As opposed to the typical sweatpants and t-shirts, students are dressed in a vast array of colorful qipaos, salwar kameezes, kilts, thobes, agbadas, and more. Each student detects the aroma of their favorite food and each student sees their country’s flag hung up high on the school walls – each student is home. Since the curriculum strives to satisfy the needs of all students while making everyone feel included, why not have a day devoted to this: International Day.
Celebrating International Day at school is an exceptional way to embrace our diversity, get to know each other at a more cultural level, and of course, a perfect excuse to take a break from our tedious classroom schedule.
International Day is a concept that most of us have likely experienced in our elementary years, but why is this tradition limited to just the younger students of our school district? High school is a time of personal growth, and now more than ever, it’s indispensable for students to feel comfortable with their ethnic identity. One ubiquitous struggle of minorities in Texas is owning their culture, despite how “odd” they might seem to others. A lot of students, even though they might be proud of their culture, are hesitant to publicly embrace it, in fear that their classmates or even teachers may judge them. On the other hand, because of the heavy Caucasian influence at school, some students may be adopting new practices while simultaneously losing their culture. Celebrating International Day will show that the school as a whole wants people to embody their culture, and that each is appreciated; none are deemed “weird” or “embarrassing.”
In addition to contributing to students’ acceptance of their identity, an International Day would also serve as a vivacious break from our classes. It’s no question that both students and teachers at our competitive school are stressed and exhausted from the constant academics that we sit through for seven hours a day. With the new schedule changes this year, reducing our passing periods, lunches, and PITS, we get even less recreational time – it’s not crazy to suggest a day devoted to something enjoyable. Furthermore, celebrating this holiday would also be very educational; cultural knowledge is something that students will need in the future, especially when their crowd diversifies as new opportunities arise. In fact, many of the students at our school have their basis of cultural comprehension built off of the International Days at their elementary schools, so why not take now as an opportunity to expand this knowledge.
While schools may stray away from this idea because it would take too much planning or be too costly, this celebration can easily be carried out by a group of students who are willing to take charge. Each ethnic group that wants their culture to be represented can work together to create their own stand, consisting of decoration pieces that they have at home, food that they’ve brought, and anything else that they feel depicts their ethnicity. These stands could also have fun, engaging activities: a Pakistan stand could have a henna station, a China stand could have a calligraphy corner where people can learn how to write their names, and a Nigeria stand could have a traditional bead-making tutorial. Even if students are not able to create a stand, they can exhibit their background by wearing cultural clothes, a flag, or even just their country’s colors. In some schools, International Day events even have traditional dances or songs performed by their very own talented students. Therefore, if the celebration is effectively carried out by students, it could be essentially costless for the school.
Flags of every country, foods from every origin, clothing from every ethnicity. Almost like a mini backpacking trip around the world, an International Day celebration is the quintessential way to empower student cultures and make our school home to all of them.
