That changed as a young adult. The first time I stepped into a large public library – I know it is trite – but I absolutely felt like a kid in a candy store.  And truthfully, I still feel that way. I LOVE libraries. I still look around and think, “Really? I can pick from anything here, and it’s all free!”

            Perhaps that’s why I am so thrilled – not happy, not excited, but thrilled – to be creating a library for students at A.V. Bukani Primary School in Addo, South Africa. My husband and I, with lots of help, just sent a shipment of 25,000 donated books to support the education of the wonderful students at the school.  We are about to make our third volunteer trip to work with the dedicated teachers there, sharing research-based strategies to increase literacy. We’ve also been working with the families, an integral part of education.

            On our first trip to this township school in August 2008, we were shaken by the lack of materials – from students writing with pencil stubs to inadequate workbooks that were basically the only books the students had. My husband used some quality picture books we had brought with us to demonstrate read-alouds. After seeing the students’ eyes light up when he read “Swimmy” by Leo Lionni, one of the teachers grabbed his arm and asked, “Are there more books like this?!”  We knew we had to return one day with many, many more books.

            The following year as we finished our second visit, Principal Thambo said it is time to build a library. We agreed. Although shipping is expensive, we had been in touch with an old high school friend who said he could help us with discounted shipping.  We knew with our many contacts back in the DC area that we could collect hundreds of books for this school. We also knew that, to be used effectively, these books could not just be boxed and shipped. They had to be sorted and labeled. Thus began our journey this year of collecting, organizing and labeling, not hundreds of books, but 25,000 quality children’s books. It was a labor of love for us and the many, many volunteers who worked with us, as well as the donors who helped with shipping expenses.  In mid-July, the books began their journey in a shipping container that will be fitted with doors and windows and will become the library itself.

            And so my love of libraries has come full circle. In early August, I will watch the shipping container filled with books we packed be trucked into the township and placed on the foundation built by the community.  I will watch as community volunteers help unload and open the boxes and boxes of books.  And I will watch as the students get to not only look at these wonderful books, but choose books and take them home. And the next day, they can choose another one. Does life get any better than that!

            I truly feel like Willy Wonka opening up the candy store to the 1,000 children of this school. They’ll discover Ezra Jack Keats, Eric Carle, Beverly Cleary, Dr. Seuss, and many other wonderful authors and illustrators. And once they taste this delicious stuff, I know they’ll be back for more. In my heart I know these books will change lives for decades to come, and I am so honored to play a part in this. More on our South African blog www.KuglersinSouthAfrica.blogspot.com

Made me think about how many times people feel uncomfortable, feel like outsiders, because they don’t have the right words or act the right way. Sometimes they don’t know what is expected of them. Sometimes they act they way they were taught assuming that is appropriate. But the big question is who decides what is right?

We each have a culture, a combination of our family’s history and traditions, the place we grew up, our religion, our family structure, our gender, and everything else that impacts who we are. In a classroom, if a student does something that might be appropriate for her culture, but isn’t what the teacher thinks is right based on her own culture, the student may be branded as an outsider – someone who doesn’t fit in. Maybe the student stands a little too close to the teacher whose own comfort zone requires people to keep their distance. “I’m not a ‘touch-er’,” a colleague recently said to me. I wondered if I had broken her cultural rules without thinking since I come from a family of huggers and hand-grabbers.

Maybe a parent has been at a school meeting and loudly asserted her point. Other parents whisper behind her back, “She doesn’t need to yell.” The mom is branded as an outsider, someone who doesn’t follow the rules. Yet in her culture, if you are engaged, you raise your voice and stand your ground. To her, yelling is something completely different.

One of the challenges of good communication is understanding that your own way of communicating – your words, your voice, your body language – is not necessarily the right way. There are other ways of communicating which may also be appropriate, even if they aren’t your way. Is a parent not paying attention because she doesn’t become part of a conversation, or was she taught to listen to everyone else first? Is a child being rude by not looking the teacher in the eye, or do his cultural rules dictate that you show respect to adults by looking down?

Back in Philly, when I asked for a ticket downtown for a rush hour fare, the ticket agent still understood me. He politely handed me my ticket with a warm smile. Yes, there is more than one right way to get your point across. And the response of the other person can mean the difference between feeling welcome or uncomfortable.

Unfortunately, the snow days just increase the educational inequalities between the haves and have-nots. Many teachers in my local school district in Northern Virginia are posting assignments online via Blackboard. That’s terrific — unless the student’s only access to the Internet is through the school or public library.

