BUHS LAUNCHES DIVERSITY CLASS

By DANIEL BARLOW
Brattleboro Reformer
August 27, 2004

BRATTLEBORO -- When incoming freshmen take the school's new mandatory diversity class this year, they may find a curriculum that runs the gamut from former presidents to rap stars.
Brattleboro Union High School plans to launch the program this fall called a World of Difference, which will train freshmen students to watch for bias and prejudice in the hallways and classrooms.

Teacher Scott Tabachnick, a new employee for the school district to teach the class, said he is not planning to give moral lessons to the students.

"I'm hoping students will begin to understand their own perspective and that everyone harbors their own biases," said Tabachnick. "And when we recognize bias we can be sure we don't hurt people with it."

The new $68,000 program, created by the Anti-Defamation League, represents a new focus on the issues of diversity and bias and comes more than six months after a townwide discussion on the supposed racial connotations on the school's sports mascot, the Colonel.

Diversity training has been part of the curriculum at the schools in the past, although of the $20,000 allocated in the 2002-03 budget, less than $1,000 was actually spent.

School officials recognized a "need to take [their] efforts to a higher level," said BUHS Principal James Day, and the World of Difference program will be more consistent and reach a larger number of students.

On Thursday, BUHS teachers and staff were trained in the program, said Day, and Brattleboro Area Middle School staff was scheduled to be trained today.

Practically everyone who works in the schools -- from cooks to paraprofessionals -- will be trained in recognizing bias, explained Day.

"If we want our building to be more open and welcoming, we need to bring in everyone," he said.

Tabachnick envisions a lively classroom where students relate their own experiences with bias and discuss readings from a variety of writers from many races and backgrounds.

"I believe that if you treat the students with respect and give them material that is intellectually challenging, which this is, they will respond and step up," said Tabachnick.

He plans to use a number of essays and autobiography excerpts in the classroom lessons, such as former President Jimmy Carter's childhood Christmas memories to discuss how different families celebrate the holidays to rapper Snoop Dogg's statement that a "man is where he lives" to study how environment affects personalities and values.

He said he may have his students write up their own holiday memories as an assignment and then have other students read them to the rest of the class to stimulate discussion.

"I want to show how different we all really are," he said.

Students will likely be graded on effort in the class, said Tabachnick, along with their group projects.

"Obviously, I can't grade them on their biases," he said. "This is an effort-based class."

While the classroom aspect of the program is aimed at freshmen, school officials are also teaching sophomore, juniors and seniors to be peer trainers.

The exact responsibilities of these peer trainers will vary depending on a student's desire, said Day, but they will likely act as leaders in the school environment and help defuse situations involving race and bias.

Some of the peer trainers may also occasionally go into the classroom to talk with other students about these issues, Day added.

And although the two aspects of the World of Difference program are separate, Tabachnick hopes to work closely with the peer trainers toward the common goal.

Day is optimistic that the program will improve the climate in the school following several years of high tensions, rampant racist jokes and students dividing themselves up into cliques.

"I'm hoping we'll see a difference within four years," said Day.