College Speaking on Diversity and Inclusion

I had the chance to perform in front of college students on the themes of Diversity and Inclusion. I love their responses! I used stories as THE BEST WAY to discuss difficult topics. In the breakout sessions, we worked on communicating across lines of difference. That’s what the one student is referring to – she wants to post the communication guidelines on her wall. All of us get in situations where we just don’t know what to say especially when the conversation is about race, gender and other hot topics. Young people are looking for this guidance but they don’t want to be preached at! Sharing our stories is the most respectful and productive way to value others and feel appreciated yourself.

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Bring a Harmony Day to Your School

I stopped by a school where we had presented a Harmony Day: a multicultural assembly with storytellers, Antonio Sacre, Michael D. McCarty, Anne Shimojima and moi, Susan O’Halloran, followed by breakout sessions on race, immigration, cyber bullying, Japanese American internment camps and other family stories and leaving a legacy of inclusion. Here’s what one of the teachers had to say and some examples of  the posters the students made after our day. The event was sponsored by Angels Studio, a communications ministry of the Society of the Divine Word, Chicago Province.

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Everyday folks discuss racism

To keep celebrating the GRAND OPENING of this new blog and my teachers’ diversity online course, I’m giving you a taste of one of the offerings from the www.inspireaclassroom.com (teachers’) website. Whether you’re a teacher or not, you might want to listen to these videos of people from all walks of life talking about race, diversity and inclusion. If you’d like to purchase for yourself or would like to gift a teacher you know to have in his/her classroom, go to:

http://inspireaclassroom.com/?page_id=20

Here’s your preview of what’s called the “Discussion Videos” in my diversity/inclusion curriculum “Kaleidoscope: Valuing Differences and Creating Inclusion” (Remember my video host, Blip TV, runs ads at the beginning of the video. I’m not endorsing any of their advertisers. It will take app. 10 seconds for the “Discussion Video Promo” to load):

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