If any South student were to turn on the news, they would likely hear the words “DEI” (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) within the first five minutes. The definition of this acronym may be confusing and leave students questioning how this impacts their education. But in the classroom, this three-word phrase has more meaning to students than they think.
According to the United Nations Global Compact, DEI should be broken down into three categories to properly understand what it means. Diversity mainly focuses on the quality of different perspectives represented, equity means that each person has different circumstances but should be treated equally and that inclusion means to include as many perspectives as possible. At South, this could come in many forms such as class discussions about current events, embedded in books we read or examples of how environmental issues impact different communities.
Rotesa Baker is a part-time lecturer for the College of Education at Eastern Michigan University and has been teaching in academia for over 30 years.
“Diversity, equity, inclusion is so important because oftentimes students really don’t understand the historical and the social, political components that go along with our history as the United States,” Baker said. “When we talk about components like diversity or oppression, oftentimes students are perplexed that they didn’t know about this.”
Across the three Grosse Pointes where South students live, according to the 2023 United States Census Bureau, the median household income is $143,123 compared to the national average of $80,610. According to the Pew Research Center, these states consider South students to be middle to upper class citizens.
“Students start recognizing, like their own privilege [when learning other perspectives],” Baker said. “One of the things to discuss is that we all have privileges in some aspects, and whether that means, you’re afforded an opportunity to have a higher education.”
With South being roughly 85 percent Caucasian, which leaves students pondering if South provides a curriculum that represents all perspectives including, race, religion, income and culture. Angie Allen ’26, a black student, who has taken a variety of English and history classes shares her perspective on her experience as a student.
“I think I see myself more in English classes, rather than history classes because of the content we’re reading in English,” Allen said. “We touch on different subjects in history, but we don’t go into depth looking at different cultures.”
Through Sophomore and Junior level English classes, a majority of students read “Just Mercy” by Bryan Stevenson, and “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” among other books that aim to expose students to perspectives outside of European culture. Allen argues that this is not enough.
“I would rather just not talk about the basic things like Dr. Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks, which are good things to cover that everyone has to learn to be educated on,” Allen said. “But I think we should go more depth into subjects like the Black Panther Movement… I think we should touch more on the radical side of black history, because those were the people that pushed our culture further.”
Currently listed in Michigan’s K-12 Standards for Social Studies curriculum set by the state of Michigan, teachers in 9-12 classes are required to teach a multitude of standards that are related to inclusive content. These standards do not explain how in-depth teachers must go into subjects.
Social studies teacher Meg Peirce spoke on how South attempts to cover different perspectives in the classroom.
“I think every school does it a little bit differently, but there’s no requirement,” Peirce said. “We [South] try to do it within the classroom, but trying to make it so it’s meaningful and not like this random stop because that feels like it loses meaning to it.”
The GPPSS curriculum goes through a specific process. The Curriculum Department at the central administrative level creates key points on what teachers should follow in class, but teachers are encouraged to add talking points as needed. The curriculum created at the administrative level is then passed at the school board level.
For many students, including Al Allotta ’25, hearing different perspectives is something that is a priority in their education.
“Aside from a bit in Freshmen year world history, we don’t learn about anything below the equator,” Allotta said. “We don’t learn about South America or Australia, it’s mostly just European. And I know most people here [are] of European descent. It’s not like we all lived in Europe, we should learn about everywhere. I think equally, and I don’t think that Europe is any more important than anywhere else.”
To many educators, half the battle of keeping students engaged in class is to find subjects that engage and motivate them. Conversely, when the curriculum is too narrowly representative , it is often off-putting to students who do not see an example of their own identity anywhere.
Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning at Novi Community School District, Mike Giromini speaks on the importance of motivating students.
“If they [students] don’t see themselves represented in the actual curriculum materials, may it be represented as a character, in a math problem, in a science question, or as a scientist who studied something that students are learning about, they may not feel motivated if they don’t see themselves represented in history accurately,” Giromini said.
At least 18 states have imposed restrictions on teaching race and gender since 2021. In 2023, the Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, banned College Board’s Advanced Placement African American Studies. To some, not having an inclusive curriculum is something that will have effects for years to come.
“I think the dangers [of not having an inclusive curriculum] are closed-mindedness, a lack of understanding,” Giromini said. “When we are challenged to think about things in different ways, it stretches our brain and helps us to learn to think more quickly, to think more creatively, to anticipate what others are thinking.”
Giromini expressed that seeing other backgrounds and cultures helps people communicate and work better together, something that all students will need in the workforce.
“That skill, that ability to think that [seeing other perspectives] way, is just a benefit in general, not necessarily a personal advantage,” Giromini said. “It makes us richer. It makes our engagements and dialogs and friendships and relationships and all of those pieces richer when we have that agility.”
For some students, being in environments that talk about other demographics, forces students to reflect on their privilege.
“It’s very important to understand how marginalized and disenfranchised populations have not had an equitable playing field,” Baker said. “So to have those opportunities to address that. It’s paramount.”
