News Release
April 2002
(Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) -- Students, teachers, and administrators
from Lehigh Valley and Berks county high schools will participate in
a conference Thursday, April 4, 8:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. at Moravian College,
focusing on ethnic and cultural diversity. "The Promise of the
Rainbow: The Challenge of Racial and Ethnic Cultural Diversity in Schools,"
will provide an opportunity to explore issues of racial and cultural
diversity in an open, positive and constructive manner.
The goal of the conference is to foster a better understanding
and appreciation of the cultural diversity found today in schools, according
to Dr. John Reynolds, a Moravian political science professor and conference
organizer. The program's main focus is teaching conflict resolution
skills; this year there's a special emphasis on commitment. "It
is important that the conference has a lasting positive impact.
The conference will be highlighted by a "sociodrama"
workshop - a role-playing experience in which students and teachers
will dramatize situations of potential conflict. The workshop will be
followed by group discussions in which students will examine the sociodrama
situations and explore how their high school experiences are shaped
by cultural diversity. Teachers and administrators from their schools
will join the high school students at the conference. Also attending
will be students and educators from Moravian College and other Lehigh
Valley colleges, and representatives of several community organizations.
The conference will be held at the Prosser Auditorium
in Haupert Union Building (HUB) on Moravian College's Main Street campus.
