Andrew Totheroh
Celebrating Diversity
I recently attended the Celebrating Diversity workshop, held at Manchester College, on Sunday April 18, 2010. My eyes were opened widely with all the information and personal experiences that were shared during this workshop. Certain norms that I had thought and used throughout my everyday life were now impacted due to this workshop. I do and act differently now based on the information given to us during the workshop.
Before the workshop I was not sensitive to people that were outside of my personal social box. I would make fun of them because they did not fit into the category that my friends and I were in, based clearly on their physical appearance or the way they would talk. Such an inconsiderate act, that I now deeply regret. The workshop really opened my eyes to these people that I considered different than I. The personal stories that individuals told are really what opened up my closed mind to do this. The pain and trauma that were shared was unbelievable for these individuals, and most of the hate acts came from people that shared my previous views.
My thinking has been impacted tremendously from this workshop. I sometimes catch myself still thinking in my old ways, but am quick to stop myself and ask one simple question. If I was in their shoes, wouldn’t I want acceptance from my peers? The answer to this question is always yes. Who wouldn’t want acceptance from their closest friends and family? Every person on Earth wants acceptance, which is in part why some act so closed mindedly, to gain acceptance into the group in which they most want to join. In my case, that is exactly the reason why I acted so closed minded.
My chosen teaching field is Health/Physical Education. How I plan to celebrate diversity is to incorporate diversity into my lessons throughout the year. When a particular sport is played in my class, that has a different background than another traditional sport may have, I plan to not only teach that sport, but also put a bit of their culture into the sport as well. Soccer for instance, has a big Spanish background and following. I would teach the sport, and also add a bit of their culture and the different ways they might possibly play soccer. This would not only add to the student’s sport knowledge, but mix in different cultures to their experiences as well.
Through the Diversity Workshop, many different doors have been opened for me to explore. I want to get to know people better that are different than myself, and find out just how hard it is to live in a country that doesn’t always accept them and their beliefs. How much pain and mental stress has been put into lives from people that used to share the same beliefs as I once did? Why acceptance is so important in our culture these days? Questions that hopefully one day will be answered for me throughout the rest of my life. One thing I do know for a fact is that the old way of thinking, which I thought everyone that was “normal” shared has been completely thrown out the window for me. I will be more accepting throughout the rest of my life and will not be so quick to judge people based on their physical appearance. The new and improved Andrew will be more of a joy to be around and accepting of all people no matter what color their skin is, whatever their religion may be, or their sexual orientation.