Photo of a brown rectangle-shaped doormat that says in black lettering “Come As You Are.” A person wearing black pants with a pair of black dress shoes is standing in front of the mat. Photo taken by Jon Tyson on Unsplash.
Check-In:
I was in a conversation last week when a group of us were talking about our relationships with deadlines. Some of us need them as a motivator while others use them as a strict line never to cross. I shared that for me, right now, they are more of a guide than a dictator. In the past year, I have missed many deadlines self-imposed and given to me. It’s not that I rejoice or find comfort in breaking the deadlines but rather, I have found the need to give myself the grace to operate within what I have the capacity to do right then. And as long as I am not inflicting harm upon myself or others, I let it go.
The word ‘grace’ is often associated with religion, a song, or a name. Synonyms of grace include kindness, mercy, or leniency. These synonyms may be hard to swallow as a leader of the global majority. Our training says that it is our duty to uphold the regulations and policies that are set by the federal, state, and district governance. However, giving myself the grace to miss a deadline has opened the doors to allow me to give grace to others.
A teacher comes to work dressed more casually than you would like. Ask yourself if the dress is negatively impacting their ability to positively interact with their students. If your answer is no, give grace to embrace their style although different from your own.
You have a zero-tolerance late policy on submitted work. However, a student had a situation at home the night before that impacted their ability to complete their paper. Have grace to amend your late policy given the situation presented by the student.
What does giving grace to yourself and others look like for you?
#mondaymotivation: “…This grace that brought me safe thus far
And grace will lead me home...” -Amazing Grace
Interview with a Leader of the Global Majority:
Danielle is the Senior Director of Equity and Cultural Proficiency for a medium-sized charter charter management organization in Pennsylvania. The comments below are Danielle’s and do not reflect the opinions of her school system.
Mary: What is your primary work right now?
Danielle: A lot of this work is validation and affirming of students. I’m talking with our teachers about what it means to validate a student's culture. I'm not talking about putting hip hop in the math problem or about making a basketball reference, but the assets that students bring. How do you actually recognize and celebrate them and help them build and bridge to learn more, ways to acquire skills?
Danielle: For example, I led a group of teachers through a conversation about a student I had, who one could say was very argumentative. She was in the third grade and she always like talked back about anything. Any direction I gave her, she had some type of rebuttal.
Danielle: In a particular situation, she called out telling me, “I want to get my lunch now.” Not appropriate. Advocating for yourself. Definitely appropriate. Just the wrong situation. What happens with a teacher who's not culturally competent, they may say about her, “She's being disrespectful. She's being rude.”
Danielle: However, I want this to be a teachable moment. We discuss how a teacher can navigate the situation in a way that's not punitive because the child didn't do anything wrong.
“Do you think this a good time to ask this question? “No.”
“Okay. When is a better time?” “Right before we…”
“Yeah. you figured it out.”
“So, you're going to ask the same question. You're going to advocate for your needs at a better time, so you can get the help that you want.”
Danielle: So, what I'm talking about is creating experiences because people don't learn from just telling them stuff but from creating actual experiences and workshops that people can apply these things in real-time to themselves and be able to apply it in their classroom.
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.
What I’m Reading, Watching, and Listening To:
I’ve combined the “What I’m Reading” section with the “Resources” section and created the “What I’m Reading, Watching, and Listening to” section.
READING: Biting the Hand: Growing Up Asian in Black and White America by
Julia Lee is a series of essays sharing Lee’s experiences as a Korean American growing up in Los Angeles before and after the 1992 LA Riots. The stories she shares about her school experiences are important for us educators to hear.
WATCHING: Succession on HBO. I’m late to the party. I’m currently watching Season One and it is a masterclass on white supremacy at work! WoW!
LISTENING TO: My conversation with Pat Robinson on “Conversations on the Block. on 94.7. We talked about all things #leadingwithin and why it’s resonating for folks outside of the field of education too!
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!