Dialogue. It’s a common word and yet I’ve not stopped before to consider more deeply what it means. According to the readings I did this week for my PD, dialogue, “comes from Greek and signifies a ‘flow’ of meaning’,” in contrast to discussions, which are, “conversations where people hold onto and defend their differences” (Isaacs, 1999, p. 2 , Dialogic Leadership in The Systems Thinker, 10(1)). In Anglo- Western education we are typically taught to argue for and against an idea, we encourage students to do so, and students are often assessed on written assignments based on the premise of discussion. Yet when we explore the distinction between ‘dialogue’ and ‘discussion,’ it seems like we need much more room for dialogue. When I reflect on this past week, without realizing it I have been engaged in lots of dialogue.

Tuesday began with a dialogue with two exchange students who are coming to the college next February, exploring what their objectives are for their visit, and how we can meet their needs within those of the college. The intercultural event, also on Tuesday, involved seven questions / statements being posted on paper around the college cafeteria, asking for passers-by to respond. For example responding to, “In my culture, people stay connected by …” The aim of the event was to encourage reflection and dialogue across different ways of being. I had the opportunity to have a long conversation with a student from Nepal, who gave me insight into his experiences of coming to NIC six months ago.

Wednesday I had a long dialogue around, what internationalization means through an indigenous lens – a complex topic with no easy answers and an important dialogue that needs to continue.

In Thursday’s Story Circle the dialogue was around international student experiences – the uniqueness of each individual experience and some recurring overarching themes. And of course, exploring how we can develop our understanding of and ways of supporting all students. What came to mind was empathy. In this video, Krznaric (2007) identifies Six habits of highly empathic people:

  1. Cultivate curiosity about strangers (e.g., Story Circles)
  2. Challenge prejudices and discover commonalities (e.g., this week’s intercultural awareness activity)
  3. Get into extreme sports (e.g., try ‘living’ someone else’s experience – I wonder how we can do that at the College?)
  4. Practice the art of conversation (e.g., Story Circles, Human Library Initiative)
  5. Inspire mass action and social change (e.g., through college policies)
  6. Develop an ambitious imagination (e.g., my weekly ‘to-do’ lists)

Finally, in facilitating a session on Friday on Intercultural Communication and Unconscious Bias with our Peer Tutors, I tried to keep in mind ‘dialogue.’ Developing intercultural fluency needs empathy and it also needs the willingness to engage in, “an inquiry that surfaces ideas, perceptions, and understanding that people do not already have” (Isaacs, 1999, p. 2)