Acknowledge, Understand, Address: Practices that Uproot a Culture of Fear
If you try to get rid of fear and anger without knowing their meaning, they will grow stronger and return.
– Deepak Chopra
INTRO
During a Crowdsource Coffee on October 28, 2022, Portico leaders, coaches, and facilitators shared their experiences and discussed the fears that exist in our schools–fears of failure, chaos, disagreement, and others–and how they get in the way of a positive school climate. We brainstormed resources and strategies to get at the root of these fears and how to address them with affirming, brave practices.
OBJECTIVES
- Review resources to understand and reflect on what’s driving a culture of fear at your campus
- Brainstorm plans for addressing your school’s culture of fear, so it can move towards being a brave space for all its members
THINGS WE SHARED
- Rework a hostile school culture: The big shift happened when they asked teachers and students to consider the kind of culture they want to have versus the kind of culture they currently live in.
- Importance of building relationships, and how openness and authenticity with other people is at the core of many of the liberatory & regenerative practices. Sometimes new initiatives and changes in school might be pushed on teachers or implemented with speed, but you have to be okay with things taking time.
- The book The Speed of Trust came up in this conversation, and it was also mentioned in the podcast resource that is linked here – we recommend checking it out.
- The conversation also made us think of bell hooks’ book, Teaching to Transgress, which imagines teaching and education as a tool for liberation and instrumental in fighting oppression.
REFLECTION
- Review this companion Toolkit and then reflect on the following:
- What do you think are the top 1-3 liberatory and regenerative characteristics (interdependency, generative conflict, decentralized and participatory leadership, etc.) that are dispelling fear in your school community? Why?
- Review and discuss the provided resources (or at least those that speak to you) with your leadership team. Brainstorm ideas for what factors are contributing to your school community’s culture of fear and how you can come together as a community to acknowledge, understand, and address them.
Responses