Issue 25: School

Noun. An institution at which instruction is given in a particular discipline.

Photo of a classroom with 2 rows of desks facing the front. A teacher’s desk is in the front of the classroom in front of a green chalkboard. A picture of an unrecognizable person is hung above the chalkboard. A map is on the wall on the right side of the photo. Photo by Ivan Aleksic on Unsplash

Leading-Within, Year 2:

I’m back! I’m thankful for the little break to relax and think through where I wanted this newsletter to go and review your feedback which you’ll see reflected in this issue. Although September is month 9th in the calendar year, it has been the beginning of the year for me for so long as a student, educator, and parent so I continue to look forward to the newness that the month brings so here’s to Year 2 of Leading-Within!

Check-In:

I was sitting in my mother’s kitchen on a Friday afternoon telling her about my latest trip. I was facilitating an anti-bias training for a group of math teachers when I shared the story of my pre-calculus teacher assuming I would struggle in his class based on my race and gender. She then said, “Don’t you usually tell the story about your guidance counselor?” This took us on a path of all of the teachers who assumed things about me and pushed me to prove them wrong. My response to this trip down memory lane was, “Think about how much more I could have excelled if I achieved because of my teachers, not despite them??”

In the last month, I spent time catching up on some readings and podcasts. On several occasions, I heard authors or guests speak about “not being a good student” or they “weren’t much of a school person”.

It feels like school has become this hurdle that we all have to go over in order to find our best selves versus a vehicle to cultivate us.

As the last wave of students returns to school this week, I share the same hope for our schools as Haruki Murakami shares in his newest book, Novelist as a Vocation:

I want them [schools] to provide an environment in which each person’s individuality can thrive. Do that, and schools will become fuller, freer places. Simultaneously, society itself will also become a fuller, freer place.

What’s your hope for this school year?

#mondaymotivation: “I never had much affection for the “system” called school.” Haruki Murakami, Novelist as a Vocation

Interview with a Leader of the Global Majority:

Danielle was the Director of Equity and Diversity for a large district in Florida for over two years. The comments below are Danielle’s and do not reflect the opinions of her school system.

Mary:  Tell me a little bit about the challenges that you have experienced since taking on the role.

Danielle: I would say, one of the big challenges for me is the buy-in, especially since this role is new to the district. With anything new to an organization, you must get everybody to understand why it matters. Additionally, since my role is interdepartmental, it's been hindering me from being able to start some good things because I'm still in ‘prove myself’ mode.

Danielle: Fortunately, I have both board members and cabinet members that clearly see the value in this, hence the reason for them even approving the position, but at the same time, it's not just a top-down, it's not the top-down that matters the most, it's every stakeholder that you really have to get to understand why this is important.

Danielle:  So trying to bring an understanding of how we need to move beyond a perception of, in order to be able to belong, you need to first achieve, and actually get the understanding that no, it really is in fact, in order to be able to achieve, you have to first belong.

Danielle:  So creating spaces for myself to explain how culture is enacted and understanding that we all need to investigate and work together to reduce biases.

Danielle: It's just a lot of new. A new way of thinking about how equity and inclusion are really a part of and engaging in a successful organization, especially a successful education district.

You can read more from Danielle in “Leading Within Systems of Inequity in Education: A Liberation Guide for Leaders of Color”. Let me know if you would like to be interviewed and/or recommend someone to be profiled in this section.

NEW SECTION: What I’m Reading, Watching, and Listening To:

Based on your feedback, I’m streamlining the newsletter moving forward. I combined the “What I’m Reading” section with the “Resources” section and created the “What I’m Reading, Watching, and Listening to” section.

• READING: They Called Us Exceptional by Prachi Gupta is a memoir of Prachi talking to her mother as she tells the story of her Indian American family and the impacts of the model minority on each member of her family. It is deeply personal, gutwrenching and heartfelt.

• WATCHING: They Cloned Tyrone is a movie that follows 3 primary characters who find themselves uncovering a lot. It mixes a few genres together that equally entertain while making you think.

• LISTENING TO: Mountaintop Conversations hosted by Allyson Felix, seven-time Olympic champion, and Wes Felix, co-founders of Sayshx is a podcast in its second season. They interview leaders across a variety of spectrums on how they helped others as they reached their “mountain top.” I enjoyed all the episodes so far but found the Stacey Adams and Adam Grant episodes particularly applicable for leaders of the global majority.

You can find a full list of my book recommendations here. Please note that I am an affiliate with Bookshop.org and receive a small compensation for your purchase when you use the book links provided.

If this is your first time reading, please go back and read my Introductions post.

Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think. If you like it, please share it with your network!