Pride in Heritage

My students have an advantage over most of the rest of us. They know where they are from, and they possess pride in their heritage. They know who they are, and have an idea of expectation, based on that knowledge. For those of us who were born here, or are from a long line of Something-Americans, we do not often think about the traditions of our ethnic heritage.

This is one of the reasons why I enjoy facilitating Multicultural Club. It gives students a chance to understand what heritage is, and the traditions of backgrounds other than their own. Up to this time, we have explored mainly foods, music, and folktales. Food has been the most popular!

So far, though, I have discovered that most of the African-American students in Multicultural Club do not appear to have a sense of history regarding their actual ancestry. Grandparents are from Georgia, or South Carolina. There has been no oral history, no something passed down prior to that. I fully acknowledge the terrible sins associated with slavery. This is not about that, but the proud traditions connected to clans, bands, tribes, brotherhoods, and other filial associations of blood relatives. The students do not know what country of Africa holds the key to their personal beauty or ancestry. Some students have knowledge of a mix with Native American or other ethnicity. That being established, the next two themes for Multicultural Club will be Native American and African. These themes are so broad, I am aware that I will not be able to explore a tenth of what the students deserve, but awareness of similarities and differences, based on region is a place to start. I welcome any parental input and assistance!

On the other hand, my Beginning-level students are steeped in their own culture and tradition, and only now are learning their new culture. My 5th grade students just asked me about the first Thanksgiving. I'm happy that my simplified version aligned with what one of their fathers told them! The project assignment (due Monday, 12/1) involves doing a little research (we did that in the school library, and in class) and assembling a poster project about their birth country. All the instructions and goals went home last Monday, with the point values for each of the required elements. It's so important for all children to know their heritage is valued, and to have a sense of joy in their history!