Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Finding Diversity in the Johnson County Bubble

BVW Illumination Staff 2012
   
  The high school I teach at is located inside what locals refer to as the Johnson County Bubble.  The Kansas City metropolitan area is very spread out with the state line splitting it right down the middle.  Downtown Kansas City, MO and KS are in the center and then it spreads out for more than 30 miles in every direction.  Johnson County is on the Kansas side and extends south.  Most of the county is south of Interstate 435 (thus the bubble nickname) and west of state line.  There is only one high school that is farther south than the one where I teach.  Most of my students have never been north of I-435...no kidding.
     Ironically, most of the houses are all a color most call "Johnson County Beige."  Some are a little darker and some are a little lighter but most are painted with colors out of the same pallet. It should come as no surprise that my yearbook staff is pretty beige as well.  Besides that we only had three boys last year.  Sigh...
     Don't get me wrong; I love my staff.  It's not their fault that they live in "the bubble."  They are hardworking, kind, dedicated and talented.  They try hard to cover all of the stories that are around our school.  The question is, "Can they?"  My staff works so hard to do the very best job they are capable of but I just can't help but believe that their view is impacted by their suburban lifestyle.  I can't change the make-up of my school but I'll work hard to implement many of the suggestions offered by Retha and Gerald.

Debbie Glenn
Blue Valley West High School
Overland Park, KS
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3 comments:

  1. Deann McBrideJune 26, 2012 at 9:28 PM

    I know there are only so many hours in the day for you to plan things, but maybe they could participate in a service project outside of "the bubble" and a couple of them could write a 1st person perspective piece on it.

    Or maybe there are some type of events that promote diversity that they could attend and report on??? If you can find an angle that relates to your school.

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  2. Mr. RewriteJune 26, 2012 at 9:36 PM

    I'm glad the session was helpful. The Maynard Fault Lines are a great way to get people to think about and appreciate the benefits of diversity in all its forms.

    Steve Elliott
    Arizona State University
    Phoenix

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  3. Mrs. Heather JancoskiJune 27, 2012 at 8:38 AM

    The way you explained your group created the perfect picture of your classroom for me. Thank you so much for such a clear description of your group. I like Deann's idea of how to take a trip to go out in a different community to see more areas that could bring about different ideas to your students for writing. Is there any experts that you can bring in to discuss diversity to your students as well? I tried that out within my classroom too.

    Heather Jancoski
    Desert Sands Middle School
    Phoenix, AZ

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