046: Connecting Through Culture in Our Global Village with Krista Leh and Craig Aarons-Martin

Welcome to SEL in EDU.

Where we discuss all things social and emotional in education.

I'm Krista.

And I'm Craig, and we are your hosts on this journey.

Hello, hello, sel, in EDU family. We are here kicking off the 2024 new year. Craig, hello, how are you?

I am doing well. I'm doing well. I'm just going to say that the winter break and holiday break has been good for me. You get a great exfoliation, oh yeah, what's?

your bill from watching. It's a black term. So we are kicking off our. This is our third season of SEL in EDU. This is actually our SEL in EDU. A deeper view Just me and you talking hanging out.

Yes.

Chit chatting.

Yeah, I think this is going to be pretty promising for us to have this opportunity to do reflections on how we're showing up in the world, reflections also in the conversations that we're having with some of our guests, which is exciting and to really experience a level of vulnerability that sometimes isn't part of it, may not show up in the ways we may hope or think that it may show up in some of our conversations. So I'm glad that we're taking a step back.

I agree because I think that we learn so much when we talk with other people and things that we reflect on and ruminate on and things that happen behind the scenes that people don't always see or get to hear us talk about.

And so we're still going to meet with people and release the podcasts every other Wednesday, so you'll still get to hear from amazing educators who are sharing their expertise and experience. You know how are they showing up in the educational world and what is important for them and how do they move that forward. But we get to share a little bit about us too. You know what we've been ruminating on. So, yeah, I'm excited about this.

Me too.

Oh, my brain is whirling with all kinds of wonderful things, so I'm just really excited like oh yeah, well, and so one of them too, is that these are going to be more timely, I guess, right, so we're recording which? Right now it's January 2nd. It's going out live tomorrow. So what we're talking about is in real time, and the last time you and I talked I said, hey, can we record this next one? Because I'm going on a trip with my family, my three boys and my husband. We're going to Puerto Rico.

My husband and I were there in February. We upped it Like I love to travel, I love experiencing new places and things, and usually I'm like, ok, that's cool, I saw this place, let's go somewhere else. It just for me, puerto Rico hit differently, and so when we were there in February, we rented a car and we traveled like half of the island and went to all of these different cities and we wanted to take the boys back, and so we wrapped this whole vacation around and it was a part of their holiday gifts around going to the bioluminescent bays in Vieques, which is a small island off of Puerto Rico. We didn't get there. We didn't get there because there is a ferry that runs from Siaiba to Vieques five times a day. We went on to buy tickets and they're like no, you have to come in person. And so we got there at 630 in the morning and to me I'm like, oh, a ferry, you know, like in the US I don't know, when I get on a ferry it's running like every half an hour hour and they're like, oh, we can get you there by eight o'clock tonight. There's an eight o'clock and I'm like, oh well, that's not gonna work. And we were at a military base. I'm like we can't sit here for 12 hours, so we didn't get there.

But one of the things that I really appreciated about the trip is that when my husband and I travel, we do Airbnb's, make Uber's. He speaks Spanish and Italian fluently, so we get to talk to people and learn about them and about the culture and where to go, where to eat, and it was interesting for my boys to see that like that. Yeah, sometimes people go for all-inclusives and they go to this resort and actually we went to a beach right near our resort and there were people at the pool and people on their private beach and I said, but you don't really get to see the place that you're at if you leave that resort and that's not how we travel. I think we did one all-inclusive in the Bahamas one time, but every other time we kind of piecemeal our trip together, and so I'm curious for you and Omari what kind of travelers are you? And I think there's a time and place too when you're like I just need a place to chill, I'm not supposed to do nothing, and then sometimes it's like we need to explore.

Yeah, what's interesting is two years ago for the new year, we actually did go to Puerto Rico as well. We stayed at a hotel because my wonderful, the love of my life, loves the Marriott. This is not advertising for the Marriott, it's just really more this that's. You know, that is his lane and we have stayed at Airbnb's like this. So, like this holiday, we did stay at an Airbnb, but what we have found is each place that we've been for the holiday has been a welcome surprise of great conversations with folks, interesting cultural experiences, because we throw ourselves into the food and throw ourselves into a whole lot of engagement of like this is the thing happening in this place this time.

