Weekly Message from Head of School 2023/11/01-2023/11/03

Dear Keystonians,   

I hope this letter finds you all in good health and high spirits. This week, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the importance of effective communication in fostering understanding and unity within our diverse school community.  

During the summer holiday, Keystone’s administrative team had the opportunity to delve into author Erin Meyer’s thought-provoking book, "The Culture Map." This fascinating book looks at several domains and how you can map cultural preferences or norms across those domains. It is fascinating and provided us with lots of fodder for interesting discussion as a leadership team. One of the most interesting concepts in the book is the notion of high context and low context communication.   

In a high context culture like China, communication often relies on shared understanding, nonverbal cues, and unspoken expectations. Implicit meanings and contextual information carry great significance in conveying messages. Understanding this cultural aspect is crucial in fostering effective communication within our community. On the other hand, in a low context culture, like the United States, communication tends to be more direct, and more explicit. When a person from a low context culture communicates in a high context environment, it can risk coming across as too direct, or maybe even aggressive.     

However, it is important to acknowledge that our school community is a diverse and intercultural environment. Embracing elements of low context cultural communication can enhance our community's inclusivity and accessibility. The clarity and directness associated with low context communication styles can lower barriers to understanding, facilitate open dialogue, and make information more accessible to individuals from different backgrounds. Meyer describes that this is part of why this mode of communication is more the norm in a place like the US where there is no one cultural majority and people from many different cultures have lived in proximity for some time.    

With the aim of promoting transparent communication and addressing any questions or concerns in our school community, I am delighted that the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) will be hosting a Town Hall on Tuesday of next week. This event will provide an opportunity for families to hear directly from both PTA leadership and school leadership and engage in meaningful conversations about the happenings within our community.   

The PTA Town Hall is designed to create a platform where questions can be asked, perspectives can be shared, and insights can be gained. By fostering this direct interaction, we can ensure that our decision-making processes are informed by the diverse voices and perspectives within our community, ultimately enriching the community feeling and supporting us in living up to our values of COMPASSION Ren, JUSTICE Yi, RESPECT Li, WISDOM Zhi, and HONESTY Xin.   

I encourage all families to actively participate in the PTA Town Hall and take advantage of this valuable opportunity to engage. Your involvement and input are crucial in reinforcing our commitment to collaboration, transparency, and continuous improvement.  

While this is an opportunity for parents, we also seek to foster this type of open communication with our employees.  On Wednesday next week we will have an employee meeting in which I will share some reflections from listening sessions we hosted with faculty over the past month. Together, we can create an environment where every individual feels heard, valued, and empowered to contribute their unique perspectives to our beautiful school culture.   

Warmest regards, 

Emily