In December, five members of the Fenn community attended the 2016 National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) People of Color Conference (POCC) focusing on "Advancing Human and Civil Rights—Fulfilling the Dream Together" in December. Diversity Director Tete Cobblah, Assistant Director of Diversity and mathematics teacher Jenn Youk See, Lower School English and Social Studies teacher Kristin FitzGerald, Director of Instrumental Music Virginia Morales, Diversity and Teaching Intern Osa Osagie participated in three days of collaborative and reflective discussions, with colleagues from around the country, about seemingly intractable human and civil rights challenges facing our society today. "The POOC conference is a beloved community that focuses on valuing humanity and inclusivity in our all of our work as educators," explains Tete. "It fosters a tremendous sense of community and provide us with a chance to reflect on what we are actively doing to help our students and what areas still need to be addressed."
"I believe that attending POCC has given me a much deeper understanding of empathy and what it means to be a culturally competent educator and human being," says Virginia. I was able to gain so much perspective and I feel like I was able to grow as a person." When asked about what how to incorporate new ideas gleaned from the conference, Osa shares, "I plan on being more deliberate about the work that I do with students and faculty. I want to make sure that here, at Fenn, we are cultivating an environment that caters to the needs of every student, not just a particular type of student."
One session that stood out for Jenn a workshop called "The White Women's Guide to Teaching Black Boys," led by Dr. Eddie Moore, founder of the annual White Privilege Conference. She shared that this content offering really, "had me thinking about whether or not a majority white school is the best institution in which parents can educate black boys." She adds, "Race in our schools is a very complex thing, and one that is not recognized enough…White women do not move through this world in the same way that black boys do, and it’s an interesting question: whether or not teachers who cannot fully empathize with the experience of their students, should be teaching them in the first place." Also participating in this workshop, Kristin offers, that the presenters encouraged white teachers to think about "how to talk about race; how to do anti-racism work alongside people of color without accessing our internal superiority; seeing unquestioned biases fed to white women without questions; undoing our socialization as white women," among other ideas.
Inspired by the innovative ideas shared at the POCC, these Fenn teachers are eager to understand, respect, and connect with members of the Fenn community in order to design approaches that best address the needs of Fenn boys. "The work that we started at the POCC revealed that there is no one single approach to infusing lessons of diversity and inclusivity into our curriculum," adds concludes Tete. "Instead, we need to continue to collaboratively develop a range of options that will best serve the dynamic needs of Fenn boys."
Read more about Fenn faculty's impressions of the conference and how they plan to integrate lessons learned to benefit Fenn boys.
To learn more about the Fenn community's commitment to diversity and inclusivity, please visit fenn.org