6/2/2018 0 Comments Following Trails of LiteratureWhile taking a pause in the middle of the week, I picked up Letter to My Daughter, a recent purchase also connected to the writing retreat. Long story short, Flat-Footed Truths: Telling Black Women's Lives includes an entry by Alice Walker, Looking for Zora. Soon after reading this entry, I received a notification that Howard University recently published a Zora Neale Hurston manuscript, Barracoon: The Story of the Last Black Cargo. And then, while purchasing this book, I decided to pick up another book from one of my favorite authors, which led me to a list of books by Maya Angelou. Interestingly enough, during the writing retreat, I included a letter to my mom in my manuscript. When I read the title, Letter to My Daughter, I thought to myself, "she has a son, not a daughter." At any rate, letters have recently taken on greater meaning, and so I made my purchase. Things that make you go hhhuuummm....During my two-day read of Letter to My Daughter, "I had an enormous revelation; I realized that I was not a writer who teaches, but a teacher who writes" (Angelou, 2008, p.118-119). Wait, those were her words, not mine, but they seemed to be taken from the recesses of my mind and brought forward directly to my line of sight. What just happened? I am no longer in the classroom and still refer to myself as a teacher. One of the more recent compliments that I received was from the Human Resources Talent Manager. She said that I was "such a good teacher." I'm in grant administration and still teaching. Regardless of how your physical position in life changes, make sure that you practice your calling wherever you find yourself. Do not limit your practice to the narrow confines of systematic constructs established before you arrived. You were made to fulfill your calling and not simply fill a space erected by someone who does not know you or your purpose. Another Flat-Footed Truths entry To Miss Ida Bee with Love by Miriam DeCosta-Willis includes a series of letters from the author to Ida B. Wells during her writing process. There are obvious connections between this text and what I share above, but I do want to lift my blog posts here for consideration. When I restarted my website (this is round three...I think), I decided to focus my blog on what I would want to share with my nieces and others who are navigating academia. Although there is nothing top secret here, I do hope that learning is taking place.
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I Am Because We Are Creative Equals...My youngest brother, Aaron, took these pictures on April 28, 2017. Aaron and my dad attended my very first presentation during the American Educational Research Association 2017 Annual Meeting in San Antonio, TX. I presented "I Am Because We Are Creative Equals: Technology Skills as Defined, Discussed, and Demonstrated by Students in a Middle School" during the Online Teaching & Learning Special Interest Group (SIG) paper session on "Promoting Student Success."
I was also glad to have my sister-classmates from Heritage Knowledge in Action (HeKA) Research Group, one research partner, and two professors in the audience. They not only supported me by being present, but they also encouraged me by asking questions. I ran out of presentation time before I could share everything, so their questions helped me share out what I did not get a chance to say during my presentation. Thanks, good people! Lesson learned: NO MORE THAN 10 SLIDES for any presentation. En Español Mi hermano menor, Aaron, tomó estas fotos el 28 de abril de 2017. Aaron y papá asistieron a mi primera presentación en la Reunión Anual 2017 de la Asociación de Investigación Educativa Americana en San Antonio, TX. Presenté 'Soy Porque Somos Iguales Creativos: Habilidades Tecnológicas Definidas, Discutidas y Demostradas por Estudiantes en una Escuela Secundaria' durante la sesión de papel del Grupo de Interés Especial (SIG) de Enseñanza y Aprendizaje en Línea sobre 'Promoción del Éxito Estudiantil'. También me alegró tener a mis compañeras de clase de la Heritage Knowledge in Action (HeKA) Research Group, una compañera de investigación y dos profesores en la audiencia. No solo me apoyaron estando presentes, sino que también me alentaron haciendo preguntas. Me quedé sin tiempo de presentación antes de poder compartir todo, así que sus preguntas me ayudaron a comunicar lo que no tuve la oportunidad de decir durante mi presentación. ¡Gracias, buena gente! Lección aprendida: NO MÁS DE 10 DIAPÓSITIVAS para cualquier presentación. |