Diversity, Culture, Perception OH MY!
Happy New Year all! I hope everyone is spending time with reflection and recognizing the promise of a new year! I know I sure have been. The weather here in Louisiana has been unexpectedly cold and as one of the "break out states" for the flu this year, I have been hard pressed to get out of bed and out into the world during my break so I've had a lot of time to be reflective of the past year and the promises of the new one. I haven't set any "resolutions" per se, but I have decided on a few new activities to improve my mindset and reflection in the upcoming year. I'm so excited by the possibilities!
I have been researching for a fellowship to India and ran across this Ted Talk video. Devdutt
Pattnaik delivers a deep message about inclusion, diversity, and how we see things from OUR lens. On the first watching, it made a deep impact on my perspective of how I see other people's motivation and abilities. It has raised questions for me about inclusiveness and who makes the decisions on who is and is not included. I think this is a question schools, and in particular, school leaders, are all too often tasked with and the responsibility of it taxes me deeply.
Anyway, as we continue to struggle with changing mindsets about inclusion, diversity, culture, etc. I hope this video can be as useful to you as it has been to me. I hope that by sharing, it starts a dialogue and reflection. If so, please play it forward and share!
https://youtu.be/9sGZi_npPog
And for those wondering, yes, I am still struggling with aspects of the questions raised by my trip to Indonesia. Just recently I had the opportunity to revisit a conversation I had with my youngest son about "Question the Narrative....in Everything". There's a blog post there somewhere. Soon as things slow down, I'll come back to it.
Happy New Year all!
