The Kids on the Block Featured Puppet Program on Multiculturalism

Presenting The Kids on the Block Program on
Multiculturalism

September 2005 Featured Program

"No culture can live, it if attempts to be exclusive."
~Mahatma Gandhi

"No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent."
~John Donne

Civilizations should be measured by "the degree of diversity attained and the degree of unity retained."
~W.H. Auden

According to the University of Maryland Diversity Dictionary, diversity can be defined as...

"A situation that includes representation of multiple (ideally all) groups within a prescribed environment... This word most commonly refers to differences between cultural groups, although it is also used to describe differences within cultural groups... An emphasis on accepting and respecting cultural differences by recognizing that no one culture is intrinsically superior to another underlies the current usage of the term."

PROGRAM OBJECTIVE The Kids on the Block Program on Multiculturalism is designed to examine how a person might find examples of culture in his or her own life and explore some of the conflicts which may arise when people of varying backgrounds and belief systems come together. Although the characters address specific situations in their own lives and cultures, the main focus is not on the foreign and unique, but rather on how children can find common ground in their similarities and approach their differences in a sensitive, caring manner.

"We can most safely achieve truly universal tolerance when we respect that which is characteristic in the individual and in
nations, clinging, though, to the conviction
that the truly meritoriuos is unique by
belonging to all of mankind."
~Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

"The price of the democratic way of life is a
growing appreciation of people's differences,
not merely as tolerable, but as the essence of a
rich and rewarding human experience."
~Jerome Nathanson

"All of us in the academy and in the culture
as a whole are called to renew our minds if we
are to transform educational institutions--and society--so that the way we live, teach, and work
can reflect our joy in cultural diversity, our
passion for justice, and our love of freedom."
~bell hooks

"An individual has not started living until
he can rise above the narrow confines of
his individualistic concerns to the broader
concerns of all humanity."
~Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION The script, New Names, focuses on the challenges children of immigrant parents can face when they struggle to assimilate into the "majority" culture. In Where's the Culture? audiences learn that culture can come from many places and that it's much more than just "where your family comes from." Anything You Can Do... focuses on gender issues and how gender biases can limit opportunities. "I" Is Not for Indian deals with stereotypes through the eyes of Daniel, a young man of Indian heritage. The final script, Holidays: More Than Presents, makes learning about culture accessible through the concept of holiday celebrations.

FEEDBACK FROM EDUCATORS
Lynette Jelinek of the KOB Awareness Program (Portland, Oregon) received these responses from area schools.

"As a fairly homogenous group, I feel it is so important to...help students to realize that a bias to cultural differences is not acceptable. The puppet presentation and discussion afterwards was enlightening and helpful."
~Portland Lutheran School

"Culture can be a difficult topic to teach. I thought it was introduced to the children in a developmentally appropriate way."
~Deep Creek School

"We needed exposure to ideas about multiculturalism... The program helped children learn constructive behavioral skills related to the topic.
~Beavercreek School

STUDENTS SPEAK OUT
"A mind once stretched by a new idea never regains its original dimensions."
~Anonymous

After seeing a performance of "New Names"...

"Nam, I love your hair. I have the same color, because I'm from Vietnam also. Come again, so we can talk."
~Kanner, age 8

"Valerie, I liked all the questions you asked Nam, because I think Nam needs to keep his name and not let the kids tease him. He is cool and should be proud of his heritage."
~Eric, age 10