Many middle-class parents find some educational activity to do with their children or they talk about school projects together while they are home together for hours on end. What about the parents who didn’t have a good education themselves and don’t know how to create a learning experience at home? Where are the resources for school projects if there are few books and no computer at home?

For many students, school lunch and breakfast are essential meals of the day. That is the way our society has chosen to feed children in the interest of both their health and their education. The impact of losing out on those meals is magnified for kids when the entire family is stuck at home. Very often, their parents are paid hourly for their work, and when snow prevents the parents from getting to work, the refrigerators are sparser than usual.

As we think about ways to keep learning going during unanticipated breaks -– from snow, or illness like H1N1, or even some type of terrorist attack -– we need to think beyond just making lessons available electronically. Maybe we have school assignments available via phone links as well as Internet. Maybe we establish mentors/teachers in communities who can be called upon for assistance. Maybe we set up a resource room in low-income apartment buildings. We need to remember “it takes a village,” particularly on a snow day.

   The teachers in the school, while dedicated to educating the children, had little expectations for the families. After all, they are poor and largely illiterate. Yet when I asked the families about their dreams, there were many.

   Unfortunately, that’s the way it is in too many schools around the globe, including the United States. Hard-working teachers feel parents don’t care if they don’t show up for parent meetings. Yet parents without formal education, or immigrants who don’t know how to traverse the complex U.S. school system, often keep their distance from their children’s school as a sign of respect. They trust their children’s education to the teachers and show their respect by not becoming involved. Parents aren’t valued for what they do know — insights on their children, a lifetime of experiences.

   As was clear with these parents in South Africa, they do care, and they care intently. Once given the opportunity to become a part of school in a project that valued them, they could see that they do have a role in school. Based on a model called Tellin’ Stories from Teaching for Change, the quilt project creates a non-threatening place for parents to gather in the school. While they are sewing, they learn about school expectations and resources both in school and in the community.

   In South Africa, I was honored to work with these incredible families in the school where my husband and I have volunteered the past two years. Over the course of the family meetings, the families learned how to support their children’s learning at home. And they became empowered to advocate for the children at school, just as many of them had fought so hard against apartheid years earlier. “We need to give you  name in Xhosa,”  said one of the parents. So I was called Nosango, or “gate” in their mother tongue. �”You have opened the gates of freedom, the gates of learning to us,”  said the parent. Certainly a moment I will never forget.

   How many families in our schools have dreams no one is asking about? How many are eager to help their children reach those dreams, but they don’t know what to do? We need family engagement outreach strategies that respect their personal experiences, their culture, their knowledge. Then we can build true partnerships with families that help out students be successful and our schools thrive.

For more about the Parent Engagement project in South Africa, please see article in Port Elizabeth Herald or www.KuglersinSouthAfrica.blogspot.com

Eileen with Principal Z.A. Thambo

Interview with Award-winning Author Eileen Gale Kugler 

I speak and write about the unique benefits that diversity brings schools and communities, which is a topic that nearly everyone is (finally) paying attention to. I help break through society’s “myth-perceptions” about race and culture, urging people to go beyond celebrating to advocating for diversity  urging people to go beyond celebrating to advocating for diversity.  In addition to my book, I’ve written commentaries for pubs ranging from USA Today and The Washington Post to Educational Leadership and The National School Boards Journal.  I come to this work as a parent and communications consultant, inspired by the education of my kids at one of the nation’s most diverse high schools, in a Washington, D.C. suburb, where I volunteered for more than a decade. Publishing the book was a watershed point for me, giving me the credibility I needed to speak and consult nationally.  

In addition to speaking around the country, I also travel internationally to increase my own understanding of different cultures.  Last summer, my husband, adult daughter and spent 3 weeks working with teachers in a rural South African School.  We learned unforgettable lessons – from never give up to always be open to new ideas. We’re going back this summer.

1. Tell us about your latest book. 

In a recent discussion on Twitter Moms, mothers debated whether to send their kids to a challenging school or a diverse one.  I replied that is a false choice, and that’s what my book, Debunking the Middle-class Myth: Why diverse schools are good for all kids,  is all about.  We need to go beyond society’s definition of a “good school” – largely middle-class white in a suburban enclave – and realize that diverse schools are enriched academically as well as socially.  Students who sit in class alongside peers from different races, ethnicities, and socio-economic groups are challenged with different perspectives. They all learn to think more deeply, to question more, to respect differences of all types.  You can’t buy that kind of learning.

