The Quilt Group
The Quilt Group focused on diversity and multiculturalism. The students settled on this topic after having several conversations in which the students spoke openly about their personal experiences with racism. Multiple students expressed the feeling that there had been at least one point in the past when they believed themselves to be on the receiving end of teacher discrimination. The group realized that talking about race was a challenge and decided to invite a guest with whom to discuss the issue. The PA coaches arranged for the university transportation director, a native of New York City, to have a discussion with the class about his experiences. The experience led to a project. The public action component of the project was to invite the Y.E.S. teachers and staff to join a conversation about race, asking them to reflect on how race relations have evolved since they were in the 6th and 7th grades. Each team member had a designated speaking part, which they rehearsed several times before session with the teachers. The meeting was extremely successful, as the teachers were more than willing to respond to this topic. The post-session debriefing revealed the students' sense of accomplishment and pride in tacking a tough public issue.