What you think is, you know, really reminiscent of my spirit. Like this year, my theme is centered on Beyonce's Renaissance album and the song that I think about the most. When I think about the question you ask in regards to just how the holiday, how did me and the Marriott move, and just where I'm at in my life now, I am really thinking about church girl and their lines in Beyonce's in this track that says I'm wanting everybody soon as I get in this party, I'm gonna let go of this body. I'm gonna love on me. Nobody can judge me but me. I was born free and this year I wanna experience like going all in on experiences. I want to really live for the moment and I want to really enjoy whatever comes, and I love a good party. But I found that I've been fairly restricted. I've restricted myself in how much I open up in the world because I have this whole thought process that people are going to naturally judge me for.

So we went to Maine, went to Verona Island and right on the Penobscot River, it's about 25 minutes away from Bangor, maine, and it's 45 minutes away from Arcadia National Park. I love the air, been the main several times and I can be honest and say that when we got there, our Airbnb was a wonderful family-owned home right on the water and we dropped our things in the house and said, all right, we know we're gonna cook for the holiday. We were there for Christmas, so we knew we were gonna do all the things we need to get food. And so we get to Hannaford, because Hannaford is you know, it was a stone store from where we're staying and I remember arriving in, arriving at the Hannaford Park and Lot, we parked and I took a deep breath, cause I'm like we're gonna be the only chocolate chips in this mix. How are we going to be treated?

And I really thought about that deeply, like okay, how like I'm wearing this big old Santa Claus hat and I'm feeling jolly of my like I wish people could see my little Santa pants, cause I got some Santa pants and I got a little Santa hat and all that. But we got in there nothing but love. Like there was so many smiles. There were folks like hey, santa, and one guy was like could you go outside and tell my two kids that you know they've been good and you know you're gonna stop by.

I was like what you know? And I was like it again surprised me, because I went into this experience wondering like, okay, are they gonna look at us crazy, are they gonna stare, are they gonna ignore us? Like are we going to experience some level of judgment? But it was complete opposite, and so it really. It really continues to cement for me that the human connection is so powerful and if you go in with a positive energy in mindset, you'd be surprised what you get on the other side. And so I was very surprised but loved everything that we experienced.

I'm sorry. I had to laugh out loud because I love how you describe things and as soon as you went, the only two.

I'm like oh boy, here it comes, yes we were on the chocolate chips in that mix.

But you bring up something that's really important, that I think, when I am often doing professional learning, whether it's around SEL or I do tiptoe into diversity, equity, inclusion, access, and you know, I asked people when was the last time you were in a situation or you put yourself, you entered into a situation where you were not in the majority group for whatever aspect of your identity? And, as adults, so many of us choose to not do that and choose to keep ourselves in that safe space or that perceived safe space, and that's not where we grow, that's not where we have those connections, like you said, and we feel the love because we sit in the middle of this, we sit in this idea of like fear or judgment or this misunderstanding or a perception of what we think something else or someone else is, and it's only when you get a chance to be there I think it's good for your own soul to challenge and I'm saying this as a white person right, good for me. And I'm reflecting on that thinking. I'm very thankful for our dear friend, jamila Parker.

So there was the first HBCU festival came to Philly this summer and I'm like, oh my God, I really wanna go to see not only the drum lines, but the staffers, and do you think I can go and I go with you? She's like, yes, you know, white people go to HBCUs too. I'm like I didn't know that. Okay, and so I'll be honest when I went, the only white people who were there were the people who were working the festival like for the organization, and there was like one or two people who had like a side conversation with Jamila, like you're with her, but it was in fun, it wasn't a bad thing, it was like you know, but can I be a white chocolate chip?

Absolutely Hello. They are amazing as well. Come on now.

Yeah, and it was, oh my gosh, the music and the artistry and it was just such a fantastic afternoon. Because I have no rhythm, I have no game, I can't do this, but I think these are the things that we ruminate on right, absolutely Things that we think about, and I think that when you get those opportunities to take that step in, usually there's more that brings us together than divides us.

Absolutely. I would agree wholeheartedly. Maya Angelou says what I am human and I was listening to a podcast, I think either on the way or after we arrived back with Janelle Monay and Trevor Noah. Trevor Noah has a new podcast. I forget the title of his podcast, but if you put Trevor Noah and Janelle Monay in, you have an opportunity to really listen to what resonated so much for me Janelle Monay, defying boundaries and expectations of what it means to embody gender specifically, she has this wonderful way of blending things that are non-binary, binary, feminine, masculine, and she has a great sense of self and this comes out in her new album, age of Pleasure.

