DEI Matters at MAC: January 2024 Update
We kicked off the new year by coming together as a community at our first professional learning day of 2024 on January 2nd, during which we continued our anti-bias education journey. We focused on the first of the four goals, centered on increasing awareness and understanding of our individual and social identity in its many facets as well as our cultural contexts. Delving into a deep understanding of individual identity allows us to identify and shift implicit biases in order to be more effective in response to different people, perspectives and situations. To guide our individual exploration of identity and spur self-reflection, we did an exercise that had us examine our cultural reference points, thinking about some of the elements of our life experiences that have shaped our worldview and may influence teaching practices. Through this exercise, we were able to start to uncover implicit biases and potential triggers, developing a greater awareness that is useful in self-management and in turn, greater connection with others. We gathered in small groups to share our self-reflections and in so doing, strengthened our understanding and appreciation of one another as colleagues. “Getting to know the humans who we work with allows us to be more effective in meeting the needs of the people we serve. It gives our work greater meaning and connection to be able to understand what makes each of us unique at MAC and ultimately helps us in our journey to become better educators,” explained Assistant Head of School, Alicia FaJohn. Our teachers' willingness to engage in a deeply reflective journey of self-discovery is a reflection of their commitment to continuous improvement as educators. We thank our community for their work and dedication to be the best teachers they can be! Our next professional learning day will take place on February 16, 2024 during which we will explore the next two goals of anti-bias education, diversity and justice, with the guidance of Dr. Vanessa Santiago Schwarz. We will provide our next update in February!
- DEI
- Schoolwide