Bentley Celebrates the Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with the Annual Dream Symposium
Last week's fifth annual Dream Symposium, entitled, "The Power of Language," presented an opportunity for our Upper and Middle School students to consider the deep impact that words have—on ourselves, on the community around us, and on the world at large. To help students dive into this work, Director of Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Yancie Davis P'27 & '31 invited his friend Prentice Powell—Oakland native, renowned poet and writer, and Grammy-nominated spoken word artist—to lead our students in a powerful workshop examining how words have been used to both empower them and make them feel less than. Students engaged in personal writing exercises, with some brave students then sharing their reflections and poems with the group (Prentice told the students that for decades, survey results have shown that the majority of Americans fear public speaking more than death, so major kudos to all who faced this fear head-on!).
Last week's fifth annual Dream Symposium, entitled, "The Power of Language," presented an opportunity for our Upper and Middle School students to consider the deep impact that words have—on ourselves, on the community around us, and on the world at large. To help students dive into this work, Director of Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Yancie Davis P'27 & '31 invited his friend Prentice Powell—Oakland native, renowned poet and writer, and Grammy-nominated spoken word artist—to lead our students in a powerful workshop examining how words have been used to both empower them and make them feel less than. Students engaged in personal writing exercises, with some brave students then sharing their reflections and poems with the group (Prentice told the students that for decades, survey results have shown that the majority of Americans fear public speaking more than death, so major kudos to all who faced this fear head-on!).
Students also spent time in a large discussion group with our partners from Be the Change, where they opened up about how the way people in their lives speak to them or about them can affect their sense of self, considering how they can use language to lift up their friends and classmates with words of encouragement and compliments that can sometimes feel challenging to share. Giving someone else a compliment can be surprisingly difficult, but the room resolved to do their best to flex this muscle more, and also to step in and disrupt negative talk about others. We're grateful to both Prentice Powell and Be the Change for spending the day with us, and hope to have them back on campus soon!
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Students also spent time in a large discussion group with our partners from Be the Change, where they opened up about how the way people in their lives speak to them or about them can affect their sense of self, considering how they can use language to lift up their friends and classmates with words of encouragement and compliments that can sometimes feel challenging to share. Giving someone else a compliment can be surprisingly difficult, but the room resolved to do their best to flex this muscle more, and also to step in and disrupt negative talk about others. We're grateful to both Prentice Powell and Be the Change for spending the day with us, and hope to have them back on campus soon!
