Category: Classroom Musings: The Courage to Teach

Classroom Musings: The Courage to Teach

Random Thought: “Breakfast will be served.”

Why do workshop coordinators, particularly Black ones, think a variety of pastries is a sufficient breakfast for folks 35 years old & older? I am attending an academic training/workshop today that began at 8:30am; it is scheduled to last until 3:30pm.  According to the invitation, “Breakfast will be served.”  But I knew better: “Breakfast” included pastries. Why?  Why are you (workshop coordinator) serving only pastries … Continue reading Random Thought: “Breakfast will be served.”

Kendra N. Bryant1 Comment
Classroom Musings: The Courage to Teach

rEVOLution Haikus: A Class Assignment

If I could, I would teach a poetry class.  Although I have a certificate in creative writing, I cannot teach poetry because academy culture prefers I teach within my discipline: rhetoric & composition.  It’s like checking a box named “African American” when you are also Native American & Hispanic.  I’m light-weight trapped.  Anyway, if I could, I would teach a poetry class.  & today, I … Continue reading rEVOLution Haikus: A Class Assignment

Kendra N. Bryant13 Comments
Classroom Musings: The Courage to Teach

Beyond an Abecedarian Knowledge of Martin Luther King (w/regards to dp)

No one could have prepared me for the lackluster attitude regarding Civil Rights and Black History that I have faced amongst students attending an HBCU.  Some (& way too many) of my students believe King is an overrated, trite icon whose non-violent philosophy created a stagnant Movement.  Students have claimed (loudly & proudly) that they have neither read nor heard the “I Have a Dream” speech … Continue reading Beyond an Abecedarian Knowledge of Martin Luther King (w/regards to dp)

Kendra N. Bryant1 Comment
Classroom Musings: The Courage to Teach

FAMU’s DowJones High School Summer Camp 2014

This summer I worked again with Florida A&M University’s DowJones Summer Camp for high school students.  This grant-funded initiative aims to encourage 11th and 12th graders to pursue a bachelor’s degree in journalism/communications.  The grant requires students to use multimedia to deliver the news.  Therefore, in addition to teaching students the fundamentals of news writing and reporting, students learn how to use social media to … Continue reading FAMU’s DowJones High School Summer Camp 2014

Kendra N. Bryant1 Comment
Classroom Musings: The Courage to Teach, Uncategorized

Remembering Amiri Baraka: Teaching “Somebody Blew Up America”

I was talking to @drrema when—in the middle of our conversation—she reported Amiri Baraka’s death.  My heart catapulted to my stomach floor.  Real story.  My heart catapulted to my stomach floor, & my mind immediately traveled back to about 2005 when I saw Amiri Baraka (for the second time—the first time I was a graduate student at Florida A&M University (FAMU), & our neighboring school, … Continue reading Remembering Amiri Baraka: Teaching “Somebody Blew Up America”

Kendra N. Bryant1 Comment
Classroom Musings: The Courage to Teach

FAMU’s JSchool Hosts Week-Long Summer Camp

Monday, July 8 – Friday, July 12 I participated in FAMU’s School of Journalism & Graphic Communication’s week-long summer camp for high school students interested in pursuing a career in journalism.  I assisted students in researching, writing, and developing their webpage. Click here to read the Democrat’s coverage on it.  And click here to see the students’ final production. Continue reading FAMU’s JSchool Hosts Week-Long Summer Camp

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Classroom Musings: The Courage to Teach, Poetic Endeavors

Composing for Martin Luther King

This semester I’ve integrated visual arts, poetry, and technology in my composition classroom by way of Creative Composition assignments that require writing students to explicate their understanding of Martin Luther King’s rhetoric and philosophy.  Students are given creative allowance, and therefore, can choose their medium.  Below are some examples of my students’ creative compositions, and here is my own, (A Poem for MLK), which I wrote … Continue reading Composing for Martin Luther King

Kendra N. Bryant1 Comment