Last weekend, as I was watching my son's soccer game, I was talking with a new friend about where we had both lived as children. I grew up in New Jersey--please don't hold that against me! My friend told me she grew up in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans and had vivid memories of drinking from a segregated water fountain, going to the bathroom in a segregated bathroom, and riding on the back of buses. Despite all the literature, the nonfiction books, and magazine articles that I have read for so many years, I was speechless, shocked. How could someone who was around my age, experience that kind of treatment?
That conversation led me to reflect about our education of students and our Blanchard community. We are so lucky to have such a long, rich history that we can celebrate and integrate into the curriculum, especially in the second grade with our field trip to Schoolhouse #2. (I was fortunate enough to meet one of the former students of Schoolhouse #2 at a town barbecue last week!) I am equally delighted, however, to celebrate the many changes and diversity that make our community so strong and vibrant today.
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Schoolhouse #2
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Thank you for writing this insightful piece. I, too, see the wonderful Blanchard community as culturally diverse. I especially enjoy seeing the 6th grade Culture Projects, learning interesting things about students, and seeing what is important in their lives. We have a small town with a global feel!
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