Multiculturalism

This week I traveled to my alma mater, Smith College, to take part in an informal dialogue among alumnae, faculty and students on the goals of a women's liberal arts college in uncertain times. Smith, a small, elite women's college, is smack in the middle of the raging national debate over multiculturalism. Smith's president, Mary Maples Dunn, has made "diversity" the college's premier issue, including a major campaign to recruit minority students, faculty and staff and to introduce more "multicultural" material on race and ethnicity into courses.

When Bruce Segal brought his Project Rain Forest program to schools in the area, he noticed that the schools with the greatest cultural diversity seemed to be the "healthiest. " "I don't know why this is," he said. "Maybe it's because the kids in these schools have to overcome certain barriers on a day-to-day basis. Credit has to be given to the teachers in these schools, because they are sensitive to the different backgrounds of their students. " After a couple of years of presenting programs to schools and environmental groups about saving the planet's tropical rain forests, Segal, a soft-spoken, energetic man, decided it was time to tackle another issue as well.

Talk about timely and to the point. Seldom has an art exhibit been more closely tied to the theme of a new college president's administration on his inauguration day than Tony Ortega's current display at Swarthmore College. The theme of new Swarthmore President Alfred H. Bloom's administration is multiculturalism. Which means Bloom has declared a new mandate for higher education - to educate students for civic responsibility in a multicultural world. Although Bloom arrived here from California to take office in September, he postponed his formal installation ceremonies until the first weekend in May so he could plan a symposium on multiculturalism for that time and host a related Tony Ortega painting show.

Remember when the hardest lessons in kindergarten involved coloring within the lines, making holiday cards, and stacking building blocks? Well, soon the educational activities for Evesham's 5-year-olds could also include instruction in diversity, environmentalism and human rights. It all stems from a state panel's report suggesting changes in the social studies curriculum. The plan, drafted by the state Committee on Academic Content Standards, suggests that school districts weave "five connecting strands" through their curriculum to promote multiculturalism.

Looking Ahead: Art for All Ages, a 10-day event that begins Friday, specializes in art education geared to strengthen parent-child relationships. "We really want children and parents to experience these workshops together," said Paul McElwee, director of programs and education at the Garden State Discovery Museum. The program is a collaboration between the museum and the Camden County Cultural and Heritage Commission. Its focus is all aspects of the arts, from visual to performing.

The audience sitting cross-legged on the floor of Fleetwood Elementary School's gymnasium showed more diversity in T-shirt hue than in skin color. Yet the purpose of the recent two-hour assembly for the mostly white student body of about 400 was to increase awareness and acceptance of children who speak different languages, eat with chopsticks, or call soccer futbol. "When it comes to multiculturalism and unity, we all need to get involved," Jack Lutz told the students, who ranged from kindergartners to fifth graders.

The recent death of American Federation of Teachers president Albert Shanker coincides with a consensus among education critics across the political spectrum that teachers' unions are responsible for the decline of public education and are obstructing positive educational reform. In Philadelphia, politicians and commentators have vilified the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers for its opposition to Superintendent David Hornbeck's Children Achieving agenda. This is a sad irony because Shanker was probably the most vociferous and intelligent critic of the public schools.

Kimberlyn Hill, 11, representing a woman from India, has her costume adjusted by her mother, Wendy Hill. Students at Sharon Hill Elementary celebrated multiculturalism Tuesday in the school cafeteria. Some gave reports on famous Americans, like Thurgood Marshall. Others performed songs and dances.

About 50 entering students at La Salle University yesterday grappled with the volatile issue of race as the Catholic school put the spotlight on multiculturalism during its freshman-orientation program. "We feel it's a very important topic - something you will need to flourish and thrive in the workplace and the community," said Karen Shields, assistant director of student life, as she introduced a film on multicultural issues that have surfaced at La Salle and other campuses around the country.

Leaning back in his chair, a pile of books at his side, Jim Halpin knew that he had his work cut out for him. For two days, Halpin, a junior high school geography teacher, had attended a workshop on multiculturalism, the movement to give increased recognition to non-Western, non-European traditions. Now he was pondering how to implement what he had learned into the junior-high curriculum. Teachers could incorporate the perspectives of different ethnic groups in the teaching of specific subjects, he said.

