My name is Jaliyah and I am a sophomore at a technical high school.
I want to talk about the importance of inclusion and how a lack of true belonging creates division in my current learning environment. I will discuss belonging as it relates to the over 20 different trades present at my technical high school and cultural belonging within the student body. Certain trades are favored over others which creates division within the school. Furthermore, because students are coming from different towns and backgrounds, there is a lack of school spirit and students do not have a sense of belonging.
I want to talk about this topic because our school’s current lack of focus on belonging creates unsafe spaces. This results in many students not wanting to be in school and others not feeling comfortable in their learning environment.
As a woman, I have seen the sexism present in my school due to the different shops and trades. A lot of women think they can’t choose certain trades because of their sex. Teachers have said things to girls like “You’re too girly to work on cars,” or “This is too much work for you, no girl would ever be able to handle this.” For example, when I was in the auto shop for exploratory, my teacher wouldn’t let me use the paint machine by myself he said, “I was a girl and I couldn’t handle it compared to the guys.” This is not okay in any way. What if I would’ve believed him? Exploratory is a time during your freshman year of high school where you get to explore all of your shop options to find the best fit for you.
I believe that everyone should be able to feel comfortable choosing the trade they want no matter their background or gender. The teachers also talk negatively about other trades and how they’re not good enough. This division is furthered in our gym class. We’ll do racing games during class and you’re the best shop if you win. Shop should be a space where people feel comfortable exploring their passions. Because each trade has the potential to change the trajectory of our careers, it is discouraging when sexism and negative comments get in the way of our learning.
I also want to talk about the importance of belonging within the student body. My school says there’s a lot of diversity at the school because they have different students coming from different towns. They have stats on the website of the different races of the students at the school; however, because students at the technical school come from different towns, students will often get bullied. It’s something that gets to me a lot because I see it happen often. There are various negative perceptions of certain towns and also a gap in socio-economic status. Just because you’re from one city doesn’t mean you’re different compared to where someone else is from.
One of my friends was a freshman who went to his exploratory for the shop he had been wanting to attend since before he came to the school. After he participated in an ice breaker in the shop, the kids found out he was from a certain town and stopped talking to him because they were all from other places. Immediately he felt like he didn’t belong. It made him not want to do the shop anymore and made him uncomfortable even though he had a passion for this trade of plumbing. Diversity does not equal inclusion. In order to educate in a safe and supportive environment, students shouldn’t have to worry about where they come from and how that will impact their engagement and learning in the classroom.
Lastly, it’s important for me to learn in an environment that prioritizes cultural diversity and inclusion. During Hispanic Heritage month, my school put up flags from different Spanish-speaking countries to show that they were prioritizing diversity, but in reality, the kids get picked on for being different and the school doesn’t do much about it.
For me, diversity is very important. Everyone shouldn’t look the same, and everybody should be able to be different and authentically themselves. A lot of students already struggle with diversity outside of school and we shouldn’t have to go to school and struggle with it more.
I believe our teachers should receive additional instruction in diversity and inclusion. There is no training for teachers or students that emphasizes how all trades are equal. If our teachers were more intentional about the way they talked about other shops and were discouraged from making sexist remarks to students about the shops that they choose, it would create a more inclusive culture. It would also be nice to have more pep rallys and school spirit to create a stronger school culture. In addition, during Black History Month and Hispanic Heritage Month, the school could set up booths for people to bring food from their culture. This would enhance appreciation for student’s diverse backgrounds and make students feel more comfortable knowing that they’re welcome in the classroom each and every day.
Thank you and please support the Safe and Supportive Schools Act.
