The best way to foster a community of tolerance and acceptance is to lead by example. Our children need to learn to accept that people have different opinions and practices, and come from different religious, ethnic, family and financial background.
We should encourage PTOs to provide scholarships for economically disadvantaged families to offset the cost of field trips and after school programs at the schools. We should Encourage programs that deliberately mix children from different settings. We need to recognize that diverse families exist within Medford and avoid any ostracizing of them.
We should train teachers to refrain from any judgmental comments regarding race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation and academic or financial status. They should also be trained to deal with students engaging in such behavior.
PTO's should be encouraged to hold diversity meetings in which controversial topics are presented and discussed amongst parents. We can train guidance councilors and school psychologists to keep an ear out for issues that may be surfacing at a particular school. We should also make it a point to use curriculum materials which shows diversity.
