I have to be careful that I am not accused of being biased myself.
Perhaps a little bit of history and California's teaching credential
requirement about cross-cultural education may "convert' some, not all. I
plan to present the pros and cons, based on sound theories and I have to
rely on students who are more open minded to participate in the discussion.
I believe that having opposing views in class is a good thing. However, I
will have to be able to control the discussion so that it does not
degenerate into a verbal brawl. I will probably need to guide the
discussion and refer to sound theories and pedagogies. My students are
going to be teachers in California classrooms. They have to learn how to
deal with diversity and they have to learn how to teach students from
different linguistic backgrounds. This can be very discouraging indeed for
many of them. But, I have a chance to work with them. My experience tells
me that students are usually quite open-minded and receptive to new ideas
and challenges.
In short, I have to be better prepared, which includes having
anticipated the opposing views most likely to emerge and how to handle them.
I hope this provides some structure for those confronting such
troubling talks. I want to also thank all of you who responded to my cry
of desparation. I was quite touched by the responses and I think that
Jay's wisdom will benefit both Esteban and myself. Thanks again for the
supportive comments.
Best,
Melanie
>Hi Melanie-- You have already Heard from Esteban, who is facing similar
>difficulties despite his years of experience with successful alternatives
>that benefit everyone.
>
>The ethnic divide in this country is dangerous enough for the president
>to get involved, whatever one thinks of his effectiveness, but has a lot
>of trouble making this kind of exclusionist-denegrating behavior into
>a national concern.
>
>Again, I ask. Is there anything that you can imagine that members of xmca
>might be able to do to reconstruct the conditions of your interactions
>with your students so that you-all found it more pleasant and productive?
>If there were a well articulated "something" we could do, I think you would
>find a critical mass of something-doers.
>mike
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Melanie S. Miran Hahn School of Education
E-mail Address: melhahn who-is-at earthlink.net Dominican College of San Rafael
San Rafael, California 94901-8008
Telephone
(415)257-1347
"Movement is what creates life. Stillness is what creates love. To be
still and still moving--this is everything."
Do Hyun Choe