by Dennis Harter
dennish@isb.ac.th
This past Tuesday, several of our middle school clubs hosted our MS Diversity Assembly. The assembly was a wonderful example of our students sharing their voice in developing the warm, open-hearted and -minded community that we value at ISB.
During the assembly, students gave speeches sharing their stories and how we can treat everyone with respect and how our diversity – our differences – make us a stronger and more interesting community.
Students spoke about: why diversity matters and the dangers of ethnic stereotyping. They shared data from students about gender discrimination and presented their school-made video on All of the Things We Share – celebrating our common humanity and interests, despite all of our differences. Students talked about our continued support of organizations that advocate for human rights. Importantly, different groups spoke to their peers about how our language can be unintentionally hurtful. Using words like “retarded” or “gay” to mean “stupid” or “uncool” is not only misplaced and incorrect, but they are also personally offensive to so many.
We were also moved by a combined performance of choir, orchestra, and dance students, singing “I Can’t Keep Quiet.”
We are so thankful that we share a community celebrating diversity as a source of strength. Too often the middle school years can be a difficult time for young people, overly focused on conformity and “not being different.” We are proud of our ISB students for recognizing and celebrating all the unique differences that make us who we are. For this celebration, I thank all the students who participated, those who listened with an open heart and open mind, and the teacher-leaders, who continue to inspire students to advocate for the world they want to live in – one of diversity and acceptance.
“We need to give each other the space to grow, to be ourselves, to exercise our diversity. We need to give each other space so that we may both give and receive such beautiful things as ideas, openness, dignity, joy, healing, and inclusion.”
— Max de Pree
While a video never captures the feeling in the room or the true wonder of an event, we do want to share the wonderful words, performances, and courage of our students. If you have the time (about an hour), I hope you watch the assembly video below. We continue to be inspired by our own students every day for their courage, their empathy, and their respect for all the special differences that make us unique and human.