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Being a facilitator in a multicultural education
class is a very difficult task because we are attached to our own
culture. It is sometimes very difficult to understand how people in
other cultures can even consider doing the things they do. When we feel
repulsed or shocked, the chance of insulting others increases and
when people are insulted the possibility to learn and change
diminishes.
So here is my very preliminary vision of how the
discussion would go in one multicultural education class. The bold
text is the facilitator’s questions. The text in square brackets is
responses of the educands or a note from me about the question.
Is it a good thing to have lots of different
cultures around us? [Responses: a) yes, it’s good fun and we learn
a lot b) no it’s confusing and it weakens British culture].
Can anyone give us an example of British
culture? [Responses: a) yes, fish and chips on a Friday, good
television programmes].
If other cultural groups had their own food
and had their own TV channel, how would that weaken British culture?
[Response: lots of discussion about seeing many people in one area
wearing Moslem- type and Hindu-type clothes].
Can anyone tell us about something from
another culture you’ve particular enjoyed? [Responses: the
different clothes – its nice to see ladies wearing a sari and men
wearing a turban and curry and other exotic restaurants].
Give us some examples of things you don’t like
or think are wrong? [Responses: a) the Chinese eat dog meat and
whales penis and the Dutch eat horsemeat b) Muslim women wear the
yashmak – it's scary c) forced marriages d) in Saudi Arabia they
behead people in public e) female circumcision]. NOTE: each of the
topics listed would make a full 45-minute discussion in its own right.
This can’t be rushed and it needs skilled facilitation to keep the
discussion moving forward and to help people not get over-excited and
use pejorative words.
What’s so bad about eating dog meat?
[Responses: a) dogs are our pets and we build a bond with them – they
are humans’ best friends and we cuddle them].
What would you say to someone who was upset
because in our culture we eat pig meat and they thought that was
dirty, disgusting meat? [Response: it’s not dirty, that’s just a view
and it's something we have done for hundreds of years].
Couldn’t a Chinese person say the same to us
about eating dogs? [Response: I suppose so – but it’s still not
right].
Does that make Chinese who eat dog meat bad
people? [Responses: no but they should be told it’s not acceptable
in our country].
Should we outlaw eating dog meat or horsemeat
in our country? [Response: a) yes because its wrong to keep dogs
to eat b) no because where would you stop].
So are we saying that in most cases we should
tolerate but that tolerance has its limits? [Response: yes].
Why does women wearing a yashmak annoy you?
[Responses: because a) it’s scary b) it feels as if people are
trying to hide something].
If a Moslem lady told you that she wears it
out of respect for her husband and because it makes her feel safe and
a good person – would that change your feelings? [Response: maybe].
Is wearing a yashmak harming anyone?
[Responses: no].
So if it’s not harming anyone and it makes the
wearer feel good, shouldn’t we try and get used to it? [Responses:
I suppose so].
What’s wrong with calling someone a “Chink”
“Paki” “Whitie”? [Responses: a) it hurts their feeling b) it may
give people the signal that it’s okay to hit them c) it will lead to a
bad feeling in our community and people won’t be so friendly].
If someone calls someone an insulting name
like that, should they be punished? [Response: a) yes b) no but
they should be told it is wrong].
I admit that this sample dialogue is a poor
representation of what would go on in a multicultural education class.
These discussions are difficult and risk raising emotional outbursts
and some people taking offence. Consequently, when facilitating
workshops of this kind one must continually be alert and make frequent
comments about we are all here to help each other and to understand. I
suggest reading
Values and teacher education: volume one and Values and
teacher education: volume two. These will give more
insights on the training required to be a values education facilitator.
Dr Bill would be
delighted to talk at your next conference or event and give more
details on how dialogues in multicultural education could work to
bring people to greater cultural tolerance and respect. Contact him
on
bill@valueseducation.co.uk
Copyright © 2008 Values Education Ltd
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following details are retained. “A values education article from CAVE
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