Get Up!

The Action Team met for its first "work" session on Wednesday, Sept. 30th. One of the big goals for the evening was to create a feeling of inclusion. Because not all of the Team members had been able to attend the retreat, there was a bit of an "us" and "them" dynamic developing. A lot of great personal sharing and relationship building had taken place at the retreat that we wanted to try to replicate, in some small way, for those not there.



We started off the evening with line dancing. Yes, line dancing. Thanks to a fabulous a cappella rendition of Bob Marley's Is This Love by Ray Moreno, we were able to share line dancing steps that we learned at the retreat. Maybe it wasn't pretty, but it was fun!



We got a little bit more serious with a socio-drama activity that allowed us to get all of the feelings out on the table from those in attendance at the retreat and those not. This created a really authentic coming together moment that was cemented by having retreat attendees share their recollections of the retreat experience and what made it special to them.



We also started taking some first steps into the visioning process with an exploration of the diversity-based approach to problem-solving. We'll be using this approach as a framework for visioning and ultimately moving into action. The diversity-based approach asks us to look at our assumptions and then ask ourselves what is really going on before trying to tackle tough problems. There's a lot more deep work to be done here (personally, relationally, culturally), but this framework offers a good grounding.



When I got home after the session, I found an e-mail in my "in" box from Team member Ken Allen (a fifth grade teacher). The e-mail was titled "Response to this Evening." To my surprise and delight the e-mail contained a poem that I think summed up the evening quite nicely. Enjoy!

Get Up!

Ray sings, Scott leads,

We step to Bob Marley toward perfection.

The group regrows, solidifies, and stretches

to the beat of optimism.

Questions are posed, chances taken,

Courage is needed to keep

moving together.

Paint the halls, decorate the entrance

Now invite everyone into

the chorus line of dreams for our children.

This is our vision, an invitation,

a decision

to dance as one.

Add a twirl, a flourish of creativity,

that will warm the school

for our families.

Now get up.