Polyracial Pen Pals

Location

Room A110

Document Type

Presentation

Type

Social Entrepreneurship (SocEnt)

Start Date

11-4-2018 9:30 AM

End Date

11-4-2018 9:30 AM

Abstract

The United States is known as the melting pot of the world, yet institutionalized racism is a problem all over America, including here in Illinois. However, being able to form meaningful personal and emotional connections with others can help to lessen or potentially even solve this problem. This connection is especially impactful if it is made at a young age because children are more open to new perspectives and ideas. Furthermore, these ideas and morals that people learn as children often stick with them throughout their lives, thus becoming lessons they will relay to their own children. To combat institutionalized discrimination, Polyracial Pen Pals is an app that will help children form these personal connections with people of all different racial backgrounds. Schools will set their students who are willing to participate up with the app, and the app will partner each student up with another student of around the same age and a different ethnic background from a different school in the same area. The children will contact each other both over the app and though biweekly hand-written letters. Then, at the end of the year, the children will meet their pen pals at a party that features food, games, and performances from many different cultures. Handwritten letters will add a personal touch, whereas the content will be informative and interesting to the participants. The party at the end of the year will then celebrate the learning experience and allow students to experience these different cultures themselves. Polyracial Pen Pals aims to create profound memories and relationships between students, thus igniting friendships in order to ultimately unite people of all races and lessen the ignorance that contributes to discrimination. Additionally, this program will teach students the important lesson of how you can find common ground and relate with nearly anybody, no matter what race they are.

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Apr 11th, 9:30 AM Apr 11th, 9:30 AM

Polyracial Pen Pals

Room A110

The United States is known as the melting pot of the world, yet institutionalized racism is a problem all over America, including here in Illinois. However, being able to form meaningful personal and emotional connections with others can help to lessen or potentially even solve this problem. This connection is especially impactful if it is made at a young age because children are more open to new perspectives and ideas. Furthermore, these ideas and morals that people learn as children often stick with them throughout their lives, thus becoming lessons they will relay to their own children. To combat institutionalized discrimination, Polyracial Pen Pals is an app that will help children form these personal connections with people of all different racial backgrounds. Schools will set their students who are willing to participate up with the app, and the app will partner each student up with another student of around the same age and a different ethnic background from a different school in the same area. The children will contact each other both over the app and though biweekly hand-written letters. Then, at the end of the year, the children will meet their pen pals at a party that features food, games, and performances from many different cultures. Handwritten letters will add a personal touch, whereas the content will be informative and interesting to the participants. The party at the end of the year will then celebrate the learning experience and allow students to experience these different cultures themselves. Polyracial Pen Pals aims to create profound memories and relationships between students, thus igniting friendships in order to ultimately unite people of all races and lessen the ignorance that contributes to discrimination. Additionally, this program will teach students the important lesson of how you can find common ground and relate with nearly anybody, no matter what race they are.