What events/moments/experiences I have experienced or witnessed recently refined or revised my thoughts of thinking about inclusion, diversity, or equity?

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One of the biggest and most impactful things I have learned in the last year relating to diversity, equity, and inclusion is to reconsider universality.

Last semester in ART 325 we participated in something called Artistic Abilities where we taught art lessons to special needs adults (see Service Learning ART 325 for more information). My group’s last lesson date was close to Halloween, so we originally planned to make a Halloween-themed lesson. When presenting our ideas to our professor and the leader of the program, we were met with the consideration that some students may not all celebrate Halloween. It was such a simple redirection, and something I knew if I just thought about it for a moment. We ended up changing our lesson to be more Autumn-based so we could be more inclusive and mindful.

That ballooned into a whole mindset change relative to universality and my personal experiences. I started to change and question slang phrases and metaphors so as to be mindful of ELL and others who may not be familiar. I began to learn about holidays and traditions that I had previously viewed as “alternate” to my “normal” holidays as their own unique and encompassing celebrations. For example, Hanukkah isn’t “Jewish Christmas” but a festival of lights celebrating the rededication of Jewish temples after a victory over the Greeks. It just happens to fall around the Christian Christmas.

Within the classroom, this means that I will not culture-orient my lessons. This does not mean the students cannot infuse their culture into their own work. That is the definition of inclusivity. By being not exclusive in the art prompts and having multicultural art history lessons, I am not forcing students to assimilate into my cultural traditions and values but instead giving them plenty of resources and artists to see themselves within and enough breathing room to create in a way that is authentic to them.

I plan to explore and develop this philosophy further so that by the time I teach, I can give room and resources for every student to feel completely safe and welcome so they may authentically create and express themselves.

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