Learning about themselves, others

Michael Miller

At Kaiser Elementary School on Friday, the multipurpose room looked

like a costume party at the United Nations.

Each member of Debra Muniz’s sixth-grade class dressed in the

traditional garb of his or her family’s country of origin -- in some

cases, more than one country. Students walked across the stage in a

mock fashion show, wearing German folk dresses, soccer uniforms, even

a Viking helmet and fake beard.

There was a serious bent to the proceedings, however. The

Multicultural Festival signified the end of a six-week program in

Muniz’s class titled the Tolerance Training Unit -- in which students

learn about their own ethnicities, and about how to respect others.

“I teach a unit where they learn to celebrate their differences,”

said Muniz. “This is to prepare them for junior high, where diversity

is rampant. We learn what is discrimi- nation, what is prejudice, and

how to respond if they’re in that situation.”

Six years ago, Muniz started the program by using materials from

the Orange County Human Relations Department. During the Tolerance

Training Unit, students go through a number of unique exercises to

help break down any barriers between them. In one, which Muniz calls

the “circle of truth,” students sit in a circle and talk about times

when they’ve felt slighted. Other times, Muniz has them role-play and

create comebacks for insensitive remarks.

One of the most popular exercises is “compliment cards,” in which

students write positive notes to pass on to classmates.

“I choose four kids each week to sit in the middle,” Muniz said.

“And they basically get loved upon with compliments and praise.”

Although Muniz’s students said that Kaiser has only minimal

prejudice problems, they found the exercises useful.

“I think if there is discrimination, it’s because people haven’t

learned this [unit] in school yet,” said Sara Vetrovec, who has roots

in Russia and the Czech Republic. “We’re third- through sixth-grade

here, and people only do this in the sixth.”

“There have been a few issues,” added classmate Maddy O’Neill, who

is part Irish and part Italian. “But we get along pretty well.”

The Multicultural Festival -- held Friday by Muniz and two days

earlier by fellow sixth-grade teacher Narisa Hoevatanakul -- provided

an upbeat finish to the Tolerance Training Unit. Students in each

class had to research their countries of origin, which often led them

to contact grandparents and distant relatives in search of stories.

A few students made surprising discoveries.

Quinn Stirdivant’s great-great- grandfather, who immigrated to the

United States from Germany in the 19th century, built a chicken coop

upon settling in Wisconsin and ended up living in it when he couldn’t

afford a house. Later, he dismantled the coop and brought the planks

of wood with him to California -- where he transformed them into a

house, which is Stirdivant’s grandfather’s current residence.

Jason Dinh, a student in Hoevatanakul’s class, learned about his

great-grandfather, who is 116 years old and still lives in Vietnam.

Despite his age, Dinh said, the man still drinks wine every day and

can break crabs open with his teeth. And he keeps in touch with his

family in America, even from a distance.

“I didn’t know about him,” Dinh said. “But he knew about us for

some reason.”

* IN THE CLASSROOM is a weekly feature in which Daily Pilot

education writer Michael Miller visits a campus in the Newport-Mesa

area and writes about his experience.