Laura Kalinowski, Post 1

My heritage is mostly Polish, English and German. My father’s side of the family is 100% Polish, but they didn’t ever talk about their background much. They were very much focused on being Americans and not "Polish Americans." My mother’s side heritage is a mix of many different European countries, so her side as well was focused on being just American citizens. I identify myself as Caucasian or sometimes Polish if asked about my history.

I can’t remember when I first noticed ethnicity and race issues. Throughout elementary school, my best friend was black and I don't even remember thinking about her being black. I knew she had a different skin color, but I didn’t consider her different than me, I just thought of her as my best friend.

I feel my parents were very understanding parents, and always taught me to treat everybody as equals, and that people’s looks or race shouldn’t make them any different than myself. I think that also my school was good at having a multicultural environment that helped students feel comfortable in the classrooms.

Since I am an education major, I’ve spent a lot of time at different schools throughout Western New York. I have seen all kinds of people and families and I feel this has really impacted my views on ethnicity and race. Having this exposure to people really shows me that stereotypes aren’t always right, and people should not be judged based on how they look.

I can’t think of any occasions where I have witnessed blatant racism. I know there were some kids in my high school that would make racist jokes, or joke about not liking somebody for their race. Even though they don’t come out and make an action against somebody, the fact that they still think and talk about being racist is an issue I have witnessed.