in Teacher Education, Dismantling White Privilege---Unconscious Racism, a Women’s History Tour, Multicultural Arts at the Kennedy Center, and Evaluation Concerns. The Opening General Session set the tone for the conference with a panel discussing “We the People: We the Students.” We were inspired, challenged, and later entertained by a multicultural dance company. At the reception we had a chance to experience the warm inclusion which typifies every NAME conference as conferees munched on yummy treats, mingled, and enjoyed the exhibits. After an invigorating and relaxing Tai Chi experience for the early risers, each day began with a general session. On Thursday an interfaith panel discussed the issue of “Sacred Space: How Do We Share It?” All panelists agreed that we must listen to each other and build connections so we can work together for the common things we all care about. All of life is sacred. At the Founders’ Luncheon we discussed “Protecting Cultural and Language Rights: An Educational Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.” On Thursday evening a Town Meeting gave us an opportunity to discuss “How Do We Impact Policy and Practice?” Friday’s General Session brought forth the crucial issue “Whose Child Is Being Left Behind? A Dialog about Equity in Schools.” All General Session and luncheon speakers were well-known leaders in multicultural education who shared their knowledge and passion and answered questions. Roundtable Discussions, poster presentations, and concurrent sessions (360 in all) gave conferees choices to meet everyone’s needs and interests. The toughest thing was trying to choose among so many great options! A film festival included a diverse selection of award-winning videos. A brand new highlight at this year’s conference was Friday night’s Benefit concert featuring three talented musical acts who had us “singin and tappin and clappin” along. Saturday night’s Awards Banquet and Dance was a festive celebration of new friends, new ideas, and renewed inspiration.
As I sat on my plane, exhausted but inspired, I reflected on the mission and goals of NAME and how each of us can work for equity and social justice so everyone can have a voice in a real democracy. One way you can get involved is to work in your school, university, and community today!
News From the States
► ALABAMA:
◙ I’m A Difference Maker
David E. Luellen writes about the “I’m A Difference Maker!” project, developed for bus drivers under the aegis of Project ACCESS, a federally funded program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Dr. Luellen directs this innovative program for bus drivers in Shelby County and Jefferson County (Alabama). The bus drivers learn how to be difference makers in the lives of the students they transport each day. I’m A Difference Maker! is the theme of a four-session training project for school bus drivers who carry students who are acquiring English. Seminar participants discover ESOL best practices in order to relate more effectively with their culturally and linguistically diverse passengers. They also gain insight into their own cultural behaviors as a springboard to appreciate cultures other than their own.
The training sessions are being offered through Project
ACCESS, a federally funded program which is administered by The University of Alabama at Birmingham Graduate School and School of Education. “We put an emphasis on the trauma and joys of moving from one culture to another,” says Dr. David E. Luellen, Project ACCESS Director and seminar leader.
“We also help bus drivers discover how important they are in providing a successful educational environment for their riders who are English language learners. Bus drivers are usually the first school contact each morning for their passengers and the last school contact each afternoon. They also often have daily contact with parents and caregivers.
“A successful school is one that recognizes that all school employees are part of a rich learning environment and provides those employees with the skills they need to achieve favorable outcomes.” The goal of the Project ACCESS workshops, however, is to improve understanding and make the transition easier for the children.
► FLORIDA:
◙ Dr. Judy Bachay, a professor at St. Thomas University in Miami, has been working with a project in Guatemala called Women Waging Peace. The goal of Women Waging Peace is to change the public policy paradigm so women are fully integrated throughout formal and informal peace processes to prevent violent conflict, stop war, and sustain peace in fragile regions. The website is www.womenwagingpeace.net.
◙ The state of Florida has passed a number of multicultural mandates such as the requirement that all public schools teach about the Holocaust, African Americans, and Hispanics “in a manner that leads to an investigation of human behavior, an understanding of the ramification of prejudice, racism, and stereotyping and an examination of what it means to be a responsible, respectful person, for the purpose of encouraging tolerance… and protecting democratic values and institutions.” To facilitate the implementation of these mandates in all schools, the School Board of Broward County provides a wide range of services including curriculum development with instructional resources provided, staff development training, multicultural “results driven” workshops, and classroom and community presentations. Dr. Clara B. Williams is the Multicultural Curriculum Specialist.
► KENTUCKY:
◙ Rebecca Powell writes about her graduate course titled “Literacy in a Pluralistic Society” that deals with equity issues in schools and classrooms. In this course, teachers design and conduct action research projects on a host of topics, from teacher expectations, to family involvement, literacy use in homes, racism in schools, and so on. Students use ethnographic methods to gather data and then develop research papers from their findings. The papers will be posted on the KY-NAME website.
