Adventures in Seattle!

Last day - closing thoughts

2006-12-02T20:13:00.000-08:00

Wow!

This morning the students left early to organize their New England regional group, and we adults joined them at 9:15 for discussion sessions. These were completely student run, and we were proud to see Nadja and Jamiee up front with the microphone to get the session going. The students broke us into 3 groups to cover topics they had chosen – socio-economic differences, challenges to diversity and apathy. As we adults shifted from group to group our discussions were ably guided and informed by the students charged with exploring each topic. Having open dialogue with kids from all over our region who are living in our schools and sharing their experiences and difficulties was incredible, and many of us gained important insight we hope to bring back to our campus.

After the regional sessions we adjourned to the large ballroom for closing ceremonies. More performances by local independent school students included a samba demonstration and an amazing Filipino youth drill team sequence, as well as some uplifting music from the members of the People Of Color Conference Choir (with a grand total of 2 hours of rehearsal under their belts). No Brooks faculty joined the choir this year, but we hope to better represent our school next year.

Along with thanks and praise for all who made the conference such a success, we were also treated to a deep and far-ranging speech by former Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo, now a professor at Yale University. In the aftermath of the violent shift in power Mexico saw yesterday, hearing President Zedillo’s thoughts on immigration, diversity and our individual identities and responsibilities was particularly pertinent and exciting.

After the NAIS VP Gene Bastiste announced that next year’s PoCC/SDLC will be in Boston (yeah!), the conference closed and the students got to head for the shopping district for a little bit of free time.

At 5 p.m. we all gathered in the hotel lobby for a trip to Bonefish, a seafood restaurant on the shore of Lake Union owned by Mr. Hoffman’s step-brother. This last meal together before we headed for the airport allowed us all a few minutes to reflect on all we had discussed and thought about, to revel in the amazing breadth of people and ideas we had been exposed to, and to thank one another for the productive time we have spent together over the last 4 days.

Soon we will head to the airport for our red-eye flight back to Boston and reality, but the thousands of miles will not separate us from our newly renewed mission. We return to Brooks avowed social engineers and agents of change.

Ready or not, here we come!

Wrap-up - Day 2

2006-12-02T07:38:00.000-08:00

On the second full day of the conference the adults were treated to a breakfast discussion with Raghida Dergham, senior diplomatic correspondent for Al Hayat, the leading independent Arabic newspaper. During her informative talk Dergham treated us to a patchwork of vignettes from her storied career interviewing all major heads of state including both Presidents Bush, Mikhail Gorbachev, Kings Hussein and Abdullah, among many others. She also spoke of the challenges she has faced as a Lebanese woman in political journalism, and encouraged us all to continue to work for change.

In addition to another slate of workshops (among us we’re bringing back scads of written material), we all had a chance to return to our affinity groups and continue discussions there. It was puzzling and exciting for this writer at least to peel off to “the white room” (with some 400 other white allies at the conference) and discuss myriad issues surrounding supporting people of color in independent schools. Everyone enjoyed their affinity group experiences, and from our brainstorming using “open space technology” we developed some wonderful action points for schools struggling with issues surrounding this topic.

We reunited with the students in the late afternoon and heard their tales of the day as we all rushed back to the hotel to change for our respective dinner parties. The kids were excited about their keynote speaker, Thema Bryant-Davis, and repeatedly used the words “inspiring and uplifting” to describe how her speech made the whole room full of students feel, regardless of race. The also conveyed the challenges of meeting in their “regional groups” for the first time to prepare for the adult/student dialogues on Saturday morning. Among the best events they attended today was the intra-group talent show, featuring peers with so much talent it reportedly brought tears to the kids’ eyes.

On our return to the hotel the students prepped for a dinner and dance, while the adults donned their “after-5 wear” for a banquet. The food was surprisingly good, and the featured speaker, Prof. Charles Ogletree of Harvard Law School, was tremendously inspiring. Prof. Ogletree’s speech ran a gamut of ideas along the theme that the way to ensure a better future for all of our children is to be sure they understand the lessons and triumphs of our past and embrace the heroes and “sheroes” they can model. Preceding Prof. Ogletree were several regional student performance groups including a solo vocalist from Seattle Academy of Arts & Sciences and an energizing middle school marimba ensemble that brought the audience to its feet several times. The brave children who performed for the daunting crowd were rewarded with the sincere cheers and applause of the 2,000 teachers who were all rooting for them.

We look forward to the closing events on Saturday morning and the chance to hear Ernesto Zedillo, former president of Mexico, speak.

Getting down to business - students

2006-12-01T10:30:00.000-08:00

OK, I caught up with the kids this morning for a few minutes before they moved into their "family groups" to start their day (as there are more than 1,000 kids, they are broken up randomly into 13 smaller groups, with which they meet throughout the day. None of the Brooks kids share a group, so they are all meeting many new folks). They are tired and excited. They spent most of yesterday working with facilitators on issues of identity. Topics ranged from how we identify ourselves to how others identify us to idenitfying and debunking common assumptions around racial and gender identity.

