By Tiffany Hu:
On Wednesday, March 6, hundreds of high school students filled the halls of Belmont High School. It was Diversity Day, and the students were eager to get to classrooms to see presentations of diverse topics, from cultural dances to experimenting with the effects of social structure. However, among all these presentations, one was unique in its very own way: "Inclusivi-tee: We’re All Different. And We’re All the Same" presented by Michael Zildjian.
Zildjian is an author, podcaster, and stand-up philosopher. He has traveled to 45 states, meeting and talking to people from diverse backgrounds, listening to their stories while sharing his own. Zildjian now tours the U.S., internationally speaking about his passion for philosophical conversations to the next level called Zilosophy.
During the presentation, Zildjian stressed the idea of everyone being equal, encouraging a presentation that involves everyone in the room. He started by asking students how they perceive the word diversity, then dove deeper, urging the students to reflect how they can learn more about their peers, from simply choosing to sit with new someone at lunch other than your friends. As students warmed up toward each other, a few shared their stories, such as their heritage and how at times they don't feel they belong to moving from a completely different country to Belmont without knowing how to speak English. From this, Zildjian urged the power talking to people to learn their individual stories.
Furthermore, in an email, Zildjian wrote that his goal is to "is to spread positive messages in hopes that it has a ripple effect on the local community" by having students practice inclusivity and diversity in the classroom. Zildjian also pointed out the METCO program and how it has affected a lot of schools in Massachusetts greatly, compared to when he was in high school. He said that by having the METCO program, schools are now more diverse, hence opening the opportunity for students to practice inclusivity and perhaps learn something new from someone with another background.
After the presentation, Zildjian was asked what inspired him to give this presentation to students all over the country.
"Getting positive messages to kids is my biggest passion. Any time I have the chance to teach self-awareness, honest self-evaluation and commitment to make good choices that allow us to bring our best to whatever we do, then I’m there," said Zildjian.
His goal of the presentation is for students to walk out of the classroom and actually to spend time having a conversation with someone they don't know. By having a conversation, you might realize your assumptions about a group of people to be incorrect or even find a new friendship. Diversity isn't something that can be achieved by one person; it is up to us to make the choices to include everyone in the community, to listen and relate with others who differ from us.