During the November 18th PBAT session, participants did a bit of exploration of the term "multicultural." The term is central to the Team's work of of creating a culture that more fully acknowledges, supports, and celebrates Piney Branch Elementary School's multicultural identity. Because of the significance of the word in our context, it's important to explore its various meanings and how it's understood by individual Team members.
One of the activites on the 18th had Team members collaborate to create three collages made up of pictures that, for individual Team members, represented the word “multicultural." This week’s session (December 2nd) had participants revisit those collages to gain a deeper understanding of the term.
With the three collages hanging on the wall, our facilitator, Kimberly, asked participants to choose one picture, word or phrase (in any of the collages) that spoke to them regarding the term “multicultural.” After the choices were made, Team members were then asked to try to embody the chosen picture, word or phrase--to actually bring the picture to life.
After warming-up a bit, each Team member took a turn sharing his or her choice from the collages by striking a pose that represented the picture. Although it was clearly often challenging to symbolize a picture or word with the body, participants were very creative and enjoyed the opportunity to breathe life into multiculturalism.
In addition to using their bodies for representation, Team members were asked to explain their choices. The conversation was rich and the ideas around defining multiculturalism were broad and imaginative. Here are a few highlights:
* I am The Gift of Transformation – I am for everyone. I can be messy and uncomfortable, but through me we all become more beautiful. Being able to change is a gift.
With the three collages hanging on the wall, our facilitator, Kimberly, asked participants to choose one picture, word or phrase (in any of the collages) that spoke to them regarding the term “multicultural.” After the choices were made, Team members were then asked to try to embody the chosen picture, word or phrase--to actually bring the picture to life.
After warming-up a bit, each Team member took a turn sharing his or her choice from the collages by striking a pose that represented the picture. Although it was clearly often challenging to symbolize a picture or word with the body, participants were very creative and enjoyed the opportunity to breathe life into multiculturalism.
In addition to using their bodies for representation, Team members were asked to explain their choices. The conversation was rich and the ideas around defining multiculturalism were broad and imaginative. Here are a few highlights:
* I am The Gift of Transformation – I am for everyone. I can be messy and uncomfortable, but through me we all become more beautiful. Being able to change is a gift.
* I am Love – We must first love ourselves to love others. Recognize and accept your own prejudices first, and then you can accept others without hate.
* I am Embrace -- I am a woman of color who embraces her blackness, her physical features. Show children of color positive images that look like them in books, magazines, movies. Embrace differences.
* I am Hope and Resistance – We put up boundaries that we’re unwilling to cross, but if we can talk and expose our vulnerability, we can create balance.
* I am The Duality of Multiculturalism – The duality is in the essence and form. Embody by celebrating the form, but put trust in humanity. We are human beings at the core. Respect form and embrace others to strike balance.
* I am a Spigot – From the flow there is no change only added value. We do not change who we are, but we shine more brightly.
After the individual sharing, participants debriefed the exercise in large group. Bertram (PBES' principal) shared that he appreciated using this method to explore the definition of “multicultural.” Rather than trying to come up with a linear statement, this approach allowed for a more expansive meaning of the term to surface. Other Team members echoed his comment, saying that their understanding of the term had been enlarged.
After the individual sharing, participants debriefed the exercise in large group. Bertram (PBES' principal) shared that he appreciated using this method to explore the definition of “multicultural.” Rather than trying to come up with a linear statement, this approach allowed for a more expansive meaning of the term to surface. Other Team members echoed his comment, saying that their understanding of the term had been enlarged.
