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Every time I was in a classroom growing I never got to see much posters or books that showed people of color or of different backgrounds, same goes for books. I wanted to create a collage of pictures from the internet that show children of all colors and backgrounds, disabilities and more so they can feel seen and have a sense of belonging. A lot of the times we forget to take into consideration the battels young children will have finding themselves and if we cant create a classroom or over all environment welcoming to all then what's the point. This also helps kids explore the way others life's are whether that be culture wise, customs, or just overall being.

Karen Pulido

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by Ana Valeriano

This piece represents how confusing it can be to identify Diversity concepts due to various factors including religion, age, or political affiliation. These concepts are easy for some, for others they create confusion at best and fear at worst. While it may be easy for those of us who do understand and value DEI concepts to judge those who do not, I am hoping to convey the importance of holding a space for empathy instead. While it may sometimes feel like we live in a black and white world the reality is there is a lot of grey space in between. The words in my piece are all related to topics we learned in class with random letters scattered all around to create a sense of background noise that is confusing. It is meant to mirror what it is like to attempt understanding new concepts that are out of the person’s comfort zone. Even when we remain in disagreement, true dialogue is still important to remind us of each other’s humanity so that confusion does not descend into fear. Remembering each other’s humanity can help shape laws and policies that will not actively harm the already vulnerable. Our goal in teaching our youngest citizens through a Diversity lens is that they can see themselves represented in the worlds they inhabit and learn to value others as well.

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Diversity Vs. Inclusion

Diversity is the representation of different identities, including race, ethnicity, culture, gender, disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity. On the other hand inclusion is the state of being included within a group.  In essence diversity is like a mix and inclusion is getting that mix to work well together. You need one or the other for both to work. Which is why I created this art piece. It is a puzzle. You need every unique piece to create one whole piece. We work like this puzzle, if one piece is missing we cannot be as one, and if all the pieces  are there but we dont piece them together we get the same outcome.

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For my showcase contribution I decided to put a defined prompt into an Ai image generator to illustrate what my desired classroom would look like in the future. I was met with interesting interpretation from the generator because artificial intelligence reflects what real individuals interact with and create. It is a conglomerate piece of media create through sociological trends. So, my prompt to the generator was something like “A vibrant classroom where joyful children of all ethnicities and cultures (Asian, Black, Caucasian, Middle-Eastern, Native American, Pacific Islander) are seated together in a group engaged In lessons with a content teacher. During my prompt description. I tried my best to be as concrete as possible. However, I noticed looking at the images, that all the children were young girls. It made me wonder if our interaction with image creation and diversity is disproportionately focused on women and girls, and if boys and men were being unincluded from the term diversity because of gender. While I understand that we live in a patriarchal society, I think it’s interesting that this AI generation of an inclusive and diverse classroom created an image with a general lack of male students.

I believe the image generation on the third slide is most aligned with what I wished to convey about my time in this course. While I’m not sure that images like this created by artificial intelligence are considered art, I do believe it’s a great way to convey meaning. This image shows a woman of color and two young girls of differing ethnicity looking contently in one direction. The child in the middle Is seated with a book, while the educator sits beside her seemingly ready to assist if necessary. I’d like to imagine that the piece of writing in front of the student is a sort of cultural or social reflection of herself, maybe a story about a girl who looks like her who does something positive for herself and/or others. One concept that I’ve really connected with is the idea of positive representation in schools and media. Children of color see themselves as less than or have more of a potential to because they don’t often witness children or adults in their ethnicity being portrayed as “good” in books, movies, or shows because those roles are dominated by white illustrators who draw white children, white actors, and white authors who create white characters. I seek to give children positive reflections like this picture does, I seek to create a classroom where children are engaged and happy, and I seek to be culturally sensitive in my diverse society.

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I did a collage of pictures representing the diversity of people and cultures in the United States of America. I took time to screen every picture, cut them off, laminated them, and glued them to a black cardboard.

