"Diversity education is not a 'one unit' study. It is a thoughtful inclusion of diversity in all that we teach," says Margaret Wilks, National Diversity Education Program participant at Paris Elementary School in Arkansas. "When we look at the real history of this country, it is clear that groups and individuals of every race, creed, and color have contributed to our story, and knowing their stories helps us understand our strengths as well as our mistakes as a nation."

"We cannot pretend that past injustices haven't happened but must use them as a means to build on understandings about how we want things to be different in the future. I am convinced that real stories make the difference, so I utilize primary documents and personal stories to help students (and teachers) understand. This has been particularly important in the place I teach — a small, rural, mostly White town, where diversity is misunderstood as only a racial discussion."

"I work to shape my curriculum—in whatever area I teach—to help students understand how diversity is part of who we are as a nation and to tell the stories of those who have struggled for freedom and equality. More than that, I want students to really believe that they, too, shape our democracy and have a responsibility for that as citizens."

"STRENGTH IN DIVERSITY: THE PILOTS OF WORLD WAR II" (PDF)

SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS:

• Portrait of Robert Glass, Captain, Tuskegee Airmen (PDF)
• Portrait of Nancy Harkness Love, Commander, Women's Airforce Service Pilots (PDF)
• Portrait of Eugene O'Neil, Lieutenant, Army Air Corp (PDF)
• Background History of US Army Air Corp (PDF)
• Background History of Women Airforce Service Pilots (PDF)
• Background History of Tuskegee Airmen (PDF)
• War Bonds Ad: The Air Corp (PDF)
• War Bonds Ad: The WASP (PDF)
• War Bonds Ad: The Tuskegee Airmen (PDF)
• Article on War Bonds (PDF)
• Article by WASP Cornelia Fort "At Twilight's Last Gleaming" (PDF)
• Article on the O'Neil Brothers: "3 Brothers, 3 Pilots, 3 Lieutenants" (PDF)
• Letter from War Department to O'Neil Parents (PDF)
• Charles O'Neil's Prisoner of War Letter (PDF)
• Charles O'Neil's Memorial Cover (PDF)
• Charles O'Neil's Memorial (PDF)

Unit Plan #2:

"DESEGREGATION FIFTY YEARS LATER: LESSONS FROM LITTLE ROCK"

SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS:

• "The Problem We All Live With", 1964. Look story illustration. Collection of The Norman Rockwell Museum at Stockbridge. © 1964 The Norman Rockwell Estate Licensing Company. Photo Courtesy of The Norman Rockwell Museum at Stockbridge.
• Illus. - Dwight Eisenhower, Orval Faubus
• Photo - Entering Little Rock Central
• Photo – The Little Rock Nine and Daisy Bates
• Photo - Arriving at School
• Photo - Jeering Crowds
• Press Release- Eisenhower to Faubus
• Statement by Eisenhower
• Statement by Faubus
• Telegram - Little Rock Mayor, September 1957
• Telegram - Request for Troops
• Presidential Address September 24, 1957
• Telegram - Parents of the Little Rock Nine
• Situation Report - February 17, 1958
• Student Editorials
• Photo - A TV Education
• Where Are the Little Rock Nine?

RESOURCES

To review the content of Margaret’s workshops, click below:

WORKSHOP I Teaching Diversity and Democracy Through Discovery

WORKSHOP II Retool Your Use of Primary Sources

SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS Primary Sources on the Web