Mary Elizabeth Crary

More and more, our schools are gathering places of students with differing cultural backgrounds. Stepping from his Spanish-influenced household, a youngster may head off to his English-speaking school where the teacher introduces the customs of the Chinese New Year. Similarly, museum docents welcome busloads of diverse children and explore with …

Things were going well on my morning student tour through the galleries of Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena, California. Happily, there was no press from the group behind. My fifth graders were gathered around the 13th Century sandstone sculpture of Buddha, sheltered by the Serpent King, Muchihnda. The children had …