Affirming Diversity in Your Classroom

“Welcoming diversity means that every person counts
and every issue counts.”

What is NCBI?

The National Coalition Building Institute (NCBI), founded in 1984 in Washington, D.C., is a non-profit leadership training organization that works to eliminate prejudice and conflict in communities throughout the world.

NCBI provides an effective diversity training program that teaches effective listening skills, conflict resolution skills, the ability to manage dialogue across group lines and a rationale for creating a welcoming classroom that becomes everyone’s responsibility.

NECC is a Campus Affiliate of NCBI. NECC team members have been trained as facilitators and are available to come into your classroom to lead an interactive session on welcoming diversity.

What can I expect in an NCBI session?

The workshops are interactive, experiential, high energy and can be tailored to your particular class schedule. Participants are both teachers and learners.

In our workshops, we:

• Celebrate differences and similarities
• Identify misinformation about other groups
• Learn ways to challenge hurtful comments and actions
• Learn to become allies to groups to which we do not belong

How does this fit into my curriculum?

Teachers from many different disciplines have requested NCBI sessions, including: English, History, Criminal Justice, Human Services, Philosophy/Logic, Psychology, Early Childhood and more!

Some of the things teachers have said about NCBI sessions is that they:

• Build classroom community
• Develop self awareness
• Model respect for other identities
• Offer a frame for discussing difficult issues

How do I request an NCBI session?

It’s easy to request a session, click here to fill out the online request form.

You select the class date and time for the session to take place. Once your request is submitted, a team member will contact you to discuss the guidelines for the session. The team member will also answer any questions you may have.

Students have said…

“I learned that being proud of who you are is just as important as respecting others for who they are.”

“The presentation helped me feel more open with classmates I didn't know.”

“I learned that all groups or types of people have stereotypes, but we are all of the same nature and can learn from each other.”

“I think that this program is excellent because it allows people from different ethnic groups to identify what they think the problems are without conflict.”

Teachers have said…

“In end-of-term reflections, many students invariably identify the NCBI presentation as one of the most meaningful experiences of the semester, or one that had the greatest impact.”

“When NCBI is brought to the classroom, faculty and students work together and share in exercises and discussion surrounding personal beliefs, values and misconceptions.”

“Students are given opportunity to explore who they are and where they come from.”

“Students are given the opportunity to see similarities and differences between themselves and their classmates; for some, a deeper understanding of why acceptance and tolerance are so important is achieved through this shared experience.”

For additional information about NCBI, please contact Judith Kamber, Dean of Professional Development, at (978) 556-3955 or at jkamber@necc.mass.edu.

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