I just ran across a great resource for educators and parents interested in sharing amazing stories of youth who are celebrating their differences. Choices, a Scholastic publication, is a teen magazine focused on health and well-being. It is jam-packed with beautiful teen-friendly content on topics a range of health topics such as teen-dating to power foods.

That said, the publication features a series called “Different Like Me” which highlights the stories of young people who have learned to overcome/embrace experiences that make them unique. I plan on sharing these stories with my girls as a way to encourage empathy and open-minded thinking about people who may be different from them. It’s also a great way to expose them to compelling voices that challenge them to celebrate the characteristics that make them unique.

Celebrating our Differences:  Educators K-12

I would encourage educators K-12 to share these stories with their students as well. They are great high-interest, non-fiction resources to get students talking about to create classrooms which are highly inclusive and celebrate diversity of all types. (They also support the new Common Core State Standards by serving as a wonderful non-fiction resource!)

I went through the archives and pulled the most recent articles so you can access them directly. (Note: The content relies on Flashplayer, so you will need to use a desktop or laptop computer to read them.)

• Elizabeth is Albino by Elizabeth Armstrong as told to Jane Bianchi
• Kevin was Homeless by Kevin Liu as told to Jane Bianchi
• Jessica is an Immigrant by Jessica Hernandez as told to Jane Bianchi
• Kennedy Can’t Walk by Kennedy Rose as told to John DiConsiglio
• Logan’s Mom is in Afganistan by Logan Mields as told to John DiConsiglio
• Georgia Was Born Deaf by Georgia Catanese as told to Ramin Ganeshram
• Tamer is Arab-American by Tamer Hosein as told to Kim Tranell

Hurray for Celebrating our Differences! How do you celebrate difference/diversity with your children or students?