1 What other strategies could you implement in a multicultural course to better balance the needs of all students? 2 Should untenured faculty from marginalized communities teach multicultural counseling courses? Why or why not?
Critical Incident Response
Mark B. Scholl
The author made a cogent case for providing students with a climate characterized by egalitarian dialogue to promote a transformative expansion of consciousness for learners (Freire, 1970). This recommendation is echoed by counselor educators (e.g., Dollarhide et al., 2018) who assert that egalitarian teacher-student dialogue facilitates the incorporation of social justice principles into counselor training. Similarly, Lai et al. (2014) noted the importance of egalitarian conversations in multicultural counseling courses and related training, emphasizing the importance of providing factual information and experiential learning consistent with the MAP.
It is important for Professor Malcom to inform students of ground rules for the classroom and his rationale for emphasizing dialogue. I agree that growth in cultural competence cannot occur if one maintains a sense of comfort. The concept of creating brave spaces complements the author’s recommendations (Arao & Clemens, 2013). Creating a classroom environment in which students openly share their authentic experiences, beliefs, and feelings requires courage, and this should be identified as an aspirational value. At the same time, it is helpful to provide students with ground rules to promote mutual respect and civility. A typical ground rule for brave spaces prohibits making personal attacks (i.e., criticizing individuals rather than behaviors; Arao & Clemens, 2013).
The author effectively contrasted students who are naive and students who have experienced oppression in their everyday lives. When Professor Malcom corrected Anne, the naive students were inclined to believe that he did not respect their opinions. By contrast, Bell, a student who had experienced oppression, believed Professor Malcom had gone too easy on Anne. These widely differing perspectives illustrate the considerable skill and experience needed to effectively lead egalitarian consciousness-promoting discussions (Williams, 2019).
The author aptly emphasized and addressed the difficulty of balancing the needs of both groups of students. I also appreciated how he distinguished between feeling unsafe and feeling uncomfortable. Instructors of multicultural courses can normalize and validate feeling uncomfortable by noting three common reasons for these feelings (Williams, 2019): (a) Counseling students are caring people who want to avoid offending others, (b) students with firsthand experiences of oppression may find these experiences particularly difficult to talk about, and (c) counseling students are highly invested in their own growth and development. Sharing these reasons can normalize feelings of discomfort, self-consciousness, and reticence.
Students from diverse populations can feel an unfair expectation to educate their more naive peers. I believe an important point can be added about Paolo Freire’s (1970) philosophy of education. Freire advocated for empowering students from oppressed populations to openly share their authentic inner voices and opinions, including opposing viewpoints, with classmates. Professor Malcom might have spent more time talking in depth with Bell about the classroom climate he envisions and how much her authentic responses can contribute. I believe it is important for Professor Malcom to balance encouraging Bell to share her authentic perspective with showing empathy regarding her feelings of safety. It is difficult to know precisely how Bell is feeling. Inviting Bell to share her feelings outside of class would provide an opportunity to practice sharing her authentic inner voice and might also increase her comfort in the classroom. Because many people of color feel an unfair expectation to educate white peers, it is important that Professor Malcom clearly communicate that he is extending an invitation that Bell has permission to decline.
Overall, the author provided clear, coherent recommendations for meeting the needs of students. The MAP is an excellent way to promote learning that can be tailored to the unique needs of individual learners. The author’s recommendations for using authentic, egalitarian practices to empower students also reflect attitudes and practices that will empower future clients.
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Chapter 8
A Cohort Divided: Navigating Tensions Related to Race and Ethnicity
Catherine Y. Chang, Erin C. M. Mason, and Vanessa Placeres
2014 ACA Code of Ethics Standards Addressed
F.9.a. Evaluation of Students
F.11.b. Student Diversity
F.11.c. Multicultural/Diversity Competence
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Jessica, a white woman, was an assistant professor with several years of school counseling and teaching experience. Veronica, a Latinx woman, was a third-year counselor education doctoral student and a practicing school counselor. Jessica and Veronica were coteaching the spring Classroom Management, Collaboration, and Consultation course for school counseling students. Jessica was the instructor of record, and Veronica was the teaching assistant.
Jessica and Veronica used a constructivist teaching style for the course. Their goal was to be student centered. They designed class activities to align with learning objectives, the 2016 Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) Standards, experiences at internship sites, and students’ own personal life experiences. The course included both didactic and experiential components. Jessica and Veronica shared responsibility for presenting content and facilitating activities throughout the semester. There were also several sociopolitical factors to consider at the time, including Donald Trump’s presidency; mass shootings in schools in Florida, Texas, and Southern California; targeted arson attacks on African American churches in the Southeast; and the continued advancement of movements like Black Lives Matter and Me Too.
Students were in the second year of the school counseling master’s program. They were in the final phase of their training and entering their first semester of internship. The cohort consisted of 16 women, most of whom were in their middle to late 20s; four students identified as second-career students. The cohort was split demographically, with a little less than half self-identifying as students of color and a little more than half self-identifying as white. All students in the cohort took core courses together and had navigated the school counseling program with minimal overt conflict up to this point. However, the instructors observed several incidents that implied underlying tensions within the cohort. White students and students of color self-segregated during in-class activities, during group work, and outside class.
For the second to last class meeting, Jessica and Veronica planned a video and group discussion. Jessica played a video that presented a white school counselor who incorporated inclusion into her classroom management to engage students who felt excluded or disinterested. The school counselor’s use of classroom management skills ultimately led to a positive relationship with a Black student who had previously been disengaged, uninterested in the classroom, and frequently in trouble. The video continued to highlight the school counselor’s role in supporting the student’s success.
After the video ended, Jessica attempted to lead a discussion on strategies used by the school counselor. Beatrice, a 27-year-old self-identified African American woman, described her disappointment and frustration toward white peers who glorified the school counselor for helping the Black student. Some white students explained their hesitation in speaking up about topics related to marginalized communities. What followed was a broader conversation around cohort dynamics related to race/ethnicity, expectations of school counselors for advocating for and supporting students with marginalized identities, and the disappointment felt by all students.
A few students of color