What is our Religion and Diversity Education Program?

Our Religious and Diversity Education Program is an innovative and customized in-school and after-school training program for K-12 educators, which provides them with concrete skills   in multi-cultural/multi-religious educational methods. We offer various tools to complement our educator trainings, including four primary education curricula that they can use with students (World Olympics, Immigration, Interreligious Understanding and Community), innovative web resources, lesson plans, an After-school workbook, as well as a high school curriculum (COEXIST).

We deliver the training, curricula, and ongoing support that educators need in order to teach children how to respect and include one another.  Our staff also makes site visits and offers offsite assistance to educators.

What is the mission of our Education program?

More than ever, educators and parents recognize the need for teaching respect and a broad world-view to early school-age children.  This is particularly important in New York City, where 37.5% of residents are born in other countries, and where followers of every major religion in the world can be found.  But too often, educators are not trained to address these critical issues and may be uncomfortable ― especially when religion or culture is involved.  For this reason, the Tanenbaum Center developed our education programs.

What makes our program unique?

• Through our training, educators learn practical skills they can use to address issues involving difference that often arise in the classroom.

• Our curricula teach students to live and learn respectfully and inclusively with one another – all while reinforcing academic learning through integrated, literacy-based activities in math, science, social studies, English, and art.

• The curricula teach children the critical skills they need to succeed in a diverse society during their formative years, before their attitudes are fully shaped.

• The curricula create a safe space for students to learn about and appreciate differences of all kinds, including religious difference.  The curricula do not promote any religion or religious belief.

• Our program makes a difference in diverse settings, including public, private, and independent schools, as well as after-school and summer enrichment programs.
  
  
  

Who are Tanenbaum's  partners?
 
To date, we have reached over 6,000 children and their teachers in over 55 sites. We work with school-day programs in New York and New Jersey.  Through our partnership with the YMCA of Greater New York, our programis currently also being implemented in 35 Virtual Y after-school sites in public schools across New York City.

Additional partners include Bank Street College of Education and the College of St. Elizabeth.

How does our Education program change students?

The lessons teach kids to respect themselves and others, to prevent prejudiced behavior toward people of different groups, and to promote social justice.

Our YMCA Site Coordinators report:

“The program brought kids together…. Kids that did not get along were working side by side, really working with each other. There were kids who would not participate at all, but then would participate in the Tanenbaum Center’s Religious Diversity in Education Program.”
 
“They’re more tolerant because of the Tanenbaum Center’s Education Program.”

“Because of the Tanenbaum Center’s Education Program, several older female students from Bangladesh opened up more about speaking about their cultures.  At the beginning of the year, they were hesitant to speak or share about themselves and their background, but this changed as the year went on.  This was especially helpful as the girls transitioned into wearing headscarves and fielded questions from their peers.”

What do educators say about our program?

The Tanenbaum Center’s Religious Diversity in Education training gives educators the skills they need to reach all of their students, to combat stereotyping and prejudice in the classroom, and teach children to accept and appreciate difference.

Here are some responses from educators who participated in the Religious Diversity in Education trainings:

“I learned to be more open and aware of children and parents’ religious and cultural diversity.”

“My program is a multi-cultural program, but I loved the new way and methods [discussed].”

“They were very concrete in their examples to bring back [to the classroom].”

“I came away with a lot of information to help me develop lesson plans that could inform and excite the children.”

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