I selected this image for my multicultural logo for several reasons. My first thoughts when I saw this image included cooperation, uniqueness, and equality. I first thought “cooperation” partly because I had just finished some Pathwise paperwork, but also because it looks like the two hands are holding each other or working together “equally.” These hands are “unique” because of the blue paint.

I can not claim at this point in my career to be an expert on the different cultures of my students, but I know that it is important for me to try. My mother came to the United States in the 1960s. She was not given a quality education. Instead, her parents were told never to speak Spanish in the home again if they wanted their daughter to acclimate to the new culture surrounding her. At that point in time, my family abandoned our Cuban culture because of a strong desire for a quality education for my mother and her two older brothers.

Today, as a second generation American, I do not know how to speak Spanish, and I cook my Cuban dinners using recipes from the Food Network. My mother’s educators did not cooperate with her parents to give her an equal chance to be successful. They forced her to abandon her uniqueness. Although she did become the first member of her family to graduate from college, she missed out on the culture of her early childhood and the ability to pass that culture on to me.

This logo relates to James Banks’ diversity principles in several ways. Principles 4, 7, and 8 are the most evident in the logo.

Principle 4: Schools should provide all students with opportunities to participate in extra- and co-curricular activities that develop knowledge, skills, and attitudes that increase academic achievement and foster positive interracial relationships.

o In my logo, one of the hands belongs to a Caucasian person and the other belongs to a person with darker skin. Even though they are hands that belong to people of different races, they still clasp together to make a beautiful picture. If schools provide students with opportunities to develop “positive interracial relationships” or friendships with people of other races, then students can develop into stronger well-rounded adults.

Principle 7: Students should learn about the values shared by virtually all cultural groups (e.g. justice, equality, freedom, peace, compassion, and charity).

o The hands in this picture are covered in light blue paint. To me, light blue is a symbol of peace. This is a value “shared by virtually all cultural groups.” By appreciating and fostering a peaceful existence among students in school, teachers and administrators can look forward to developing adults who appreciate the same thing.

Principle 8: Teachers should help students acquire the social skills needed to interact effectively with students from other racial, ethnic, cultural, and language groups.

o As a teacher it is my obligation to my students to help them learn how to interact with their classmates. This will often be a more difficult task for my minority students. In the logo the hands from two different racial backgrounds are pictured together. I feel they are interacting effectively to convey a message of unity, cooperation and equality.

January, 2009

A is for Arkansas
            The place I was born and raised.

B is for Brunette
            The color of my hair as it grays.

C is for Catholic and Cuban
            From my mother’s side of the family.

D is for Daughter
            The only one in my family.

E is for Educator
            Because that is what I will be
            Like my mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother.

F is for Female
            The first one born with the last name Pendergrass
            in 87 years.

G is for Grace
            I go by my middle name because Catherine
            does not suit me.

H is for Hispanic
            My skin tans an olive color.

I is for Inquietude
            Because my patience is short
            I’m restless and uneasy.

J is for Junk food
            Because I used to get it wrapped as a Christmas present
            Perhaps why I eat so much in the present.

K is for Kinsman
            My relatives are few but family still means a lot.
            My father is the only child of an only child of an only child.

L is for London
            The city where I studied abroad
            And found some independence.

M is for Middle Class
            Because those are the values I have.

N is for Native English Speaker
            Unlike my mother.

O is for Once a Las Vegas Resident
            Where I lived after my undergraduate graduation.

P is for Peter Pender, AR
            My hometown that the Internet lists as a ghost town.

Q is for Quiet
            Because that is a trait of the women in my family
            But definitely not the men.

R is for Rancher’s Daughter and Rural
            Because we are all a little bit like our parents
            whether we show it or not.

S is for Southern, Small-Town Sister
            Just because I needed to add a little alliteration.

T is for Teacher’s Kid
            Like mother . . . like daughter.

U is for Underwood
            My elementary school principal
            who made me love school everyday.

V is for Valedictorian
            Because I ranked 1 out of 61.

W is for World Traveler
            England, France, Mexico, Canada, Switzerland, Italy,
            Monaco and the Bahamas
            just to name a few.

X is for X chromosome
            I have two
            One from my mother and one from my father.

Y is for Generation Y
            Because I was born in the early 80’s
            and the marketers say I have a passion for my computer.

Z is for Zodiac
            Capricorn is my sign and this means I have a sharp wit
            and sarcastic humor.

February 26, 2009

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