[baisl] Re: Diversity and Cross-Cultural Competency book clubs

From: "Perotin, Tana" <tperotin@xxxxxxx>
To: "baisl@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <baisl@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Tue, 6 Feb 2018 17:44:51 +0000

Hi Beth,

Here at Bellarmine we have a Justice Summit on Human Dignity each year and the
focus this year is “Understanding Race in the 21st Century”.  The general link
for the summit is below. I especially call your attention to the 7 Principles
of Constructive Dialog. We had posters of these printed up and are hanging in
every classroom and space to remind faculty and students of some useful
guidelines when discussing difficult subjects.  Also at the link below under
Reading List is an effort I put together to try to get students to read some
fiction dealing with issues around race.  All American Boys had the highest
readership (we are an all-boy school after all) followed by The Hate U Give.
But honestly this effort was a flop in my opinion. I publicized it heavily but
in the end there were only about 12 total entries in the drawing (we have
1,600+ students). I think the only way we could have possibly increased
participation would have been for English teachers to give extra credit which
they didn’t do (which I also understand).

http://www.bcp.org/students/summit/index.aspx

Last year (2016-17) we spent all of our Professional Development time getting
ready to launch the summit to the students this year.  So the during the summer
of 2016 a committee (including me) came up with several books we hoped the
faculty would read in a range of subject areas. Then we held discussion
meetings for each book.  I did not attend all of the discussions but the ones I
did were very sparsely attended (less than 5 people).  Disappointing to all of
us who were coordinating the effort. I do know more people read one or more
books on the list but couldn’t come to the discussions. I think it is a really
good list though: https://www.smore.com/5vphg ;.

One additional book that I really liked a lot which is not on this list is
Waking Up White by Debby Irving. Oh I see Robin recommends this book also.

Good luck with your efforts!  I figure if even a seed of new thinking is
planted in a person that seed will eventually sprout – maybe years later but it
will sprout!

Best regards,

Tana Perotin
Director of Library and Research Services
Bellarmine College Preparatory
960 W. Hedding St.
San Jose, CA 95126
408-537-9257
www.bcp.org<http://www.bcp.org/>

From: baisl-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:baisl-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf ;
Of Robin Gluck
Sent: Sunday, February 4, 2018 9:20 PM
To: baisl@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [baisl] Re: Diversity and Cross-Cultural Competency book clubs

Here are some suggestions from our Diversity and Inclusion Director:

Book clubs are a great way to work on personal growth and develop more comfort
in having difficult conversations!
At our school we've done two things:
·  Opt-in book group. I recommend having someone take ownership in organizing,
even facilitation rotates. Waking Up White is an excellent book for this
because each chapter ends with prompts. The content is more "heart" than "head"
which is also important when seeking transformation.
·  All Faculty/Staff reading which we do over the summer.  We get into small
groups in the fall to debrief/discuss. Here is the master list of
resources<https://docs.google.com/document/d/142MDplscd46gIKRtaEH7uIHQjck966nvUeq5Yp8qHfw/edit?usp=sharing>
- including readings, videos and podcasts - that we invited colleagues to
choose from last summer. Contact me if you want to know more about how this
worked.

On Fri, Feb 2, 2018 at 11:21 AM, Beth McMurphy
<bmcmurphy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:bmcmurphy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
Happy Friday, Colleagues!

Here at Mark Day School, we have been working on expanding our professional
development opportunities around diversity, inclusion, and cross-cultural
competency. I'm wondering if any of you have experience at your schools with
book clubs for this or other professional purposes. If so, do you have any
advice or thoughts you can share -- strategies, book recommendations,
communication techniques to encourage buy-in?

Thanks!

--
Beth McMurphy
Learning Commons Specialist
Mark Day School<http://www.markdayschool.org/>

"Never trust anyone who has not brought a book with them." -- Lemony Snicket,
Horseradish

--

[Image removed by sender.]

Robin Gluck

Librarian
Jewish Community High School of the Bay
1835 Ellis Street, San Francisco, CA 94115
rgluck@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:mehunt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> |
www.jchsofthebay.org<http://www.jchsofthebay.org/>

References:
- [baisl] Diversity and Cross-Cultural Competency book clubs
  - From: Beth McMurphy
- [baisl] Re: Diversity and Cross-Cultural Competency book clubs
  - From: Robin Gluck

[baisl] Re: Diversity and Cross-Cultural Competency book clubs

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