the school. Five years later, there was a choir of fifty, a trumpeter, guitar-
ist, and drummer. All wore Santa hats (and a few light-up red noses). The
principal provided coffee and donuts for all participants. Entering students
were greeted with enthusiastic if often off-key singing and were given a
candy cane. Those early for a class often joined the festivities.
The last census confirms that the United States is becoming more and
more multicultural. Schools in rural, suburban, and urban areas in all parts
of the country now reflect this multiculturalism. In an age where pride
in one’s heritage is positively viewed, every group in a school wants a
school-wide recognition or celebration of its heritage. This could lead to
an ethnic/cultural assembly every week reducing instructional time.
One principal decided to eschew multiple celebrations of diversity and
have one celebration of diversity in unity. He called this the school’s
Multicultural Festival, a celebration of all the students’ cultural heritages,
as well as their common bond as Americans. He found that his idea led
to problems. The first time he had this festival, students developed acts
that represented their cultures (such as salsa dancing from the Dominican
Republic), but the staff was not prepared for the numbers of students who
wanted to perform.
His school’s first festival assembly was too long, repetitious, and fea-
tured some acts of questionable talent and a few of questionable taste. It
was marred by preplanned jingoistic displays from the student audience
in the auditorium as one group booed another and raised flags for acts
from their own country. What was meant to celebrate unity amid diversity
instead focused on differences and prejudices.
The next year, the principal and his staff planned better. English teach-
ers taught lessons on proper auditorium decorum and respect for the
cultures of others. Acts were prescreened by a team that included staff
and parents, who made sure the acts were in accord with the mores of
the school and local community and represented the variety of cultural
heritages in the school. Dramatic and poetic readings were included along
with singing and dancing. Teachers who brought their classes to the audi-
torium took first-line responsibility for their behavior, with visible support
from all other teachers, deans, and department chairs.
This time, all went well and the festival became a yearly tradition. After
some experimentation with dates, the principal settled on having it on the
Wednesday afternoon before the Thanksgiving recess. What better time to
“Always Remember What’s Important” 187