Back to school has always felt like a time of infinite possibilities. As a child, I loved bringing my school shopping list to Target with my parents and making sure I had all my supplies, and often a new pair of jeans or shoes to accommodate a growth spurt.

The opportunities feel endless. And, with the prospect of potential, for many pupils, comes trepidation and anxiety. Who will I sit with? Will I make friends? What if my teacher doesn’t like me? Will I have anything in common with my classmates?

As students return to campus, they are not only faced with science fair projects, multiplication tables and spelling tests, but the complexities of the ever-changing social landscape.

On the playground, in the cafeteria, and across campus, kids and teens are finding their space within their school’s population. Time between class is an opportunity for fun with friends but also a time rife with anxiety as the student population comes together.

In a resolution adopted by ADL’s national commission in 2001, ADL refers to “public education in the United States as the single most important engine for integration and for promoting respect for racial, cultural and ethnic differences.”

One of the values on which our country prides itself is the power of diversity, a pluralistic society with room for all. While not all students attend diverse and integrated school environments, for two-thirds of our youth, school is the place where primary environment where there is potential to meet those who look different from them.

Helping students notice and appreciate the diversity in the classroom – as well as the challenges it may pose – is not only the role of the classroom educator, but a responsibility shared by parents and caregivers.

Among ADL’s library of educational resources for teachers and families is a list of 25 Alternatives to the “How Was Your Day?” question. Some the alternative prompts on the list highlight the ability of our schools to serve as a microcosm of the social milieu.

The questions include: “Was there a time today that made you feel really good about a part of your identity?” “Did you feel like you belonged?” “Is there someone in the class who is different than you in some way? Do you think you two have anything in common?”

It’s impossible to answer those questions with a simple, “Fine.”

This month, ADL will kick off its No Place for Hate Program as schools across the country join Emmy-Nominated TV personality and LGBTQ+ advocate Jonathan Van Ness.

The interactive virtual event is for 4th-12th graders, their parents, educators, and anyone who feels strongly about allyship, challenging bias and building inclusive school communities.

The event will be at 9 a.m. Oct. 12. Register here and learn more about the No Place for Hate program here.

As we get older, our opportunities to interact with those from different backgrounds diminishes. Colleagues share at least a similarity of career interests and if one does have time for hobbies between family and career responsibilities, it is again starting from a point of mutual mindset. The pandemic has decreased the time we spend in public and increased our desire to seclude ourselves, whether in the home, or on the street.

Last year, our office’s Action Committee revived a beloved ADL program Sharing Bread and Breaking Barriers, which curates a dinner that brings together 8 to 10 members of different households for a structured conversation.

The program provides an opportunity for dialogue between people of various faiths or backgrounds. It is based on the idea that many cultures value coming together around meals as a means to nourish the soul and enrich relationships.

In other words, the program recreates what happens innately in our schools: people from different backgrounds sharing a communal space. These conversations may be challenging but may also lead to a better understanding of our world and those we share it with.

Back to school can be a stressful time. But it is also an opportunity to embrace the democratic ideals on which our country was founded. Whether we are sitting around the cafeteria or conference table, we have the opportunity to flourish from the wealth of knowledge that differences and diversity in thinking may bring, if we let ourselves experience it.