Hyphens proliferate in descriptions of Manu Chao. The pan-global pop star is a multilingual singer-songwriter-producer whose kinetic songs are equal parts agitprop exhortations and party-starting celebrations. He's a stylistic omnivore: While Jamaican reggae, Latin punk, and North African guitar rock are most prominent, individual songs can embrace hip-hop, French ballads, football chants, surf music, or other genres. And his live performances amp everything into overdrive, as heard on last year's live double album, Baionarena , and as he and his new trio, La Ventura, will demonstrate Friday night at the Festival Pier at Penn's Landing.

Teachers and staff at the Multi-Cultural Academy Charter School in North Philadelphia have voted to be represented by an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers Pennsylvania. In balloting Friday, the school's 25 teachers, counselors, and office and support staff voted for representation by the Alliance of Charter School Employees, an affiliate of AFT Pennsylvania that represents employees of four other charter schools in the city, the union announced. The decision comes several weeks after Multi-Cultural's board of trustees voted to remove Vuong Thuy, the school's founding chief executive, as top administrator amid allegations that charter money was being diverted to cover his legal bills stemming from a federal probe and a state ethics investigation.

Multiculturalism has completely failed. That's the assessment of Angela Merkel, chancellor of Germany, in a recent speech before the youth wing of her conservative political party, the Christian Democratic Union. The idea that disparate peoples can "simply live side by side and live happily with each other" has failed, she said. "Utterly failed. " Merkel insisted that Germany still welcomes immigrants, particularly those whose high-tech skills make them valuable workers. But she conditioned that welcome upon a warning: "We feel bound to the Christian image of humanity - that is what defines us. Those who do not accept this are in the wrong place here.

Some curly hair is fuzzy. Other grades are frizzy. And some locks naturally twist into perfectly formed Shirley Temple corkscrews. But however your locks twist and turn, the well-moisturized, defined spiral is within your reach: whether you're black or white, Buddhist or Jewish, Puerto Rican or Italian. Or all of the above. That's the mane mantra according to Kim Etheredge and Wendi Levy. Their quest for the consummate curls led them to concoct "Mixed Chicks," a line of shampoos, leave-in conditioners, and serums for divas (and dudes)

With a presence in Philadelphia that has made it seem almost indigenous, Imani Winds has managed the trick of paying homage to its woodwind quintet ancestors, while overhauling its repertoire with genre-bending commissions. Friday night's visit to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, hosted by the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, was a different matter altogether. The ensemble's adrenaline rush came by way of virtuosity in mid- to late-20th-century works unknown to all but insiders.

Perelman Theater at the Kimmel Center. A place for chamber music, right? Small jazz gigs? Well, starting on Thursday night, and on three of the next four Thursday nights after that, Perelman will transform into a world-music dance hall, with dance floor, bar, and music to shake your multicultural assumptions to. Slavic soul. Sufi folk/funk. New York Latin fusion. Congolese rumba and soukous. It's called Global Grooves, and the Kimmel folks have been putting on the summer series since 2004.

At first blush, Penn State - tucked away in the mountains hours from a major city - may not seem a likely locale for a worldly program. But a year ago, Pennsylvania's flagship university opened its doors to a new graduate School of International Affairs, enrolling 27 students - 13 of them from foreign countries. Taking Pennsylvania State University international is just what university president Graham B. Spanier first proposed more than a decade ago. "There are so many ways in which we've become more international," Spanier said this week.

At age 4, Bryan Collier read a picture book about a boy playing in a city blanketed by fresh snow. "I was drawn to it, but I couldn't articulate what I was feeling at 4. It wasn't until I was an adult that I realized how important that book was - because it was the first time where there was this kid who looked like me and I saw myself in a book," said Collier, 42. Collier read The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats, a son of Polish immigrants, who...

Gospel, R&B, and a mix of African and Caribbean cultures will provide the sounds floating from the Gallery at Market East this weekend during the 19th annual Pathmark Multicultural Arts Festival. The festival, which begins at noon both Saturday and Sunday, explores cultures through various song and dance performances. Singer-songwriter and radio personality Diane Brown, who was recently honored with the Philadelphia Image Award at the African American Museum, will emcee the festival.

"Niche marketing" has become a common term in the tourism industry, as almost every American city and town that's looking for more visitors spending cash seeks an edge in the competition. This city is way ahead of the pack in targeting specific groups with a tourism message. That's in large measure due to the creation of the Multicultural Affairs Congress, which this year celebrates its 20th anniversary. An offshoot of the Philadelphia Visitors and Convention Bureau, MAC's hard work has won this city a number of tourism kudos.