Initial Essay
Issue Extension Portfolio Project
Melissa Wallace
The Kidsbridge Tolerance Museum at The College of New Jersey is a nonprofit
organization devoted to the commemoration of human diversity and inspires people to
“understand and appreciate the strengths and opportunities that are inherent in the
diverse, mosaic cultures of our community and our world” (Our Vision). Kidsbridge is a
museum that provides programs for children and teens that are supposed to help build
their character and teach them measurable life skills. The museum is set up into different
stations for the kids to go to where they learn about racism, bullying, and conflict
resolution and how to deal with these issues in society (TCNJ).
Kidsbridge accepts TCNJ students as volunteers at the museum to help work the
stations and talk to the kids about the problems they are having, especially when it comes
to racism. The museum features hands-on and interactive learning sections with names
like “Name That Stereotype,” “Turn and Learn About Differences,” and “The Peace
Diner” (TCNJ). The museum gives college students the opportunity to interact with and
engage with the younger students, mostly third-, fourth- and fifth-graders (TCNJ). It is
also a means of allowing the kids to open up and talk about issues in their lives. College
President R. Barbara Gitenstein says, “The benefits of this partnership are monumental.
Not only are our students gaining invaluable teaching experience, they are also playing an
integral role in the character development of children in our community. I am pleased
that the College has this opportunity to work with Kidsbridge, and that we're doing what
we can to increase the appreciation and understanding of our diverse society” (TCNJ). I
want to give the kids hope and help them to realize that there is a better life out there. I
also hope that they learn about the hardships going on in the world today and teach them
how to overcome racism and other injustices within society. Most of the children that
come to the museum are inner city school, African American kids. They deal with things
that college kids don’t even have to deal with, like living with parents who live paycheck
to paycheck or even living with no parents at all. Some suffer from abuse and have to
deal with racism in their everyday lives. To them, college and a career are out of reach.
In Prisons for Our Bodies, Closets for Our Minds: Racism, Heterosexism, and
Black Sexuality, author Patricia Hill Collins writes about the connections between class,
race, gender, sexuality, and age. She gives us an example of an African American female
named Sakia Gunn who was literally attacked because she was black and a female and
then murdered because the killer discovered that she was a lesbian. This incident shows
how racism is a factor in everyday life. Sakia was female and black, thus seen by her
murderer as weak and an easy target (“Prisons for Bodies” 115-133). We need to teach
children that both racism and sexism are wrong. Hopefully then the children will grow up
to be the antithesis of the man who murdered Sakia. I feel that by volunteering at
Kidsbridge, I will not only be a part of this challenge in overcoming racism and sexism,
but I will help make a difference in the lives of children who really need guidance.
What I plan to do at Kidsbridge is listen to what the children have to say. I want
to ask them questions about their lives and really encourage them. I also hope to
incorporate some sort of section on gender in the program at the museum. Most girls at
any age tend to feel some sort of inferiority by boys, even if it is something as small as
getting pushed down to the ground at a playground or getting their hair pulled. No matter
what, girls should not be treated differently then boys. And boys should realize that it’s
not okay to push girls around. Talking about this issue with the kids is the only way to
overcome it.
In Emily Martin’s segment, The Egg and the Sperm: How Science Has
Constructed a Romance Based on Stereotypical Male-Female Roles, Martin argues that
biological scientists cannot escape the influences of culture in their descriptions of
reproduction biology, thereby explaining the processes of reproduction with language
reflecting the gender stereotypes embedded within our culture. She goes on to say that the
scientific language of reproductive biology implies that female biological processes are
inferior to the male biological processes and, by extension, women are inferior to men
(“Egg and Sperm” 248-253). We need to teach children today that women are not inferior
to men and should not be considered the weaker gender. I hope that even if I simply talk
to the girls and boys at Kidsbridge about gender issues, that something will stick in their
brains and they will realize that believing men are better than women in life is ultimately
wrong. The children should know that women are just as strong as men and should not
under any circumstances, be treated differently. The girls should know that they can do
anything boys can do, whether it is in their career or in life in general. I really hope to get
through to the children, especially to the young girls. They need reassurance in their lives
and I am hoping that I can do that by volunteering at this museum.
Works Cited Page
Collins, Patricia Hill. "Prisons for Our Bodies, Closets for Our Minds: Racism,
Heterosexism, and Black Sexuality."Gender, Sex, & Sexuality. 1st ed. 2009.
Martin, Emily. "The Egg and the Sperm: How Science Has Constructed a Romance
Based on Stereotypical Male-Female Roles."Gender, Sex, & Sexuality. 1st ed.
2009.
"Our Vision." Kidsbridge Tolerance Museum at The College of New Jersey. Kidsbridge.
24 Sep 2008 <http://www.kidsbridgemuseum.org/main/vision.cfm>.
"TCNJ welcomes children's mini-museum to campus." Media and Public Relations. The
College of New Jersey. 24 Sep 2008
<http://www.tcnj.edu/~pa/update/06march/kidsbridge.html>.