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Workshop on Cultural Diversity by Dr. David T. Abalos

He set a beautiful wrought iron candelabrum on the table, and inserted a candle.   On this Saturday morning in the midst of dusky December, many holidays from many cultures are celebrated.   Because all of these holidays focus on light pushing away the darkness, he lit the symbolic candle.  

Thus, Dr. David Abalos ceremoniously began a morning of enlightenment for the staff and guests of Better Beginnings.  The topic, Cultural Competency and Conflict Resolution, was a new one for him, created just for this group.   Thus beginning by emphasizing the ways in which we are so alike, he described the Muslim holiday, Ramadan; the Christian Advent; the Indian holiday, Diwali; and African American Kwanzaa; as well as the Jewish celebration of Hanukkah, and how the Sikhs consider their ten gurus a source of enlightenment.

From 25 years of teaching, he learned from his students that most of us has had some type of trauma with which we have struggled.  It may have been sexual, physical, desertion (including death and divorce), or alcohol or drug related.   In some cases, our wounded story includes more than one of these traumas.  We carry this hurt with us, he emphasized, and we need, as teachers, to heal ourselves as we reach out to others.

 

Conflict arises from ignorance of other cultures, Dr. Abalos’ concept, is one that Brenda Werner, a Group Teacher at Better Beginnings, finds very realistic.  Each of us, she observes, carries our own baggage that causes us to see others through the lenses of our own cameras; we each have choices to make on how and what we see in others; these choices are made because of our individual issues and experiences.   She feels that one of the most important points she got from the workshop is that it is okay to be different and yet disagree with someone, if this is done without intent to hurt another.  This means that we ought not to allow differences to cause us to be revengeful and hurt others, or want to have so much power over others that they are held back from becoming all they can be, she added.

 

This is especially critical at Better Beginnings, where our motto is “encouraging families and children to reach their full potential”, observed Bettie Witherspoon, Director Emeritus.  She also observed that those who exercise revenge and power mongering are limiting themselves as well, and are not happy people.

 

Participant Janice Jones, Co-Director of Education at Better Beginnings, could relate to the history of the area.  She was young during cross-burnings in the sixties, and remembers the riots at Hightstown High School.   Others in the group had similar memories.  Janice felt that she has made a transformation, from the time when she learned to hate all white people because of her personal experiences, the community, and society itself.  She knows how it feels to be looked down on because of one’s color.  Since working at Better Beginnings, she feels she has learned to appreciate and respect people regardless of color.  She emphasizes that we should all learn to respect others’ cultures and customs regardless of where we are from, and that we should be sensitive to others’ feelings.  This is especially important, she feels, because we work with young children and teach them from our examples as well as from a curriculum that is multicultural.

                       

Gloria Perez, a long time staff member at Better Beginnings agrees.  When we have a disagreement or feel anger, we should openly make our feelings known in a calm and reasonable way.  To maintain good human relationships, we should also learn about the roots and culture of others so that we can respect each other.    

The group also discussed the history of the immigration of Latin Americans to the area.  Puerto Ricans were the first to find homes here.  Later came the Colombians, and presently, there is an influx of people from Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, India  and other communities from Asia.

 

While an ethnic group may be lumped together, Director of Support Services Althea Lewis agrees, it is important to realize, also, that there are divisions.  Among the African Americans, for instance, there have been issues of skin color.   Latinos have separations, and disagreements, based on their country of origin.  She believes that people should be treated the same regardless of color, ethnic background, etc.

 

Luz Horta, Executive Director, concluded that she feels most fortunate to be a part of any of Dr. Abalos’ university level workshops.   Each has been an opportunity to grow as a person and as a child care professional.  They provide us with “windows and mirrors”:  a mirror in which we can take a good earnest look at the person I am and what changes I would like to make.  We are also reminded, she adds, I must look out the “window” and clearly see what surrounds me.  Do I see the diversity within my community?  What do I really know about other cultures?   Why is it important to know about other cultures?  What happens if I simply live a life where the shades are kept closed?

 

She also notes that Dr. Abalos finds that 100% of us have had a trauma of at least one kind, and that the way we deal with our own “injured child” can reflect on how we treat others, whether with compassion or destructively.