I reflect on what it means to be an American citizen, that comes in different races and ethnicities. The children celebrate the American Independence Day full of joy and pride. The Indian holiday of Holy looks like so much fun with all of those different colors all over their body. How the Arabic families have a close tight relationship. Irish culture is well represented in this country; who does not love the Saint Patrick’s parade? LGBT+ people should be respected and accepted.

The Lunar year or Chinese New Year is something that I look forward to every year, it is one of the few celebrations based on good luck and fortune! I appreciate the Hanukkah and Kwanzaa holidays, they use candles or menorahs as the main symbols of their rituals. The fun celebrations of Halloween and Christmas are just the way children get to really enjoy the true meaning of their Western culture.

I have a strong appreciation for the Polynesian culture, especially for Hawaii and Tahiti. Their dances are so beautiful that captivate children who want to learn how to dance it out. My Mexican culture is very well appreciated for the people that love art in every way, and being the Day of the Dead the most loved holiday for most, since it is about remembering and celebrating their loved ones that already had passed away. The Persians from Iran, the Middle East people that are not Arabic and that is where the father of my children comes from.

At last I celebrate the children with special needs, being Autism the main focus since my daughter Laila is on the spectrum. I even put a picture of her in the collage, the beautiful girl with colorful lips and black hair. The picture of the Autism Acceptance symbol represents what we all want for our special needs children, just to be accepted. The puzzle symbol represents the complexity of the disorder, since professionals are still trying to figure out how to find a cure for it. At the bottom of the board is a picture of my son, my daughter and myself, that represent a small  diversity of people in this country.

As an educator, I would love to teach children about all the diversity of people and cultures so they could get an appreciation for it. Our differences are what makes us special, it is what makes our lives more fun and nurturing.

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I chose to do an anti-racism song for children called “ We are one”. This song is so perfect for everything we have learned. It represents diversity and equality. The song talks about everyone coming together and being one despite the differences. despite being different we can come together and share and respect. This song gives out the message that at the end of the day we are all one and we are stronger as a team. In the future I will definitely be showing this video to my students to start the conversation of how being different makes us all beautiful and unique.

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Anti - Racism song for Kids | We are one | Little Crowns Storyhouse

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I drew this and I want to show you what it does mean. The symbol <0/ means deaf power the right-hand holds on your ear < and the left means hand up /.  Which captures the values, histories, and languages of Deaf people worldwide. Signifying and symbolizing our cultural pride, it spreads. You can use Deaf Power to represent the diversity of our identity, which is greatly diversified. They support the use of this open-source symbol both inside and outside of the Deaf community. Also, you see the drawing with white hands and it means I love you in sign language. Most people who work closely with Deaf colleagues understand and use the concept that Deaf culture matters in deaf education when they are developing practical teaching models and designing research projects. Because it provides a robust support system within a hearing society that frequently does not prioritize the needs of Deaf people, Deaf culture is important. Deaf Power is to promote the history, languages, and values of the global Deaf community. Signifying and symbolizing our cultural pride, it spreads.

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We are all Beautiful in our unique ways.

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We are all Beautiful in our unique ways.

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My art piece is about Diversity. It represents how we are all different yet beautiful at the same time, having different cultures, races, genders, etc. we are all unique and can learn from one another and celebrate and embrace each other's different cultures. Diversity is one of the most amazing things we can all learn about and teach one another what is so amazing about diversity and how we can allow everyone to have the same opportunities. We are all loved, we are all beautiful in our ways, and no matter what skin color race, or culture you are we can do what our mind is set to do. Diversity is the most beautiful word we should all know respect and learn from.

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Showcase Contribution; CD V05; Maegan Hernandez

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My art piece is based on diversity and being a foundation for the children. Every child deserves an equal education. We all come from different parts of the world and have different backgrounds, cultures, and races. By showing a loving and supportive environment we can help make a difference in our children’s success in education to reach their full potential.

