August-October 2017
By Oscar Gonzalez, Director of Equity and Inclusivity
Growing up as a first-generation citizen, I had two parents who always expressed the importance of education. When they immigrated from Mexico, my mother and father came to the United States in search of a better life. Through their hard work, they taught me to persevere and told me that an education would provide a path to success. Along with that, they taught me to honor everyone’s humanity and to bring others up with me. Since an early age, I’ve learned that your light doesn’t have to dim for mine to shine, and vice versa – we can shine together. I attended Denver Public Schools until eighth grade, and through my parents’ support, good fortune and teachers who believed in me, I received full scholarships to Kent Denver School and Northwestern University. Most of continued on page 10
Today
Understanding the Whole Elephant
Inclusivity and the Intellectual Journey By Josh Cobb, Head of School
This article on inclusivity is part of a series Josh is writing on his strategic focus for 2017-18: inclusivity, innovation and inspiration. Watch for part 2 in the next Graland Today. In India, there is a famous parable of six blind men and an elephant. In the story, each man is asked to describe this “thing,” the elephant. They all go up, touch one element of the elephant, and decide they know what it is. “It is a pot!” (the head), “A fan!” (the ear), “A snake!” (the trunk), “A tree trunk!” (the leg), “A wall!” (the body), “A rope!” (the tail). In the many variations of this story, these contradictory descriptions usually end in discord (and sometimes violence) as the blind men argue that their interpretations continued on page 8
IN THIS ISSUE:
A Journey to Common Ground
November 2017-January 2018
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