Teaching in a Diverse World

The first seminar I attended on Thursday was "Debunking the Myth of Homogeneity in Maine."  It was really interesting - Dr. Achenson shared a series of quotations she has heard or read in studies, straight from the mouths of students, parents, and teachers.  During that powerpoint, she shared a collection of anecdotes about Franco-Americans, immigrants, class, and discrimination that seemed like they were taken from a collection of sources. She revealed, however, that all of the anecdotes, as varied as they were, were all from her own childhood in Maine.  I learned that what Maine lacks in racial diversity (which is becoming more prevalent), it more than makes up for in national background diversity.  I come from a French background, and I had no idea that the Maine Ku Klux Klan attacked Franco-Americans in the early 20th century.  

The other conference I attended was "Growing Up Poor," with Elyse Pratt-Ronco.  This was a powerpoint presentation describing Maine rural families living below the poverty line, and explained the Bronfenbrenner systems model, a series of systems spreading out from the individual. This model is supposed to help people empathize with other people who are, essentially, living in a different reality due to personal and social differences.  She worked with Upward Bound students by giving each student a camera and asking them to take photos resembling family, friends, school, home, and other aspects of their lives.  This helped her get a personal feel for what it's like to grow up in rural poverty, where urban poverty has a great deal of research devoted to it.