The Courage to Unlearn: Lessons from Pakistan and Jordan
Dec 26, 2025We often talk about courage as something loud—bold decisions, visible risks, inspiring speeches. But the courage Sylvia describes is quiet. It’s the courage to unlearn.
Moving to Pakistan required more than adapting to dress codes or food customs. It required rethinking what strength looks like when disability is understood differently. It required letting go of assumptions that independence always looks the same. It required acknowledging that every culture has its own internal wisdom.
In Jordan, the lessons continued. Sylvia learned Arabic from children. She learned about hospitality from family elders. She learned that misunderstandings weren’t failures—they were opportunities to start again. And she learned that empathy grows when we pause our instinct to compare.
When leaders cultivate the courage to unlearn, communities become more compassionate and classrooms become more expansive. We move from enforcing our norms to engaging with others' perspectives. That's where trust begins.
Weekly practice: Identify one belief you’ve carried into your teaching or leadership from your own cultural background. Ask: Does this belief serve everyone—or just people like me?
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