So I guess a lot of music has really been centered in my spirit over the course of music's always been in my spirit, but it's inspiring so much as I think about it and as I'm thinking about who's been influential.

Each person has been like a black woman, a woman of color, but from this conversation, trevor and Janelle Monay talk about her arc and how important it was for her to evolve from her religious upbringing, spiritual upbringing, and just how she was cultivated in her environment early on, and how that lives today and what I took away from that conversation, if nothing else, being a member one being a black man in this America as well as being a queer man in this America I am owning that.

I am human, but I am the other, I am the them, and so when people talk about the binary and they would get caught up in pronouns and things like that I realize that sometimes when people are talking about them, they talk about me. If you're talking about the other, I am the other, but I'm also human. But I'm also human. And so I think that, as long as we continue to evolve and we continue to be open, you be completely blown away at what you have the opportunity to do in this great hard work of just again connecting with folks, just being open to the experiences and leaning into. Ok, why am I feeling?

this way.

Like why is there that thing that surfaces as I'm in this environment? That feels totally new, and so I know we're going to talk a lot more over the course of this season about inner being, our sense of inner view, like how do we see ourselves and look at how we show up in the environment, but also what is our thinking around that, what do we think people are perceiving and why and why is that a thing of concern, like, or of interest or inquiry? So I'm really excited to really just dig into that a little bit more, because I think that it's just going to make for richer conversations across our season.

Absolutely, and I know that you and I have often talked about when we're doing professional learning or working with other educators and learning from each other and our friends. What does it look like? Or how do you create what people refer to as brave and safe spaces, where we're not editing this? Ok, I will admit to all of you, I coughed a little bit earlier, so I'm going to edit that out because you don't need to hear that. But nothing else around this SEL and EDU a deeper view or is going to be edited. So it's we you and I want to create this safe and brave space.

No-transcript, we can say, hey, think about that, or that I felt this, or you know, here's another perspective, because not only I want other people to learn along with us like I want to ever just be stagnant. And so what is this? Not only evolution and transformation of ourselves in this journey, but how can we do that in our learning spaces so that our students can thrive, every single one of our students, regardless of their identity and all the different facets that go with that identity? And that that's what SEL and E to use about? Right, absolutely. How do we all thrive and help each other thrive and lift each other up, and so I'm ready for this Year three. Here we go.

I'm looking forward to it as well. I'm a little nervous, I'm like I don't know what's going to come out, because, you know, as the year continues to evolve and unfold, I am most interested in, like, what will surface, like, where will we be unpacking some things, where we're going to experience some tension, and how do we, how do we stand in it and bring each other along for the journey, for whatever comes with it? So I'm excited.

I'm excited about that as well. Let's do it. We've already been friends for 10 years. You're not getting rid of me.

And vice versa.

Like you're not going to, see this for the long haul. And to just bring this full circle around to talking about journeys together, we we, along with some dear friends of ours are heading to Ghana in July. Yes, oh, I am beyond excited for that, and I was just about to send everybody an email and be like, hey, are you all interested in, you know, checking in with each other about planning? And I mean you don't just to me, you don't just fly to Africa for the three days of the conference. Like I need to learn, I need to like immerse a little bit in the culture and learn while I'm there, and so we'll get a chance to share about that joint experience as well Coming up.

Yeah, it is. I've been to the con, I've definitely been to Africa a few times now and I'm excited that so many of us will have an opportunity to really collaborate and be in community with our extended family in Ghana, ased and beyond. So yes, Yep.

Well, looking forward to this journey with you. Thank you.

What's the?

most of rides we're going to. We've got this and we're also still having our guests. So if you're listening and you're like, hey, I have something to share, reach out to one of us. We would love to have you as a guest on our show. We actually are talking to two new people tomorrow. I believe that will be released in February, so we've got podcasts lined up and you'll get to hear more of our stories along the way. So thank you for for supporting us and for being with us into year three. Sel and EDU family.

Yeah, so until you, until you click on another one of our wonderful podcasts it's coming up absolutely soon. We want to remind you hold yourself real tight, you and all those you love, and continue to stand beautifully in the light. We are so glad you're part of the SEL and EDU family. Love you much.