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!) Racial issues and difficult situations will always arise when discussing multicultural education, but it is the way the teacher handles the situation in a professional manner. I think it is very important for students to be journaling and writing daily, which I think is something that should never be abandoned in a classroom. Yes- you may adjust the topics from day to day, but I would not abandon it all together. Maybe ask your principal for permission to journal, yet use specific topics that the teacher creates daily. I think as a professional, you should discuss with Warren what you could do as a teacher to not embarrass him and find ways to accommodate his needs. For Gail, I definitely would turn in her journaling to the counselor and speak with her parents. Suicide is not something to take lightly these days, and you cannot ignore this fact. You cannot solve the issues of these children, but you can point them in the right direction based on what you know.