The Imperativeness of Context in Eliciting Optimal Responses from Others
To truly comprehend where individuals come from and where they are currently, as well as how you can aid them in progressing, is crucial in numerous aspects of life, such as education, businesses, and personal relationships.
Lacey Robinson, together with UnboundEd, envision a world where educators collaborate to dismantle systemic racism by delivering grade-level, engaging, affirmative, and significant instruction. Their primary focus is to promote justice in the intricate aspects of teaching and learning to eradicate the predictability of educational outcomes based on race.
This cause holds enormous significance beyond the Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities, as everyone's collective betterment is vital for facing and handling the issues we confront as a society. However, this piece is not solely focused on schools. Instead, let's apply the GLEAM framework from Robinson's insightful book "Justice Seekers – Pursuing Equity in the Details of Teaching & Learning" to various organizations. To distinguish it from schools, we will rename "Grade-Level" as "Standard-focused." Here's the adapted framework:
Standard-focused. Eliminate preconceived notions and low expectations stemming from an individual's background or perceived aptitudes due to unconscious or implicit bias. Create learning environments, exercises, and experiences to elevate everyone to the optimal standard for their potential, capabilities, and requirements.
Engaging. Proactive learning generates more results than passive learning. Encourage participation and excitement in the arduous but rewarding struggles of learning, thinking, and creative processes. Explore alternative engagement methods to accommodate various individuals and integrate their lived experiences into the learning environment for mutual benefit.
Affirming. Foster a sense of value and respect by embracing the individuals' entire history, including their cultural identities, linguistic roots, inherent talents, acquired knowledge, mastered abilities, accumulated experience, and cultivated sensibilities. This necessitates versatility, humility, and relinquishing control.
Meaningful. Transition from abstract concepts to tangible outcomes. What (info)? So what (understanding)? Now what (action)? Some applications are technical or tactical (addressable with existing problem-solving skills and techniques), while others are strategic or cultural (requiring adaptive thinking and individual adjustments to approaches and methods).
Visualize a ball at rest on a table. Can you determine its direction of motion? No. Now imagine a video of the same ball rolling. At a specific frame, it temporarily halts. Can you predict the ball's direction of motion next? Absolutely. This illustrates Newton's first law of motion. In the absence of an opposing force, an object continues moving in the direction it was previously moving.
To assist others in reach their full potential, start by acknowledging and mitigating your inherent biases to dispense with low expectations, engage individuals actively, make them feel valued and respected, and transition from theoretical brilliance to practical utility.
Begin by acknowledging and mitigating your biases to dispense with low expectations. It's challenging to believe that individuals without similar educational backgrounds and experiences can match your performance level or accomplishment. However, that is not the objective. Your goal is to encourage them to think differently, ultimately elevating the collective potential beyond what any individual can achieve alone. Assist them in learning and developing so everyone may advance simultaneously.
Then, engage individuals actively. What excites you may not resonate with others. Shift your focus from sharing your stories to empowering others to share their own experiences, allowing all to learn and grow. To instill a valuable lesson, encourage interaction and active teaching.
Then, make them feel valued and respected. This entails honoring their legacies, layers, and lenses. Embrace their diversity, not merely observing but experiencing their perspectives through their unique lenses. Celebrate what shaped them and opened new avenues for collaboration and decision-making.
Finally, transition from theoretical brilliance to practical utility. This is not a test, nor are you seeking compliance or the upholding of conventional methods. The objective is co-creation of a promising future with diverse perspectives, enabling agility to adapt to evolving circumstances together.
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- Incorporating the principles from Lacey Robinson's GLEAM framework into the development of organizations can fostер equity and justice, bringing out the best in individuals and eradicating biases.
- Bringing out the best in students or employees requires enabling environments that promote learning, respect their diverse backgrounds, and transition from theoretical concepts to practical applications.
- Educators and leaders, alike, must recognize and address their unconscious biases to ensure equity and equal opportunities for all, enabling everyone to reach their fullest potential.
- Justice seekers and equality advocates can make significant contributions to organizations by leveraging the GLEAM framework, bringing unbounded growth and equality to communities and society as a whole.
