Melting pot is different from mosaic

I went to an elementary school that is different from the one I visited last time to see one teacher. My purposes of this observation are to see students and teachers in culturally diverse classrooms; and also to see how teachers empower minority students.

First thing jumping into my eyes was this poster, put on near the entrance.

This was the moment I re-recognized the importance of celebrating diversity as well as understanding that we are also same.The tree demonstrates the community is made of hundreds of different hands which represent diversity. Actually there was another artifact put on the classroom wall, which shapes like a puzzle.

The classroom teacher talked to me that the reason behind those posters; Canada is an immigrant country. Everyone is coming from different nation, except for Indigenous population, and those diverse communities support the Canadian economy and society. Also, the teacher side has a variety of background as well. For instance, the teacher got married with Half-Japanese aka Hapa, and another teacher having roots in Ireland is married to Filipino male. I am convinced that the spread of awareness is yield from the culturally rich communities in the school board, Toronto. 

The teacher adds emphasis on the idea of Mosaic as explaining the communities. Since Canada is contributed by numerous races and different cultures, each culture should be respected and shouldn’t be oppressed nor overtaken by mainstream culture. Therefore, the mosaic represents that we can be who we are, and te individual makes the unity. On the contrary, yet different cultures are still seen in melting pot, the power relationship working towards assimilation lies in it. 

Hearing these stories from the teacher inspired me a lot. Every teacher understands their community regardless of their teachable subject. Although this school is in Catholic school board, which might help kids to find similarities easier, these teachers’ perceptions bring an important function in schools and communities.