How do we have that conversation to explore bias, prejudice, and discrimination?
If your goal is to create community and inclusion, I think this is a down-the-road question to address, using trained facilitators. In my experience, it is best to first appeal to student self-interest and answer the “What’s in it for me to become diversity educated?” question. It is important to create understanding of similarities and differences in a positive context – developing teamwork skills – and to connect team skill with becoming more employable and performing better on group projects. With this foundation established, students may also become more interested in your programming that touches bias and prejudice. I believe sequencing the student experience is extremely important. The trick for community-building is to not create “us and them” divisions. Build first; explore what separates second.