I’m thrilled to say that my book won national Book of the Year awards from both the National Association for Multicultural Education and the Delta Kappa Gamma International Women Educators Honor Society.  It is required reading in universities around the country and is inspiring honest dialogue in school improvement teams, PTAs, and community book discussions. 

Booksigning at Busboys and Poets, D.C.

2. How did you get started as a writer?

My training and early career is as a journalist and I have always considered that to be my profession.  In later years I worked as head of communications for a government agency and then a non-profit.  Opened my own communications consulting firm, Kugler Communications,  in the Washington, DC, area in 1992.   I always wrote in my professional life. but never felt I was a writer – until the book came out.  It literally changed my identity.  Most of my professional life these days is speaking and consulting, but I do a lot of commentary and article writing.

3. What does a typical day look like for you?

I’m a night person, so you’ll see that it skews pretty late.  I get up about 8:00 and do some housework upstairs.  Then I have breakfast and read the paper.  I get to my office downstairs at about 10:00.  I often am working on numerous projects at the same time, which suits my personality well.  I’m usually writing at least one article/blog entry/issue paper .  I try to go with the flow – as you’ll see in later responses, I try to tap into my creativity.  I know when something is ready to be written because it writes itself in my head first.  I can see the connections that need to be made.  I’ll often jot down the key points, particularly if is a long article.   After I write something, I let it sit for a few days to get perspective on it.  Of course, sometimes deadlines push me to write something when I’m not quite ready,  but I usually have time to let the creativity percolate (it doesn’t take much time for this to happen).  My workday usually ends about 7, but it is not unusual for me to work until 10 or 11.   I frequently go to networking or volunteer meetings in the evening.  I try to spend weekends with my husband,  grown children and friends.

4. Describe your desk/workspace.

(Do I have to??)  I grew up in a house where my mother (whom I love) kept a rigidly clean house.  She would straighten things behind me.  So now there is a piece of me that craves chaos.  I’m very organized, and I keep great files, but my desk is, shall we say…. messy.  The other factor at work is that my journalistic training was to focus on the deadline at hand and then move on to the next.  Journalists rarely have neat desks because they don’t spend time cleaning up behind them, they just move on.  I love the sign that says, “I’m not messy, I’m just creative!”

5. Favorite books (especially for writers)

Three Cups of Tea – I got to hear Greg Mortensen speak recently.  What an inspiration for life!

Eat, Pray, Love – Examining life and determining what’s important

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides    –  Brilliantly written novel.  Captivating personal story on a current issue, epic family historical fiction, full of symbolism.  Everyone in my family, from my daughter to my mother, could not put it down.

6. Tell us 3 interesting/crazy things about you

1) I married my high school sweetheart.  Since he is an educator, he was the first reader of my book, literally reading it on the floor of my office as the pages came out of the printer.  He was so overwhelmingly positive about the content that I knew I was on to something.

2) My husband, daughter (also a teacher), and I volunteered in a rural school in South Africa for 3 weeks last summer.  We cannot wait to go back next summer.  We were so moved by the community and school that this will be a life-long relationship.  I can’t imagine not returning – it would feel the same as saying I would never see family again.  We have established a fund for the school through South Africa Partners, a U.S. charity. See our blog at http://kuglersinsouthafrica.blogspot.com  and a recent article posted by the National Education Association www.neawww.neamb.com/home/1217_2746.htm

3) I get to work on something that I care passionately about EVERY DAY.  How crazy is that?

7. Favorite quote

The great use of life is to spend it on something that will outlast you – William James

8. Best and worst part of being a writer

Best – Being able to say what I want to say.  Words are powerful and I’m blessed with the ability to put them together with clarity of purpose.

Worst  — I often feel compelled to write.  I’ll be thinking about something and suddenly writing will appear in my head.  I have to stop what I’m doing (even if it means getting out of bed as I’m falling asleep) and write it down.  Otherwise the writing in my head will not let me do anything else.  When I write it down, it’s always incredible.  If I manage to ignore the urge, I do lose the muse –  trying to recreate some of those thoughts the next day just doesn’t work.

9. Advice for other writers

-Listen to your muse! (see 8 ) If your brain is giving you some creative stuff, let it rip.

- “Throw up on the page” in your first draft. Don’t analyze your writing as you go or your left brain will kill your right brain.  Give yourself enough time so you can let the writing sit a few days and then go back and edit it with a fresh eye.

