Week 26: Michelangelo

Diversity is any kind of variety that makes our world a better place. 

Michelangelo is considered to be among the greatest artists ever produced by Western Civilization.  His most famous work is his portrayal of 50 scenes and figures which he painted across the enormous ceiling surface of the Sistine Chapel in Rome.  He was born this week, in Tuscany, Italy, in 1475. 

Michelangelo lived at a time when apprenticeships were a common form of education and training.  Michelangelo himself began his series of apprenticeships at the age of 13.  At their most basic level, apprenticeships involve learning a skill from an expert. 

In our modern world, apprenticeships have been replaced by schooling.  However, it is still important to honor and appreciate the kind of learning that is transmitted directly from one person to another.  Re-building an engine, knitting blankets, raising horses.  When you take the time to learn specialized skills like these from someone, you are tapping into one of the oldest forms of learning—just like Michelangelo centuries ago. 

Remember, you don’t have to travel as far as Tuscany, Italy to find diversity.  There are hundreds of opportunities to celebrate diversity right here at your own school.  Find one today! 

Week 25: The Internment of Japanese-Americans

Diversity is any kind of variety that makes our world a better place.  Today we shine a spotlight on a tremendous act of courage during a time of national hysteria. 

This week in 1942, during World War II, President Roosevelt signed a Presidential order that resulted in every Japanese-American citizen living along the West Coast to be forced out of their homes without cause, and relocated into internment camps located in various isolated locations. 

As part of the process a Congressional committee traveled to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle to collect the comments of Americans towards their Japanese-American neighbors.  The public mood everywhere was overwhelmingly anti-Japanese.  But the hearings in Portland stood out because it was the only city without any organized protest against the President's actions.  In fact, only one person stood up to publicly support the Japanese-Americans in front of the committee.  Her name was Azalia Peet from the city of Gresham.  Far beyond appreciating diversity, Ms. Peet risked her life to state the truth when no one wanted to hear it. 

Remember, you don't have to travel as far as Gresham, Oregon to find diversity.  There are hundreds of opportunities to celebrate diversity right here at your own school.  Find one today! 

Week 24: The Sahara Desert

Diversity is any kind of variety that makes our world a better place.  

There is no recorded memory of snow ever falling in the Sahara Desert—except for on one occasion, this week in 1979.  The snow storm occurred in Southern Algeria although the snow disappeared within hours. 

Believe it or not, there was a time during the Stone Age when the Sahara was wet, green, and habitable.  Scientists know this because they have uncovered a massive burial ground with the skeletal remains of humans and hundreds of animals including antelopes, giraffes, hippos, turtles, and clams.  The Earth is diverse at any given time, but we can learn from the Sahara Desert that it is also diverse across time as well—things can and will change. 

Remember that this is also true for people as well.  When you appreciate diversity among the people around you, you are also appreciating the fact that people can and do change. 

Remember, you don’t have to travel as far as the Sahara Desert to find diversity.  There are hundreds of opportunities to celebrate diversity right here at your own school.  Find one today!

Week 23: The Amazon River Basin

Diversity is any kind of variety that makes our world a better place.  

We all know that water flows from rivers into the oceans, right?  Well nature always seems to have a way of surprising us.  In a few places around the world, there are times in the year when water flows backwards from the ocean up a river.  The phenomenon is called a tidal bore, and one of the most spectacular tidal bores is occurring right now in Brazil, at the mouth of the Amazon river.  Waves reaching up to 12 feet high have been known to flow as far as 7 miles upstream.  

The Amazon River is amazing for many other reasons.  It contains more water than the next ten largest rivers combined.  And ten percent of all known species in the world live in the Amazon Basin Rain Forest.  An ecosystem that enormous has a huge impact on the environmental health of the world.  It’s no wonder that there are so many organizations large and small who are trying to preserve the diversity of life in the Amazon rain forests.  

Remember, you don’t have to travel as far as the Amazon River to find diversity.  There are hundreds of opportunities to celebrate diversity right here at your own school.  Find one today!