Looking Back - Campus Words Events

The following are photos from North Harris's Campus Words event, which offers a free-speech space to students who want to share their art, poetry, music, stories, and more.  These bi-monthly meetings have been unique in that students were able to come together and share their creativity and passion. We are looking forward to these meetings again in the fall.

Anthony R - a student, boxer, performer - shares his lyrics

Kiet C explains and describes his artwork

Melissa P recites her original poetry

Patricio S chooses from his many poems

Professor Rydarowski shares his fiction

The Power of Music

By Breanna Polk 

A beautiful thing about music is its abilities to heal people in mysterious ways through relaxation. Studies show that when the mind is relaxed, it recharges itself, causing one to think clearly. Music therapy is now used in many facilities to help people overcome diseases, sicknesses, and educate small children.            

An example of music healing in a mysterious way is little Nevaeh from the Make-A-Wish foundation, whose Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome led to her inability to relax her muscles. Amazingly, the only thing that calmed her down was listening to Mary Mary’s music. So as her wish, she got Mary Mary, a multiple Grammy Award Winning Gospel Group, to give her a personal concert and it was truly life-changing to see the difference in Nevaeh’s behavior once they started singing.

Music has been used for generations to teach children about colors, how to spell, continents, the alphabet, how to count, and the days of the week through different songs. When small children sing educational songs, it helps them develop vital speech skills, like how to make a complete sentence. As children learn the songs, they develop speech patterns through repetition, teaching them when and where a phrase ends and another begins.

In Alzheimer patients, music therapy uses music to “evoke emotions that bring memories.” Studies show that many people associate moments in their lives with different songs. So with Alzheimer patients, hearing familiar songs is like playing back the soundtrack to their lives, causing them to remember things that they otherwise wouldn’t have remembered.

It is astonishing to see the improvements music has brought about in sick patients. Though music is heard, its effects make people feel something unexplainable. Music is important to life because it helps relieve stress and serves to relax the mind, body, and soul. 

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Breanna Polk is currently a first year Communications student at Lone Star College - North Harris. After her second year at North Harris, she hopes to transfer to a four-year university where she will study Broadcasting and Journalism to obtain her Bachelors Degree.

 

A Student Trip

 

Last week, thanks to the generosity of North Harris's Student Engagement Fund, Professor Martin and I took a group of students to the 8th annual African American Studies Symposium at the University of Texas at San Antonio.  In two vans, 10 of us excitedly headed from Northern Houston over to San Antonio to spend all day at this conference.  Though our group viewed the program schedule ahead of our trip, we were in for quite a treat.

This year's symposium was titled, "Make Some Noise: Pushing Back, Acting Out, and Speaking Up." Keynote speaker Nikki Giovanni delivered an address that detailed her strategies and thoughts on poetry, activism, her experiences, and so much more.  The presenters and performers during the rest of the day-long event offered their insights in wide ranging fields in African American Studies, including literature, sociology, history, and women's and gender studies.

What is remarkable about this conference is that the planners deviate from the style of a typical (academic) conference by incorporating dynamic performances by singers, dancers, and poets.  Additionally, the more traditional panels cover a range of informative and thought-provoking topics, which our North Harris students will examine in upcoming blog entries.  Add Nikki Giovanni to that mix and you have a unique space where performance, creativity, activism, and academics meet.

During our time there, I had the pleasure of talking with one founder of the annual symposium, Professor Joycelyn Moody.  I commented to Moody that every year, the conference organizers go above and beyond expectations of an academic conference in their commitment to provide a space for students, faculty, staff, and community members to come together to explore important topics in African American Studies.  

Too often, conferences in academia (at least in literary studies) adhere to an age-old standard when it comes to planning: scholars read directly from their papers - and often take up more than their allotted time -in a stuffy environment where those new to academic conferences feel bored or out of their depth.  Thankfully, the AASS creates an opportunity for student-scholars like our group from North Harris to push back, act out, and speak up.

North Harris student Jasmaine Adams speaks up by posing a question to keynote speaker Nikki Giovanni

A Black Feminist Sci Fi Conversation

Octavia Butler, pioneer in African American Science Fiction

A few weeks ago, I was lucky to have the opportunity to spend some time with students in Liz Cali's Toni Morrison class.  Though not with them in person, we discussed (via phone) various issues and ideas related to genre and how some of Morrison's texts might be classified perhaps as science fiction, but certainly as speculative fiction.

We began our talk with information about genre, specifically the genre of speculative fiction and how horror, science fiction, and fantasy are often considered distinct and separate categories under the larger umbrella of speculative fiction.  Black feminist science fiction authors often combine elements from those ostensibly distinctive sub-genres of horror, science fiction, and fantasy.  

