Identity: the Heart of Cross-cultural Dialog

My school has recently launched a new strategic plan. One of the goals of this plan is to "provide targeted professional development to support a student body rich in diversity of thought and life experience." We all know that self-directed professional development  is powerful. This piece is on identity. I hope it will give teachers food for thought both to consider their own identities and the impact they have on supporting their students.

 Acknowledging, exploring, and understanding your identity can be scary, invigorating and reassuring all at the same time. It can be a very personal or public process depending on the journey you take or the reality of the context in which you live.

Identity exploration, both self-identity and community identity, is the “heart” of any effective dialog centered on cultural competency or cross-cultural communication. What is your personal story, that of your family, and of the communities that are the center of your lives? What are the values, perspectives, experiences and traditions that have molded your way of being? Many times it is the secrets that we discover (or keep), the contradictions that we encounter, and the evolving changes of beliefs and practices that occur as history presents itself that can influence our identities. Take the time to listen to your heart and contemplate your identity.

Apart from the need to engage in our own identity exploration is our need to recognize, acknowledge, honor and affirm the identities of our students (and our colleagues). What can we do to get to know our students and their families? The lenses they use as they enter our school community are unique and for some may seem out of focus. Our goal is not to change their lenses, but to understand them, and use that understanding to support and guide our students. Much of this we do, but if each of us were to focus on a particular student under our care this coming year (or even a colleague), one that possibly is struggling with his/her surroundings, and see how we can affirm and support them, what a difference we would make toward enhancing our school community.

Intentionally through my professional studies as well as through school related professional development I have engaged in a variety of identity exploration activities. Every time I engage in this process I learn something new about myself. Unintentionally, I have faced a multitude of identity experiences simply because I married into a family of another cultural background, lived long-term in another country, had children that became half American and half Ecuadorian, and brought them up (wow – they are both adults now!) as a single mother. These unintentional experiences of mine and of my boys, as well as together as a family unit, at times are reassuring; they can be difficult, even painful; they fill us with pride one day and bring us down the next. There is nothing wrong with any of these emotions; this is what happens when you spend a lot of your time navigating between two worlds; or simply, the context around you feels different than what you may expect or are accustomed to. 

It is important for us to recognize that these “unintentional identity pondering experiences” are occurring around us, in our classrooms, at our meetings, in the hallways, with our students, their parents, and with many of our colleagues. Many of our community members experience the “push and pull” of navigating two or more distinct worlds. Our school community at times may feel “foreign” to some no matter how hard we work to provide that sense of belonging. 

For some faculty and staff who have always lived and worked in and/or recognize their position within a majority environment (racially, ethnically, religiously….) it can be hard to imagine or even consider that others feel different or misunderstood, that they have these unintentional experiences, or simply put, that the process they go through to develop their sense of identity may be a bit more complicated than we realize.

By reflecting on our own identities we may extend the pathways that connect us to our students; by going above and beyond to understand and affirm the identities of our students and colleagues we will not only reach their hearts, but will strengthen our whole community. 

Thoughts on Colorblind Ideology

The following reflections are in reference to the article Colorblind Ideology is a Form of Racism by Monnica Williams Ph.D., posted on the Psychology Today website.
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/colorblind/201112/colorblind-ideology-is-form-racism
What are your views on Colorblind Ideology?
Views of Margo Isabel
Colorblindness is a very difficult concept to understand if you spend most of your day in a White majority community, and potentially live in a white majority neighborhood.  Accepting or rejecting colorblind ideology, I believe, depends on your experiences engaging with difference. The stance I take on colorblindness is a professional and personal one – one that reflects my view as an educator and as a white woman, who throughout her life, has been actively engaged with multiple ways of viewing and experiencing the world. The article above on colorblind ideology from Psychology Today defines Colorblindness as: “… the racial ideology that posits the best way to end discrimination is by treating individuals as equally as possible, without regard to race, culture, or ethnicity.” In my view colorblindness is both disrespectful and unresponsive to the individual and collective needs of those who form a community. By being blind to ones color, culture, ethnicity, ability, disability, gender, or sexuality, we are ignoring an important part of a persons identity. By ignoring community members’ identities, those individuals may feel invisible, misunderstood, and sometimes rejected. This sense of exclusion, especially in adolescents, can be very damaging to their self-identity, which ultimately leads to an array of problems for the individuals as well as for the community. Many times these problems remain invisible, although they are fermenting under the surface. A true inclusive and culturally responsive community rejects colorblind ideology.  Those who support a colorblind mentality unintentionally alienate many members of the community. These individuals leave, rebel or silently suffer.We are a school family. We are not treated equally, nor should we be. We lead differently; we teach differently; and we learn differently. We are trained, guided, and supported as we explore and experiment with different pedagogical tools and methodologies. We are expected to differentiate and meet the needs of a vast range of intellectual and cognitive abilities.  However, are we trained, guided and expected to represent, lead, engage, and expose one another to multiple perspectives and worldviews? Some may say yes; some may say no; others are unsure – it remains a grey area. We are a diverse school family – we need to work together to ensure that all individuals feel like true members, and not as guests in our school home.  Our students will not enter a colorblind society – preparing them to enter a diverse society should be intentional; it should be part of our curriculum, program, traditions and professional preparation. Thoughts on Colorblind Ideology
Views of Barry L. Davis - friend and colleague 
“Can’t we just get over this race thing?” “Why do you guys always bring this up?” “I have friends who are (place the appropriate color here), and they don’t always talk about race, they’ve moved on, why don’t you?” These are all questions that I have heard recently, leading me to believe that the Pink Elephant in the room is still race.  When I hear these comments, or people say that they are colorblind, I feel invisible. The one aspect of who I am that has impacted my entire life is being dismissed. I was black first. If I were left on the street of Harlem when I was born, those who found me would say they had found a black male.

When I hear people say that they don’t see race or they have a colorblind ideology, I can only hope that they really mean something else. Perhaps they mean that they see and appreciate race, and don’t see it as a negative thing. However, in my heart I believe a colorblind viewpoint to be a copout, a way to say,  “move on, we’re over this?” I have never heard a person of color say that they do not see color. Color is such a large part of our daily existence, especially living in an environment where we are the minority. To ignore my color is hurtful. It shows me that you don’t understand, see, or appreciate part of who I am.
As is mentioned in the article, as long as blind means not being able to see something, colorblindness can only be seen in a negative light. In the article, multiculturalism is suggested as a remedy or alternative to colorblindness. I see this as just another way to minimize the importance of race and color, a way to peacefully include color into the diversity dialog. In the end, it still minimizes who we are, as well as our history and experience in society.