KaDeWo - The Joy Advocate

 Read with India.Arie's Good Mourning playing in the background...Love that song! (Just woke up with this on my mind) I recall where we were a year ago this day and my advice to others is... Refrain from engaging in things that will cloud your judgment and delay your progress with its tantalizing elements. Love possesses so much power that it seduces the innocent into believing that its purpose is to enhance the lover's life, when in fact it will temporarily do this and later cause insanity. A thoughtful human once summarized insanity as, committing the same act again and again, expecting a different outcome . Is this not what people gambling on love do? I CAN tell you exactly how many times I have entered into a fresh relationship with hope and desire. This seems absurd due to the fact that all beginnings must have their end. [...Mislead by society to believe that each relationship will lead to marriage.] How many times have you willingly decided to take a chance on mat...

This question was posed to my Harlem Renaissance class: Which of the character/s in Langston Hughes' novella The Ways of White Folks' story titled Father and Son was the most disturbing to you? This is not an easy question for me to answer. Set on the Big House Plantation in Georgia during Reconstruction, all the characters provoke the mind into considering why the familial "structure" was a social norm in the nation's past and how it affects the present day? Colonel Thomas Norwood with his Negro mistress Coralee Lewis, and his mulatto children, Willie; Bert; and Bertha Lewis (Norwood), that he would deny as his own before white people, as if many of them did not have similar situations in their own household, are all familiar characters to those that have studied Black Bondage in American history. However, I was not prepared for the actual discomfort I felt in reading the short, offensive interaction Cora has with Talbot and Jim, two well-known white men of ...

Thoughts after my Shakespeare course on yesterday: CUT, CUT!! Alright, who decided that Shylock the Jew of The Merchant of Venice is a (black/dark) comedy? I do not agree that Shylock is a comedic villain, nor was he a buffoon. He was a victim of differences like so many people have been for centuries (and continue to be in many parts of the world). He was persecuted by the Christians for years and when the opportunity for revenge presented itself, he attempted to gain his comfort by abiding the law of those that sought to oppress him - solely because of his religion - the system failed him! Doesn't this sound familiar??? Granted, this play was written for entertainment purposes in the late 1500s in England. Many of the spectators would probably have identified more with the (hypocritical) Christian characters. In present day, I have to see the issues I believe Shakespeare was revealing in his thought-provoking play: h ypocrisy in religion and law/court, the fault of pride and ...

When it comes to the 5 National Education Technology Standards and Performance Indicators for Teachers (NETS-T) I believe the most challenging area for me will be designing and developing digital-age learning experience and assessments. As a teacher than wants to work in inner-city schools, with young scholars that are considered social burdens by many members of society it seems that I may have difficulty in creating technology-based activities when many public schools cannot afford to or choose not to purchase desirable and necessary resources for students. Students residing in low-income areas often have to use public transportation/walk to libraries or community centers to wait for limited computer time, because there are no laptops/computers or other digital devices in the home. Designing lessons and activities for diverse learners is made easier with technol...

An example on how to use literacy to have your voice heard. ************************** We've all expressed our opinions, vented, aired it out, and in my heart of hearts, no matter how we got to this point, I believe most of us share a common goal - to re-elect President Obama. That can only happen if we take all the time and energy we've been using to debate, defend - and yes, digress (Tavis didn't patent that word, did he?) and move forward. Like the mamas on my staff tell their little boys when they're distracted by whatever is on the PSP, DS or Wii screen, "Let's focus." If we can learn anything from Republicans, it is that they have the ability to not just rally together, but to grab onto a single candidate, issue, piece of propaganda, whatever, and clamp down like a pit bull. Once they make a decision, they will not be swayed. How many times have you listened to one of them recite the party line, and you t hink to yourself, I KNOW the...

Http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kra_z9vMnHo is an interesting video. There are two things in particular that I would like to address from the media clip. Students, of the digital generation, want more opportunities to create projects and assignments in a capacity they are both comfortable with and knowledgeable in. Young scholars of this nation use the Internet and other forms of technology to build, transform, and improve their personal activities outside of school, on a daily basis. Even some of the poorest students are exposed to these resources through non-profit educational organizations and public libraries. These students are urging, educators and those that have the power to change the curriculum and structure of public education, for relevant topics and information to be included in the classroom experience. One reason these students are strongly suggesting an adjustment is due to a lack of interest in traditional forms of instruction, which leads to, what they referred to as, ...

Greetings & Salutations Readers, While reading Jonathan Kozol's Savage Inequalities I find it hard to read more than a few pages at a time, because of the disturbing truths that exist within its contents. This book was written 10 YEARS AGO and STILL children of color and children from families whose financial status is severely disadvantaged continue to get ignored in regards to quality education.  I wait for the day when organized groups of parents arrange (nonviolent) movements and demand increased funding, enlightened and responsible staff, and advanced (or at least relevant) resources for every public school classroom and library. Everyday is a good day for the masses to demonstrate their power! I keep hearing, "the revolution will not be televised..."