The 2013 Fulbright-Hays India Group: From Coexistence to Pluralism

In my head I keep playing with terms such as diversity, coexistence, and plurality. Just what does religious pluralism look like? Depending on what you read, the terms are used interchangeably.

After some extensive reading, I discover that diversity is just a fact of life. We have for example ethnic, cultural, and religious diversity.

Yesterday the 12 members of our FH cohort met for the first time here in Berkeley California.

We are a diverse group. We come from all around the US. Some are teachers, some are principals, and one is a superintendent. Many of us have extensive experiences abroad. I think the only common threads are that we all teach, and  we all have a desire to learn more of India. 

Diversity is just diversity. A diverse group can be a mixture of people who, on one end of the spectrum merely tolerate each other, to the other end of the spectrum where we appreciate each other's differences.

Let me repeat: Diversity is just diversity. When I think of diversity, I think of the animals that live on the Serengeti plains of Africa. You have diverse species living alongside each other on the Serengeti.  Lions live alongside the antelope.

But lions also eat antelope.  

I think the next thing is coexistence.  What does it mean to coexist?

According to the freedictionary.com, coexistence is defined as "a condition or policy in which nations coexist peacefully while remaining economic or political rivals." 

Rivals?

That makes me think of  the Lion and the Antelope problem.

So what is pluralism? What does it look like?

This is a loaded question I hope to articulate soon.

I hope in the next 40 days our FH cohort will evolve from a diverse group merely coexisting (think Lion + Antelope) into a diverse group working in the spirit of pluralism. 

Please excuse typos, as I'm working on the iPad. 

Thanks for visiting.

Namaste!

Collecting Artifacts in India

Imagine a box of artifacts for students to use during research.

      The other day on Karen Bonanno's Scoop.it I came across this gem about how simple artifacts can support student inquiry in the context of PBL (Project Based Learning). 
      Teachers (and school librarians) can collect artifacts to activate and support student inquiry. For a research unit on India, students can observe a multitude of artifacts such as a flag, map, or currency. For example, as students examine a flag from India, they might observe and wonder the meaning behind the saffron, white, and green colors. They might also wonder the story about the wheel, or chakra, in the flag's center. Better yet, students could also tap into prior knowledge and make connections to the meaning of our own red,white and blue in the American flag. 

     As students generate their own questions, the teacher/librarian can record them for further work. Student-generated questions might result in deeper inquiry because the students feel more ownership of their own questions.  

      As school librarian, it's important to make everything in the school library accessible to the entire learning community. As I consider what Indian artifacts to collect for my school library, how can I assure fair access to the artifacts? I'm thinking of creating a couple of Artifact Boxes that classroom teachers can borrow and use as they teach about India. Furthermore, I can digitize the Indian artifacts by taking pictures of each item and uploading the pics for easy access by all.   
Image source: http://www.wpclipart.com/money/treasure/treasure_chest_3.png.html