A Visitor's View of the Diversity Seminar

by Fanny Gomez

di verse (dĭ-vûrs', dî-, dî'vûrs')
adj.
1. Differing one from another; 2. variety; multiformity.

Bergen County might be small - only 247 square miles – but it’s extremely diverse and densely populated with a rich variety of people of all races, ethnicities, religions, ages and socio-economic levels. While this diversity makes Bergen County a tremendously interesting place in which to live, it also poses many challenges to leaders in the community.

Being able to maneuver successfully in a diverse environment is a critical skill for any community leader, so Bergen LEADS devotes an entire seminar day to the topic. As LEADers, Bergen LEADS participants must be sensitive to the different backgrounds, views and experiences of those in the community.

I started as an intern for Bergen LEADS in mid-January, and was very excited to be invited to participate in the Diversity Seminar on February 9. Not knowing what to expect, I walked into a room at Bergen Community College, eager to meet the different people that make up the Class of 2010.

The day started with some comments from the Seminar Director, Pat Schuber, who gave everyone a brief description of what to expect from the day’s seminar. Pat then introduced Lynne Algrant, the Bergen LEADS leadership consultant, who would be facilitating the seminar.

Lynne gave the class a lot to think about during the course of the day. Throughout the seminar, class members were fully engaged in what were, at times, potentially uncomfortable conversations. Lynne started off by explaining her windows and mirrors concept – that a person needs to look through a window to the outside world, and through a mirror at themselves.

In order to communicate to different groups of people, a LEADer needs language. “We don’t always have the words we want to explain what we want to say,” explained Lynne. “How something is said is key to how the listener receives the message.” She went on to tell everyone about her childhood and things that happened to her growing up that have molded her views on life (her windows). Those experiences have shaped the ways she handles situations and how she raises her young daughters.

“A Class Divided” was one of the videos shown at the seminar. In 1968, Jane Elliot, a third grade teacher in Iowa, wanted to teach her class about discrimination and racism after the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. One day, immediately following his assassination, she told her class that the students with blue eyes were superior and smart, and that students with brown eyes were inferior and not as smart as the blue-eyed children. Each brown-eyed child was made to wear a collar, got less time on the playground, and couldn’t get second helpings at lunch. Ms. Elliott watched as the kids turned on each other that day - calling each other names and fighting. The next day, she announced that she’d been mistaken and reversed the roles. This time, the brown-eyed children were superior, and got extra playtime and food. The reaction to the switch was incredible to watch. Suddenly, the blue-eyed children scored horribly on the same project they had worked on the day before. The brown-eyed children were more active in class and scored better than on the day they were labeled as inferior. At the end of the second day, she confessed to the class that she had lied to them, and that no one was superior to anyone else. This teacher took a real life situation and tested it in her classroom. This video depicted the cruelty of discrimination and how it can shape and change a society.

At one point, Lynne had everyone pick a small folded paper out of a paper bag. Lynne instructed everyone to hum the song that was written on his or her piece of paper, and to find other people who were humming the same song. When everyone got up and started humming, it was very interesting to see how relieved and happy they were when they found the group to which they belonged. The exercise was a lot of fun, but it clearly illustrated how the same thing happens in diverse communities when people want to live close to what they know and stay in their comfort zone. So simple, yet so strong, because it gave everyone a taste of how if feels to finally be a part of something that is similar to you.

Leaders must always consider the effects of diversity. Because each member of the community comes from a different background, s/he has different views on what should be a priority; that individual also hears and processes things differently based on past experiences, so communication is key. As Lynne said, language is critically important and sometimes people may not have the words to express how they feel.

For me, the Diversity Seminar was a day of eye-opening experiences along with rich conversations on diversity. As I move forward in my career, I’ll certainly put what I learned into use.

For more information on Bergen LEADS, visit our website or contact Amanda Missey, Bergen LEADS Director, at amissey@bergenvolunteers.org.


Watch “A Class Divided”