Multicultural Education

Dear Families:

Last week, Elaine, Nick, Sharon, and I had the pleasure of meeting with members of the Multicultural Committee and other members of the community to engage in a dialog about the LREI curriculum and how it addresses issues related to multiculturalism and diversity. Our discussion highlighted for me the many ways that we explore these issues through rich and meaningful inquiry. In many schools, these issues are often explored in a superficial, celebratory manner (a month for this group and a month for that group). At LREI, these issues serve as a critical lens through which students are regularly challenged to make meaning on a daily basis. In the middle school core curriculum, students develop a set of tools that they use to explore actively and question key concepts of perspective, power, and privilege, which weave themselves throughout history, inform our present, and suggest possible paths for the future.

In the 5th Grade, students begin to develop the research skills of the archeologist/anthropologist through their study of ancient civilizations. By digging into the past, students work to understand the particular value systems that defined the culture being studied. As they move beneath the surface of this history, they also realize that this inquiry is necessarily filtered through the particular perspective of our own culture and time; in this way students come to see how the past speaks to and with the present.

In the 6th Grade, students study the middle ages through a careful investigation of Europe, Africa, and Asia. In doing so, they explore the idea of simultaneity and how culture is transmitted across and through civilizations. Through their inquiries, students explore how ideas are transmitted between cultures and how the infusion of these ideas informs a particular culture’s world view. In this manner, a strictly linear view of history gives way to one that is dynamic and regularly contested.

In the 7th grade, students explore pre-colonial America up to the Civil War. Their exploration is driven not by a rote study of important dates and events, but by the various perspectives that inform our understanding of these events. The question is regularly raised as to whose view is being represented and, perhaps more crucially, what views are missing. As they begin to synthesize these often conflicting views, a more nuanced sensitivity to the challenges of the American experiment in democracy emerges.

In the 8th Grade, students wrestle with issues that are the legacy of our nation’s journey from civil war through the civil rights era. Their inquiry begins with an exploration of the civil rights era, which serves as a critical lens for their subsequent investigations. They then turn back to the civil war period and move forward to return, at the end of the year, to the civil rights era. The Greek philosopher Heraclitus said, “You cannot step into the same river twice,” and so it is for the 8th graders. Pushed by the flow of our nation’s history, they return to where they started only to find themselves and their understanding of the interplay of history and culture changed, deepened and enriched.

Because these powerful tools of analysis can bring to the forefront of our awareness the often contentious and fractured reality of our times, one participant in the discussion wondered whether we were leading students down a path of despair and hopelessness. It is here that LREI’s commitment to active citizenship and service provides a way for students to respond to these challenging issues related to social justice in positive and hope-filled ways. Through the bringing together of the academic and the civic, our students come to understand more fully what it means to live in a diverse and multicultural world.

In that spirit, I wish you and your family the best for the New Year – may it be one that is filled with peace and understanding.

This Week’s Attachments

(Click on the links below to open the attachments. If you are having trouble opening the links, go to http://www.columbia.edu/~mis14/ to access the files.)

1) 5th-6th Grade Basketball Letter and Forms

2) 5th-6th Grade Basketball Team List and Schedule

3) Artist Lecture Series

4) AfterSchool Winter Schedule

Of School-wide Interest . . .

1) Any MS students interested in helping with the MS Shakespeare production specifically with the set or lights please email the director Katie at katie.rogers@nyu.edu

2) From the AfterSchool Program: The above link to the AfterSchool winter schedule is provided so that you may begin to consider Afterschool options for the Winter/ Spring semester. It is not a registration form. Registration packets will be mailed to LREI families on Monday, December 20th. Registration for all Afterschool at LREI programs will begin on January 3rd at 2:30pm.

3) This year we have registered to participate in the National Geographic Geography Bee (http://www.nationalgeographic.com/geographybee/index.html). The first round of the Bee will take place on Thursday, January 6th in the classroom. In this round, students respond orally to a series of geography-related questions. Participation in the Bee is voluntary and those who don’t want to participate will serve as the audience for their peers who do choose to participate. We will do the final and championship rounds at Middle School meeting on Wednesday, January 12th. The winner of the championship round will then take the state-qualifying test on the 13th. If you think your child may be interested in participating, some useful preparation resources can be found at:

4) From the Lesbian Gay Straight Alliance (LSGA): LGBT Family Luau at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, Saturday, January 8th from 6PM to 8PM – Escape the snow and join us for a winter luau! We invite all lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender families and their friends and to meet, mingle, and explore the Museum. One free membership will be awarded to the most tropically dressed family! Tickets are $5 per person. Please RSVP by January 5th at 718-735-4400 x125. For directions visit http://www.brooklynkids.org/plan/directions.html.

5) THE ARTIST LECTURE SERIES: a slide presentation and talk with LREI parent Marlene McCarty and LREI alumnus Nayland Blake ’78. Tuesday, January 11th 2005 from 7:00PM – 9:00PM at the Charlton Street PAC.Tickets $10.00 / Students and faculty free. Childcare available for $15.00 per child, $5 per sibling. For further information and reservations call 212.477.5316 x 232. Tickets on sale in the lobbies at the 272 Sixth Avenue and 40 Charlton Street campuses. For more information see the linked attachment above.

6) From 5th Grade Parent Priscilla Lincoln: Wanted — Ideas for Karamu entertainment and folks who would like to work on the entertainment for Karamu. This will be the 4th Karamu to celebrate our diversity at LREI. Past Karamu’s have been very successful and we hope to put together an even more successful event this year. Please e-mail (lincolnpris@aol.com) or call (718-857-7456) me with any ideas and contacts you have for entertainment.

7) On a related note: Save the Date – January 28, 2005 at 5:00PM – KARAMU: An LREI Community Multicultural Arts Celebration of Food, Dancing and Entertainment in the Charlton Street PAC. Tickets cost $20 for adults and $5 for kids and will be on sale in the Sixth Avenue campus lobby in January.

On-line Middle School Events Page:

Below is a short list of up and coming events. You can access the full list of events at http://www.lrei.org/midschool/Events.html.

Looking Ahead . . .

  • Monday, January 3rd – School reopens
  • Friday, January 7th – Middle School Play @ 7PM
  • Saturday, January 8th – Middle School Play @ 3PM and 7PM
  • Wednesday, January 12th, 2:30PM – National Geography Bee @ Middle School Meeting
  • Friday, January 14th – School Closed – Professional Development Day
  • Monday, January 17th – School Closed – MLK B-Day
  • Tuesday, January 18th – Middle School Parent Rep Meeting
  • Friday, January 21st – Love Shakespeare production for 7th and 8th graders @ 2:00PM (tentative)
  • Friday, January 28th, 5:00PM – KARAMU – Charlton Street PAC
  • Wednesday, February 2nd, 10:00AM – 6th grade to Cathedral of Saint John the Divine

Don’t forget to check the LREI website for updates and interesting information – http://www.lrei.org.

Be well,

Mark

To view the attached .pdf files, please download Adobe Reader, if you do not already have it. Click on the following link or paste it into your browser: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

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