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My painting represents beauty as well as inclusivity. I made this while thinking that the world is not a black and white place, it is filled with vibrant colors and beautiful differences. Everyone is a different shape, color and in a different stage in their life. The flowers I chose are all the same but different. I used the same scheme of colors for certain colors but because my work is freehand, that means that no two flowers are the exact same. I added gold paint (it's a little hard to see the reflective gold) to accentuate the beauty and show that all of us have that shine and potential to be great just like everyone else. No one lacks shine. The sun is also gold because we all grow under the same Earth, together. We should accept our beautiful differences and celebrate them too!

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The choice I chose was who we are she sings about how diversity should be more known in our society. We should accept everyone for who they are and where they come from no matter their background. We are born this way we do not have a choice of how we are made but we should learn to accept it. Courage comes a long way when you treat everyone with kindness and not hate. So as a community we need to encourage love and kindness instead of hating and bullying people who are different.

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The specific topic I wanted to hone was inclusivity and the importance of making everyone feel welcomed and included. A big part of inclusivity is acknowledging

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My Collage "Inspiration" consists of children from all sorts of different backgrounds. In the First Row Bottom to Top we see in the middle picture a student with various disabilities and the teacher is engaging with him by reading a book. Interaction and inclusivity at schools is also portrayed in my artivism as photographs of teachers and students in multicultural events and celebrations are seen. Art work and crafts created by children are also seen as they celebrate diversity and promoting unity. I also have images of diverse books that highlight different cultures, languages, and perspectives.

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Showcase Contribution Collage - Wendy Valdovinos

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Social justice is essential to consider when working with multiple children. I wrote this poem about how each kid should enjoy looking at the monkeys at a zoo. Though the children were all different heights, the zookeeper saw that two could not enjoy looking at the monkeys, so they brought boxes so all the kids could see the monkeys. All kids need to see the big picture of their lives, and each kid needs different help to see the big picture of their life. As people who want to work with children in the future, we can provide them with the materials and resources they need to see the bigger picture.

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This song is what came to mind when thinking of this assignment. Throughout the video Micheal Jackson is dancing with dancers that looks like different cultures and races but behind all that is the song that is giving the message of the cultural morphing just says we’re all human, and shall all be connected as one. " We're one and the same"

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Michael Jackson - Black Or White (Official Video - Shortened Version)

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My art piece tells us how we are all connected and that we can learn from each other. The questions marks represent people, and how one ethnicity might not know about another person's background. In order to to better understand each other we have to ask questions and learn about other people's customs. The different colored backgrounds represents different ethnicities and genders. We can see the intersectionality in some people through the questions being between two different colors. In the middle of the art where the black dot and white space is located it shows how everyone is connected through some way. In the end we all still share common middle ground despite having different ethnicities, genders, customs, and backgrounds.

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My art piece represents that we are all equal. We are all made up of the same things. No matter our differences, we are all the same. We all deserve to get treated with respect and be loved. I would like to implement this in my classroom by teaching my students that we all need to be kind and respectful, even if they may look differently. We all deserve love and kindness. With or without a disability, WE ARE ALL EQUAL!

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My art piece captures implicit bias. On the left, we have the white cut out, which symbolizes what we want people to see about us. On the right, we have the black cut out, which symbolizes what people truly think about a person. White is conscious; black is unconscious. I chose white and black respectively because we tend to have positive conceptions about white people and negative conceptions about colored people. I also chose to do the implicit bias figure upside down to show that it is an inversion. Our views may be distorted, but they are still what we believe deep down. On the figures, I wrote words reflecting what we think about each person. This was inspired by the Harvard Implicit Bias Test. I had this idea when I took the test this time around and matched the words based on what I thought would show up on the test when we are making the associations. I like to imagine that these people are walking around with these labels painted on them for the world to see. It is to draw attention to the often uncontrollable automatic thoughts we have about people. Bonus: I put a word very tiny on the black person. If you figure it out, you will understand why!