 

Specifically, Dr. Abalos’ teaching shows that as we journey through our lives, in reaction to these traumas, in trying to reduce or rid ourselves of the pain, we have four choices: 

 

  1. Become a permanent victim, dependent on others, never questioning, remaining childish or child like.
  1. Seek to be powerful.  Because at one time, I was hurt because I had no power, I will take no risks for fear of being hurt again.
  1. Look for revenge.  I am full of anger and I will hurt others.  I will create hell, perhaps punishing myself as well.  I may be suicidal.  I may use drugs.
  1. Choose to be compassionate.  In healing, I will learn to love myself, and guide others.  I will be a loving, caring person who loves others, and protects them, helping them to love themselves.  

 

There are ways in which we relate to each other that can be healthy or unhealthy as we take our journey towards transformation.  Nine relationships were discussed:

                       

  1. Emanation:  In which we dominate, are possessive, not allowing the other to grow. 
  2. Subjection:  In which we are controlling. 
  3. Isolation:  Sometimes we need to pull away, spend time alone.
  4. Buffering:  Protecting and mediating for someone for a while but not too long.
  5. Direct Bargaining:  When we exchange with each other for mutual gain
  6. Autonomy:  When the value of each is recognized and we can open doors for others.
  7. Incoherence:  When we do not understand each other and need to have honest and open exchange.
  8. Deformation:  When we hurt others, can be violent.
  9. Transformation:  When each is more of a person, and when actions must always be for good of other person and self.

 

As has been his custom, Dr. Abalos volunteered his services and expertise. 

 

David T. Abalos is Professor of Religious Studies and Sociology at Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey. He received his B.A. from the University of Toronto, an M.A. from Marquette University and a Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary. He has lectured and written extensively on multicultural and gender fair education and on Latinas and Latinos in the United States from the perspective of a politics of transformation. His articles have appeared in Cross Currents, The Journal of Hispanic Policy, Endeavors, The Journal of Dharma, The Nursing Forum, Democracy, The Latino Studies Journal, The Journal of Multicultural Education of New Jersey, The Community College Humanities Review and Liberal Education. He published a monograph at Yale University, Chicanos in the United States: Redeeming the Past, Transforming the Future and, Teaching and Practicing Multicultural and Gender Fair Education from the Perspective of Transformational Politics, for the North Texas Community and Junior Colleges Consortium. He has also published five books: Latinos in the United States: The Sacred and the Political, University of Notre Dame Press, 1986; The Latino Family and the Politics of Transformation, Praeger Press (a Choice selection as an Outstanding Academic Book, 1994); Strategies of Transformation Toward a Multicultural Society: Fulfilling the Story of Democracy, Praeger Press, 1996; La Comunidad Latina in the United States: Personal and Political Strategies for Transforming Culture, Praeger Press, 1998 and The Latino Male: A Radical Redefinition, Lynne Rienner Press, 2002. In 1988 he was given an award for Excellence in Scholarship Dedicated to Latinas and Latinos in the United States by the New Jersey Hispanic Association of Higher Education. During the Academic Year 1988-1989, Professor Abalos served as a Faculty Fellow for the State of New Jersey to develop multicultural scholarship. In recognition of his work in the classroom, Professor Abalos was chosen by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education as New Jersey Professor of the Year for 1987-88 and was also the recipient of a National Gold Medal award for being one of the top ten outstanding university professors in the nation. He has served as a Visiting Professor at Princeton University and at Yale University where he taught  courses on Latinas and Latinos in the United States. During the academic year 1993-1994, Prof. Abalos was a Visiting Professor in the Politics Department at Princeton University and also served as the Chicano/Latino Visiting Scholar at Illinois State University and as a Lilly Foundation Visiting Scholar at St. Norbert College, Green Bay, Wisconsin. He has served as an academic advisor working with k-12 faculty in New Jersey and throughout the country in order to assist in transforming the curriculum from a multicultural and gender fair perspective. At commencement ceremonies for the graduating class of 2000, Prof. Abalos was awarded Seton Hall University’s highest honor, the Bishop Bernard J. McQuaid medal for distinguished service, in recognition of his excellence in teaching and scholarship. During the Spring semester, 2001 and 2002, Prof. Abalos was a Visiting Professor in the Politics Department, Princeton University and is currently serving as a Visiting Fellow in the Politics Department for the academic year 2002-2003.
 
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