7th Grade Diversity Day Reflection

The day begins with an orientation and celebration of the diverse identities represented by our students. Students then attend three workshops of their choosing that are presented by their own teachers on creative topics that represent our faculty’s passions and expertise. This year’s offerings included, “Taking Space and Making a Scene as an Asian American” (Ms. Poon), “Visual communication: protest, resistance, activism” (Ms. Chung); “Body Diversity: Why it matters” (Ms. Carmen); “The Complicated History of the Banjo” (Mr. Crawford), “Women in Sports” (Mrs. Fuller, Ms. Johnson, and Mrs. Prince); “Tinikling: The National Dance of the Philippines” (Ms. Zuver) and “African American Storytelling through Quilts” (Ms. Dorsey).

Watching students joyfully engage in fresh ideas and activities with their teachers created an invigorating environment of new learning. As students wrote to me afterward: “I loved diversity day because I found a lot of info on the banjo that I found so cool. That was the best thing I did this year!;” “I loved Women in Sports because I got to learn about my teacher and her work in basketball. It was very interesting!”; “I loved [Mr. Williams’] Drawing Workshop! It was such a nice and calm space to learn something new!” and “Thank you! Everyone had so much fun!” The combination of excitement from the students and passion from their teachers for their workshop topics is what makes the day so special for everyone.