THEMES
Objectives and Rationale
Families Are Different
Race/Ethnicity
Divorce/Break-ups
Lesbian and Gay Family Members
Socioeconomics
Immigration
Adoption
Disability
Aging
Religion
Clicking on each theme will bring you to the Objectives and Rationale for that family diversity theme. The Objectives and Rationale provide you with a framework for leading the discussions on that theme, outlining what content you might cover with the students and how that theme might be relevant to the children.
FAMILIES ARE DIFFERENT
Objectives
Students will:
1. Identify the importance of families to all students.
2. Identify different kinds of families.
3. Understand that students in every classroom come from different kinds of families, and they have varied family experiences.
4. Understand that families go through changes.
5. Understand the importance of being kind to each other about our families.
Rationale
1. Families are very important to children's physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being.
2. Families are where children learn about other people, shape their values, and learn life skills.
3. Children need to learn about and respect different family structures and the experiences that shape families.
4. It is important that children receive the kind of meaningful support that can foster resilience when their families experience changes.
The Families All Matter Message About Families:
1. Families come together in many different ways.
2. A person's family can be more than those who are in their household. It might include anyone who is nurturing and supportive to them, (e.g. relatives, step-parents, friends, mentors, members of religious communities, birth parents, neighbors, teachers, youth workers, etc.)
3. Families exist in the context of broader community. Community can be an essential component to a family's identity. Families are nurtured by healthy connections in their community.
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RACE/ETHNICITY
Objectives
Students will:
1. Understand that it is hard to define race and that frequently “skin color” is used to define race.
2. Understand that we live in a racially diverse country with different cultures, ethnicities, and languages.
3. Understand that individuals and families can be more than one race, ethnicity, and culture.
4. Define racism as a system where some people on the basis of their race are treated unfairly and oppressed while other people are granted unearned privileges.
Rationale
1. Race, ethnicity, and culture are part of a family’s identity, pride and strength.
2. Race affects children’s views of themselves and others.
3. A child's self-identity, hope, motivation and real life options are greatly influenced by race.
4. More and more families are multi-racial and have different experiences and challenges.
5. How families are treated, how they interact with people, and sometimes who they are comfortable with is affected by race.
What is racism and why is it important to include it in this project?
1. All children in the United States are affected by racism in subtle and not-so-subtle ways.
2. Race is a socially-defined construct used to characterize people according to the color of their skin (race has no biological or natural basis).
3. Racism is an unfair system where people of one race can have and use power and privilege over others. In the US political, social, & economic power is unjustly concentrated among white people.
4. We live in a society that is multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and multi-racial, yet we have not succeeded in overcoming racism. Racism is a pervasive and damaging force in our society.
5. We all need to develop skills to identify and challenge racism in all aspects of life.
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DIVORCE/BREAK-UPS
Objectives
Students will:
1. Understand that it is okay to talk about divorce/breaking-up.
2. Understand that children do not cause divorce or break-ups. These are adult decisions. But children are greatly affected by divorce and break-ups, and they will have strong feelings when their family changes in this way.
3. Understand that when a divorce or a break-up happens in a family it changes how families operate, including living arrangements and how time is spent with family members. These arrangements will be different from family to family.
Rationale
1. Many families experience divorce/break-ups.
2. Children are deeply affected on many levels by family conflict, including divorce or break-ups.
3. Children might feel that they are in some way responsible for the divorce/break-up of their parents or that they can somehow change the situation.
4. When a divorce or break-up occurs, a child might experience other people’s insensitivity, unkindness or judgments about her family's experience. A child might experience shame and isolation when a family structure changes. Children need to feel acceptance and validation for who they and their family are.
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LESBIAN AND GAY FAMILY MEMBERS
Objectives
Students will:
1. Understand that there are many strong, loving LGBT (Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender) people raising children and living everyday family lives.
2. Understand that many children are acquainted with LGBT people.
3. Understand that there are many prejudices in our society about people who are LGBT.
4. Identify name-calling (and other unkind behaviors) about LGBT people as inappropriate, unacceptable, and hurtful.
Rationale
1. There are children in every classroom who have family members, friends or acquaintances who are LGBT. Every school has students who will identify themselves as gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, or transgender at some point in their life.
