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 the first step would be to go to the counselor and report what the little girl wrote. It would need to be addressed before anything else. Once the proper actions were taken to ensure her safety, I would then start addressing the other cultural questions. I believe that the dialog journals are a good thing for students and could be very beneficial. If they were not being used, then you would never have been aware of the important feelings that these students were having. I think that you have to use the journals to find balance with the students. It is important to note differences and make sure a student feels welcomed, but they do not need to be emphasized so much so that a student feels alienated. However, I would ask the principal to consider keeping the journals and to consider how it could benefit the students.