Courageous Conversations—A First Timer's Account

“As we work together to restore hope to the future, we need to include a new and strange ally—our willingness to be disturbed.” ~Margaret Wheatley, Willing to Be Disturbed. (A quick read, and worth it.)

These past five days, I jumped in with both feet. I was willing to be disturbed. Too willing, perhaps. Because I am disturbed. Deeply, to-the-core disturbed. But the good kind!

I was lucky enough to attend the National Summit for Courageous Conversations 2014. The focus? To begin, or continue to have, meaningful dialogue about race. Racial Equity. As the founder and president Glenn Singleton shares,

We must continue to engage in honest, unapologetic conversations about racial disparities in education and effective ways in which to unlock the untapped potential of children of color.

After the first day, I entered a state of thorough disequilibrium. I have always loved the idea of Wheatley's excerpt (above), but I haven't been this "disturbed" in a very long time. If ever. Without a doubt, I have returned home a changed person.

The choreography of the event was both inspirational and effective. Each moment was exceptionally deliberate, done to nudge you—sometimes push you—into the next challenge. Titled a conference or a summit, in my experience, this was part of a movement. To be in a room with 900 global representatives, all equally eager and committed to making positive change in our children's educational experiences was powerful! I felt the effects, the growth, of what happens being in a room where everyone has the space to be honest, and to be supported when falling and encouraged when flying. And I more deeply understood the tragedy of continuing to ignore issues of race in education. Because they permeate every nook and cranny of our buildings.

I consider myself a reflective person. Very reflective. So it's no surprise to me that I'm processing my thoughts in this post immediately upon arriving home. I'm flipping between quadrants and learning something new each hour about myself. That's where the work needs to begin. And it's not easy.

I was given multiple opportunities for safe, personal exploration. About race. About white privilege. About a host of other topics, personal and educational. I reflected on difficult scenarios, prompted by a facilitator, a colleague, a stranger or myself. I shared mysteriously moving moments. And I realized that my belief system in many ways is flawed and ignorant. That I surprised myself many times these past five days. And I feel somewhat lost in my own skin, but better equipped to do something about it.

And I wasn't alone. My school district sent a large and diverse representative group of people, all creating their own unique stories. I believe my district has both a rare opportunity, as well as an unambiguous responsibility, to use the momentum of our courageous conversations together as the genesis of substantive change. By attending this summit, we did not just go through professional development. We lived a shared experience while gaining personal insights. I believe we established some level of self-actualization as a district, defining the foundational theme that should and must steer our district’s every conversation. All other dialogue benefits and extends from this one. ALL.

My take-aways as a first time attendee:

• Learning about yourself is the only way to grow.
• I contribute to the structure of the status quo.
• I will model positive change by continuing to learn how to participate in courageous conversations.
• This responsibility begins with me. I need not wait for "directions."
• As I reflect on the experiences of the past five days, I will be gentle with myself.

Anyway, it's a start.

Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder...

...but from where does the "beholder" get his/her definition of beauty?

When you look in the mirror, what do you see? Is it the reflection you expected to see? Perhaps a more important question is, why do you see what you see? And when you look at others, what do you see? And Why?

Recently, over a dozen friends and family have lost a noticeable amount of weight. The vast majority are women, but there are a couple of men, as well. I can't tell you what will power and commitment it took for them to get to their current position of overall health. It has been an emotional, physical and psychological challenge, full of ups and downs. I admire them all immensely for braving this journey.

But what I'm afraid many observers don't understand is that the majority of these people didn't just "lose weight." They made life style changes. They wanted to become healthier. Perhaps lower their blood pressure or cholesterol, increase their energy level, improve their heart rates, decrease their triglycerides and lipids, etc. So they didn't "stop eating and drop pounds." They chose to eat better calories, sleep more, exercise safely and effectively, focus on inner peace, remove themselves from stressful situations, spend more time laughing and connecting with loved ones, finding new intellectual challenges, etc.

When we see someone who has lost weight, usually the first thing we say is, "Wow! You look beautiful! How much weight have you lost?" And there it is. That's the verbal weapon of self-image destruction. That's what triggers the misinterpretation and teaches a faulty definition of beauty. Focusing on just one outcome of what these brave, committed, healthy-conscious people did—the losing weight part—tragically obscures their true accomplisment, and more disturbingly, helps to nurture poor self-esteem, poor self-image, poor self-worth for the next generation of young adults who might be within earshot of hearing your "compliment" in the first place.

