Teaching For Social Justice Through the Arts in Social Studies

The Conference on Literacy, Urban Issues, and Social Studies Education (CLUES) held at Georgia State University today turned out to be quite interesting and personal. My colleague, Heather, and I presented this afternoon to a full capacity receptive audience about the role of aethestics and imagination in promoting social justice in our social studies classrooms. Before our presentation, the keynote speaker was Greg Dawson, a reporter who has written a book about his mother's experience during the Holocaust. (http://www.hidinginthespotlight.com/)

He opened his remarks by saying that one of the presentations scheduled for after lunch inspired the focus for his keynote address. He read the title, Teaching For Social Justice Through the Arts in Social Studies, then asked if Doreen Williams was present. Heather and I had worried that no one would come to hear us; now we were really worried! It was rewarding to have our work recognized even before we had presented, but mostly it was just humbling. I had a remarkable conversation with him after our presentation and he signed my copy of his book, thanking me for giving him inspiration. His mother was also there, and she signed the book too! When I spoke with the organizer of the conference after it was over, she invited me to come present again next year. Wow! What an exhilarating day. It's nice to have those speckled in the middle of mostly mundane days. It counteracts the worry of not getting as much writing done as quickly as I would like it to be done.

Two Days of Writing

I took Friday off to work on the revision of my preprospectus, giving me all day Friday and most of today to work. It was worth taking the time - I feel much calmer, and I think I made some good progress on it. Being home Friday also gave me time to talk to Mom in the hospital in California and Arla in the hospital in Texas.

John and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves tonight at the annual NAACP dinner - a fundraiser for scholarships. The keynote speaker was a woman who anchors a CBS Atlanta early morning news show - she was outstanding! I was surprised at how many people I knew there, including many of the local and state elected officials. As a sidenote - I realized at 2:30 this afternoon, I had absolutely nothing to wear, literally (my clothes have all shrunk). I ran out at 3:30, found a couple of different outfits, bought them, brought them home, cut John's hair, took a shower, dressed in the $25.00 outfit added a scarf and jewelry and we got there on time! I'll return the $100 outfit that didn't look as nice! Yea! I love it when everything works perfectly! Too bad it doesn't happen more often.

Southern Tradition

Today we attended the funeral for Melanie's mother in North Augusta, South Carolina. It was lovely and lots of people attended. There is one tradition in the south that I think is extremely touching. When the funeral cortege passes on the way to the cemetery, all the cars coming in the opposite direction stop and wait until everyone has gone by. I remember the first time this happened after we had moved to Pensacola...I couldn't figure out why everyone was stopping. I didn't see or hear a police car, an ambulance or a fire truck. Whoever I was riding with explained the tradition to me. Now there have been times when I have been in a hurry to get someplace and have been irritated that I had to stop and wait. But most of the time, I try to remember that some family has lost a loved one and I can show my respect by stopping for a few minutes.

Now I Know/Response to Dirt Cheap

So now I know that a few folks are reading my blog - of course they're all my family, siblings and children. My husband, your dear father and brother-in-law, has never even turned to my page - honestly, I really think he doesn't even know where to look. Of course, he goes weeks without ever getting on a computer. I can't even imagine.

But, after reading Rebecca's blog tonight on Dollar General and Dirt Cheap, it got me thinking more about an article I read in the AARP magazine. Oops, I just showed my age for anyone who doesn't already know me. Every penny counts and to save money you need to count every penny. As my salary continues to shrink before my eyes, we are reverting to some of our earlier habits before we got a little lacksadaisacal because we had a t-i-i-i-ny surplus each month. For starters, we are trying to plan our menus for the week so we're not running to the store every day - because you spend tons more than you would if you went once a week. We're trying and hoping, again, to refinance the house to lower our payment, which might allow us to pay ahead on it so we can pay it off before we die. We are rethinking my going to California for the conference in May - haven't decided for sure yet, leaning towards going, but a little iffy - because the cost is about 3 times what it was last year at Aspen Grove. (Mom actually thought they were paying my way since I was presenting. Hm-m-m. I think they save that for the keynote speaker...not there yet...) Impulse buying is coming to a halt - I resisted buying all the magazines this week that I wanted to while I was standing in the check-out line, and I borrowed a book from a colleague instead of buying my own copy. We'll be looking for more ways to save in the months to come as the state legislature chops more out of education, including teacher salaries. I'm really not consoled with the phrase, "at least you have a job." The problem is, I'll have a job until I'm 80 because I won't be able to retire, in spite of Dirt Cheap.

Who is really reading?

Daily I read people's blogs or their postings on FB, but I don't often respond to them. I enjoy them, many I am touched by, but if someone has already made a similar comment to my thoughts, I usually won't say anything. Of course, one of the reasons I don't is because it feels like I am having a conversation with myself. If I do comment, and I think this is true for most people, no one usually responds directly to my comment, so I wonder if the person who initially posted is even interested in my responses. I don't know if they even read them. On the other hand, I like knowing what's going on in people's lives and I feel more connected to people through blogs and FB. So I don't intend to stop. I'm just musing. I wonder, is this a stop-gap measure for socializing and conversation since our lives are busy, or is this a real benefit in a hectic, but wired society?

Long, but Pleasant

The Atlanta temple is closed for another 6 - 8+ months for renovations, so the closest temple is Birmingham, AL, 189 miles away. They were overbooked for today when I called for reservations, so we went to Columbia, SC instead - 202 miles away. What is normally a 4 hour commitment, was a 12 hour commitment today. The temple was wonderful, as always. I arrived, participated, and left with a sense of calm and peace. But it was a really, really long day. (It takes 3 1/2 hours to Columbia; 2 3/4 hours to Birmingham) We will definitely go to Birmingham next time, and it probably won't be on a Saturday. Reminds me of the old days when we used to drive from Visalia to Los Angeles which was 3+ hours, or even worse, from Pensacola to Atlanta which was a 6 hour drive one way. We have been so spoiled with a temple 40 minutes from the house; I will be so glad when it opens again!

Freudian Slip?

After reviewing my last two blogs, I notice that I have mentioned in both of them that Bradley had forgotten to take a few things. I wonder what that means...probably that I noticed it because that would totally be me if I were leaving for two years. I can't go for a weekend without forgetting something!

Finally Got Some Pictures Posted

I finally posted a few of the pictures we took at the airport Tuesday morning with Bradley. We have not heard from him yet, but we did get an email from the MTC saying he had checked in, so we assume all is well. Although, when I cleaned his room Saturday, I found numerous items that I wondered if he wasn't supposed to have taken them with him. I tried to help him pack on Monday night before he left, and he didn't want my help. So I left him alone... :)

This week, I have to get down to the business of doctoral work again. My dissertation chair, Marla, says I need to revise my preprospectus. Darn. I've ignored it for a week, but now I really have no excuses. Plus they just raised the tuition a bunch, so I've got to get done or I'll never recoup my costs. Not that you can put a price on an education, because I have learned so many things, but I really would like to make a little more money.