ILLINOIS
Illinois Chapter of the National Association for Multicultural Education
Vision
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CurrentWorking Illinois-NAME Vision
A is for Ablism [not] - we will not tolerate discrimination in favor of the able-bodied
B is for Beauty - we embody the humanness of pleasure represented among us in shape, color, rhythms, intelligence
C is for Connection - we will seek the understanding, communicating with others who are different [or not] from us until we get it
D is for Diversity - that includes everyone, every so-called color defined human: white, black, brown, etc; every so-called ethnic or cultural classification [American and other countries]: Asian, African, Native American, Latino, Hispanic, Pacific Islander, Arabian, etc. [because I'm sure I missed someone in trying to parse out humanity according to skin, cultural variations...]
E is for Ethnicity - see D is for Diversity above
F is for Frankness - we will be candid, not judgmental
G is for Genuineness - we will 'keep it real', be who we are [respectfully]
H is for Humanity - we respect that we are knowing men and women, homo sapiens, one race of people
I is for Individuality - we respect that each of us represents one person, one blueprint, that each of us is made up of multiple stamps as a result of our experiences, biological make-up. We are not stereotypes of any one specific cultural stamp
J is for Justice - We will represent justice as put forth by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr in his April 16, 1963 Letter from Birmingham Jail: "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere"
K is for Knowledge - we respect researched and experiential understandings, perspectives for the betterment of humanity
L is for Learning - we respect the multiple modalities, styles and propensities for acquiring memories and experiences in P-16 education
M is for Multiplicity - we respect equity for all regardless of the many variations in humanity, the variations in lifestyle choices, sexual orientations, the variations in upbringings, the variations in religiosities
N is for Nurture - we will mentor, educate, pass on the goodness of humanity to others
O is for Openness - see F is for Frankness above
P is for Pluralism - we respect diversity with equal access to mainstream opportunity
Q is for Questioning - see M is for Multiplicity
R is for Racism [not] - we will not tolerate discrimination in favor of a particular culture or ethnic group of people
S is for Spirituality - we respect the many spiritual traditions and diversities of mankind
T is for Teaching - as offered as part of the definition of NAME "Multicultural education advocates the belief that students and their life histories and experiences should be placed at the center of the teaching and learning process and that pedagogy should occur in a context that is familiar to students and that addresses multiple ways of thinking. In addition, teachers and students must critically analyze oppression and power relations in their communities, society and the world" see Definition of Multicultural Education
U is for Unity - as put forth by the original founders of NAME, Illinois NAME seeks to "bring together individuals and groups with an interest in multicultural education from all levels of education, different academic disciplines and from diverse educational institutions and occupations." see About NAME
V is for Vision - we embody the vision of the founders of NAME as confirmed through this alphabetic listing. see About NAME
W is for Welcome - we WELCOME anyone in Illinois interested in coming together with us, from any level of education or community venue.
X is for Xenophobia [not] - we are not afraid of people different from ourselves. We embrace diversity.
Y is for Youth - we embrace the young, we will mentor, educate, pass on the goodness of humanity to the young. We will allow the young to participate, practice multicultural education, an anti-discriminatory lifestyle.
Z is for Zenith-zipper - by the time we wordsmith-ed to Z, Zenith zipper was offered as our Z-word! Thanks Pam Salela! According to Webster, zenith represents the highest point reached in the heavens by a celestial body and we all know a zipper closes or opens...perhaps this captures our desire as we open this chapter to 'walk the walk, as we talk the talk.'
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