2. Unchallenged bias toward LGBT people is harmful to the well-being of all students because it perpetuates the damaging myth that it is acceptable to discredit or dehumanize a whole group of people.
3. Children from LGBT families may feel invisible or excluded because their family is not often acknowledged at school, in books, in the media, etc.
4. LGBT-parented families face barriers to their full participation when they fear and/or experience prejudice, discrimination, and marginalization in school/ community settings.
5. It remains very difficult in our culture to talk about this topic with our children because homophobia (prejudice and fear of LGBT people) remains such a strong, divisive force in our culture. Regardless of one’s individual beliefs or opinions, it is important to treat LGBT individuals and families with respect.
Why do we recognize homophobia and its effects on children?
1. Terms like “gay” or “fag” are often used by students as a put-down. This reflects the bias that “straight” (heterosexual) people are superior to LGBT people.
2. Research repeatedly shows that students perceived as gay or lesbian are among the most likely targets of bullying and violence at school.
3. Intolerance and acts of bias against LGBT students limits their full participation in school, and can result in depression, social isolation, or even death.
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SOCIOECONOMICS
Objectives
Students will:
1. Understand that families come from many different socio-economic backgrounds and experiences.
2. Understand that many families will experience economic changes and challenges, some of which may result in stresses and/or hardships.
3. Recognize that a person’s value goes beyond their economic status or background.
Rationale
1. In a given classroom there can be large socio-economic differences among students.
2. Children are aware of socio-economic differences and it is difficult to talk about them.
3. Socio-economic differences and backgrounds have strong influence on family life identity, and real life options.
4. Socio-Economic differences can create barriers to relationships among children and between families.
5. Students may have unequal opportunities for academic success and school participation based on socio-economic differences.
6. There are constant, distorted messages in our society and schools about poverty, wealth, privilege, and lifestyle that influence families in many ways. Often these biased messages blame the poor for being poor and glamorize wealth.
Why is it important to include this topic in the project?
1. Socio-economic status and access to wealth can define “popularity” in many schools. It is important to challenge the underlying assumption that socio-economic status entitles a person to greater personal status, value or worth in the community.
2. Unless children are encouraged to develop empathy and respect for people across socio-economic status lines, the growing divide between “haves” and “have-nots” in this country is unlikely to ever change.
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IMMIGRATION
Objectives:
Students will:
1. Learn about, respect and learn from the cultures and lives of immigrants in their community.
2. Understand that immigrant families enter this country for many reasons, including a search for a better life and as refugees, to escape persecution and war.
3. Identify the difficulties that immigrant families might face such as prejudice, racism, language barriers, separation from loved ones, poverty and culture shock.
4. Identify ways to be welcoming and supportive to newcomers at school.
Rationale
1. The population of the U.S. is continually changing as a result of immigration.
* Native Americans are the only U.S. population that do not consider themselves immigrants.
* Some immigrants were forced to come to the U.S. against their will, e.g., slaves from Africa.
* Refugees are immigrants who are fleeing war, persecution, and other traumatic experiences in their native country.
2. Our country is a nation with many immigrants. The contributions of immigrants continues to strengthen the vibrant society that we enjoy in this country.
3. Immigrant families face the challenge of retaining their cultural identity while participating in U.S. culture.
4. Within a family and across families, the experience of acculturation might be felt differently. Some common challenges faced by immigrant families are: changes in family roles and responsibilities, intergenerational conflicts, and language acquisition.
How does immigration affect the learning environment?
1. Misunderstandings and /or conflicts can result when children don’t understand each other's cultures.
2. Children are exposed to biased messages in the media, in the community, and in our homes. Misconceptions and stereotypes are perpetuated if left unchallenged.
3. In the U.S., many immigrants face poor access to housing, health care, education, and legal status that creates barriers to participation in community and civic arenas. On-going racism, discrimination, cultural bias and religious intolerance are also experienced by immigrants, even after many years of residence or citizenship.
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ADOPTION
Objectives
Students will:
1. Identify adoption as one of the ways families are formed
2. Understand that families adopt children for many different reasons.
3. Understand that children do not always look like their parents or other family members.
4. Understand that it is important to respect people’s choices about when and how they share their adoption stories.
Rationale
1. Many children come into families through adoption. For different reasons biological parents may be unable to take care of a child: Formal/legal and less formal adoption of children may occur due to youth, immigration, poverty, death, disease/illness and dreams for a better life.
