11 minute read
Q&A: More Than a Moment
TYNEETA CANONGE, DIRECTOR OF BLAKE’S OFFICE OF EQUITY AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT (OECE), OFFERS INSIGHTS ON HOW WE NAVIGATE THE PRESENT, SHAPE THE FUTURE AND RECKON WITH THE PAST.
Together with her five OECE team members, Canonge builds the framework that supports Blake’s goals of pluralism, equity, inclusivity and engagement. But, she notes, success ultimately depends on the individual and collective efforts of a school community committed to the lifelong work of anti-racism and anti-bias.
Editor’s note: In addition to the director, Blake’s OECE team includes the director of global programming, the PK-12 department chair for equity and instruction, the LearningWorks executive director, the service learning and community engagement director and GLBTQ support and advocacy.
Tyneeta Canonge
Question: Can you describe the role of Blake’s OECE?
Answer: Our team supports the school in recognizing, appreciating and affirming diverse perspectives and in building curriculum, policies and programs that foster intercultural competency. My focus is partnering with others to develop strategic planning and to find opportunities to engage the whole school community in collaborative ways to create a vibrant, inclusive institutional community. Other members of my team work on specific areas of the school’s commitment to pluralism, such as LGBTQIA+ advocacy, equity and instruction, global programming and service learning. The beautiful thing is it's a very multi-faceted approach.
Q: What are OECE’s priorities and do you see them changing in the pandemic or as the country continues to respond to the killing of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and many others at the hands of the police?
A: COVID-19 and the protests happening around the world have certainly garnered our attention. The OECE vision statement is “Leading, facilitating and supporting both individual and school-wide efforts that foster a more equitable, inclusive and engaged community.” We worked on this as a team to give us a foundation to develop Blake’s programming, no matter what's going on. So I don't think about changing our direction; I do think about amplifying the work we're doing, enriching the programming we already have and looking for opportunities to call more people into that work. Pandemics like racism and COVID draw attention to our fight for each other’s humanity, unfortunately at a high cost, but they also provide an opportunity to examine what we could be doing better or differently to support all our students, especially those with marginalized identities who might be more explicitly impacted by what’s happening in our world. We get another chance to deepen our learning and act on behalf of one another's well-being. We should always be ready to move forward toward the greater good.
Q: This fall, the OECE launched Blake’s Equity Lab. Can you share a bit about this program and who is involved?
A: Our team had a vision to create a hub to offer equity focused learning opportunities for everyone in our community—students, faculty and staff, parents and guardians and alumni—as a way to help carry out Blake’s mission, core values and commitment to pluralism. This fall, we launched the Equity Lab, which serves as that hub by supporting a variety of programs such as lunch-and-learn sessions, after-school workshops, one-on-one discussions, critical friend groups, professional collaborations, webinars, community partnerships and more. It’s a place where people can engage in conversations about anti-racism and anti-bias and gain a better understanding of what’s happened in our local communities to bring us to this moment and really demystify the work for people. And while the OECE supports the Equity Lab, we’ll collaborate with community members outside of our office to develop programs that best serve our constituents' needs and interests.
Q: How do you balance the immediate needs of our community, especially the emotional support of our Black, Indigenous and families of color, with the long-term strategic goals of your office?
A: Our time is often spent managing the events of the day and the effect those events are having on our BIPOC families. But thinking collaboratively about what we need to do long term is also critical. You have to do those things simultaneously. The balancing act begins when we take a step back and find time and space to think about where we are, how far we’ve come, where we want to be in five years and how we’re going to get there. Some of that work involves reexamining our curriculum, both academic and social-emotional. How do we talk about the way our country has legislated power and privilege? How do we celebrate the contributions of people whose stories don’t line our history books? Are there holes? How do we fill them? Another aspect of long-range planning is continued recruitment of people of color in the community and establishing strategies for retention. Where are our blind spots and what could we be doing better? Fortunately, not only is the OECE team thinking through these questions, but many in Blake's community, including the administrative team and trustees, are more than willing to get involved. For example, following George Floyd’s death, Blake’s division directors spearheaded a faculty-wide summer reading and discussions of the books "Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and You" by Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds and "We Want To Do More Than Survive" by Bettina Love. That’s part of what I love about Blake: some of these initiatives don’t even come from my office. That's characteristic of the Blake community. People are really leaning in and wanting to learn and grow and deepen their understanding of their own position and the role they play and the actions they can take to deconstruct racism.
Q: Part of anti-racism work is acknowledging all aspects of history. How does a school like Blake effectively recognize its part in systemic racism?
