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!) I agree with the principal to an extent, talking about our similarities will reduce bias thinking from the children and they know they have to treat everybody the same in spite of our differences. I would rather teach cultural differences to the class as a whole rather than have small groups to avoid conflicts of interest that is most likely to happen in a small group.I would lose the journal but ask the student to write something that I would read in private. I can then decide what to share with the other students with the permission of the writer. If you think that there will be no conflict, try and find a way to persuade the principal to go along with your plan.