When we look at American schools today, we see a variety of cultures of students who come from different walks of life. These diversified student bodies come together in our American education system to learn about things that would be useful for them in the world, and how to use those pertaining skills to establish relationships and success in the world.
Though American children come from very diversified backgrounds they are often held to the same standards and bars of success and we want a diversified curriculum in our schools to reflect the diversity of our student populations.
From September 15th through October 15th here at Kenwood we celebrate Hispanic Heritage month. It’s an opportunity for those in the Hispanic culture to celebrate their culture and for others to learn more about the Hispanic culture.
Kenwood graduate Amaya Freeman shares, “It’s important to recognize multiethnic groups because there are so many ethnicities. Without the representation, the United States would not live up to being called ‘the melting pot of the world’.”
As has been the tradition in years past, students here at Kenwood High participated in Hispanic Heritage month in several of their classes and organizations. This year the Spanish honor society hosted a Hispanic Spirit week. Students, staff, and guests are greeted in the lobby by display by the ESOL department celebrating Hispanic heritage as well as wall displays in the hallways.
You can find Kenwood halls decorated with posters about Hispanic countries and famous people from Mrs. De La Mota Perez and Mr. Linero’s World Language classes. “We tried to honor our heritage by decorating the world language halls and giving the students a lesson that highlighted the accomplishments of iconic Hispanic leaders. As the sponsor for Spanish Honor Society, I was honor to help them prepare the Hispanic Heritage Spirit week. I believe it is important to recognize the diversity that exists within the Hispanic culture because although we all speak the same language, we are all very different and culturally rich,” shares Ms. De La Mota Pérez.
It’s important to celebrate this cultural month to acknowledge what would not have been possible without Latinos in our society. The Hispanic Identity is a mixture of diverse experiences that have continued to progress within our nation. As the Hispanic population grows in our nation, it is important to talk about and celebrate our Latin American Immigrants and Latinos not only during Hispanic Heritage Month but anytime as their contributions to our society continue to influence us all.