The students are having a chance to do some tremendous thinking and listening about these issues, and all of them enjoyed the experience tremendously. I can already tell they are growing in their thinking.

Big props to my advisee Brittanye, who was selected as a student leader this year and is doing an amazing job in this role, by all accounts.

We will meet them at 5:30 to return to the hotel so adults and kids alike can prepare for their respective banquets tonight. The faculty food will probably be better, but there will be more fun and dancing at the kids' event, I'm imagining ...!! maybe I'll sneak in ...

Getting down to business - faculty

2006-12-01T05:54:00.000-08:00

On the first full day of the conference we as a group barely had a moment to catch up with each other as the ceremonies opened at 8 a.m. and we didn’t close until 10:30 p.m.

Keynote speaker Sherman Alexie, a Spokane Coeur d’Alene writer, Native American civil rights activist and humorist, energized the crown with laughter and poignant observations as he delivered his take on diversity in America. Hilarious riffs on topics such as gangs of white kids in Seattle accosting him from minivans flashing their “Abercrombie & Fitch” gang signs had the 3,000 attendees rolling in the aisles even as they made us all think about assumptions we all make. Mr. Hoffman and Ms. Perkins got their favorite Alexie books (Reservation Blues and The Lone Ranger & Tonto Fistfight in Heaven) signed afterwards, and began discussions with the author about coming to Brooks at some point. Exciting possibilities!!

The lunch break included a trip to the famed Pike Street Market, where the nationally known angry fishmonger guys who usually thrown fish for fun took a moment to trick Ms. Perkins for their own entertainment, instead. Interested in a curious-looking creature hanging from the ice, Ms. P. was completely freaked out when it jerked up at her as she approached. The poor thing (a monkfish imported from Boston, ironically) was tied to a rope behind the counter and got a good yank whenever the counterman wanted a good laugh.

The various events during the day included a number of fantastic performing arts groups including Native American drummers and dancers, Indian classical dance, African dancers, Japanese drumming, a high school hip-hop dance troupe and a Cambodian dance group, which followed the evening speaker. That speaker, Luong Ung, told her story of surviving the Cambodian killing fields of the mid ’70s, coming to America at age 8 and growing up in Vermont, the “whitest state in the country”. Ms. Ung brought many in the audience to tears as she described losing her parents and several of her siblings on her flight to freedom.

All 5 faculty members attended various 2 half-day workshops and affinity group meetings. Workshop topics ranged from “Solving the Achievement Gap” to “Teaching Huck Finn”, and everyone reported fascinating and energizing conversations.
The students, working on their own material all day, will report on their activities later today!

Seeing Seattle

2006-11-30T06:15:00.000-08:00

We spent our first full day in Seattle getting to know the neighborhood, registering for the conference and taking a 4-hour bus tour of the city with 100 other conference participants. Last night the students attended their first event, a performance of The Wrestling Season, a play that examines issues of identity and that was put on by students from Miami Country Day School. At the same time, our Peer Leader Brittanye trained with fellow leaders in preparation to lead the 1030 students from around the country who are here to take part in the Student Diversity Leadership Conference.

The most eventful part of the day was certainly the unscheduled stop out tour bus made in Chinatown (renamed "the International District" to more accurately reflect the breadth of the resident population, we were told.) Though Bus 1 succeeded in making the turn up a steep hill toward Skid Road, Bus 2 got hung up - literally - at the sharpest angle of the incline, leaving the back bumper stuck in the asphalt and the middle wheels in the air. After much deliberation we evacuated the bus and stood on the sidewalk, watching veteran driver Richard mulling his options while tour guide Nicki tried to distracted her charges from the calamity.

Eventually we got a first-hand example of Seattle friendliness as a team of 5 mechanics appeared out of nowhere with truck jacks and managed to raise the back end and free the vehicle. Though we enjoyed seeing the various Seattle neighborhoods, this moment of excitement (and chance to buy unusual snacks from the Chinese grocery on the corner) was certainly the most invigorating of the day.

The tour ended at the Needle, which we had the chance to ascend at dusk for a lovely view of the city, the sound and the mountains beyond. A great first day of the trip!

On Thursday we begin our conferencing in earnest, and will be at the center from 8 a.m. until 10:30 p.m. The students have already met many of their fellow conferees, and are excited to get into the various workshops, as well as spend social time with students at schools like Brooks around the country.

Off to Seattle!

2006-11-28T04:38:00.000-08:00

Today 6 Brooks students and 5 faculty members take off for the annual NAIS People of Color Conference in Seattle. Watch this space for pictures, news, and to keep tabs on this great adventure!