Criticize Ideas, Not People.
Criticize ideas, not people.
These were the first words Dr. John H. Dosier told us at the beginning of our session, and continued on by challenging us to define three fundamental concepts: Diversity, Inclusion and Equity. It was clear that we would discuss the dimensions of diversity and why is this so important in education. And so we did.
We underlined the importance of understanding what we value and how our values may sometimes be based upon stereotypes and biases. How biases turn into stereotypes is also another theme we pointed out and we were shocked when we noticed how many stereotypes may exist in Disney movies that can actually affect children. However, we agreed that stereotypes are not necessarily bad.
To understand better what we value, each one of us draw his own personal creed by answering to questions such as: What is your most prized material possession? What is your most prized non-material one? What is your (future) career?
This task not only helped us realize what our values are, and increase our self-awareness, but was also a successful way to get to know each other on a more profound level.
