Diversity Training Isn't Working

The other day I Googled the word “diversity.” As I expected, I was regaled with pages of Internet sites, many touting diversity programs and strategies designed to improve interaction between students . The way to make this improvement, say the experts, is to educate one segment of the student population as to the ways in which another segment differs from them. Diversity means “difference,” and a synonym, “heterogeneous,” identifies the quality of “not being comparable in kind.” Diversity training is also employed in the workplace. However, companies are starting to discover that diversity training is accomplishing exactly the opposite of what it is intended to do. I believe the same result is evident in our schools.
Columnist Kathleen Parker recently described the plight of a teacher in a Charleston middle school. The teacher was subjected daily to racist and sexist insults too graphic to print. The administration of the school refused to address the teacher's complaints, telling her that “racially charged profanity” is part of the students' culture and that if she couldn't accept that, she could take a hike. I am curious as to what workplaces, neighborhoods and families this school believes it is preparing its students to enter. I am amazed that we have come to such a state in our schools that any and all student behavior and language must be tolerated in the name of cultural diversity.
As with many trends in education, the concepts of cultural awareness and political correctness have been interpreted in an inflexible and uncompromising way. Classroom teachers have long known what educational theorists never seem to grasp: educational theories are like a smörgåsbord. Take what works from each one and leave the rest behind. Unfortunately, in their zeal to find educational panaceas, too many administrations insist that “old” techniques be discarded, even if they work. It's ironic that diversity training and cultural awareness often lead to fragmentation and resentment.
At least that's what's happening in business. In an article in the Harvard Gazette, Ryan Cortazar writes, “A new study shows that diversity training programs have roundly failed to eliminate bias and increase the number of minorities in management.” Cortazar goes on to note that “diversity training aimed at reducing managerial bias may actually increase it.”
What is it that you appreciate about your friends? Their uniqueness? Their special talents? What is it you love about your friends? Deep down, don't you love the ways in which you are alike, your shared values, shared morals, and shared sense of responsibility for each other and the world in general?
Why are we spending so much time, money and energy constantly pointing out to our students the ways in which they differ? Why are we not teaching them first that they are remarkably similar?
I was fascinated by Terry Flores' experiences with the Human Race Machine last April at UW-Parkside. After seeing how she would look if she were of a half-dozen ethnicities, Flores concluded: “I was also struck by the fact there are so many representations of human within these invisible boundaries we call race, yet they are so visible they affect the way we think and treat each other and ourselves.” Flores goes on, “While we may be different, we are all shades of human.”
We are all shades of human. That's what we should be teaching our children. Yes, it is good to honor those customs and beliefs that make any ethnic group unique. And while this can be done in the schools to a certain extent, I believe the primary arena for these celebrations lies in our communities. Festivals, museum exhibits, and other community events are positive ways to educate everyone , not just young people, about cultural uniqueness.
Right after the tragic death of Officer Frank Fabiano, Jr., Ben Ortega, the Spanish Center executive director, felt it necessary to explain that all Hispanics are not like murder suspect Ezequiel Lopez. “People like to lump us all together as one man,” explained Ortega. I find it tragic that we find ourselves in such a fragmented society that Mr. Ortega felt compelled to tell us what our common sense should tell us—that there are good and evil people in all ethnic groups, another way, unfortunately, in which we are all alike.
Perhaps one day we will have an education system which turns its considerable resources and talent to teaching our students to see the ways in which they mirror each other and highlights the reasons they should treat each other as brothers and sisters. Once you care for someone, his or her uniqueness becomes a place of sharing, not a barrier to understanding.