an update and pondering diversity

First of all, thanks to all of you who have commented on my last post, both online and in "real time." With a little time to reflect on the situation, it has become clear that the school is quite supportive of my position. They're in the unfortunate situation of having to take these kinds of claims seriously, while they also know that it's quite a bizarre statement to make, really. So I wait and I'll have lunch with the mother of the child whom I supposedly made racial slurs about. It is really unsettling to me that a statement I made could have gotten misconstrued to the point where an innocent family got hurt by it. So the mom and I will have lunch and get to know each other a little better, and try to see what develops.

As far as my job interview and the position at the school go, I feel it is completely out of my hands at this point. I've been told I'm the person they really want to hire, so I feel that the ball is in the school's court. I'll be talking to the school this week to see how we go from here. I'm quite at peace with this, I have great respect for the two people at the school whose hands this is in, and I truly feel that what is meant to happen will happen, and it will be for the best.

This whole episode, as painful as it has been, has also been quite instructive. Not only about the distance one needs to keep with students and their parents when working in a school, but about the whole "debate" (if one can call it that) on diversity in America. Clearly that word set off something very emotional in someone, and I'm not sure that this isn't common. As I've spoken with friends on this issue, I'm led to understand that in America, ethnicity, race, diversity etc. is mostly dealt with by not being spoken about. The implication appears to be that if you speak of it, you're judging someone by their skin color, ethnic background etc. Consequently, you show your lack of prejudice by ignoring people's racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds. I'd love to hear other people's views on this, does that cover it? Am I way off base?

This is where my multi-cultural upbringing may be throwing me a bit of a curve-ball. In other places I've lived, acknowledging people's differences was quite common, not as a measure of judgement of a person's worth, but as a part of their story, a way to get to know them and about their background and family. An effort to understand people, to connect, and ultimately to celebrate how we are all so very different. And how we are all so much the same.

Trying to put this behind me in a healthy way. I hope I'm succeeding.

On a completely different note, we had the best evening as a family. We made dinner together, everyone pitched in, and then we had an impromptu almost-midsummer music performance. And to top it all off, the kids went to bed without protest. So life is good.