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 think that dialog journals are a good way to enstill trust with in the classroom. Many teachers use them for feedback on a topic or to find out an opinion. Maybe you should limit the variety of topics that are allowed to be written about. Give the students three or four topics and allow them to elaborate on them. I also beleive that focusing on the similarities is a good thing as long as more than one culture/group is being included. I would refer the student that wrote the suicide journal to the school counselor and I would also refer the student that was embarressed. These students need to feel a since of pride, not have thoughts about death and embarressment. I too understand that you cannot go against your principal. I would take what you talked about under advisement and maybe come up with an alternative?