Being the leader of a school in a very diverse neighborhood in a major metropolitan area, I have students from all backgrounds, ethnicities, cultures and language families. Interestingly, a portion of those students considers themselves biracial.
So what does this mean for this child?
- This means that they think twice every time someone in authority asks them to check one box that most accurately defines their ethnic background.
- Many of the children who are biracial are also bilingual or even trilingual.
- Cultural celebrations and family traditions may differ depending which side of the family is represented, which means that each child is learning how to flow from one culture to another.
Watch the video on this link. It has some powerful reflections from biracial college students at Rutgers.
So the question is, are we as teachers and leaders trying to put each of these children in a solitary box? Or are we allowing them to share all of their heritage?
