Saturday Conference

March 5, 2011 - Day Five of SOLC

I was in a local conference all day, & have done a lot of listening & talking. This particular conference was created by a few people from local schools, both public & private, to begin the talk about diversity issues, certainly those in our schools, but also in the wider world. I is called C.I.R.C.L.E. (connecting inclusive responsive communities leading education), & is in its third year of being. Different schools take turns hosting the event.

It's both an exhilarating and frustrating day, filled with ideas, confirmation of goals, & definitions of the reality of some people's experiences that are not always positive. One group's session that was especially motivating was the "white allies" group. To be an ally was defined as being a friend or mentor with courage. Most in the group have discussed and chosen to be an ally at one time or another because of personal convictions. This group had more to share, however, about feeling alone in other groups at times, about students' stories (confidences) of being excluded, about those who had made commitments to speaking out for change in their schools. It was a slice of life for me to join others in talking about this topic so often ignored in our public & professional lives. I do think that, to paraphrase an old bromide, we have now talked the talk, I hope we're ready again to walk the walk.