A: There's so much tension around this right now in schools across the country. First, we have to acknowledge that most educational institutions have a history of systemic inequities. Those doing a better job at alleviating some of that tension are just really bold and they name it by saying, "Here's who we were, here's how we were founded, and here's the work we're doing to balance the scales." That involves creating greater access pipelines and setting aside funds to support comprehensive inclusive programming. But in every school, there's always more work to be done. For instance, schools need to make sure that whatever percentage of student identity exists in the institution there's the same or greater balance of faculty identity. Diversifying the community benefits everyone, but it is not enough. The same effort needs to be put forth to create equity in every area of the school's daily life. The schools I see doing a good job have anti-bias curriculum and pedagogy. The use restorative justice student disciplinary techniques. the teach everyone to interrupt bias in their own ways. They empower all community members to advocate for equity. It can sometimes be messy and uncomfortable, especially for adults, to balance student passion and energy while activating student voice. Faculty, administrators and other adults in the community have to grow in their own intercultural competency and allyship to be positioned to support an active student orientation toward equity.
Q: We're one school but our students are on three different campuses and range from pre-kindergarten to twelfth grade. What are the common threads that connect Blake's anti-racism culture and what are some of the challenges to fostering it?
A: I am happy about Blake being one of a handful of schools that expects all teachers to grow their intercultural competency as part of the teacher evaluation process. Great work has been done in that area. Until all faculty members understand the systemic ways that inequities and racist ideas have been perpetuated and maintained, there is more work to do.
Regarding students, we work hard to help students understand their own identities—what they love, what their experiences are, who they are—and also understand different cultural identities. But one area of growth for us is in our work outside of the classroom. For example, what does a student's understanding of different cultures and history look like when they're walking through the hallways or eating lunch? How do they take their appreciation and understanding of people whose identities are different from theirs and translate that into the way they interact with their peers? Do we ever see ourselves and our students engaging with others based on stereotypical concepts? Are our actions toward each other harmful? How often do the Lower School rules welcome, safety and respect and the Middle School HARRT Code translate in moments when kids think adults aren’t looking? Also, how do adults equip kids with the skills to do better when our stated school values aren’t honored? How do we investigate all of this? Do we collect data that could inform us? Are we consistent about our expectations across all divisions? Those are just a few of the questions we have to constantly ask ourselves.
The idea of allyship is something our school community has talked about with students from a very young age, trying to help them understand what it means to be in a community and be respectful of each other no matter the differences. They also learn how to have conversations across differences and respectfully disagree. But there's sometimes a gap between what students are learning in the curriculum and their application of that knowledge in their everyday lives. The Black@Blake Instagram posts are an example of some students and faculty members not treating each other with dignity and respect. Incidents like these represent the way certain members in our community perpetuate racist ideas, intentionally or unintentionally, and participate in the oppression of others. As we learned in our faculty summer reading books, "Stamped" and "We Want To Do More Than Survive," these ideas have been integrated in the foundation of our country, reiterated and revived over and over again. The ideas, regulations and sentiments have allowed some people to have advantages over others throughout history. These ideas, regulations and sentiments have determined whether certain people were legally considered human or could have citizenship. They’ve determined whether certain people would be prohibited from learning to read, marry, drink from water fountains, own property or businesses or cast a vote without extraordinary ramifications. I could certainly go on. If these restrictions and atrocities have never applied to you or your ancestors, what can you be doing to create more equity for those who are still suffering the consequences of these racist ideas and actions today?
Q: What advice do you have for people who want to bring about diversity, equity and inclusion in their daily lives and our broader culture?
A: This isn’t a moment; this is lifelong work. You never “arrive” as an anti-racist, anti-biased person. You have to decide to commit to lifelong learning and being uncomfortable when you feel all of the feelings that come with the learning. The first step is to commit, no matter how uncomfortable it gets. The second step is, when you feel those uncomfortable feelings of anger or frustration or shame or embarrassment or guilt, stop and take a step back. Take a deep breath and really start asking yourself some questions. Is there something in my past experience that needs healing? What are these feeling about? Where did I learn the idea that's causing me to feel this way? Is the idea a biased one? One that values one group of people over another? How can I unlearn it and what information do I need to replace it with? This is a constant practice. Also understand that we've all been socialized to believe things about gender, race, language, class, etc. that we now need to unlearn. The word "deconstruct" is so important because we didn't necessarily have control over what we've learned. But once you can educate yourself and recognize all of the miseducation, then you can begin to do the really uncomfortable work of unlearning and replacing falsehoods with truth.
Call for Equity Lab Proposals
Are you a community member with equity-related expertise? Alumni, parents, students, faculty and staff are invited to create a session for Blake's Equity Lab by completing a proposal, available at blake.mn/elproposal. Successful session proposals will facilitate conversations that reflect Blake's Commitment to Pluralism and the OECE vision "to foster a more equitable, inclusive and engaged community." Proposals should plan for an hour-long session and reflect the current theme: "What does it mean to be anti-racist?" Content should be based in research, model evidence-based practices and draw on personal mastery or reflective practice. Sessions should encourage attendees to continue exploring the subject area and inspire action.
