A Mix It Up Event in L.A.

On November 15, 2005 students around the country challenged their own powerful tribal customs and sat down to lunch at unaccustomed tables, with fellow students they usually don't hang with outside the classroom. It's perhaps the most high-profile of a range of student-led efforts to identify, question, and cross social boundaries within their schools and communities supported by Mix It Up, a project established in 2001 by the Teaching Tolerance program and the Study Circles Resource Center.

Breaking Down Barriers

According to a 2002 Mix It Up Survey, a majority of middle and high school students said that schools were "quick to put people into categories", and one-third said it's hard to become friends with people in different groups. That's where Mix It Up comes in, to knock down barriers.

The program consists of three different sections: Mix It Up at Lunch Day, Mix It Up Dialogue Groups, and the Mix It Up Grants Program. The main component, Mix It Up at Lunch Day, is a national event held annually in which participants have lunch with someone with whom they normally wouldn�t. Last year, more than 4 million students at 9,000 schools participated in Mix It Up at Lunch Day. This year Tafeni English, the director of the program, was expecting even more.

If what educators see on a day-to-day basis is any indication, there's no shortage of schools where students would benefit from mixing it up.

The Reasoning

"I'm surprised at the stereotypes that come up and that are perpetuated by students," says Lauren Hogerheiden, a sophomore English teacher at Temecula Valley High School in California. "I think that setting aside at least a day, if not a week, to work at creating a community that is accepting of all students, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, or religion, is obviously needed in schools for everyone to feel welcome."

This was Temecula's second year mixing it up and the students have taken to it fairly well. Karyl Bacon, an 11th grader says, "I had a hard time participating last year because I was a little shy and wasn't sure how people would react." She did mingle and met a few people, though. "Now I feel a lot more comfortable," she says. "It's not as weird and I'm more open to meeting new people."

Jesse M., an 8th grade student at Medford Middle School in Medford, Wisconsin feels the same. At his school, "there's the 'cool kids' group and the other groups.

"Sometimes the people in the so-called cool group don't like to hang out with other kids," he says. But Mix It Up brought the different groups together and Jesse made friends he wouldn't have otherwise.

Debra Miller, a counselor at Lakeview Junior High in Battle Creek, Michigan says Lakeview is a very diverse school. "Not only do we have African-Americans and Hispanics, we have a lot of international students too." Mix It Up helps "to encourage the kids to be interested in other cultures and to take the time to know people that may be different."

Miller says Mix it Up can develop important life skills. "I think it helps build self-esteem in the kids and gives them an opportunity to step out of their comfort zone and develop communication skills," she says.

Outside the Box

It's easy for students to organize a Mix It Up Day. First, they visit the Mix It Up site to learn the details of the program, and even sign up for a free Mix It Up Starter pack. "Then students should enlist the aid of an adult or teacher and form committees to delegate tasks to," English says.

After that comes advertising the event and educating others about the program through posters, stickers, PA announcements, or an article in the school newspaper. Some students send a press release to their community or city newspaper.

When it comes to the actual day, there are a number of ways to mix it up and mingle. At East Literature Magnet School, in Nashville, Tennessee, middle-school students enjoyed a jazz performance by a five-person band as they ate, mingled, and met new friends. At another school, Bowling Green High, in Ohio, students were given a strip of paper along with their lunch. The strips were color-coded to match a specific table, and determined where the student would sit.

Other ideas from Mix It Up include grouping students at tables based on birth month and having students select their favorite flavor of ice cream and sitting at the table with miniature samples of that flavor.

Jackie Strick, the guidance counselor at Jesse's school, Medford Middle, says after their first time doing Mix It Up at Lunch, some of the students complained that lunch time is the only chance they have to spend uninterrupted time with their friends and they didn't want to give that up, even for a day. So, for the last three years, they've done what the kids suggested: Partner Mix It Up Day. "They arrange to go to lunch with a partner and stand two-by-two in a line," Strick says. The two-person group then draws an animal card from a box and sits at a table with the animal's picture on it. "They get to sit with one of their close friends but there are still six or more other people at the table that are new to them," she says. Since they started allowing the students to partner up, Mix It Up has been much better accepted, she says.

Both students and educators agree that Mix It Up at Lunch Day tends to be one of the quieter days in the cafeteria. "Some kids do a great job and just come up with a topic and the whole table starts talking, others just sit and stare at one another," Strick says. At her school, they provide the students with Pictionary-type games to break the ice and get conversations flowing.

Above and Beyond

The national Lunch Day isn't the only time students can mix it up. A Mix It Up Day can be held anytime. At Medford, the national Lunch Day is the kick-off and then the school does Mix It Up at least once a month, sometimes twice.

In fact, Mix It Up isn't designed to just be a one-day thing. Once the Lunch Day is over, it's hoped that students will go above and beyond and continue to learn as much as they can about crossing social boundaries and continue to meet and greet new people.

A survey conducted last year found that 48% of participants utilized the Mix It Up handbook and 28,000 students engaged in Mix It Up dialogue groups. The dialogue groups are designed to get students to discuss the reasons for the divisions among people and ways to break the walls down.

The Mix It Up grants program was created to help students who meet eligibility requirements secure funding to help them carry out the mission of promoting tolerance and breaking down barriers that exists around them.

Although the Mix It Up program is fairly new, it's already had an impact on its participants. In a survey of 2004's Mix It Up at Lunch Day, 67 percent said the day encouraged students to cross group lines and meet new people, and 26 percent reported that the day fostered new friendships across those group lines.

Nurturing Tolerance

Social boundaries aren't just an issue for the students at schools; educators face them and are affected by them, also. Educators can be a big influence on how their students deal with diversity issues, which is why English says it's so important that they get involved with the program. "Team up with the students and support them in their efforts by listening to their ideas and offering feedback," she advises.

At some schools the teachers Mix It Up with the students and amongst themselves. "We get staff members in the cafeteria to support the students and get to know kids they don't have in class," says Lakeview's Miller. Staff members at Medford mix it up in the break-room by swapping seats and having lunch with people they normally wouldn't.

Teaching Tolerance offers ways educators can incorporate its Mix themes into classroom instruction with activity booklets that contain lesson ideas like "Civil Rights and Americans With Disabilities", "The Literature of Bullying", and "From Chaos to Community".

No matter what goes on in school, parents play a big role in determining how tolerant their child is. The key things a parent can do, English says, is to "be honest, lead by example, and speak up." She encourages parents to be upfront with their kids about differences among people and to talk about stereotypes and the cultural misinformation young people encounter in movies, music, magazines, and other media. English also recommends that parents challenge others when they hear someone using a stereotype, whether it is their own child, a friend, neighbor, or anyone else.

In Hogerheiden's opinion, leading by example may be the most important point. "You'd be surprised at how many parents say inappropriate things in front of me and their children," she says.

To her, it takes a team effort. "Kids have to see the teachers and they have to see their parents telling them the same thing," she says. "It's one thing to hear it from teachers, but when parents are living it too, and then when their friends start adopting these ideas, kids are highly influenced."

Resources:

• Teaching Tolerance
• Study Circles Resource Center
• Youth for Human Rights International
• Kids as Self-Advocates (KASA)

Tamekia Reece is a freelance writer in Houston, Texas who specializes in sexual health, relationships, and teen issues.