diversity

8 Ways to Respond to Bigoted Words

As this month continues in recognition of National Bullying Prevention Month, we look at we as adults can respond to situations where a bigoted bully might be acting wrong. Below is advice verbatim from the Anti-Defamation League about bigoted words. Challenging bigoted and offensive remarks are critical to ensuring dignity and respect for all people. Below are step-by-step strategies that can assist you if you find yourself in situations where such remarks are made. Think Explore your understanding of the situation. Take a moment to reflect on what was said […]

Camptivities Galore at Kupugani!

Today marked the first day for camptivities! During the first camptivity session, the campers chose from activities such as Rock Climbing, Biking, Nature Walk/Schoolhouse, and Canoeing! Following delicious treats at La Tienda, the boys chose between Pool, Fishing, and Archery to channel their adventurous souls! The evening activities included Diversity Bingo and Diversity Show and Tell. Diversity Bingo is a version of Bingo where campers get to know each other through facts such as naming three Motown hits, if they speak more than two languages, if they were born somewhere […]

Is There Such a Thing as “Reverse” Stereotypes?

(This is the first excerpt of a multipart blog to unravel during the coming weeks.) My life hasn’t been much different from any other life of a young adult from northern Illinois. Since I was young, my family supported me in all of my decisions and always pushed me to be my best and pursue my aspirations. Because of my family’s influence, I always strove to be the best both academically and outside of the classroom with extracurricular activities. As high school in a different, yet similar small town to […]

Make A Positive Impact in Your Home

At our summer camps for girls and summer camps for boys, we try to be intentional about fostering a culturally competent atmosphere that is welcoming to everybody. Here are some good tips, culled from a calendar from the Anti-Defamation League, detailing how you can make a positive impact in your home. Be an ally – speak out against jokes and slurs that target people or groups. Support young children’s curiosity about diversity in our world. Visit ADL’s Question Corner at www.adl.org for ideas on how. Stop e-mail bigotry at your computer. Forward […]

Multiculturalism is Better than Colorblindness

I recently came across an article, which articulates well why and how we try to celebrate and appreciate difference at our multicultural camp. Below is a summary (in her words) of the full article by Monnica T. Williams, PhD. What is racial colorblindness? Colorblindness is the racial ideology that posits the best way to end discrimination is by treating individuals as equally as possible, without regard to race, culture, or ethnicity. At its face value, colorblindness seems like a good thing — really taking MLK seriously on his call to judge people […]

Embracing Our Differences

Below is a piece by Lee Mun Wah, renowned facilitator of multicultural and diversity exercises. It so encapsulated what we try to do at our multicultural summer camp that I thought it most poignant to reproduce it in its entirety. It comes from a recent newsletter from his organization, Stir Fry Seminars, and is available at this link. “Recently, at a training I was facilitating, a young white man adamantly shared that he didn’t see differences in people and thought that my talking about our differences only added to our […]

Encourage Kids to Appreciate Diversity

At Camp Kupugani, as a multicultural summer camp that is intentional in our empowerment and safely challenging our campers, we teach about and bleed diversity. It’s part of our mission and as such we are in a structurally and intentionally diverse environment. But what can you do if you’re at home and not necessarily in a diverse and supportive environment? How then to facilitate those important lessons? One article I checked out recently emphasizes: “Parents are uniquely positioned to guide their children to appreciate the differences that make each of us […]

Properly Serving a Changing Population

A recent Today show piece touted that Caucasian children won’t comprise the majority of children born in the U.S. within 5 or 6 years. This story isn’t news to us at our multicultural summer camp, which has been emphasizing serving who our population actually is for many years. It’s interesting now that is increasingly in the public eye. It hasn’t been news for a while. From the 2010 US census, non-Hispanic white children ages 5 to 17 (or roughly “camp age”) comprise only about 55.5% of that segment. “Minority” children […]

Appreciating MLK by Tackling Race and Identity Issues

It has been almost 45 years since the death of Martin Luther King, Jr. A good time to reflect on the issue of race and racism in America. Despite a lot of fear and denial that race is still an issue or being used as an issue, dialogue seems to proceed in fits and starts in this country. Unfortunately, race and racism continues to permeate American institutions, corporations, schools, and communities. Our avoiding the difficult conversations with our families or in our workplaces makes our children pay for our silence […]

Teamwork Thursday!

This is the quote of the day, which we discuss every morning as an entire camp. With early morning Zumba classes and late afternoon canoeing, every girl is becoming more confident and empowered to try challenging activities and make new friends. Additionally, teams grew closer as we wrote and shared poems about our diverse backgrounds.

First Day Fun

Las Mujeres, go Las Mujeres! Today is the first day of teams, the ladies made team agreements and cheers! Later we went on a camp tour and had our first day of La Tienda (Aye, aye, aye!) Later we had show and tell, where the girls explained an object that represents their heritage. All of the campers come from different homes, and it was wonderful to see each one be empowered to tell her story tonight! 🙂

Teams, Camptivities & Evening Activities Make Our Day

A great first full “regular” day at camp…river walking and floating, fire building, rock climbing, archery and pool time! Camp Kupugani…these days just get better and better, no wonder we all love camp! And, after Natasha’s tasty lasagna dinner, we all continued our bonding with Diversity Bingo and cabin time. Time for bed! J Catch you all tomorrow! xxx