ED 307 – skilled dialogue

1. ED 307 – skilled dialogue

2. Cultural diversity Diversity is a relational reality that depends on those involved • The question, ‘Can this family be identified as culturally diverse?’ cannot be answered without adding, ‘As compared with whom?’ • When a person names particular children and families as being culturally diverse, that individual must simultaneously name himself or herself as being diverse from them. • Calling ‘them’ diverse without also calling oneself culturally diverse fails to recognize the relational aspect of diversity.

3. Cultural diversity Identity and diversity are related but not equivalent • A person can be ethnically diverse and yet not be culturally diverse • Therefore, cultural diversity must be recognized as a characteristic that resides in interactions and comparisons between persons rather than as a characteristic possessed by individual persons themselves • What determines the degree of cultural diversity is not so much who a person is as who surrounds that person.

4. Cultural diversity Cultural diversity is never the ‘problem’ to be addressed • Cultural diversity is never problematic in and of itself – it is the response of individuals and institutions to diversity that can be problematic • Within a society where individuals, no matter how different or similar to others – are truly respected and validated, diversity’s true nature as a strength and resource eclipses perceptions of it as a problem or risk factor

5. challenges Challenges of information • Culture Bumps – occur when an individual from one culture finds himself or herself in a different, strange, or uncomfortable situation when interacting with persons of a different culture • Culture Bumps – signal unfamiliar territory which may be exciting and stimulating or else confusing, irritating, or even frightening. • What are some culture bumps you have experienced?

6. challenges Challenges of judgment and interpretations • Challenges posed by diverse meanings and values attached to specific beliefs and behaviors • Persons can misinterpret, distrust, or misjudge behaviors • Understanding and anticipating culture bumps is relatively easy – compassionately responding to them, however, can be very difficult especially when differences challenge strongly held values or beliefs.

7. challenges Challenges of relationship • One cannot competently respond to cultural diversity without also examining issues of power and social positioning • One example is the use of the term minority – a notion (and reality) of privilege underlies the classification of certain populations as minorities even when this is not the case numerically. • We privilege certain behaviors and attributes over others and consequent status and power are accorded to only those who exhibit these behaviors and attributes

8. Three qualities of skilled dialogue 1. RESPECT: • refers to the acknowledgment and acceptance of the boundaries that exist between person; boundaries simultaneously connect and distinguish us from one another • When boundaries are crossed without permission, people can feel disturbed or even violated • When boundaries are acknowledged and crossed with permission, trust and connection are supported

9. Three qualities of skilled dialogue 2. RECIPROCITY: • seeks to balance power between persons in dialogue; a core recognition is that each person in an interaction is equally capable • Acknowledges and trusts that every person involved has experience and perceptions of equal value • Provides equal opportunity to contribute and to make choices • Reciprocity does not however require denying that one person has more expertise, knowledge, or authority in particular areas

10. Three qualities of skilled dialogue • 3. Responsiveness • Means taking the first step after recognizing differing boundaries and acknowledging that every person has something of value to contribute • It’s about turning all assumptions into lightly held hypotheses (eg. ‘I wonder if’ or ‘maybe’ instead of ‘I know’) – to allow oneself to entertain a mystery, to ask, ‘who is this other person?’ • Means being willing to give up certainty to not know exactly what to do or what to say

11. Two components of skilled dialogue • Anchored understanding of diversity • The difference between simply knowing about something or someone (having information) and knowing on a deeper more experiential level (anchored understanding) • Deeper knowing occurs when persons from diverse background interact on a personal, face-to-face basis and learn each others’ stories • Experiential knowing helps us better navigate the tension between categories and individuality.

12. Two components of skilled dialogue • Third Space • There’s a tendency to polarize realities into exclusive either-or dichotomies with one positive pole and the other negative • There’s discomfort in the presence of dichotomous cultural perspectives (we’ll just agree to disagree) • There’s a need to hold diverse perspectives in one’s mind without excluding one in order to accept the other (more in chapter 6)