My Channing Hall student came home from school one day and told us about how unfair it was that the boys had had to come in from recess and clean the classroom in silence. The girls in his class were given the privilege of spending more time at recess while the boys had to clean without talking to one another. I knew that his class had been covering a unit on discrimination. My son was given an opportunity to feel what it was like to be discriminated against. It was a powerful lesson for him in which he had a chance to think more open-mindedly about other people's circumstances and rights in this world. I think it also made him more caring as an individual towards other people's situations. Our discussion at home about his recess experience lead to a discussion about how the Jew's were treated during World War 2, how women didn't have as many rights in our country long ago as they do now and how in other countries today there are women and races that are discriminated against still. The experience he had opened his mind to a world much larger than the one he had only been acquainted with prior to this experience
Several times, my Channing Hall student, when confronted with statements he didn't agree with from his friends stated that, "It's OK. We can believe different things."
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