MULTICULTURALISM BLOOMS AT LUNCH.

Byline: DENNIS McCARTHY 

It's hard to disrespect or hate someone of a different culture when you've sat down with them and eaten their food. When you've spent some time in their shoes.

That's what the 30 students - kids from seven different cultures and heritages - have been doing the past two months in Arlene Delaney's fifth-grade class over at Oxnard Street School in North Hollywood.

Shrinking the world a little. Learning at ages 10 and 11 that different last names, skin colors, and vocal accents don't mean different people.

The Salvadoran boy and Vietnamese girl sharing lunch have learned they have a lot more in common than they think. So do the Filipino, Mexican, and African-American girls having a slice of homemade Armenian pizza made by the mother of an Armenian boy.

``In a city as diverse as Los Angeles, this may be the most important class my daughter will have in school, at any level,'' said Sergio Torres, one of a few dozen parents who took time off from work to bring foods from their heritage to the classroom's annual cultural luncheon.

It's the culmination of seven weeks of reading and learning about each others heritages.

``When my daughter grows up, she will be what my generation never was - more tolerant of others. She already is,'' the young Mexican-American father says, looking across the crowded classroom at his daughter Christina sharing her tamales with Minh Bui, a Vietnamese classmate.

Mari Beth Dunning, a Filipino woman married to a Caucasian man, trains her small hand-held video camera on her daughter, Maria, laughing as she shares her cultural lunch with Mexican-American classmate Sabrina Hernandez.

``Look at them, they've learned so much about each other in this class,'' Dunning says, as Sabrina's mother, Gacy Hernandez, nods.

``My daughter wants me to learn how to cook Armenian food,'' Hernandez says, laughing. ``She loves it.

``This teacher has taught her so much more than I ever thought she would learn in fifth grade,'' Hernandez says, echoing the sentiments of other parents in the room.

When your 11-year-old child comes home and starts asking questions about her heritage because she wants to share it with the other kids in class, you know something special is going on.

The glowing comments about veteran teacher Arlene Delaney do not go unnoticed by Principal Stephanie Parker.

``She has her kids digging into each others' family tree, filling up treasure boxes with items from their individual cultures, and, most importantly, she has them respecting and learning from each other,'' Parker said.

``Look at all these parents taking time off to be here with their kids at a midweek, noon function. We never get this kind of turnout. These parents know how important this lesson is to their kids.

``They know something very special is going on in this classroom.''

It all starts with self-esteem, says Delaney, who has taught 20 years of her 32-year career at this North Hollywood school.

Most of her kids didn't even know what the words culture and heritage meant seven weeks ago. Now they do. And not only their own culture, but each others as well.

``The last seven weeks has really instilled a sense of self in them,'' Delaney said.

``They might not have known who they were or what part they play in the universe, but they now certainly have some idea of what a multicultural world this is.''

And living in diverse L.A., that should be required teaching because it's hard to grow up to hate or disrespect someone when you've spent some time in their shoes.

Dennis McCarthy, [phone]

dennis.mccarthy(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

Fifth-graders and their parents enjoy the multicultural lunch in Arlene Delaney's class at Oxnard Street School in North Hollywood.

Evan Yee/Staff Photographer