Mix It Up

Mix It Up at Lunch is a theme in itself. Many schools find the Mix It Up idea enough of a hook to carry the day, as well as follow-up events throughout the rest of the year.

But some schools take it farther—or higher, as the case may be.

So you’ve decided to Mix It Up at Lunch—either for the first time or as a returning participant. And you ask yourself, “Why Mix It Up? What do kids get out of this?”

By turning to some of our model schools—schools that have carried out effective Mix It Up campaigns throughout the year—you’ll find many answers to those questions.

At a time when the nation’s schools are becoming more segregated, teachers and students across the country have an opportunity to show the rest of the world they’re committed to challenging these boundaries by registering for Teaching Tolerance’s Mix It Up at Lunch Day. 

Teaching Tolerance has named 77 schools—25 more than last year—from across the country as Mix It Up Model Schools for their exemplary efforts to foster respect and understanding among their students and throughout their campuses during the 2011-12 school year.

My small school has no cafeteria. Students bring their own lunches and eat in the classroom with their teachers. When I first learned about this set-up, I had mixed emotions. I didn’t get a break for lunch like most teachers, but on the other hand, my middle school students didn’t have to face the awkwardness and social segregation of a large school cafeteria.

As we planned for Mix It Up at Lunch Day last year, I felt a deep sense of nervousness. I wasn’t worried about getting the kids to talk and chat. I teach at a small school, and the students are usually friendly with one another.

I love my neighborhood. On any given morning at the bus stop, I hear five different languages being spoken. While the words and sounds are different, the context is the same.

I lean against my classroom door, fielding questions about last night’s homework and passing out early morning hellos. I watch students disperse into their assigned first-period classes. As I steal a quick sip of my morning coffee, I find myself pausing at this thought: A supposedly unbiased computer system serendipitously placed our students into their respective classes, but is this all there is to mixing it up? No.

Hackberry Hill Elementary takes its Mix It Up At Lunch day seriously–and so do its kids. They arrived in waves during lunch and recess on Tuesday, eager and ready for fun activities.

It was more than just a change of scenery for Cole Archer. Today, he moved from his usual center lunch table to the front of the lunchroom to sit with five schoolmates he generally only sees in the halls and in classes.