HFIS students talked bias, prejudice and culture
Reading, writing, arithmetic and … human relations?
On January 18, Highland Falls Intermediate School seventh and eighth graders — in an activity planned relating to Martin Luther King Day — spent a day participating in activities about different forms of prejudice.
It was, HFIS Principal Michael McElduff said, “a really amazing day”.
The day was organized, and planned out by social studies teachers Jennifer Constable and Heather Evangelista and school psychologist Dr. Ash Puttaswamy.
Also assisting in the day was West Point’s Jennifer Black, the mother of an O’Neill freshman and a former teacher who has degrees in history, with an emphasis on the American South and Black History. She had previously spoken with school officials and teachers on the issues of prejudice and diversity, and then spent the day with the students.
“The students participated in interactive activities designed to reduce implicit bias through candid discussion about different forms of prejudice,” McElduff said. “They watched a video that demonstrated the impact of various socioeconomic and cultural factors, acted out an example of implicit gender bias, participated in a word association activity about prejudice, and were provided with related statistics, current events articles, and quotes for small group discussion.”
Five eighth grade students served as facilitators for the small group discussions and then helped create a presentation of their insights from the activities at the school’s monthly assembly. Last Thursday evening, Marzella Rhodes, one of those eighth graders, also gave a brief summary of the event to the Board of Education.
“We helped guide the conversation and I was so honored to have been given this opportunity because I learned so much about my peers,” Rhodes told the BOE. “One main thing we learned is that everyone is not as different as you think, and that everyone should be treated equally.”
The board appeared impressed with Rhodes’ thoughts, particularly this one:
“This activity helped me better understand that you can’t judge a book by it’s cover. We all have a story and people might be going through tough times. We should learn to support each other.”
The other eighth graders were Alleyah Vargas, Joel Rodriguez, Alfred Hiraldo, and Jeremy Stoll.
All four of the adults who coordinated the day “have shared interest helping students become comfortable with discussing race, gender, religion, and other ‘sensitive topics’ in a respectful manner that promotes greater understanding between groups,” McElduff said.
“One main thing we learned is that everyone is not as different as you think, and that everyone should be treated equally.”
Marzella Rhodes
Black was impressed with the students.
“I thought the students, especially the facilitators, did a fantastic job learning about inherent bias and how that affects their perceptions of others and the world around them, and at discussing their encounters with racism and prejudice,” Black said. “We emphasized the need for discussion and being open to well-meaning questions and concerns from others.
Final thoughts from Rhodes: “Another thing that really stood out of me was the importance of educating others about this important topic. I am glad that at HFIS we get the opportunity to talk through some of these real topics”.