Octavia Butler, the original 20th century pioneer in Black feminist science fiction (and Black science fiction, largely), crossed through these categories in many of her texts and story lines.  She creates provocative and powerful texts about Black women's experiences - on Earth and beyond.  Butler incorporates elements of science fiction (time travel, aliens), horror (vampires and the undead), and fantasy (individuals with unique, even magical powers).  As an author, Butler chose to go beyond the supposed borders that separate sub-genres identified by many as "speculative fiction."

In our conversation, I asked students: could we consider Morrison a science fiction author?  A horror author?  Fantasy? While many literary critics would gasp and even cringe at the thought of placing Morrison's work in these undervalued and dismissed categories, these students took the time to work through their responses and ideas with open and inquisitive minds.

This conversation was valuable in numerous ways because it not only gave me some time to talk about my literary passion, African American Feminist Science Fiction, but the students responded with incredibly thoughtful and thought-provoking questions, comments, and feedback.  Depending on our teaching environments (university, college, secondary), we may not make room for these important meetings of minds and I was grateful to Cali for facilitating this opportunity.  

This talk wasn't a keynote address or conference panel, nor was it a committee meeting, professional development session, or any of the other events academics either strive for or loath.  It was the type of engagement we should perhaps encourage more - a space where students listen to ideas, but are also provided time to be listened to. I really got a kick out of the students sharing their comments and questions, and am grateful to them for urging me to think in productive ways about Morrison, Butler, and African American speculative fictions.

A Variety of Student Experiences

An image of Lone Star College - North Harris

We are hitting a tough time of year in the college semester, for various reasons.  It is post-Spring Break, which often includes a drop in energy levels for faculty, staff, and students.  It is also a time for students to reflect on their academic progress - will they be able to make their desired grade?  Do they have time to finish this project or that paper?  There are additional concerns that plague students regarding finances, job security, the care for or loss of loved ones, transportation difficulties, and more.

One situation that does not receive enough attention throughout each semester is student homelessness.  Several professors in the English Department alone have spoken with individuals in their classes who struggle to find a stable home environment.  Some students have lost their jobs, while others have been kicked out of their homes by family.

It is remarkable that these students carry on and come to school, ready for class and willing to focus on that day's work.  It also takes incredible courage for them to share their circumstances with professors and staff.  Thankfully, we have resources available for those who are struggling, but too often these students suffer in silence because of shame, guilt, and the threat of judgment by others.

The experiences of our students here at North Harris are so varied - we have veterans, single parents, first generation folks, those with jobs (sometimes more than one), those who are unemployed, students who come to school hungry, and those who do not have a place to call home. 

The image above is of our campus.  In some ways it is an accurate portrayal of the campus - it's a relaxed space with good hangout areas where people congregate and come to learn.  This is a typical photo of a college environment, revealing what is shiny and not what may need extra care or consideration. 

Though some students may move through campus, experiencing the shiny version above with thoughts of future jobs and endeavors, far too many are facing extreme life experiences where "success" is measured on a daily basis and "home" is a temporary, rather than long-term space.

Campus Words Events

Spread the word!  This event provides a space for students to share their original work and the productions of other artists (poets, authors, rappers, etc.) in a free speech zone.  Tweet @EngageOrRage to sign up in advance, or arrive early to sign up at the door.

Always Learning

Teachers and professors know all they need to know.  That's an idea I often hear from students, and more than a few educators.  It is an unfortunate assumption - and incorrect.

One way to disrupt this misunderstanding is for all those folks in education to admit when they don't know something - inevitably, there are moments in my classes when a student asks a question to which I do not have an answer.  There is now a part of me that really enjoys saying, "I don't know."  Though some students may initially react with confusion - you are the teacher of the class and you don't know? - incredible conversations can develop in those moments when students see their instructors as learners, too.

Educators know specific content, yet too many people standing in front of a classroom feel the pressure to 'know it all.'  If we believe that learning is an ongoing process, it should not be difficult to say, "I don't know, but what do you think?" or "I don't know, but how about you look into it and teach us what you discovered next time?"

A group of instructors at my college take part in a bi-monthly conversation related to composition.  Not only is this an opportunity to touch base and exchange ideas, but we also use the meeting as an opportunity to discuss new research in the expansive and innovative field of Rhetoric and Composition.  These dedicated professors are committed to learning from one another and from the texts we examine.

This group, and others like it, develop from the notion that we cannot and should not know it all.  Additionally, these groups recognize the importance of examining new approaches and strategies in various fields.  It is a disservice to students to believe that not only do we know it all, but that what we have always done in the classroom works perfectly.  Like our students, we are always learning.