I thought this point was very interesting in the post as well. I also have typically let students pick their own groups because when I was an undergraduate I didn’t like being forced into groups with students I didn’t know. But, in light of the reality of implicit biases it does seem some measures could/should be taken to ensure students aren’t consciously or unconsciously grouping themselves based on biases.

Your post identifies an issue which I think Nancy Fraser’s work on justice in the 21st century might shed some light on. She has a book called Scales of Justice in which she writes that to achieve justice it is necessary to have recognition (diversity), redistribution, and representation. Each of these three aspects are necessary but not alone sufficient to achieve a just society. Diversity and recognition of those formerly excluded is important but without other changes, economic redistribution, equal access to education, healthcare, jobs, etc. and political representation for everyone to determine the contours of that redistribution, diversity does threaten to remain a “buzzword.”

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i accept, like your article and your journal well done!

i agree, like your article and your web log well done!

As much as I envy your job right now, I totally do understand how challenging it is to regulate class debates. Even more so now, topics that students might be interested in, could quickly escalate into full blown out classroom wars. Perhaps, a better approach is to let your students submit topics they might want to discuss in the next class to you, then you filter these topics and then ask students to rank the filtered topics to show what they want discussed in class. This might save you from being put in uncomfortable mediator positions.

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This post indeed makes me realize how hateful the world has become and is becoming, because of how we are brought up. When I was in my country, I will see middle eastern tourists with beards and the women with veils and I would exclaim how beautiful their culture is. This is because, I was brought up thinking that everyone has a culture depending on where they grew up and this made us all unique in different ways and even made the world more beautiful. The last time I went to Kroger with my Egyptian friend, an old lady asked her what she was doing in a Christian country? How this old lady could ask that question simply beats my mind and to justify it with Christianity,further worsens the case. Who taught this woman to be that divisive? Her parents or her neighbors? And how come the first thing that comes to my mind when I see someone different is ‘unique’? Is it that I am also unique as I am an international woman of color in America, or is it that I was brought up differently?

It hurts to see the future ones, raised with this much hate. So much hate that she will feel entitled to approach you and dare to beat you. This is indeed very sad. Embrace your uniqueness, Shi!

This is a really well thought-out blog! Thanks for sharing your ideas on easing the awkwardness on first day of classes. This is a strategy I might use for a long time in the future. Do you think that letting students mention their legal names and the names they want to be called, will be even less awkward?

Indeed, that’s one of the things that I’ve heard folks OC backgrounds say along with feeling like they’re in a cold, inhospitable, and uncaring environment :/

I think that different things will work for different people ? This is one model, but I’m sure that there are plenty of others out there that do the same inclusive work!

Whoops! I remember reading it the first time and being slightly confused, but not it makes more sense in not making sense (given the context of this blog)!