1.20: Massage

    This school year, after watching a co-worker do an okay job with the position, I was named the high school's Diversity Coordinator. In past years, this has meant running the school's Diversity Club and planning the Multicultural Festival in March. It's actually a very important, district-monitored position. 

    I wanted to make a big splash, but it's a sensitive area, so I had to MASSAGE the school in order to get them to accept some of the changes that I wanted to make. 

    My school is very, very white. It's in Ohio, in a very rich suburb, and right outside of a whole bunch of cornfields. None of those things shout "diversity". We have two non-white teachers and two non-white administrators (in the high school, not in the entire district... although that's not much more diverse). But we are slightly more diverse than we were even five years ago. This changes everything. When it's a 99.5% white school, diversity means learning about other cultures and then just going along with your life. 

    When it's a 90% white school, diversity means INTERACTING WITH OTHER PEOPLES' LIVES. 

    I wanted to make so many changes, but I also knew that I had to start small. I kept the same board of directors as last year and let them run the meetings in the same way. 

    Once I got them up and running, I started side projects to massage that diversity. 

    My first order of business? DIVERSITY. Not racial diversity. COMPLETE diversity. That means that I want all kinds of people to celebrate their differences. Racial differences. Social differences. Mental differences. Gender differences. Attraction differences. Age differences. I'm working to change the definition of this group. 

    My second order of business? CONNECTIONS. We have so many black kids who have never really talked to another black kid in our school. I pulled kids from lunches to have small group conversations about race and what their experience was like. The reaction was positive. (Well, the reaction from the kids was positive. The reaction from the administration was fear that someone would complain. I told them that I'd take the fall. No big deal). 

    My third order of business? INTEGRATION. Our wonderful student board of directors is all East Asian, and I adore them all, but as we move forward, I want our other races to integrate into the management part of the group. I want everyone who joins to look up at the people in charge (not me!) and see someone who looks like them or has a similar background to them. This is going to take some time -- again, I am MASSAGING, and not forcing -- but I'm hopeful. 

    The other three high schools also have diversity coordinators, and I've attempted to get together with them, but they are all busy. Each school is made up of different racial groups, and I think it would be good for our groups to work together. I guess that's my fourth order of business. 

    I'm so excited about this opportunity, and I have to remind myself to pace myself. Change doesn't happen in a few short weeks. But here's hoping that it happens eventually!