There are all sorts of body types. For men and for women. There are as many body shapes as there are people. Every single one of the people I've referred to in this post is a beautiful person. They always have been. And they always will be. The fact that their physical appearance has changed does not make them more or less likable, more or less loveable, more or less desirable, more or less funny, etc. Hopefully, their lifestyle changes make them healthier and happier.

Weight alone does NOT dictate health. It can be one indicator of overall health, out of hundreds of other data points. But it's the one data point we fixate on. So if you are physically healthy, don't change your weight to conform to another's definition of beauty. (Just like anything...) (If you aren't physically healthy, then that needs to be your focus. Not your looks.) Is your self-esteem actually rooted in "other-esteem," defined by others as opposed to your own thoughts? If so, spend some time reflecting on that, rather than your image in the mirror.

So we all need to do a better job of focusing on what matters. Not focusing on weight loss and/or weight gain and/or physical appearance. An all-around healthy life balance is much more nuanced than just our looks. So be careful about what words you choose, the conversations you have, particularly around middle schoolers and elementary age children. They absorb way more than we realize. And we want them to look in the mirror and think good things about themselves, not just focus on their weight. We want them to learn to be confident, happy and valued. That their physical reflection doesn't dictate those things. It's the honest and loving interactions they have with others that counts.

What's my value? How confident am I? What idea do I have about my personality, ability, appearance? Am I using my unique beauty—my passions and talents—to help others and to connect with them?

"No one can make you inferior without your consent." ~Eleanor Roosevelt.

So think before you compliment someone. Be aware of how your words might be interpretted by youngsters.

Most importantly, be kind to yourself. Everyone has his/her own extraordinary beauty. If you look in the mirror using the right lens, you'll see it.

"Aha!" THINKING About Education

"We've overemphasized content, when it's context that matters." ~Mitzi Montoya, Dean College of Technology and Innovation, Arizona State University

(A Post not just for the science educator. I promise.)

STORY:
Recently, I had my students participate in a seemingly straightforward lab activity. They were given three covered syringes. (No needles, of course!) One contained a solid inside, one had a liquid, and one had a gas. It's likely no surprise that when the students slightly pushed on each syringe (plunger), the solid and liquid did not move, and the gas depressed quite a bit.

A myriad observations were recorded in their journals. But one of the requirements was to create a model— draw a picture at the particulate level—to accurately represent the data they collected. In other words, create an explanation for the observations.

Every group drew pictures with the solid particles closest together, the liquid particles farther apart and the gaseous particles the farthest apart. When asked to justify this model using their data, the classes all stumbled. So I asked, "What made you think that liquid particles were farther apart than solid particles? The solid and liquid each behaved the same way according to your data, right? Why did you draw them this way?" Silence. Stunned looks. Some frustration ensewed. But eventually, one student said, "We learned that liquid particles were farther apart than solid particles. We learned it in middle school." So I said, "You memorized that in middle school. But has anyone ever proven it to you? I mean, how do you know whether that's true?" This same student said, "Whoa. What?! That just blew my mind. How many other things have I just accepted over the years?! Holy s#*t!" Clearly, an "Aha!" moment!

PROBLEM: 
So when we educators are asked to investigate, design, implement, etc. anything to do with those famous buzzwords, Critical Thinking, Inquiry, Engagement, Creativity, do we think there's anything left to learn? Or do we robotically go through the motions asked of us thinking we know all there is to know about these ideas. I think we all can admit that indeed, being a robot is easier sometimes. We might shut down based on the design of professional development, or our fatigue, or the climate we're in, or the stress we're under, etc. We end up thinking about our field—education/teaching—the very way we don't want our students thinking about our classes—with a checklist mentality. "Let's get this DONE."

So we need to model the mentality that we're trying to instill in our students. We want them to THINK. To formulate relevant questions. To justify their thinking. To creatively problem-solve. To efficiently and effectively navigate through all the information at their disposal. To communicate well (reading/writing/speaking). To collaborate constructively with their peers. To be empathetic. Etc. (Is that all?!)

CHALLENGES:
With that said, I have two challenges for you. I always think it's beneficial to walk in our students' shoes from time to time, just to see...

1. Try to pick one thing out of your next department meeting, faculty meeting, committee meeting, (graduate class, association email, etc.) that you care about. Don't just check something off a list or accept an assignment. Ask questions. Gain some insight. Offer alternative perspectives. Brainstorm creative solutions. Enjoy the process. Play. Etc.
2. The next time you eat lunch with a colleague, discuss the following. If you could change one thing in your secondary education content area, what would it be? And WHY? Most importantly, what would/do you do to MODEL the change? 

