Repeated experiences of working together toward common goals such as organizing a school festival, establishing multicultural clubs, and creating a multi ethnic school mural enabled students and staff to encounter each other as individuals with hopes, dreams, skills, needs, and feelings. What is not so simple about this approach is that most schools fail to provide such opportunities. In fact, some schools actively resist and undermine such efforts because they challenge teachers and administrators to face their prejudices and work to transform them into a whole new set of beliefs and possibilities. For those who are ready to accept the challenge of making their school a welcoming place that values and supports students and families from all backgrounds, Looking for America Volume II offers a Blueprint for Change as a guide to the task. We offer a condensed version in the box below as an initial primer.
Someone has to be bold and take the first step.
Initial action can be taken by a school administrator or by teachers, counselors, students or parents. It will probably take a group of five to ten committed individuals to accomplish meaningful change. The school principal should set the right tone by leading such an effort, participating in it, or endorsing it. The core guiding group should be an Intergroup Relations Team that reflects all racial, ethnic, and language groups in the school. Identify leaders from various groups, earn their trust, and enlist their support.