In my reflection this week, it seems fitting to reflect on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action,  as they relate to Education, particularly after the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, and the discussions at the College Conversation this week.  

If I think of the activities I’ve engaged in or supported this week, I can see how I am developing my work and practice in alignment with some of these Calls to Action as they relate to my GLF role, specifically, “Developing culturally appropriate curricula” (p. 6),  “Identifying teacher-training needs,” (p. 7) relating to maintaining a commitment to Aboriginal issues, and, “Building student capacity for intercultural understanding, empathy, and mutual respect” (p. 7). 

Our Story Circle this week, in addition to following a more indigenous approach to engaging in enquiry, discussion and learning, also provided a model for me and others, around how we can offer different ways of introducing ourselves to others that move beyond our ‘role’ or ‘job title,’ ways that connect us more, human to human. Our discussion also included an exploration of how we might find better ways of including students and particularly indigenous students in these and other college conversations. I see this as part of the groundwork for, “Developing culturally appropriate curricula.” We need more student voices to inform our development of programs, courses, and teaching approaches.

The ECCE Book Club discussion this week focused on, “The rewards, dilemmas and challenges of teaching across cultural frameworks” (Chapter 2 of Teaching Across Cultural Strengths). In facilitating this discussion, although I had questions prepared ahead of time, I consciously chose to support an organic, non-linear approach to facilitation that followed the line of the thoughts, feelings, and ideas, expressed by participants rather than ‘my pre-planned agenda.’ The free-flow of conversation was rich and intriguing. It was clear that faculty were consciously reflecting on how to develop “culturally appropriate curricula,” for all students, while also reflecting on their own learning and development needs (which related to, “Identify teacher training needs” relating to Aboriginal issues). 

I’ve also been preparing a session for next week for the Student Leadership Team and Intercultural Peer Connectors on Intercultural Communication and Unconscious Bias, which relates to, “Building student capacity for intercultural understanding, empathy, and mutual respect.” The main take-ways that I hope students receive is the need for self-reflection, curiosity, a desire for understanding of and greater empathy for others, especially for humans we perceive as different from ourselves. I got to practice more with Canva, using the program to adapt a diagram in a book for the purposes of this session, relation to Elements of Culture.

And, I finally finished an Infographic for faculty, Meet Our New International Students, which I hope faculty will consider as a starting point for reflecting and taking action on developing their courses to become more inclusive of all students. 

I started writing up my summary findings of the Environmental Scan interviews from June and September. What’s striking is the consistent thread of those interviewed expressing the belief that ‘immersive experiences’ are essential to fostering intercultural understanding and fluency, and developing empathy for others.

 As I enter my second week of my Professional Development on Leadership in Intercultural Contexts, I see that the Story Circles and the Book Club are a good start; and only the beginning. The questions I have for myself that relate to everything in this reflection are: Who am I as a leader? What do my colleagues / students need from me? How can I ensure I am an agent of positive change? How can I move from intercultural knowledge to intercultural competence in leadership?