Back when I took Football Coaching in college (an excellent class), our instructors taught us about two different approaches for teaching the team a new play.
You could start with individual players working on their parts. Maybe you have the quarterback, center, and a running back working together, and the guards with the tackles, or however it would break down, depending on the play. (I learned a lot, but I am not qualified to coach anyone, or come up with plays). Then you would have everyone work on it together, and then separate again into the components. That was Part-Whole-Part.
Conversely, you could start with the entire team working on it together, then separate into the smaller segments, then come back together. That was Whole-Part-Whole.
They didn't try and get us to choose one over the other. Depending on the play and the players, either might work better or worse. The point was that while everyone has their own role to play, which requires working on specific skills and executions, there also needs to be understanding of how it works together with everyone else's roles.
As we think more about our individual roles in fighting white supremacy, it is very possible that you will find yourself not so much on the front lines. There is nothing wrong with that.
It is still important to understand how it relates to the whole.
Part of that is that you will find greater meaning in what you do by connecting it to the whole. That can help you feel better and do better. It can help fight off discouragement.
It is also important to understand the big picture because sometimes you will see little things that don't sit right. The more you know about bigotry, the more you may be able to understand why something didn't sit right and whether there is something you can do about it.
It is also important to be aware of the bigger picture, because sometimes there will be shifts and you need to step in somewhere new.
Those latter two can involve a lot of discouragement, so the things that help you not be discouraged become even more important.
Obviously there is a lot more to talk about in terms of understanding white supremacy and its relationship with other forms of bigotry, as well as finding ways to contribute appropriately. There will be other posts, but what I want to impress upon you today is the cyclical nature of learning and growing.
It doesn't happen all at once -- even with a really great explanation -- and your understanding grows with doing. The part where you stop having new things to learn may not exist, even after you have learned a lot. That is very normal and human and it is fine.
A valid secondary point is the importance of there being a team. There is too much for one person to do. You don't have to be the one to do it all, but you should also absolutely be doing something.
Related post:
No comments:
Post a Comment