For years St. Stephen's and St. Agnes' mission has embraced the celebration of diversity by working towards a greater understanding of one another. It is the imperative to "honor the unique value of each of our members as a child of God in a caring community." Empathy is at the heart of this.
When we talk about “elevating awareness and empathy”, we are actually working to build cultural competency in each child through the following measures:
- Acknowledging differences
- Understanding identity
- Examining multiple perspectives
- Recognizing interconnectedness
- Valuing diversity
- Why diversity matters
- Diversity does not just include race and ethnicity, it also includes perspectives and ability
- Diversity impacts learning
- The composition of the US (our children’s environment) is constantly changing
- Global population is impacting the US more along with the global economy
- It impacts business success
- Diversity and 21st century skills
- Collaboration, communication, critical thinking, creativity
- Flexibility, leadership, initiative, cultural awareness, information and technological literacy
- What diversity looks like in 2020
- Students of color will be the majority in 2020
- By 2050 53.7% people of color in the US
- Global diversity
- The world’s population will grow by another 2.5 billion by 2050
- Africa and Asia populations are the fastest growing populations
- How diversity impacts children in the future
- Creativity leads to innovation, which leads to success in school
- Inherent and acquired creativity
- This is all good information, but what if, as parents, some of the perspectives we’ve been talking about are in direct conflict with your beliefs?
- Belief vs. behavior
- Schools and companies are more focused on behavior
- As a parent, what you can do to support your child
- Examine
- Expose
- Explore
- Join the conversation on Wednesday, January 24
