Teaching Log: Yeshiva Multiculturalism

We're starting a letter writing unit in our grade. My class is going to be exchanging letters with the class of a good friend of mine back in Portland, OR. Obviously I have the ulterior motive of just wanting to connect with my old home, but I also wanted my students to have the experience of writing to a very different bunch of kids.

In the midst of planning this, I learned that our school now has a "multiculturalism committee." I have to say, I'm a little skeptical. When my supervisor told us about it, she talked about sending video tapes back and forth showing each other's classes between our school and a school in the South Bronx to show that we're "all the same." Multiculturalism 101 dictates that we're NOT all the same. That we're quite different, in fact. Multiculturalism is about recognizing and celebrating differences.

But I guess if you're coming from an all-Jewish school, the assumption is that it's hard to see that other kids are the same as you. Truthfully, some of my students aren't aware that they know any non-Jews until they remember that my assistant in the classroom is not Jewish. But for them, and for me too, that's just kind of an afterthought, as most of the assistants in our school are Jewish too. As far as I know, my assistant is the only non-Jewish employee with the exception of custodians and lunch servers. What kind of message does THAT send?

I really value the idea of having a Jewish school. Besides needing a Jewish education, Orthodox Jewish lifestyle is challenging without the support of everyone around you keeping Kosher, Shabbat etc. We have every intention of sending ND to a yeshiva (especially if I'm still teaching there). But how do we give her AUTHENTIC multicultural experiences? I'm hoping that she'll be interested in extracurricular activities in places that have kids with more diverse lifestyles and backgrounds.

And as a teacher, how can I help create this for my students?

And if there's a multicultural committee, why the heck didn't I know about it and am I not invited to be a part of it? Is the committee made up of school parents only? Do they know what they're doing? I'm feeling a little jaded. Truthfully, multiculturalism is a rusty area for me in teaching. I learned that from watching myself navigate the classroom in Portland. But so far I haven't seen much evidence that people in this very Jewish environment can even talk the talk the way we did at Oberlin College where I did my undergrad or in the teaching program at Lewis and Clark.