cultural proficiency / PATRICIA L. GUERRA & SARAH W.

NELSON

USE CONVERSATION STARTERS activities that foster dialogue by asking participants to

TO REMOVE BARRIERS respond to questions or sentence stems and then share
AND DEVELOP RELATIONSHIPS responses with the group. We call these activities conversa-
tion starters; you can find a variety of them in resource
hen we conduct diversity training in schools, books for professional developers and on the web. Some

W teachers frequently ask why students of the

same racial or ethnic group sit together in the
cafeteria or hang out together in a particular area of the
are lighthearted and fun, as in “Have You Ever?” (see
[Link]
games/[Link]), which asks partici-
school. We often recommend they read Why Are All the pants to respond to questions such as “Have
Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? by Beverly you ever sung karaoke, cooked a meal by your-
Tatum (Basic Books, 2003) because it provides an excellent self for more than 20 people, or been parachut-
explanation. But this same behavior occurs with teachers. ing?” Humorous conversation starters are a
When teachers come into our professional development ses- good place to begin familiarizing participants
sions, they tend to sit with their friends, which is human with engaging in dialogue. Once that has been
nature. Because the session is about diversity, one of our accomplished, move on to conversation starters
first steps is to ask participants to move into small, diverse that prompt participants to consider their
groups. Many are quick to balk because they have to leave norms, roles, values, and beliefs.
their comfort zone and interact with unfamiliar individuals On p. 66 is an example of a conversation In each issue of JSD,
whom they may perceive as different from them. Although starter we created for this purpose. In this Patricia L. Guerra, above,
these teachers have a desire to learn about diversity, they activity, divide the faculty into small, diverse and Sarah W. Nelson write
about the importance of
prefer to be with individuals who share similar experiences, groups (i.e. by race/ethnicity, sex, economic
and strategies for develop-
values, and beliefs. These relationships provide a safe place class, age) and ask them to take about 15 min-
ing cultural awareness in
to be who they are without judgment and humiliation. utes to answer the questions individually. Once teachers and schools. The
As humans, we all need these safe relationships. teachers have completed this step, ask them to columns are available at
However, establishing them should not be limited to others select responses from four to five questions to [Link].
who share our skin color, economic class, abilities, religion, share with their group and record each of these
or any other difference because there are more similarities responses on large sticky notes. Next, post the
than differences among cultural groups. To discover these notes on a wall or chart stand for the group to
commonalities, teachers must move beyond their comfort see while each member shares his or her
zone and engage with others who are different from them. responses to selected questions. After 30 min-
Since this process tends not to happen naturally, the person utes, reconvene the large group and ask teach-
leading the group has the responsibility to create learning ers to reflect on the experience using the
experiences in which this can occur. Once faculty members debriefing questions listed on p. 66.
build these safe relationships among themselves, teachers When the small-group discussions begin,
may use these same skills to develop authentic relationships many teachers share responses to questions ask-
with students, families, and the community. ing for deeper personal information (e.g. ques-
How do you get teachers out of their comfort zone to tions 9 and 11) while some share only surface information
begin the process of establishing safe relationships with (e.g. questions 1 and 4) in order to maintain their distance.
people who are different from them? One way is to use It is important to note who is in the latter group because at
a later date they will need to participate in more activities
PATRICIA L. GUERRA is an assistant professor in the Department of of this nature to overcome this reticence. As teachers dia-
Education and Community Leadership at Texas State University-San
Marcos and co-founder of Transforming Schools for a Multicultural
logue, the distrust fades and many begin to share inner
Society (TRANSFORMS). You can contact her at pg16@[Link]. thoughts, feelings, and experiences. At this point, it is not
SARAH W. NELSON is an assistant professor in the Department of unusual to hear laughter or see a tear shed as teachers dis-
Education and Community Leadership and associate director of the cover they share many similarities. In some cases, people
International Center for Educational Leadership and Social Change at
once wary of each other strike up friendships when they
Texas State University-San Marcos, and co-founder of Transforming
Schools for a Multicultural Society (TRANSFORMS). You can contact realize they share so much in common.
her at swnelson@[Link]. Along with similarities, teachers also explore their dif-

