The objective of this conference was to explore diversity in all its manifestations—racial, economic, sexual, and others—allowing us to understand and analyze issues collectively so that we could bring this knowledge to our own schools and communities. At the end of the intense two-and-a-half day conference, each of the 1,300 attendees had grown intellectually, and I am confident that every single one of us will make a difference in our own communities.
 
To get to this point of growth, the leaders of POCC created an intricate program, consisting of several groups that discussed issues of diversity and participated in different exercises together. In one activity, 650 of us formed a giant circle. The facilitator read a “core identifier” and those individuals who associated themselves with the identifier stepped forward, forming an inner circle. Everyone was asked to look at who was inside—and outside—of the circle. This exercise was particularly eye-opening.

When the subject of religion was the identifier, I began to feel extremely anxious about identifying myself as Jewish. Before this moment, I had never realized that my religion was a source of insecurity. I recognized that being Jewish is not traditionally accepted around the world, and I was afraid that this would separate me from the rest of the group. From this, I learned about myself and was allowed to tackle the issue by stepping into the circle and getting rid of my insecurity.

Later in the activity, I found myself self-evaluating once more. As Islam was called out as a core identifier, I noticed a white, platinum-blonde-haried girl step into the inner circle. I was shocked to discover that she was Islamic. This exercise helped me realize that the stereotypes I hold are often preconceived without any conscious thought. This showed me that assumptions can very often be misleading, and will only set back the person who holds them.

This exercise, among many others, affected many of us in personal and collective ways. Exercises and discussions like these are not exclusive; not only the people who attended POCC 2007 should have the opportunity to learn from them. I hope that I will be able to teach others about these important issues and I am confident that the Shipley community will be able to grow just as much as each individual that attended POCC 2007 did.