Reply To: Developing English Teaching Allies

[Erica Fain]

Right on, Dr. Mooney! In fact, our monthly district administrators meeting this morning shared a similar message. We heard from an OKC police officer who is trained in cultural intelligence – Lieutenant Wayland Cubit. He asked us if we could truly understand other cultures if we keep ourselves in our “silos” while those of other racial backgrounds remain in their “silos”. By doing so, we are hearing only one perspective, one point of view; we can’t understand the other side of the story. I argue that this same theory applies to teachers in our buildings; how can we understand what the struggles of our “enemies” are if we keep to ourselves in our own safe silo? Start small; Rome wasn’t built overnight!