Rebecca published a book last year that is intended to be used in undergraduate and graduate multicultural education courses. The title is Straight Talk: Growing as Multicultural Educators. It can be ordered through amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com, or from the publisher, Peter Lang Publishers. It is a series of letters to readers about various issues facing them as teachers and future teachers. Chapters include: Thinking About Multicultural Education, Confronting Racism, Confronting Classism, Confronting Sexism, Confronting Homophobia, Marginalization, Teacher Expectation, Curriculum Differentiation, Cultural Incompatibility, Multicultural Education as Democratic education, Assessment Issues, Curriculum, Classroom Environment, Evaluating Your Classroom, and Multicultural Education as Humanizing Education. Peter Lang is a small publisher and does not have the capacity for advertising that other, larger companies do--so, thanks for helping to get the word out about the book.
►GEORGIA:
◙ Vera Stenhouse writes about taking a group of students (educators) to an exhibit in Atlanta entitled Without Sanctuary: Lynching Photography in America. It is being shown in the Martin L. King, Jr. Historic Site in Atlanta, Georgia. It was an intense experience. “Educational, thought provoking and emotionally riveting” would be some of the ways I'd describe the exhibit’s impact on my class
◙ Kennesaw State University is currently placing student teachers in China. (They had the first one last spring 2002 and will have two for spring 2003). They are also working with Belize and Ghana to develop student teaching opportunities for their candidates. Future plans include developing student teaching opportunities in Europe. As a final note, they have received a grant (in collaboration with Georgia State University) and will train 5 Chinese Delegates to help with University supervision in China. They will travel to Georgia in early October for the training. (Vicki McLain, Director, Center for Field Experiences and Partnerships).
◙ GA NAME holds it FIRST annual conference! GA NAME has hit the ground running! Less than one year after being recognized as an official state chapter of NAME, Georgia NAME held its first annual conference. On April 12-13, 2002 on the campus of Georgia State University in Atlanta, the vision and dream of many was finally realized. Combining the support of Clark Atlanta University, Columbus State University, Georgia State University, Kennesaw State University, the University of Georgia, and countless hours from the GA NAME conference committee, our conference in Las Vegas, we adopted “High Stakes: Diversity, Advocacy and Achievement” as our theme. Over 100 participants from around Georgia attended over the two day conference which included panel presentations, key note addresses, concurrent sessions, graduate student teacher poster sessions, an awards luncheon, author’s roundtables, and the President’s reception. To show their support for our efforts, Carl A. Grant, former NAME President and Hoefs-Bascom Professor at the University of Wisconsin, Pritchy Smith, NAME Founder, former NAME Vice President, and Professor at North Florida University, and Deena Sue Fuller, NAME Region 4 Director and Professor at Tennessee State University participated in and contributed to the conference. Loretta Howell, President of GA NAME at the time of the conference, set the tone of our two days as she welcomed us and reminded us all of the importance of our work and that this was the time for serious dialog, sharing, learning and reflection. The GA NAME members are looking forward to their second annual conference for which planning will soon begin! (Jenny Penney Oliver, GA NAME Advisory Board member)
► NORTH CAROLINA:
◙ Canterbury School Makes Real Its Commitment to Multiculturalism and Diversity: Canterbury School in Greensboro, North Carolina, a kindergarten through grade eight Episcopal elementary school is driven by its mission. Canterbury’s mission is to develop the whole child by challenging the mind and nourishing the spirit in a diverse community.
A model program that is mission-based and permeates through the Canterbury community. The Canterbury community is constantly transformed by multicultural events and speakers and is making an ongoing commitment to recruitment for diversity among its students, staff, faculty and administration.
Through diverse literature, curriculum and events students get to view the world from differing cross-cultural points of view. One such event last year was the first Unity in Diversity annual dinner that brought over 150 children and adults to Canterbury to experience jazz interpretive dance and a speed jump rope exhibition by a community group called A Healthy Start, directed by Mrs. Ernestine Taylor. After a multicultural pot-luck dinner with families from A Healthy Start and Canterbury, a facilitator from the University of North Carolina Greensboro, Sheryl Joshua, spoke of her own African American heritage and then facilitated small groups of adults in discussions of their own experiences around diversity. The feedback was positive, emotive, thoughtful and compelling.
