Johari Mitchell, M.Ed., NBCT’s Post

Transcript

Hi, this is Jahari Mitchell. I have something I want to share and I'm going to call this think on this. I want you to just think about something with me. I hope I can get this done in about 7 minutes. And this is for educators, but it's also for anyone else who sees it as fitting and relevant for them. OK. So this was, this came to me two times today. And so I knew I probably needed to say something about it because it really resonated with me. So first of all, I was talking to an author friend today who was doing work around diversifying STEM and making sure the pipeline to STEM careers is saturated with talent from all kinds of places, right? And so I said to her, I really appreciate what you're doing. Shout out to you, Savannah, I said I really appreciate what you're doing. And she talked about how a lot of times kids are intimidated If they haven't seen or known people in their personal world who are in these STEM careers, they're intimidated. I don't think they can pursue them. And so she said that, you know, what's important is to reach out to people who are doing it, people who may look like you, who may have your background, who can share information with you. But as we talked about it, the intimidation factor was kind a lot of times from things that educators say to young people or counselors, things that are discouraging. And through the years, I've heard people who have made it, they've arrived somewhere and they'll look back and they'll say, yeah, my teacher told me I never could. And the counselor. Told me that I would never be, and I always think are people really saying this stuff, but they are. And I don't know who they are. I don't know where they are, where they're located. But people are saying some very discouraging things to young people, and that's always disturbed me because. I I've always thought we can say a lot of things. We might be frustrated with things that kids are doing whatever. But one thing that we should dare not do is to stand in the God complex place right where we are declaring the people what they can be, what their possibilities are and limiting them with our words and with our expectations. Who are we? How do we think we have the right to do that to people, right. So always wondered about who are these people who are doing this? OK, so my son, I had him read this book to me today. A black architect. And it talks about how it says Paul can see his future as clearly as a blueprint, but not his guidance counselor. Whoever heard of a ***** architect in the early 1900s? Most black people can't buy fine houses or expensive buildings. The chances of a white man hiring Paul seem even slimmer. The councillor begs Paul to study medicine or law, anything but architecture. He doesn't even look at Paul's portfolio. For the first time in Paul's life, he crashes right into the big stone wall of racism. So. At least the I'm glad that the counselor at least was trying to steer him towards something that had some, you know, possibility in it. But he was killing this young man's dreams because of his expectations, because of what he believed could happen. Instead of saying, you know what son, I haven't seen it happen before, but why not? That's what I'm really here to talk about today for educators. We cannot afford to sit in the God complex place and make declarations over children that are not life giving. We don't have that. Power. We should not give ourselves that authority because there are too many stories of us, we who are charged with speaking life over young people. There are too many stories of people crushing folks dreams with their words and low expectations, and we need to stop it. One of the things I think a lot about is that public education is going to be obsolete if we don't structurally and systemically change some things, but also if we don't individually those of us who take ownership of. Our role in the system, if we don't watch the way we handle young people, they have more options now. And in public education we have got to make sure in all facets of education that we're handling people with care. So the other thing I thought about that I wanted to share really fast. Is the good to great book by Jim Collins and he talks about Admiral. I believe it's this title is Admiral Stockdale, who was a prisoner of war. And many of you know the story in Vietnam for years. And he came to this conclusion that you can't just have this raging optimism that everything's just going to work out and be all right, right. But you also can't have this pragmatic, this is what the facts are, and it's horrible and terrible and just sit right there. There has to be a combination. Of, he says. Being willing to confront the brutal facts of what really what you're facing, confronting those facts head on, and at the same time holding on to hope that better is coming and the Stockdale Paradox is a really good way for us to understand this. This, this dualism, this, these really hard facts that are in front of us and the hope and optimism that more is coming. So I brought an example. Unfortunately, this crock pot that we had, it fell and it broke. This is a broken crock pot. I brought this to the library all so I could make this. Demonstration for you. It's a broken crock pot. I have to face the brutal facts that this crock pot is broken. It is what it is. I can't speak that. It's whole and beautiful and well, if it's not, it's broken, right? It is what it is. But if I say this crock pot is broken, therefore I'll never eat again. What a tragic loss of opportunity for me to declare that because this crock pot is broken. Yes, that is a true fact. That I can never eat again. That all hope is lost. That I'm going to starve to death. Why would I do that? I have to confront the brutal facts. That this crock pot is broken and at the same time hold on to optimism. That I can still eat again. That it is possible for me to eat well and to prepare good meals in a crock pot. Now, how that's going to look, how I'll get another one. What's going to happen down the road? We have to work towards that. But that's my demonstration of the duality, the Stockdale paradox, Whatever you want to. Call it yes, there are brutal, hard facts in front of us, but we can't stop with those and just fold our arms and say to our young people that is what it is, They need us to have some hope. And so, yes, confront the brutal facts, tell them the truth, but have that hope and that love on the other side where we're saying, But you know what? Anything is possible. And let's work from the facts towards the future. Right from the facts to the future. Don't get stuck in the facts. Y'all. I'm not going to sit here and tell myself I can't eat again. Absolutely not. I will eat again and I'll figure out how. Because I'm a solutionist. I'm a problem solver and hope springs eternal. Yes, I get frustrated. Yes, I get down. But I will not let that be the determining factor. So that's my work today. To fellow educators, please let us remember. Yes, confront the brutal facts, but also hold on to the hope. And we have to speak hope and we have to speak life. OK. That's it. I hope you all have a great day and I'll talk to you soon. Thank on this.