Clintonville students learn about different cultures
By Bert Lehman
Students at Clintonville High School had the opportunity to learn about different religions, cultures and beliefs when they participated in Diversity Day on March 12.
In addition, Diversity Day allowed students to learn what a typical day in the life of another person may be like.
According to Kevin Reese, mathematics teacher and Student Council advisor at Clintonville High School, Diversity Day started five years ago, and has been an annual event, except for last year, when it was cancelled due to many bad weather days.
Diversity Day is organized by three different student committees, Reese said.
One committee is responsible for recruiting the volunteer presenters that make up the breakout session presentations and simulations.
Another committee is tasked with making plans to welcome the more than 50 visitors to the school, seeing that they are fed a lunch, and making sure the presenters have the necessary technology in the classrooms where they do their presentations.
The final committee is responsible for the logistics of the day. This includes setting the schedule for the day, assigning rooms, and communicating room assignments to teachers whose rooms would be used for the day.
The day began with a keynote speaker. Students then moved about the building to attend four different 45-minute breakout sessions. Students could choose from approximately 29 different sessions of diversity topics.
The day ended with the students viewing performance by the Menominee Indian School District.
Diversity
Some of the different aspects of diversity that students learned about included: about countries of the district’s foreign exchange students, local Native American cultures, the cultures of district students of the Hispanic community, learning from the son of a Holocaust survivor, female empowerment, LGBTQ, and overcoming disease, addiction and poverty.
“Students had an experience similar to any conference an adult may attend for the professional development of their career,” Reese said.
Two simulations also took place during the day, Reese said.
The first simulation provided students the opportunity to experience what it is like to be Latino in the local community. The second simulation was on hunger and poverty. Students were given the freedom to choose which session they wanted to attend.
“The students were respectful listeners during both the breakout sessions and keynotes,” Reese said. “They were great hosts and represented their school and community well in welcoming so many guests to our building. Many of the students welcomed the change of pace from a typical day of school, especially in the late winter of the year that has featured no snow days to this point.”
He added, “A day like Diversity Day allows us to more fully educate our students in ways that are beyond the typical curriculums teachers are assigned to teach.”