“Relationships with others begin at home, on the block, and down in town; but they must extend to all members of the human family all over this tiny globe. At risk is our continued existence as a species.”---- Dr. Robert Alberti
HOW YOU CAN HELP RECRUIT NEW MEMBERS TO NAME
Increasing NAME Membership a Priority: The board of the National Association for Multicultural Education met June 13-16, 2002 in Arlington, VA. While many important topics were discussed, new membership was identified as a priority. Executive board members, NAME founders and regional directors emphasized the need for membership to increase for NAME to become a more powerful national advocate for multicultural education.On a grassroots level that means that every NAME member is encouraged to recruit one or more new members. The following lists are suggestions on how to highlight the benefits of our organization to others. Reasons to join NAME include, but are not limited to:
1) Working to make a difference with like-minded individuals
2) NAME events revive our spirits to continue our good works
3) NAME is about friendships with both similar and different others
4) Conferences and the Multicultural Perspectives Journal bring new knowledge
5) Networking with individuals who believe in your issues, and an understanding that all social justice issues deserve support form all of us
6) National membership automatically includes state and local membership
7) NAME publications bring an awareness of new multicultural resources and teaching strategies
8) Many opportunities to participate on local, state and national committees
As we all know there are many social, professional, and personal benefits to NAME membership. The following are some suggestions on how to spread the word to potential NAME members:
1) Carry NAME brochures to grassroots meetings and share with new acquaintances
2) Send an e-mail to individuals mentioned in the media who are advocates in all areas of social justice work and encourage those individuals to join NAME
3) Bring NAME brochures to education, social science, and other discipline conferences and workshops
4) Mention your association with NAME before or after your presentations and when you are interviewed by the media
5) Send thank you notes to guest speakers and include a NAME brochure as an organization in which the speaker might want to join. This is especially effective if NAME’s mission and vision match the comments made in the speaker’s presentation
6) Remember that personal, one on one contact is most effective in persuading someone to join an organization
7) Encourage colleagues in your workplace to join NAME. Don’t forget to include administrators, as well as teachers, professors, human resource people, museum educators, diversity consultants, grassroots organizers, students, school board members and retired personnel.
8) Be a visible and identifiable NAME member
9) Use e-mails to follow up after meeting new acquaintances reminding them about NAME events.
Greetings and Reflections From Your Regional Director
Deena Sue Fuller
Hope all of you are having a productive and meaningful fall in all your many roles. This has been an especially busy fall for me, but, as I reflect on this time last year, I count my many blessings. Many of you know that my step daughter, Dayna Curry, is one of the two American women who was imprisoned by the Taliban in Afghanistan last fall. She and 7 colleagues, all workers with a humanitarian aid organization called Shelter Now International, were arrested by the Taliban on August 3. This week marks the one-year anniversary of their escape. During their 3 ½ month captivity, we had no way of knowing what their fate would be. Throughout the month of August an international team of negotiators worked for their release, and although there was talk of execution, we always felt that they would be freed. We received almost daily e-mail updates on the negotiations. However, after the catastrophic events of September 11, the situation for Dayna and her colleagues became much more dangerous. All American officials were evacuated from Afghanistan, leaving only our Pakistani lawyer, who could continue to visit the group in prison. Occasionally, the prisoners were able to get handwritten notes to him. These treasured notes from Dayna (sent to us as e-mails) assured us that the group was being treated well by the Afghan guards. She described the terrifying nights of bombing being the worst part of the experience. The Afghan people felt hopeless, powerless, and afraid. Dayna was saddened by the loss of innocent lives and the mass destruction in Kabul and the surrounding areas. To keep their spirits up and to support each other, the women engaged in daily prayers, journal writing, songs, and comforting rituals (such as calisthenics). The long ordeal finally ended after a desperate band of Taliban tried to move the prisoners out of Kabul. The details of that perilous journey could have come straight from a Hollywood movie. Thanks to the combined efforts and quick responses by a courageous and kind group of Afghan citizens, the International Red Cross, and the American military--- the aid workers were rescued and transported home. What a celebration we had! Since then Dayna and her cohort Heather Mercer have spent the past year speaking to groups across the country --- raising awareness of the desperate plight of the Afghan people and raising money for rebuilding efforts. Their foundation, called Hope for Afghanistan, is distributing funds to improve education and health care.
As the world faces the possibility of more war, let us all work together to promote understanding across cultures, races, and religions. Clearly, no one is exempt from the devastating effects of terrorism and other acts of violence, so let us unite to actively promote peaceful alternatives to all violence. We as individuals, and as an organization, can do much to foster greater understanding; to hold peace as an organizing principle; to promote justice and democratic principles that expand human rights; to promote the development of human potential; and to proactively develop policies that promote peaceful resolution of conflict. I’d love to here about how you are doing these things in your schools, colleges, and communities. Since schools are often the only institutions where children from diverse backgrounds can learn to share common goals and interests, let me know how you are building bridges and helping your students learn to live harmoniously in a multicultural society, respecting and celebrating diversity. (e-mail me at dfuller@tnstate.edu)
CAOE
The newly created Center for Anti-Oppressive Education (CAOE) recognizes that the quality of education in the United States and abroad cannot improve unless we commit to challenging the forms of oppression that permeate our schools and society. Bringing together leading experts from around the world, CAOE provides innovative resources for members of educational communities interested in creating and engaging in anti-oppressive forms of education.
Educators and researchers throughout the United States and around the world are invited to submit chapter-length manuscripts for a groundbreaking new book series on anti-oppressive education. This series will offer a range of conceptual and curricular resources for elementary and secondary educators and teacher educators interested in exploring new and innovative ways to challenge racism, sexism, classism, and other forms of oppression in the classroom. Currently, books are being compiled in four disciplines--social studies, English literacy, mathematics, and the natural sciences--with additional books planned for the future.
New and previously published papers are solicited. http://antioppressiveeducation.org (Kevin Kumashiro)