Cultural Competency Expert Rosetta Lee Speaks to Rivers Faculty, Staff

 

Ms. Lee’s workshop focused on the idea of cultural competency, a term that refers to how we as people view culture beyond what she terms “the four ‘F’s’: food, festivals, flags, and fun.’” At the core of this concept is the idea that everyone is at different stages of cultural competency and understanding that opens up more opportunities for learning and growth in regular interactions with both students and faculty.

 

The full-day workshop engaged faculty and staff in discussion both with Ms. Lee and with each other on how these concepts could be applied to the Rivers community in the classroom, on the sports fields, and in the advisory setting.

 

“Sometimes when we talk about diversity in Independent Schools it carries a negative connotation, like ‘here we go again,’” said Director of Diversity and Inclusivity John Bower. “However, when it’s presented as cultural competency and that everyone is at a different phase of achieving that competency, I think that makes the subject much more accessible.”

 

One of the areas Ms. Lee stressed in having these conversations was that that space – and by extension, the classroom – must be “safe, but not comfortable.”

 

“The ‘safe’ vs. ‘comfortable’ distinction stuck out to me,” said Grade 9 Dean and Foreign Language teacher Chris Holownia. “We need to make sure our classrooms are safe but uncomfortable so that there's ample room for growth and discussion. It's our job to call out these uncomfortable conversations and deal with them. If not us, then who?”

 

Microaggressions and “ouch” moments make up a large swath of those uncomfortable conversations and are the product of people being at different stages of cultural competency. The first phase of this cycle is “I don’t know that I don’t know,” and it is at that stage that a “safe” environment allows for teachable moments and opportunities to grow.

 

“Rosetta spoke about ‘intent versus impact’ and alluded to the microaggressions that people experience all the time—both of which were enlightening and resonated with me,” said Middle School Art teacher Chris Love. “It was nice for the allies to know that they, too, can unknowingly be perpetuating some of the things that we collectively do when we’re not being deliberate, thoughtful, or empathetic.”

 

The “ouch moment,” or an instance where you may hear something that could be offensive to you or someone around you, and how to navigate them was the basis of the afternoon session.

 

“How do you confront the individual and explain to them why whatever they said was offensive without coming off as combative?” Bower said. “We are a school that prides itself on the relationships that we have with students and with each other, but I’m not sure we always resolve conflict in a way that benefits both sides of the ‘ouch’ moment. What this workshop did was give us more tools to utilize in those situations.”

 

Getting Ms. Lee to Rivers had been a goal of Bower’s for some time after seeing her in 2014 at the Diversity Leadership Institute and then several more times, including the NAIS Annual Conference in Boston last spring. Each time her presentation touched on different issues surrounding diversity and inclusion in independent schools.

 

“Rosetta is such a powerhouse with respect to all things diversity and inclusion and she pulls from a number of different sources, but is still so accessible to her audience, whether its students, faculty, or board members,” Bower said. “I keep coming back to the word accessible, but it is that element of her presentation that makes it so effective.”

 

Ms. Lee is scheduled to return in the spring for another discussion with the faculty and staff.