I want to take some time to reflect on my stakeholder
presentation. I set two goals for myself in regard to this presentation:
1 1. Better convey why I care about Race Place/paint
a better picture of my motivations (because I totally failed to do this in my
pitch)
2 2. Explain who Race Place will benefit
On the whole I feel good about how it went. I think I did a
much better job of conveying my passion for the topic than I did in my elevator
pitch. Although, attempting to condense 12 years of public school experience
and observations into a 10-minute presentation might not have been the way to
go. I struggled with how to convey my passion for race relations for a few
reasons.
One, race is not an easy thing to talk about. It’s difficult
to talk about with yourself let alone a classroom of smart and diverse
individuals.
Two, I feel like I need a certain level of competency in
order to have any right to stand in front of an audience and talk about race.
But what is that level? What defines competency in this instance?
Three, does it matter how I arrived at my feelings/thoughts about race or just that I have
feelings/thoughts?
Which leads me to the next thought I had while kickin’ it at
my grandpa’s house over spring break… I am struggling with being “paradoxically
dispassionate” about Race Place. I’m all
for flexibility. I’m no expert in this arena. I want to talk to a lot of people
about their thoughts on this venture, how they would approach it, what they
would want outcomes to be, etc. Whoever leads/facilitates Race Place (maybe me)
will be a student as much as the participants will be. However, I am so wrapped
up and focused on this topic that I have clear goals and outcomes in my head
but am incapable of articulating them. I keep getting caught up in why I care
so much and feeling that I need to justify it when at the end of the day this
isn’t about me…
This was very self-involved post. Thanks for sticking with
it.
Concluding question: Have you thought about being “paradoxically
dispassionate”? Are you struggling with it?
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