Submitted by GSCO Media Star Juliette H.
Metro Denver
Parker
I am a Girl Scout Junior from Troop 67749. Together with my family, we worked on the “Diverse. Inclusive. Together.” patch. The purpose of the patch is to launch the conversation of race and racism to strengthen our respect for all people.
When working on this patch, the goal is to identify our uniqueness as well as those similarities we have with our friends, family, and community. Lets step in other’s shoes and learn how to relate to them!
Hand Identity Chart
When working on my Identity Chart (pictured above), I talked with my family about what words they also thought related to their identity. I traced my hand and wrote words around the hand that relate to me and my identity. Our identity is not just what’s on the inside. There are many things that make you you. Some of our words were common, like vegetarian, and many of the words we used to describe ourselves were different. My sister spent a lot of time projecting her identity onto me.
Fourth Grade Stories
My mother and I reviewed the photographs of students in different parts of the world in gelles portfolio located at fourthgradeproject.com. We read the answers to their questions, after answering them myself: Who do you live with? What do you wish for? What do you worry about? Many of the students lived with parents and siblings like me, and while each portrait had a response to wishes and worries that were different than mine, all fourth graders have their own things they wish for and we all worry too. What are your answers to these questions?
My Favorite Book
My favorite book is “The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.” The character I relate to is Lucy because I’m very adventurous and brave. In the book, Lucy is the first one to discover Narnia. And just like me, no one ever believers her. I think this character is a reflection of me, since we are both a little different. Is your favorite character a reflection of you?
Diversity Gap in Children’s Books
I reviewed the books each of my family had on their nightstand and sorted through the covers to count the number of books, the number of those that had a person on the cover, and noted if these covers had people of color. Several books I looked through didn’t have people on them, but those that did, the majority were white people. White authors tend to write stories based on their life and base their characters on their reflection. The information page provided for this topic shows that the percentage is going up for authors of color. 31% of children’s books were written by or about people of color in 2017. However, this number isn’t high enough. It would be great for this number to grow so everyone of each identity has a character they can see in the mirror.
Girl Scouts of Colorado is proud to unveil ways for everyone, not just girls or Girl Scouts, to develop an appreciation for the rich diversity of various cultures in their community and around the world. Learn more.