These are two ways we create more "Aha!" moments for ourselves!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For the Science and Math Educators:

The New York Times ran a special edition in their ScienceTimes section last Tuesday. The focus? Science and Math Achievement. It was enlightening, infuriating, affirming and frightening all at once. It was the inspiration for the above post. I highly suggest that any educator involved in science or math education reads this special section as a place to begin investigating the status quo in our field, as well as ponder where to go from here.

There were articles that touched on these questions. (The question is a link to each article.)

• What actually works in science and math ed? (Amazing. We actually may KNOW!)
• What are two current fights in science? (Both organizations run by scientists, as well as "freelance" students, are making sure we stay honest and protect our field as "science.")
• Where are the women? ("Women constitute 50% of our nations workforce, but only 25% of our scientific corps.")
• Is Education reform as simplistic and are tests and test results as straightforward as the media reports?
• Why are Chinese educators looking to US schools for leadership?

Enjoy!

Get Out of Your Lane...

...and Merge Into the Big Picture!

I found today's post by Michelle Alexander (quoted below) to be quite motivating. (Today is the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington For Jobs and Freedom.) I had the privilege of hearing Professor Alexander speak at Northwestern University last year and was moved by her words, inspired by her life's work. After reading her post, I once again reflected on ways to make my life's work (education) more impactful, more wide-spread, more effective. I now see that the radical changes needed in our society are, indeed, all connected and we are in fact working towards the same goal...A world where every single person matters; justice and dignity for all.

I feel stronger after reading her post, more confident that pushing back on universal standards, accountability, high stakes testing, etc. is necessary. These are destructive forces and have nurtured ingnorance, complacency and indifference by all parties—students, educators, parents, etc. We've created a system where we brand children as "more" or "less" gifted, intelligent, worthy of opportunities. And the catastrophic, punitive reforms are based on irrelevant assessments, skewed data and self-serving data analysis. Our children then grow to be adults who accept the very society Michelle Alexander is working so hard to change.

I need to get out of my lane, too, expand my thinking, connect the dots and continue working towards a better tomorrow. The destructive changes being implemented in education are a part of a big picture, not isolated in some "school" bubble. Knowing this, I might be able to more effectively and efficiently expend my energy towards the overarching, radical change needed in our society. We'll see. But I'm certainly going to try.

Drink in her words and use them as fuel to make a positive difference. The following is a post by Michelle Alexander.

"For the past several years, I have spent virtually all my working hours writing about or speaking about the immorality, cruelty, racism, and insanity of our nation's latest caste system: mass incarceration. On this Facebook page I have written and posted about little else. But as I pause today to reflect on the meaning and significance of the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, I realize that my focus has been too narrow. Five years after the March, Dr. King was speaking out against the Vietnam War, condemning America's militarism and imperialism - famously stating that our nation was the "greatest purveyor of violence in the world." He saw the connections between the wars we wage abroad, and the utter indifference we have for poor people, and people of color at home. He saw the necessity of openly critiquing an economic system that will fund war and will reward greed, hand over fist, but will not pay workers a living wage. Five years after the March on Washington, Dr. King was ignoring all those who told him to just stay in his lane, just stick to talking about civil rights. Yet here I am decades later, staying in my lane. I have not been speaking publicly about the relationship between drones abroad and the War on Drugs at home. I have not been talking about the connections between the corrupt capitalism that bails out Wall Street bankers, moves jobs overseas, and forecloses on homes with zeal, all while private prisons yield high returns and expand operations into a new market: caging immigrants. I have not been connecting the dots between the NSA spying on millions of Americans, the labeling of mosques as "terrorist organizations," and the spy programs of the 1960s and 70s - specifically the FBI and COINTELPRO programs that placed civil rights advocates under constant surveillance, infiltrated civil rights organizations, and assassinated racial justice leaders. I have been staying in

my lane. But no more. In my view, the most important lesson we can learn from Dr. King is not what he said at the March on Washington, but what he said and did after. In the years that followed, he did not play politics to see what crumbs a fundamentally corrupt system might toss to the beggars of justice. Instead he connected the dots and committed himself to building a movement that would shake the foundations of our economic and social order, so that the dream he preached in 1963 might one day be a reality for all. He said that nothing less than "a radical restructuring of society" could possibly ensure justice and dignity for all. He was right. I am still committed to building a movement to end mass incarceration, but I will not do it with blinders on. If all we do is end mass incarceration, this movement will not have gone nearly far enough. A new system of racial and social control will be born again, all because we did not do what King demanded we do: connect the dots between poverty, racism, militarism and materialism. I'm getting out of my lane. I hope you're already out of yours." ~Michelle Alexander