Yes!
This reminds me of a comment I heard at a diversity luncheon once. A black faculty member at a predominantly white institution was discussing ways to improve diversity in the student and faculty ranks.
He said “The first step to improve diversity is to actually want diversity.” This has really stuck with me. We need to make sure that we authentically value diversity. Just like we need to authentically want safe spaces. These aren’t things we can just fake.
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I like the idea of the self-of-the-therapist and I wonder if that’s exactly what Palmer’s article was about. I wonder how we can help our students identify the self-of-the-student so that they can know the self-of-the-professional in the future.
We need to learn who we are and identify how it impacts the choices we make.
Done! I love that one!
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Boom! This is an amazing one! I’ve just decided that I will be adding new ideas to the list as they come in.
Thank you!
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Thanks for this post!
One of my advisor’s homework assignments features an explanation of a problem that says “Here’s generally how I expect you to do the problem… But there was this one student one time that solved this problem like this… I’m not sure why it worked, but it did!”
That humility exists throughout the class and not only do you feel that the teacher is accessible, but you feel that you have the freedom to take risks on assignments! Each assignment in that class felt like an adventure.
I think that that sentiment “I don’t want you in my class” is what students are hearing every time a student gets asked if they’re lost in their own classroom. Thank you, also, for sharing that video. It made such a powerful point.
Thank you for the quotes from the Quran. A related one from the Bible that they made me think of is from the book of Revelation which I do not begin to claim to understand:
“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages”
Revelation 7:9
It is wonderful that our religions both point to the beauty of diversity. May we learn to celebrate diversity together.
This is such a beautiful post! Thank you for sharing! I love your quote:
“Solutions for our mutual problems will not come in isolation, but in celebration of diversity.”
That is my view as well. There are two directions we can take from this point of tension. We can run from it and hide among a homogeneous group, or we can learn to celebrate diversity and value it. This is where we need to go from here.
And the comment by Anonymous (is that Homero?) is absolutely wonderful. I wish everyone had your son’s view on life. That’s what racial reconciliation is all about.
Your story overall and this specific piece of insight are so helpful to hear. Thank you so much for sharing.
Your perspective has helped inspire me to take the extra effort to make everyone feel comfortable in my future classrooms.
Our experiences in life are made better when we hear one another’s experiences. Thank you for being you. Thank you for sharing your story.
That sounds like an incredible experience! I’d love to hear more about it!
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