  10. Tell us a story about your writing experience. 

Once I started writing my book, I couldn’t stop.  It was like a faucet had been turned on.  I wrote every day, EVERY DAY, for 10 – 15 hours a day.  Sometimes my brain wanted to keep going, but my eyes or my back or my hands gave out.  I slept well and would get up with new insights (oh, THAT interview goes better in THAT chapter).  When I finished the last chapter, I felt the faucet turn off.  I couldn’t write the next week if you paid me.

Where can people buy your book?

My website, www.EmbraceDiverseSchools.com, highlights the work that I do with schools and communities.  The resources section includes lots of materials that can be used to support diverse schools.  On the website, you can also read excerpts from my book and of course, order it.  It’s available on Amazon or Barnes and Noble online, but the best place to go for multiple copies is the publisher, Rowman & Littlefield Education http://www.rowmaneducation.com/Catalog/SingleBook.shtml?command=Search&db=^DB/CATALOG.db&eqSKUdata=0810845113

What’s the best place for your child to go to school — one with the social lessons of a diverse multicultural school or one that is acadmically challenging?  That was the question posed on Twitter Moms by a mother who, like many parents, just wants what’s best for her child http://www.twittermoms.com/forum/topics/debunking-the-middleclass-myth).  The answer is easy — it’s a false choice!  A well-run diverse school not only has social benefits, but it has academic enrichments, too.  Students learn to think more deeply, to question more, to solve problems better when they are in class with peers who’ve had different life experiences.  I’ve seen it first hand, and the research backs it up. 

Somehow we’ve lost sight of the fact that wisdom isn’t limited to middle-class children or those from the mainstream white culture.  I’ve heard the most incredible insights from a student who had to share a lamp with a sister in the homeless shelter, or a teenager who walked 3 miles home from football practice because no one in his family had a car.  Teachers in multicultural schools will tell you that immigrant students often have deep respect for education and serve as role models for their American-born peers through their work ethic.  Parents whom I’ve worked with in Immigrant Parent Leadership classes are amazing people who show resilience and strength as they ground their children in their own culture while giving them the opportunities of America.

Don’t fall prey to myth-perceptions about diverse multicultural schools.   Visit the school. Talk to the principal.  Talk to teachers.  Talk to parents.  You don’t want to deprive your kids of the best education!

Helping immigrant and refugee students achieve school success: Partnering with families to support student mental health needs
February 24, 2009

Presenter: Eileen Kugler, Embrace Diverse Schools
Sponsored by The Center for Health and Health Care in Schools

This webinar highlighted successful strategies for supporting the unique mental health needs of immigrant and refugee students, focusing on engaging the family, often a close-knit and protective force in the child’s life.

Webinar slides
Webinar audio

For the past decade, I wondered whether my words on the unique strengths of diverse schools and communities were truly making a difference. Was the message spreading like ripples on a pond or was it merely dropping to the bottom like a pebble after a momentary splash?

In the era of Obama, the benefits of diversity are crystal clear. We have a new president who defines growing up in a diverse environment. He knows the distinct experience of being an African-America man, and he, like the rest of us, understands the significance of his historic election. Nothing will ever be the same. Yet he also experienced and understands the white culture of his mother and grandparents. He lived all over the world and understands that there is not only one prism to view the world, not only one “right” way. He is the embodiment of how you can be true to your identity and yet learn from those who are different and become a stronger person.

The economic instability will certainly put more people in need and it will mean that many of us will have to work harder to find grants and other funding to support the critical programs that provide the safety net. But I’ve seen a remarkable thing happen – those people who do have are digging deeper in their pockets to help those who have not. I am proud of the number of people who said they just don’t need another sweater or CD this holiday season, instead pooling gift money to donate to charity.

I’ve seen this in a way that touches me deeply. My husband, daughter and I spent three weeks volunteering as teacher trainers in a school in rural South Africa last summer, and we are committed to going back with funds and more volunteers next summer. (see our blog at http://www.KuglersInSouthAfrica.blogspot.com )When a colleague heard about this in September, she said her family was looking for a charity to support instead of the adults giving each other gifts. She liked the fact that we were personally involved and knew exactly how the money would be spent. On December 23, we received a check for $1,000. My husband and I were blown away with the generosity. We know what that kind of donation means to this school where students write with stubs of pencils and have no books beyond outdated workbooks.

So, yes, I’m concerned about the economy and I know there will be some lean budget years. But there is an abundance of something we haven’t seen for quite awhile – hope – and that goes a long way.