Celebrations and Conversations

Hello to all and happy mid-Winter.  We are certainly having a real winter this year—cold, snowy, long, dark.  I know that in my family, while we are enjoying the season, we are beginning to look ahead to what will feel like a well-deserved spring. 

Karamu was so fantastic this year!  Wow!  The evening began with the traditional potluck dinner.  The variety of foods donated by members of the LREI community was amazing.  My family’s dinner choices alone represented cultures from at least four continents.   The evening continued with a series of fantastic performances (not the least of which was our very own EI Jazz Band) and the annual dance party. Thank you to the organizers, to those who donated to the potluck, to the performers and to the fabulous audience.  We should all be proud of the commitment to diversity that energizes this annual event. 

Following Karamu! by a few days, last week’s two “Bringing The Conversation Home” meetings were an interesting contrast in diversity events.  Led by consultant Pat Romney, a familiar face at LREI, these conversations were more contemplation and struggle than celebration.  Attendees discussed ways to have conversations amongst themselves and with their children about class and privilege. Pat suggested strategies for responding when your children bring home comments or questions concerning the role money and wealth can play in the ways in which we experience the world and relate to each other.  These were tricky conversations and I am proud of my parent colleagues for their willingness to engage in them.  We all benefited from our participation during these gatherings.  Two reminders from Pat Romney:

• Engage your child in a discussion about how you “are” in the world defines your life more than what you have or don’t have;
• Help your child understand that differences are differences – not disabilities.

Celebrating our cultures, our differences and those aspects of culture—music, dance, food, art—that we share.  Examining differences in daily experience—money, class, privilege—and trying to better understand the lives of our classmates, friends and neighbors.  We believe that these sorts of activities are essential and it is only through honest conversation and open sharing of experience that we can truly learn to value one another as we do ourselves as we work towards strengthening the LREI community. 

Finally, while the diversity work that I comment on above is important for the community and helps us all to be better community members and colleagues and people, we are first and foremost a school.  I believe deeply that these conversations and experiences deepen your children’s academic experiences.  Practicing the skills that allow us to value and understand the experiences of others can only deepen a student’s learning in history and literature, for example.  Having a greater understanding of their classmates’ lives will make LREI students better able to work with each other, to trust each other, to take risks and to challenge each other to excel.  These skills are essential for academic success and growth. 

Thank you all for your willingness to participate and for your thoughtful and intelligent contributions.