2. There are biases in our society that make the assumption that the bonds between family members in adoptive families are somehow less than biological connections.
3. Families that choose cross-cultural and cross-racial adoptions face unique issues and challenges. Children who have a different cultural/racial background from their families are often questioned about their relationship to the family. Parents are also often questioned about their ability to raise children from another culture. All families need to feel acceptance and support for their unique structures and issues.
4. All Children need to feel acceptance and validation for who they and their family are.
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DISABILITY
Objectives
Students will:
1. Understand that there are many different kinds of disabilities; some affect how we learn, think, feel or behave. Some affect our bodies.
2. Learn to put into perspective that a disability does not define everything about a person.
3. Understand that many families experience disability. It’s important for children to learn about and feel comfortable with disabilities.
4. Identify ways to include and be respectful of people who have a disability.
Rationale
1. Many children have family members or friends with disabilities.
2. Everyone is potentially vulnerable to experiencing some degree of disability.
3. If we avoid talking about disabilities, children may conclude that disabilities are shameful, bad, or scary.
4. People with disabilities face many challenges, including discrimination and biased assumptions about their competence. It is a common misperception that people with disabilities are incapable of leading fulfilled and productive lives. Too often a disabled person is identified only by their disability.
5. Disability, in whatever form, can have powerful and lasting impact on a family, both challenging and enriching. Challenging impacts can include financial stress, modification of activities and routines, prejudice and discrimination, changing roles and responsibilities of family members, etc.
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AGING
Objectives
Students will:
1. Understand that many children have elders in their lives with whom they have enriching relationships. Some children are even being parented by their grandparents.
2. Understand that elders often have special gifts to offer to the family and community.
3. Understand that family members as they age will go through changes that are a natural part of the life cycle, but may be difficult to understand and accept. It is important for students to talk about these changes, including appearance, abilities, health, living arrangements, and ultimately death.
4. Students will understand that when losing an elder, grief and loss, though painful, are normal emotions.
Rationale
1. Many children are in enriching relationships with elderly people in either their family or community. Increasing numbers of children have grandparents as their primary guardians (either permanently or temporarily).
2. A family can be deeply affected by the aging of family members.
3. While everyone experiences aging and death, different cultures have different values and views surrounding it. These strongly impact how children view aging and death. It is important that we learn about and honor these cultural beliefs and practices.
4. The dominant culture and the media often send messages that devalue elders and aging. This bias is called ageism. We all need to recognize and act to dispel negative prejudices about aging and treat elders with respect and thoughtfulness.
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RELIGION
Objectives
Students will:
1. Understand that families in our communities and country come from many religions, and have many different religious beliefs and practices.
2. Understand that each family has its own unique spiritual or religious practices. Members of the same family might have different beliefs or practices. Some families or family members might not have (or practice) any religion.
3. Understand that sometimes people or families experience prejudice or misunderstandings because of their religious practices and beliefs.
4. Understand that it is important to be kind to each other and respectful across religious and faith differences.
5. Learn about religious beliefs and practices of other people as a stepping stone to being understanding and respectful of them.
6. Understand that our lives are enriched and expanded through exposure to the abundance and variety of religious ways.
Rationale
1. Many families, but not all, have spiritual beliefs and practices that are important to them. For some families these are a foundation of family identity. For others they are not.
2. Families carry out their religious and faith beliefs in many different ways, as individuals or as a family; sometimes within an organized religion or spiritual community, with or without a great deal of ritual.
3. All families in the United States have the right to their spiritual beliefs and practices, and the right to assemble to practice them.
4. A family might believe or practice one, two, or more faith traditions within it, resulting in unique family traditions. This can also produce tension and conflict in a family.
5. Families or family members might feel very strongly about their beliefs: that their way is right, and that others with different views are wrong. (absolute)
6. While everyone has the right to their beliefs and practices, no one has the right to do harm to others because of differing beliefs and practices.
7. AMAZE hopes to promote learning about, and respect for the faith and religious beliefs that exist in our community, as well as skills for dealing with conflict or bias when they emerge.
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