April 25, 2003/Nisan 23 5763, Vol. 55, No. 35
'Hands' across every campusRABBI ROBERT KRAVITZJust another typical day at school. White talks to white, avoids brown and black. Brown talks in another language to brown, avoids black and white. Black talks to black, avoids white and brown. Jocks eat with jocks. Cheerleaders joke together. Goths hold forth by themselves. You get the picture. Lots of walls, few bridges. Mah nishtanah? How is this different than any other time? That's the way it's always been.Doesn't have to be. For 20 years, Hands Across the Campus, a program of the American Jewish Committee, has promoted the building of bridges, the expansion of personal horizons and deepening of mutual understanding among varieties of different folks. So why isn't every school using this excellent training? Since Hands utilizes educators nationally from all ethnic backgrounds, this would seem to be a natural. Let's back up. ... A bit of history. Following the Los Angeles riots two decades ago, L.A. Unified Schools requested the AJC to help it bridge the divides that had been simmering and finally exploded into rioting. At that time, AJC had nearly 80 years of brokering community relationships between ethnic, racial and religious groups around the United States and overseas. This record of success was widely known, as AJC's dialogues with blacks, Latinos, Asians, Christians, Sikhs and other communities empowered participants to work together for common values and mutual goals. Hands Across the Campus was created for high school social studies/English classes. It worked. Black talked to white and brown. Brown interacted with black and white. White accepted brown and black. Folks became more welcoming and accepting of others, even Jews. Each listened to the other's personal story, communal history and fascinating culture. Anxiety levels dropped and students learned. The current education buzzwords - character education - are AJC's Hands program writ large. Schools are now mandated to teach common American core values. This is exactly what the Hands program already has been accomplishing for 20-plus years. So why isn't Hands linking to every campus? All it takes are the resources to bring in the trainers and print the classroom materials. Too few teachers and administrators are aware of this tremendously successful effort. It's free to Hands-trained teachers, and not for sale. Hands works, and incorporates the entire student body. Hands teaches about those values we individually and nationally cherish, values like honesty, sincerity, dignity, pluralism, the value of work, democracy, patriotism and freedom. Mah nishtanah? So, what can be different? What's one answer to school problems? Where can high school students learn about our American core values? It's as simple as linking spirits, and grasping Hands Across the Campus. Rabbi Robert Kravitz is the executive director of the Arizona chapter of The American Jewish Committee. Contact him at 480-970-6363. |
