Hi Dr. Nelson. While reading my classmate’s posts and their comments, I think some of us are really expressing a lack of skill set to have some level of control over these difficult conversations. People usually procrastinate when they feel difficulty or feel less prepared. Thanks for the reminder of this perspective. Procrastination to do something really penetrates every aspect.

Thank you, Jyotsana. I am amateur in psychology. It is always inspiring to see how to psychology to understand and explain people’s behavior.

Hi Bethany, Thank you for the comment. I thought we were the ones that control the mind, be sometimes it is really the mind controlling us. Thank you also for recommending Zach’s metaphor. He has used a good metaphor of drivers and bicyclers.

Hi Faith, Thank you for the post and your authentic reflection of yourself. Education involves so many background theories in psychology, cognition, communication, etc that there are endless theoretical findings for us to know and skill sets for us to master. It might be a good choice to constantly get educated ourselves as educators to update our capabilities, and then try things out here and there. Maybe the more we feel this discomfort and difficulty, the bigger contribution we are making to an inclusive culture.

Great post!
I actually disagree with yourself and Diana regarding how much time is spent on good vs struggling students.
In my experience, the bottom 10% of students soak up an inordinate amount of the instructors time, typically to the detriment of the rest of the class. No instructor wants any of their students to fail, and thus priority is given to those who are on the verge of doing so. At the other end, the rationale would be something along the lines of: ‘if the student is going to get an A even without my help, what incentive do I have?’ Obviously this is abhorrent, but I think all too common.

Hi Nicole, thank you for your comment. Indeed, getting into this kind of talks is necessary. I think it allows us to see other perspectives and understand point of views. When I was writing my post this week, I had another “strategy” on mind, I was going to talk about… anyways I didn’t really plan to take this “controversial” approach, but then I felt like writing about this instead of just talking could be better, at least I was able to think twice what word I wanted to use, even if sometimes the word doesn’t matter because there is still a tone behind the text. Like you said, it can be hard to not be offensive. I really appreciate the comments, the more we talk the more our minds are open to other perspectives, and I think that should be the ultimate goal, not to necessarily convince the other person about your view, but to leave everyone thinking about it… I think at the end what I want is a world where words like DIVERSITY and INCLUSION are not needed to be emphasized, because they will not be needed, all will have equal opportunity access, pipelines would be better designed, diversity would be truly embraced… utopia?

Rob, you are an inspiration! I love how you “do” interdiscplinarity – you really DO it and I’m inspired. I often run away from difficult conversations of any kind and probably don’t encourage them as much as I should in the classroom. Again, thank you for inspiring me and reminding me that different perspectives don’t always lead to awkward, untenable, difficult situations.

Thank you for bringing up the topic of grace. I think it is very relevant when it comes to topics that can be controversial. There tends to be a religious affiliation with this word and yet it can be used universally in many different situations. I actually have the definition of grace posted on my desk bulletin board in my building’s graduate office because I find it to be so important, yet oftentimes difficult to give. During this week I’ve also thought a lot about listening versus talking. While diversity and inclusion are obviously topics for everyone to talk about, there are certain times when I feel there is more value in what I could learn from others rather than what I can provide to the conversation. I feel that I can add to the conversation when it comes to creating inclusiveness in a classroom, however when it comes to feelings of exclusiveness as a student in the classroom – I don’t feel that I can really speak to that like others can. That is just me being blatantly honest about the situation!

Hi Grace, thank you for the post. This is really a difficult mission and it needs the collaboration of all. Learning some communication skills such as the “broaching” that Jyotsana mentioned and also leadership skills might better prepare us for these difficult and unpredictable conversations in class. I feel that training or workshops to teach every teacher on these theories and skills should be universalized. First, we need to master them as if they are common sense, and second, we can plant it better for the next generation.

Really excited to hear that music was your gateway to other cultures. I am constantly telling anyone that will listen that music is the universal language. It allows us to communicate with people all over the world, and at a really deep and intimate level what’s more.

Aside from great literature and the foundations of western music, I’d like to mention a couple more things we have Arabic culture to thank for: coffee, algebra, and hospitals.
It’s already a “can’t live without” list!