The
strength of lifelong teachers comes from their insatiable curiosity. They are
perpetually dedicated to learning more, discovering more, questioning more.
They are intentional in the way they devote their resources to finding
new and better ways to engage students and empower them to learn on their own.
In
a similar fashion, we need to be intentional in our approach to cultural
proficiency. It isn’t something that happens in one or two, professional
development sessions but a constant dedication to seeing and discovering the
world around us, a conscious decision to prioritize equity, to better
understand the inequities that exist, and to honor and acknowledge the humanity
of all people. For this month’s newsletter, I would like to offer some
thoughts about how we can become more intentional with our choices, so that we
can reduce some of our blind spots and foster a mindset that allows us to
continue growing in our understanding.
The
concept of intentionality is quite simple. It refers to the idea that
while we might be comfortable with our current beliefs, habits, practices, and
experiences, we could benefit by intentionally choosing to expose ourselves to
new and different people and experiences beyond those from the dominant
culture. And since many of us do not do this on a regular basis, it may
cause discomfort. Intentionality takes more effort and requires a
willingness to be vulnerable. It can be exhausting, but it will offer us
opportunities to think about our world differently, ultimately enabling us to
question some of our long held assumptions and become stronger educators.
The
survey we took in Friday’s cultural proficiency workshop gives you some
indicators about ways we can be intentional with our choices. How do we
spend our time? Who do we spend our time with? Where do we spend
our time? Here are just a few ways to ease into a more intentional life.
Movies
I
know that many times when we sit down to watch movies, we gravitate to the
genres that we have come to know and love the most. However, doing so
merely ensures that we stay fairly isolated in our bubbles of experiences.
Here are three (just from the last year) that might offer some new
perspectives: 13th, Get Out, and Moonlight. Or if you
would prefer a comedy series Master of None.
Books
Okay,
you had to know I was going to suggest some books. Of course, I enjoy
reading fluffy beach reads as much as the next person (Lee Childs and Nevada
Barr are my go-to), but I also feel a responsibility to push myself to grow as
a reader by exposing myself to lots of different viewpoints. Some of my
most recent favorites include the following titles: This is Just My Face,
The Invisible Man Got the Whole World Watching, The Book of Unknown Americans,
Americanah, Underground Railroad, Just Mercy (Top 5 books I’ve ever read), The
Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, The Hate U Give, Evicted, and Laughing
All the Way to the Mosque.
Food
There
is some truth to the axiom that food unites us. Being intentional with your
choices of food establishments will not only expand your experiences, but put
you in neighborhoods and spaces that you might not normally travel. There
are plenty of options. . . as long as you stay away from large chains and
franchises. Here are a few: Midtown Global Market, Supermercado
LomaBonita which has a deli (on County Rd 13 in Savage), Golden Thyme Café on
Selby and the Mini Pac Grill (this is a gas station deli that serves fantastic
gyros), 1184 Maryland Avenue East, Saint Paul,
Minnesota 55106.
Social
Expanding
your social circles simply takes time. I believe it mostly involves being
open to people and experiences. Stay in touch with past students, attend
graduation ceremonies, weddings, and even funerals. Invite groups to
dinner. Get involved in community organizations. Attend interfaith
ceremonies. Seek people who are different from you, and chances are you will
find out how much you actually do have in common.
Cultural
Prioritize
events within our community that celebrate culture. From Rondo Days in
St. Paul to a Native ceremony like the one this last weekend at Harriet Island,
to presentations and events sponsored by District 196.
I
have a loved one in my life who has a particularly stubborn blind spot.
He has such a narrow view of a particular community in his city, and he
would often send me chain emails that largely de-humanized them. He
finally stopped sending the emails to me because I would reply to each of them.
In one of the last chain emails he sent me on the topic, I told him,
“I don’t think you would have these same thoughts if you actually knew
some of the people within this community. Do you know anyone personally?
Have you made an attempt to meet people who might trouble your assumptions?”
He didn’t respond, but I suspect that he had no personal connections to
these people. Avoiding them just made it so much easier for him to maintain
some of his most unsubstantiated beliefs. And this is the power of our
choice to be intentional. Being intentional means that we are
intentionally finding ways to encounter more people from different backgrounds
and belief systems with the hopes that we can recognize the humanity in others.
Here is the full Newsletter.
