At MICDS, our mission calls us to embrace all the world’s people with compassion, stand for what is good and right and live lives of purpose and service. Mix-It-Up Day at MICDS provided those opportunities for the Upper School student community. Mix It Up is a national program, which aims to reduce prejudice and improve intergroup relations in the nation’s classrooms and communities.
Mix It Up Day at MICDS is an opportunity for students to have peer-led discussions with their classmates on topics that can impact our school community. Each student chose one topic of interest to them for discussion with their peers, including topics such as “Experiencing/Witnessing Bullying: What’s Our Role”, “Stressed Out”, “Decoding Racism: What Are We Really Saying”, “The New Generation of Media”, “How to Stand Out with Your College Resume” and “More Than Money”. These discussions offered each student the opportunity to voice his/her opinion as well as hear from other points of view.
“The goal is to continue our work on fostering meaningful conversations with students who may not be a part of their regular social group,” said Erica Moore, Director of Diversity.
The sessions were developed and facilitated by upper school students in our Friends of Rachel Club and Identity Committee.
“Student leaders and participants found the discussions helpful to open up dialogue on topics they do not have the chance to talk about at school outside of assigned advisory discussions or specific activity group discussions with like-minded students,” said Vicki Thurman, Director of Student Services. “The more we have these type of conversations as a normal part of what we do on a regular basis at MICDS, the more comfortable and prepared our students will be at engaging in similar and deeper conversations once they graduate.”