It’s July.
It’s July in Florida.
What does that mean?
It’s HOT!
And, what does that mean?
Shortly after 8:00 a.m., I decided to stay inside and out of the heat to read and reflect.
I didn’t read both books in their entirety. But, I definitely started to dig in and to really reflect. Using the same guiding questions that we often use to challenge our clients, I jumped into both books.
Here are my thoughts:
Learning and Reflecting:
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I believe in being “open and honest” (page 8, White Fragility). But, when the author describes what that doesn’t look like, the word SILENCE jumped out at me. Am I silent on the matters of race? How can I “engage more productively” (page 8, White Fragility)? What does that look like and sound like for me?
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Those questions led me to Kendi’s book, How to Be an Anti-Racist. On page 10, I highlighted the “good news”. It reads, “The good news is that racist and anti-racist are not fixed identities. We can be racist one minute and anti-racist the next. What we say about race, what we do about race, in each moment, determines what – not who – we are”.
So, back to my second question – How can I move to being part of a solution?
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I can lean into conversations.
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I can work alongside my team to be more action-oriented when it comes to meeting the needs of “every student”.
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I can talk rather than sit at the table being politely silent.
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I can recognize that there’s work to be done and make a plan to get it done.
Question for you:
How are you, as a leader, facilitating these kinds of conversations with your staff as you think about creating a “start strong-er” plan? Share in the comments so we can learn from you.
