Home | How It Works | Stats Login | Register         Case: De-emphasize Differences. I was recently assigned to the middle school in the Warren School District. The district serves a community that had once been an all-white middle-class enclave, but has recently become more diverse in its ethnic makeup. I am very interested in multicultural education. I instituted the use of dialog journals in my adviser group, telling the students that they can write anything they want. Some journal entries cause me concern. Warren Jackson, an African American, complains that my emphasis on African American culture embarrasses him. Gail Smith, a white girl, writes that her parents object strongly to her affection for Warren Jackson and that she is considering suicide. My problems come to a head in my first meeting with the principal. The principal suggests that I decrease his use of small groups, that I abandon my dialogue journals, and that I de-emphasize the multicultural aspects of my classes. He suggests that I emphasize similarities, not differences. I don't know what to do. I do think that my methods have some value but I cannot go against my principal. Solution: (Rates are posted for this solution!) This is certainly a tricky situation. First and foremost, I think that the dialogue journals should really stay. Because they are private and students seem to be opening up in them, they give the teacher a lot of valuable information, even if it is, sometimes, difficult to handle. For example, it's very important that teachers know if they have a student struggling, especially with something as serious as suicide, so that student can be given appropriate help. Also, Warren's comments about being embarrassed by the teacher's instruction is really valuable for self-reflection and instructional modifications. Obviously, we cannot embrace multicultural education without recognizing differences among groups of people; after all, our race often affects our life experiences and, as a result, our worldview. However, I also believe that the real asset of multicultural education is recognizing differences, while finding the powerful similarities that unite us as people. I believe that it needs to be a combination of the two. Finding the balance is tricky, but I do believe that it's possible. So, I suggest keeping the dialog journals, but being mindful to recognize both similarities and differences in people, while also expressing the presence of individuality. One important thing that should be included is the recognition of things beyond race that affects people's perceptions of the world, including things like socioeconomic status, age, sex/gender identity, sexual orientation, etc.