Chapter 3

When Adult Behavior Poses Equity Challenges

Everyone’s Got a Story

Learning Targets

After reading Chapter 3, participants will be able to understand and define the Equity Leadership Trilogy and through self-reflection provide some examples of each.
After reading Chapter 3, participants will be able to understand the difference between empathy and sympathy. Readers will also understand why empathy is crucial to this work.
After reading Chapter 3, participants will be able to identify their own biases and reflect on how their personal biases and perspectives impact equity work.

Equity Concepts

Equity Leadership Trilogy: These are three of the most critical traits that impactful equity leaders exhibit.
Leadership Maturity: This level of leadership development makes it clear that the leader is always “the level-headed adult in the room:.
Leadership Responsiveness: leaders this master this capacity are able to:
- Read subtle signs of human emotion, and
- Turn that reading into data to inform modified leadership action.
Leadership Grace: the most effective equity leaders have the humility to grant people a pass or goodwill even when they “don’t deserve it.”

Main Ideas

Equity leaders will encounter adults whose behavior is baffling.
Equity leaders understand that people have different levels of need and that providing that IS equity.
Equity Leaders need to appreciate that everyone has a story, and that investing in knowing one another is critical to leading equity work. Taking time to know one another is critical, especially during conflict, it is hard to hate up close.

Our Common Goal

To create inclusive and equitable learning environments for all

Our Call to Action:

Continue to reflect on your own mindset regarding race and privilege.
Begin to dismantle inequities for all students and staff (policies, practices, procedures).
Listen to the voices of students, families, and employees (what are their stories?).
Go out and ACT NOW!

Equity Leaders must work effectively with ALL people, remembering “Everyone has a story.” Equity issues bring out the best and the worst in people because they lean on people’s very personal beliefs.

Call to Action 1-
- Develop cultural proficiency and self awareness of your perspectives shaped by your journey.

Call to Action2-
- Understand your role in the current inequitable system.
- Keep the equity mission in front of personal comfort.

Call to Action 3-
- Share stories and listen to the stores of others.
- Develop empathy (not sympathy) and develop relationships, especially during times of conflict, it is hard to hate up close.
Call to Action 4-
- Develop tools to deal with productive and constructive conflict.

Guiding Questions

Share your story, how do your life experiences impact the way you feel and interact with students, colleagues and the community. (Consider race, ethnicity, age, gender, educational level, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, religion, zip code, job title, marital status, etc)
Identify student groups or employee groups at your site/department. Can you list the common held beliefs or biases regarding their culture, motivation, home environment?
Being aware of these beliefs/biases, what can you go back into your classroom/workplace and do today to support those identified groups? (what commonalities do we share? What are some areas we need to be more intentional with inclusivity?)
We all have different stories that shape our perspectives, beliefs, cultures and biases. Describe a time when you held a misunderstanding about a colleague, leader or student that impacted the way you dealt with them. What lesson did you take with you that you use or will use as a result of that experience?

Ex. As a teacher, I had an African American female student who shouted out in class all the time. She seemed to mock me when I was teaching and no matter how many times I explained she was disruptive and disrespectful she continued to talk out during class. One day while explaining my struggles to a peer, a colleague stepped up and recognized my cultural misunderstanding. She interrupted my beliefs and shared that she had observed the student doing the same thing in her class and she was using call backs to display engagement and participation. I went back to class and she was right! I needed to repair the relationship we had, I started validating her call backs, thank her for her participation and engagement and we as a class started developing and using call backs throughout the day! I asked all the students if there was a way they interact with their families that was special and we incorporated several of their suggestions in creating callbacks. The entire class became more engaged and the students thrived.

La Salle speaks of the Equity Leadership Trilogy. Through the process of self-reflection is there one part of the trilogy that you could commit to intentionally implementing/doing more?

Example of Leadership Maturity: Stand and Deliver “I want to teach calculus” scene. https://youtu.be/a81pNygdAXw

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