First Day
There was not many times where I noticed people had a different skin colour than me during school because I was always in the majority. But there was one moment specially where I recognized it. We were sitting in the cafeteria area during a grade nine welcome barbecue. I was nervous. I was starting high school in less than 3 days. The smell of cheap burgers filled the air as I was chatting with my friends about the big day. All of a sudden my new principal started to speak “when I call your name please follow the teacher with the red sign”. I waited and waited and was called about halfway down the list. We were being taken to our home room/ first period class. As I climbed the stairs with my parents I became even more nervous. When we got to the classroom I picked a seat close to the front. As I watched my future classmates walk in I noticed I had a lot of kids with different ethnicities and different backgrounds. It did not make me uncomfortable in any sense but rather made me think that through my entire elementary schooling I never had a classmate who wasn’t white. this was the first classroom I was in that had any diversity. As I had come to learn, my high school was big on inclusion. If we had one student whose family celebrated a certain holiday we as a school would make sure we acknowledged that holiday so that student felt welcomed. That one moment in the class room was a new beginning for new understanding about different cultures and backgrounds. It was no longer the “standard” white catholic ways of life but rather a community that embraced differences. It was one of the first times I can remember noticing my skin was different from the student next to me.
One thought on “First Day”
Hi Lyndzee,
I can also remember spending a day at the highschool I wanted to go to. Scary but exciting all at the same time! It is awesome to read how inclusion was a main focus in your high school. It made me think back to what my highschool was like and I wish it was more like yours. Making everyone feel welcomed is a crucial part to having a safe and welcoming community within a school. As a future teacher, I want to replicate that same mentality in spaces of learning that I will move into. Being a person having white skin, I cannot speak for others, but I can say that if I was not comfortable going to a place of learning because of the colour of my skin I would not have a good experience. I also think I would struggle to accept my skin colour if I was not having a good experience in a place, I was going too every day. I hope to continue to educate myself and others of how important inclusion is not only in schools, but in life.