Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

As a retired Pre-K Head Start/Kindergarten Teacher, I understand the power of diversity, equity, and inclusion. For over twenty years, I taught and modeled how to implement these three simple words in my classroom every day.

I’m not trying to cheapen these three powerful words by using the word ‘simple’. My aim is to draw attention to how such a simple concept has become corrupted by extremists. Why is treating others with human dignity ‘woke’?

I just don’t understand and I know youngsters feel the same way. Woke is fair, and every child knows when they’re not being treated fairly. “That’s not fair!” is a common exclamation among children. I’m sure you said it when you were a kid. I know I did.

Robert Flughum summarized how to be a decent human being in his book All I Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten.

Here is a list of the key concepts from the book:

  1. Share everything.
  2. Play Fair.
  3. Don’t hit people.
  4. Put things back where you found them.
  5. Clean up your own mess.
  6. Don’t take things that aren’t yours.
  7. Say you’re SORRY when you HURT somebody.
  8. Wash your hands before you eat.
  9. Flush.
  10. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
  11. Live a balanced life- learn some and drink some and draw some and paint some and sing and dance and play and work every day some.
  12. Take a nap every afternoon.
  13. When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together.
  14. Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.
  15. Goldfish and hamster and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup – they all die. So do we.
  16. And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned – the biggest word of all – “LOOK!”

How I wish people, myself included, would remember these tenets when they grow up and realize their actions or lack thereof have far-reaching consequences.

I’m outraged that MAGA removed DEI from federal institutions. We’ve already seen the effects on the mainstream media. Joy Reid’s departure from MSNBC is one example of an ever-growing ocean of disparity toward people of color and women.

We must hold fast to our core American principle: Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all!

The sentence doesn’t say for the few, for the ultra-rich, for white people only. It says FOR ALL!

Author: Ellwyn

I live with my loving husband, two children and dog in Philadelphia, PA. I discovered my passion for writing in second grade when I had to write a book report for school. I was so excited to write the report, until my mother told me that I had to write about someone else's book and not my own story. I became indignant and decided that once I finished the book report I would most certainly write my own original story. I have been writing ever since! My self-published book Chris Kringle's Cops was a Finalist in The Reader's Favorite Book Contest for 2016. I am so happy to share this story with you.  My picture book Kamyla Chung and the Creepy Crawlies was given a 5 Star rating by Reader's Favorite Book Reviews in 2017.