NATIONAL STAFF DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL (800) 727-7288 VOL. 30, NO. 1 WINTER 2009 JSD 65
cultural proficiency / PATRICIA L. GUERRA & SARAH W. NELSON
20 QUESTIONS 17 What physical characteristics do you try to minimize or
1 How would you describe the place you were born? hide?
2 How would you describe the neighborhood or area 18 What aspects of your genetic makeup affect your life
where you live now? but are not visible?
3 Where would you live if you could live anywhere? 19 If you could switch genders, would you? Why or why
4 Who was the first person in your family to live in the not?
United States? 20 If you could be any age, what would it be?
5 What languages are spoken in your family?
DEBRIEFING QUESTIONS
6 What family tradition from your childhood do you
continue? 1 What similarities do group members share?
7 What family tradition have you abandoned? 2 What differences did you notice?
8 Who was the first person in your family to go to 3 What was the most surprising item you learned about
college? one person in the group?
9 What level of education did your parents obtain? 4 What additional topics were discussed that were not
listed on the questionnaire? How did these topics arise?
10 What historical event has most affected your life?
5 What previously held assumptions were dispelled?
11 What is your most vivid childhood memory?
How?
12 What is one thing your parents never wanted you to
6 What apprehension or fears did you have at the start of
do?
this activity? Why?
13 What is one thing your parents always wanted you to
7 Were these fears realized as you engaged with others or
have?
did they dissipate? Why?
14 What is one thing you want for your own child?
8 Why did you select the questions you chose to share?
15 How did your parents discipline you?
9 Which ones did you avoid and why?
16 What physical characteristics do you try to accentuate?
10 What did you learn from doing this activity?

ferences. Through these interactions, teachers begin to also develop your own by simply substituting questions in
learn about their own and others’ cultural identities –– the the activity described in this column. When searching for
norms, roles, values, and beliefs influencing their world- activities, choose those that are easy to administer, can be
views, interactions, and behaviors. Furthermore, they done in an hour or less, spark dialogue about one’s cultural
begin to learn that the color of one’s skin doesn’t necessari- identity, involve every teacher’s participation, and do not
ly equate to knowledge about a person’s cultural back- require extensive cultural expertise to facilitate and debrief.
ground. They learn that assumptions and stereotypes One word of caution: Since the purpose of these activities
about others are often inaccurate; the only way to really is to build relationships among diverse teachers, avoid
know an individual is to spend time getting acquainted activities that ask teachers to discuss personal experiences
with the person. Empathy, mindfulness, and trust begin to around racism, discrimination, and prejudice. Until teach-
develop as teachers engage in conversation, and they form ers build safe relationships, use of these activities could
the basis of a lasting relationship. easily backfire and cause rifts between teachers. Once
There are many resources available for finding conver- teachers have established strong relationships, the group is
sation starters (see a selection in the box below.) You can ready for activities on these sensitive topics. I

START TALKING Cross-Cultural Training Handbook: WEB SITES

Volume 1, by L. Robert Kohls and John Information list
Conversation starter activities are readily
M. Knight [Link]
available on the web or in cross-cultural or
intercultural training books. The books and • Experiential Activities for Intercultural [Link]
web sites below provide several good places Learning, Volume 1, edited by H. Ned “Dinner Plans,” “I’m Unique,” “The Magic
to start. Seelye Wand,” and “Marooned”
BOOKS • Intercultural Sourcebook, Volumes 1 and [Link]
2, by Sandra Fowler and Monica teachingettes/[Link]
• 52 Activities for Exploring Values
Mumford Unique conversation starters
Differences, by Donna M. Stringer and
These books are published by Intercultural [Link]
Patricia A. Cassiday
Press (see [Link]). unique_conversation_starters
• Developing Intercultural Awareness: A

66 JSD WINTER 2009 VOL. 30, NO. 1 [Link] NATIONAL STAFF DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL