Dear Hannah: Derrick Brown Performs "GRASPP (Battle Plan)" (9-20-2024 Math Department Meeting)

Reach - Then Teach

Dear Hannah - GRASPP is an acronym that reminds me to check the "battle plan" of my team by examining *G*roup Morale, *R*elationships, *A*dministration, *S*piritual Tone, *P*lanning, and *P*roblem Solving. Having a battle plan does not ensure victory, but it does give you a solid approach ... which always gives you a chance to win. I spit "GRASPP (Battle Plan)" to my teammates at our 9-20-2024 department meeting to outline my "journey" that brought me to this team. My performance was polarizing ... I received effusive praise (even a public declaration of such from a district official in attendance), apathy, and the "cold shoulder". A friend shared that "GRASPP" (and especially the resulting praise from from the district official) probably made its audience look and feel "bad" ... for which I might pay a price. So let me count the costs ... I shared "GRASPP" as a (recordable) #StandupStorytelling opportunity to speak truth (in love) to power ... to connect to and lift up the marginalized (say "hello") ... and to let "hit dogs holler" (say "heck no" to our declining "status quo" ... and "tell 'em that I smell em") ... I counted these costs and decided to pay them ... FWIW, I have discerned (in the 8 months since this performance) that people were impressed by, offended by, and oblivious to "GRASPP" ... the "bounding theory" says that it both predicted and contributed to the oppressive level of classroom scrutiny I experienced this year. None of this "backtracking" impacts today's reality ... I must still survive my environment by engaging in #StandupStorytelling's hope, healing, change, and "counterstory" telling ... while avoiding unnecessary adult interactions ... and must recognize that some of this approach is not sustainable (because both invite more "slings and arrows") ...