vival, the primitive aspect of our mind that
has the job of keeping us safe. This internal
system is still relevant, of course, but not so
much in your role as an educator.
Your primary consideration is the wel-
fare and academic success of the students
you serve, and you cannot serve them well
with a biased, uninformed or inaccurate
perspective about who they are as people
or, more importantly, what they can do as
students.
The target groups of students in your eq-
uity initiatives, those who require the best
help you can give them, need you to take a
discerning look at what you believe, then
choose to transform your thinking and up-
date your mindset with the truth.
Mastermind activities:
• Invite your equity partners to give you
feedback about your mindset, and help you
think about how to shift your thinking.
• Ask each other questions about your
beliefs. Where did this idea come from? Is
that an appropriate viewpoint to have?
• Investigate what the “truth” is, as op-
posed to your incorrect assumption, by
doing some research or making an inquiry.
• Commit to being accountable to each
other regarding the old mindsets that you
have chosen to update and/or delete.
Tool No. 3 – warm demander
In the United States, every educator en-
counters students who are different from
them – differences in gender, race, ethnic-
ity, class, culture and various other catego-
ries of diversity. These differences can, and
do, create barriers to communication and
will often lead to a lack of trust, especially
during stressful interactions.
As an equity advocate, your demeanor,
tone, body language, micro-expressions,
messages and requests will either draw a
student in, or give them a reason to re-
sist you or reject what you wish them to
do. How you communicate is critical,
and this is true whether you are having a
tough conversation with one student or an
entire class.
It behooves you to practice staying
“warm” and engaging to properly express
your desire to support your students, as
opposed to reprimanding them or being
harshly critical or mean. You want your
students to see you as someone who cares
about them and is truly concerned about
their welfare. Yes, you may “demand” ex-
cellence and won’t accept anything less
from students than what you know they are
capable of, but you do this by showing up,
if only casually, in a mentoring role. This is
what is meant by “warm demander.”
Mastermind activities:
• Share with your equity partners de-
tailed accounts of diff icult interactions
with students, and ask them for their opin-
ion.
• Take turns “role playing” what took
place in a difficult situation, so that the
group can brainstorm alternative ap-
proaches.
26
Leadership