Okay, I am going to share a funny story from my own workplace.  Twenty
years ago I worked at a medical school.  We hired a new secretary from a
race that was different from most of the rest of us.  One day she asked
"Why do white women shave their legs, anyway?"  I realized she did not
grow hair on her legs at all. So I told her I would show her.  It was
winter, so I wore pants for several weeks, and stopped shaving.  Every so
often, I would lift a pants cuff to show her the progress.  We all got a
great laugh out of this, and we created an atmosphere of open discussion
and dialogue.  I am not sure how this applies to a classroom, except that
a willingness to talk and share, and a sense of humor, will go a long way.



> Wow, what a tough question, Kathryn!

>

> I would say in the classroom, it is important to get to the crux of the

> issues without bringing in personality conflicts.  However, it also helps

> to

> understand the dynamics of power and authority to get the full context of

> the students' situation.

>

>  "Don't name names.....just explain the situation," is what I have told

> students.  It's sometimes difficult to get students to comply with this

> basic rule for discussion, but I've managed to do it several times.

>

> Take names out of the situation and the story becomes a metaphor for

> larger,

> more global problems, which they generally are anyway.

>

> Am I being vague?  Is this approach vague?  Perhaps, but it's one method

> for

> addressing problems without creating more.

>

> On Tue, Sep 2, 2008 at 5:21 AM, Kathryn Stevenson Land <

> kland at student.gsu.edu> wrote:

>

>> In the workplace, discussions of diversity can be highly charged. We

>> each

>> carry our experiences and traditions. There are times when it is easier

>> to

>> remain quiet or avoid such situations. Often, people speak to what they

>> know. Seeing beyond the self, is not easy.

>>

>> As a teacher, I encourage my students to have an open dialog about the

>> situation, rather than people involved. If we are to move forward, we

>> must

>> be able to detach (at least to an extent) to effectively do so.

>>

>> Any thoughts?

>> Kathryn

>>

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>

>

>

> --

> Katherine Mercurio Gotthardt

> www.LuxuriousChoices.net <http://www.luxuriouschoices.net/>

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Mary Gleason
Executive Director
CC Literacy Council
4044 Greenwood Dr.
Corpus Christi, TX 78416

361-857-5896     fax 857-5898