How can we move the pendulum towards inclusion?
If everyone is special – then no one is special.
Written by: Adelee Penner
My dad had a saying,” If everyone is special – then no one is special.” As kids, we used to giggle and appreciate that he was calling out some of our teachers and loved ones on their behaviour. As we grew older, we started to understand and appreciate what he was pointing out. As humans, we tend to sort and classify our world to make sense of things and to establish where we fit. If everyone is in the “special” box, then we have normalized the ideology of “special,” thus mitigating the power, possibility and status of being valued differently than others.
The notation is similar to setting priorities. As part of the Alberta Education team, I had the opportunity to be part of the team supporting school jurisdictions as they built or modernized schools. I remember working with one group. They were asked to come to a meeting with a list of their priorities for the build. They turned in a 48-page document of things they said were “priorities” for the build. I asked the group to rank the items as most important to nice to have items. The group couldn’t do the task. As we tried to coach them, I asked, “Was the size of classrooms really equal in priority to boot rooms?”. The group responded with “YES!” My colleague looked at the group and said, “If everything is a priority – then you don’t have any priorities.”
What does this have to do with Inclusion? and/or moving a pendulum?
There are a few things that need to happen before we can find ourselves at equilibrium.
- We need to switch our mindsets from scarcity to abundance. We are in an either-or mindset. This indicates that we don’t understand that there are enough resources for &. We are able to honour diverse perspectives, ways of thinking, ways of knowing and people in our everyday living. There is enough room for all to be included in the picture, conversation and resource allocation.
We need to move from compliance actions to authenticity and intention in our actions. People know when they are not being authentically included and invited into the conversation. To be able to do that, we will need to listen and hold space and time for all to share how they might like to be part of the conversation, system, and organization. We will also need to provide space for folks to change and grow along the way. We cannot continue to hold ourselves and others to a specific time and place in their thinking and actions. We all need space to grow and build our capacity, agency and ideas.
For us to clear a path for success in our journey towards inclusion we will need to consider how we can amplify the voices of those who have been silenced and marginalized and whose narratives have been told and rewritten by others.
To clear this path, we will need to create safe and caring spaces to hold space for everyone to come together. Some of the folks who haven’t been included in the conversation may need some special invitations that honour who they are as we work towards inclusion. We may need to meet in new places – that are designed for all to be comfortable, and we may need to pattern our discussions in new ways to honour all in the conversation.
That’s right – we will need to treat some people special – until they can see themselves as part of the design of our society. I think that is what “Idle No More,” “Black Lives Matter,” and many other rights movements are really all about. Folks are asking us to be treated with respect and to be special for a while; we, as a whole society, sort out how to be inclusive. We have not done a good job of letting some folks be special, as our scarcity mindset wants to ensure we still have room in the tapestry of the culture. WE ALL HAVE ROOM. That’s right, we all can be part of the picture. It is time that we create space for all to be at the table with the food and drink they like and recognize the power of abundance.
It is time to move the pendulum meaningfully towards equilibrium. We can’t do that without setting clear priorities and ensuring that all folks are part of the conversation.
Let’s talk again soon. Take good care of yourself.
Adelee
