One of the most trite aspects of adolescence is the scrutiny from one's peers. In a society that is becoming increasingly diverse, all students will continue to encounter classmates with beliefs and life experiences that are very different from their own. As educators, we need to help ensure that cultural and socioeconomic diversity is greeted with respect and not with prejudice. One strategy for tackling this challenge is to have students engage in multicultural dialogue.
Multicultural dialogue is more than mere talk or chat.
It is a meaningful exchange of ideas and emotions among stakeholders in a culturally diverse society. Classroom conversations about personal feelings and emotional issues are uncomfortable or many, particularly for teachers and administrators, but this type of dialogue desperately needs to find a place in schools. Such dialogue must be embedded in the daily activities and discussions that typify American schools. Students need a forum for thinking about and working through issues that create division in the school population. Discussing issues of cultural difference, fairness, equity, gender bias, racism, social cliques, work ethic, rewards, and so on can be embedded in the everyday activities that we already enact in our classrooms.