Welcome!

By exploring this new resource guide, you have uncovered an exciting new project in American education. National Middle School Association, in partnership with Court TV and AT&T, is pleased to announce the third annual Month of the Young Adolescent.

To celebrate this event, the sponsors have teamed up to produce Opening the Door to Diversity: Voices from the Middle School, an interactive television program that focuses on America's growing diversity and its impact on young adolescents. The hour-long program will be broadcast live at 12 noon (EST) Oct. 26, 1999; a taped version of the program will repeat the same day at 7 p.m. and 11 p.m.

The television program and its supporting materials were produced through the cooperation of Court TV, AT&T, National Middle School Association, Cable in the Classroom, the Anti-Defamation League, the Education Development Center, Inc., and the U.S. Department of Education, with assistance from the U.S. Department of Justice.

During the live presentation, Court TV anchorwoman Catherine Crier will interview middle level students from Denver, Colorado, and talk with other young adolescents through video connections at remote sites around the country. This nationwide forum on diversity aims to demonstrate the importance of differences in our heterogeneous society, teach students the harmful effects of intolerance and hate, and highlight the positive ways that young adolescents are dealing with diversity in their classrooms and communities. Students will participate in exercises designed to raise their awareness of hidden prejudices, explore the impact of stereotypes in their lives, and discover effective strategies for building communities that value all individuals.

In addition to the television program, the sponsors have provided four important resources that will help you continue these discussions beyond the Month of the Young Adolescent:
• On Oct. 2, 9, 16, and 23, Court TV will broadcast video segments that define diversity, explore cliques and stereotypes, and examine how media images affect our understanding of the world. The first four lessons can be used with students prior to the viewing of the show.
• On Oct. 30, Court TV will rebroadcast the one-hour show at 4 a.m., the time Cable in the Classroom sets aside for teachers to make videotapes for classroom use. Teachers who do not have access to Court TV can purchase a copy of the entire show for $17.95 (price includes shipping and handling but not applicable state sales tax). To order, call 800-888-4580.
• This resource guide will aid your exploration of diversity and tolerance throughout the school year. You can obtain this guide at www.courttv.com/choices, www.att.com/learningnetwork, and www.nmsa.org. For additional copies, call the Court TV Choices and Consequences Hotline at 800-333-7649.

At National Middle School Association, we recognize that many educators are under increasing pressure to help students meet state and local academic standards, which leaves little time for topics that fall outside the core curriculum. To show you how easily the lessons in this resource guide lend themselves to thoughtful interdisciplinary connections, we have included some suggested activities that reflect common academic standards. But we also want to stress that diversity is not a curriculum "add-on." It should be an integral part of what and how we teach young adolescents. Learning how to get along with others, how to sift fact from opinion, and how to anticipate and accept the consequences of our actions are skills that all children need to know.

This resource guide presents many options for integrating diversity lessons into your curriculum. The choice is yours. But we hope you will use these resources to enrich your instruction and show your students the important role they play in shaping our society in positive ways. Thank you for your efforts on behalf of young adolescents!

Sincerely,

Sue Swaim
Executive Director
National Middle School Association

It is the sole responsibility of the teachers, administrators, and/or school district using these materials to ensure appropriate instruction that reflects the needs of their communities.