Updates from the DEI Committee
Recently I attended a reunion of the k-8 school where I taught from its founding in 2005 until 2016. The Folk Arts-Cultural Treasures Charter School was founded by a group of primarily Asian American but also African American social justice activists and folk arts advocates. The vision of the school is to teach through a lens of social justice and folk arts, supporting primarily immigrants and communities of color in center city Philadelphia. And it is going strong as it enters its 20th year.
The folk arts emphasis is truly brilliant. The school provides both introductory and immersive experiences in African music and dance, Cambodian dance, Indonesian dance, Vietnamese zither (dan tran), African story-telling, Mexican craft and culture, Chinese opera (the physical, martial arts component), plus more. Students are guided to respect and honor their own and other cultures. They learn the values inherent in the arts – team building, discipline, creative expression, mind-body connection.
The music class and choirs emphasize learning songs and music from a variety of cultures, and singing is a central part of the many, school-wide “ritual calendar events” throughout the year. These include the mid-autumn festival, coordinated with Philadelphia’s Chinatown, “many points of view day,” coordinated with the holiday once known as “Columbus Day,” among many others. We created a song book, now in its 3rd printing, of the songs sung throughout the school year. One favorite song is included here.
Difficulties are not absent
It is not utopia. There are cultural clashes, among other challenges that come with a mixed urban population. One that stood out for me was what I perceived to be the cultural clash between the Asian American and African American students. A dynamic in that clash was the use of voice volume. I found that some of the Asian American children tended toward using a softer speech volume and some of the African American students used a louder speech volume. Also, I believe I observed some cultural differences in use of personal space and eye contact, and sometimes all of these cultural differences resulted in the African American students getting called out more for being disruptive. In fact, if you walked by the dean’s office at any one time, chances are you would see Black students being disciplined.
Attending the reunion was one Black male, whom I will call Akim, who, as a kindergartener, already evaded eye contact with me and who acted in a manner that I thought at the time was oppositional. This began what I perceived to be a clash between him and me that waxed and waned until he graduated from 8th grade. In addition, I heard from several African American students that they felt unfairly singled out and disciplined.
At the reunion, I stood back and looked at the room of about 60 students and staff, noticed the group of young, Black men clustering in one area of the room, and I thought about all the thinking, talking, reading and listening I have been doing around DEI. I felt a strong sense that we are evolving, that we do not have all of the answers nor have solved all of the problems, but our conversations are moving us forward, and, as is taught in many somatic practices, awareness is key.
Perspective shifts
In researching the topic of cultural differences in the classroom I found an article called “Cultural, Ethnic Differences and Educational Achievement of African Heritage Students: Towards Employing a Culturally Sensitive Curriculum in K-12 Classrooms: A Literature Review,” by Patrice Juliet Pinder.
Although too complex to give a thorough overview here, Pinder discusses theories that explain how some students are unable or unwilling to code-switch from their home culture to mainstream (White) culture, and sometimes this presents as oppositional behavior. This perspective might have helped me as I began teaching in public schools.
At the reunion, I made a point of going over to Akim. He stood taller than me, wearing a hoodie that made it a little hard to see his face, but, as I approached, he looked up and made eye contact with me, then reached out and hugged me hard. It was great to hear about his life, his accomplishments, and to feel the warmth between us.
I imagined how I would have – or would now – respond to a student like Akim, now that I have a deeper understanding. I imagine that I might feel less tension in my musculature, less holding, as I might take a deep breath and make gentle efforts to intentionally build a relationship with him. I don’t think there is a formula for what to do, but I know that our attempts to understand, our conversations, our reflection of our own privilege and an attitude of humility helps.
We continue to meet on Zoom on the last Sunday of each month for “Conversations on Undoing Racism.”
The DSA thanks the many Dalcroze educators who have changed lives through their work. Please, tell us about the educators who have inspired you or consider a donation to the DSA to support their legacy.
