Abstract
We explore truthful dialogue as a means of developing cultural competence, in particular the skill of managing the dynamics of difference. We discuss specific incidents in a year-long conflict which occurred in a teacher-education cohort between an African-American Christian woman and a White Jewish lesbian. In truthful dialogue, the participants are encouraged to examine themselves--their feelings and their experiences—and to speak together in the pursuit of mutual understanding. The facilitator(s) assist them in communicating in a way that feels safe for all involved, so that they use the experience as a way to increase their personal cultural competence. Finally, if appropriate, the facilitators assist in planning for some kind of action, such as our final, whole-group, facilitated session with the cohort.
DOI
10.15760/nwjte.2009.7.1.11
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/29818
Recommended Citation
Meltzoff, Nancy and Gary, Carla
(2009)
"Truthful Dialogue,"
Northwest Journal of Teacher Education: Vol. 7
:
Iss.
1
, Article 11.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15760/nwjte.2009.7.1.11