UConn Alumnus Christina Han was kind enough to share with me the details of her recent interview with Carolyn Forché. While in Professor Courtmanche’s English 2013W class, Han was introduced to Forché’s work, which led Courtmanche to reach out to the author over Facebook to arrange an introduction. Forché, a professor herself, has a lot to teach aspiring poets or memoirists, and I would like to share a few details for the reader’s benefit.
Han approached this interview as a finance major, with a minor in English but a passion for writing and a collection of poems underway (and as of publishing, still underway). [Being an Actuarial Science and English double major myself, I appreciate the plight of those interested in writing but for whom practical concerns overshadow their love.] Forché’s advice to Christina, which she passed on to myself, was that writing does not have a set timeline. Han said that, as a finance major, deadlines and timelines are a primary tool for organization, but Forché emphasized the ability of a writer to set their own pace.In fact, it was 14 years before Forché actually began work on her novel; when she was abroad in El Salvador, she had only kept a journal of fast -paced, sensory details that would later help her recall the important facets of her experience. That such a prominent author could carry her stories with her for such a long time before even beginning to work on them gave Christina renewed hope that she could continue to develop her own writing, even while working in the finance industry.
This is characteristic of Forché’s ethos; she was happy to spend her valuable time to reassure a young writer and discuss her work. Indeed, after she won an American Award in literature, she made a post on Facebook, offering to speak to classrooms, and was positively shocked that she received so many requests. Beyond being generous with her time, Christina illustrated through this anecdote that Forché was incredibly humble, scarcely realizing the impact of her own work.
Along with reassurance and a stunning example of humility, Forché also had some more specific advice for Christina. When Forché was writing her memoir, What You Have Heard is True, she had to consider what to include or omit; she told Christina: “You don’t have to give all the history.. [this can actually] harm your book, what is important is what no one else saw or heard.” Like the details in a memoir, Forché said of collections like In the Lateness of the World that “a poem should do something in a book– if it doesn’t take the reader someplace, then it shouldn’t be in [the collection].” Overall, it appears that one’s perspective should be central to their work, with each element thereof contributing to the reader’s experience.
This isn’t merely writing advice, however– it is expressive of Forché’s entire disposition. What makes her work speak to readers is that she is willing to meet people face-to-face, not just through her interviews like with Christina, but through her writing itself. Forché highlights the importance of the individual, and through her interview it is clear to see that she encourages everyone to share their stories with the world.
The opportunity to interview a famed poet not only highlights the networking strength of UConn, but demonstrates the influence on a single student regarding perspective on literature, encouraging her in her writing pursuits, and finally translating advice through the interview itself. What I, personally, have learned from speaking with Christina about her experience was far more fundamental. Forché creates her works from a deep respect for the human spirit, a spirit that longs for freedom and acknowledgement in equal measure, and retains that respect when passing on her lessons to younger generations, which she is incredibly eager to do. Perhaps a writer must be generous to write, to offer their most precious stories freely to the world. Even so, Carolyn Forché is stunningly generous with her time and counsel; a generosity that benefited Christina Han and the UConn community.
As Gillian Zieger turns over a new leaf in her career, so too does she hope to assist teachers in their continued development at the Middlebury Bread Loaf School of English. She will be taking an administrative role, working with admission assistance and recruiting to not only bring the best teachers to BLSE, but to make BLSE accessible to the best teachers.
The program itself can take place over 4 to 5 summers, with a strong focus on creating a learning community among teachers. This community is carefully nurtured; dramatic arts are interwoven with text, teachers often stay in touch between summers, and passion for English is on full display. Underlying it all is a rich history as Robert Frost’s seasonal home and a landscape that would call you back yearly too.
Since this is the Connecticut Writing Project, Zieger was gracious enough to draw parallels between the BLSE and the CWP Summer Institute, which she attended in 2013, so I may put a small advertisement for our own program while reporting on hers. However, to make her job of admissions and recruitment easier, I won’t belabor the point; suffice it to say the experience of community here is something she will take with her (as have others– there is not insignificant overlap between those involved with BLSE and those with CWP’s Summer Institute).
On the topic of Zieger’s personal history, even the shortest glimpse at her resume would reveal her aptitude for her new career. While teaching at Woodstock Academy, she participated in the 2011 Summer Institute, prompting her to assist in the creation of writing centers and their upkeep, eventually bringing her to her last position as Library Media Specialist at Ellington High School. The spirit of personal development and continued education– continued growth even– is very much alive in her work, something that will certainly prove an asset to the Bread Loaf School of English.
However, considering one’s life as a mere history of events lends itself to a rather shallow result. In conversation with Zieger, one quickly realizes that her work so far– as well as her continued aspirations– are just one effect of her ethos of personal growth. Her work, and the BLSE as a whole, are built on a foundation of self-improvement. She described the importance of teachers’ continued reinvention of self to me; that students can tell when a teacher has lost passion, and it quickly leads to students losing interest too. Thus, her work so far has been focused on continuing to learn to inspire and lead students, and she now has the perfect position to help other teachers do the same.
Zieger describes the Bread Loaf School of English as “More than just a graduate degree; it’s immersive, experiential, communal;” as history, drama, and english collide with teaching and learning, it is only right that such a program would plunge oneself– alongside their peers– to the lucid depths of scholarship. For those interested in not just continuing their education, but refreshing their passion for learning, Zieger highlights the rolling admissions and invites applicants to reach out regarding goals and to craft plans together.
In consideration for the hard work of Amanda Abbott, which deserves a celerity from this piece (so as to not deter potential audience members) that I will be unable to give it, I shall begin with the most important material facts. Abbott will be directing a production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” that will be performed in Chester, Connecticut on Tuesday, June 21, 2022, from 7 – 9 pm. It shall take place in a garden amphitheatre, as befitting the play, and shall be accompanied by music. Abbott aims to dissolve boundaries and bring together the community with her production, and I have complete faith she will be successful.
It has long been the ambition of art to tame the Dionysian elements of life, capture them in cages– pictures, plays, pages– with a firm wall between the delicious chaos and the safe spectators. Thus, the entirety of the west has compartmentalized our savage pleasures; like Caesar in Alesia, we have encircled our target and walled ourselves jointly from the rest of the world. Our resultant capture of these elements is absolute, isolating them– and ourselves– from the greater Dionysian world. But who will take down these walls when the Dionysian within withers and the Dionysian beyond laughs in scorn– for laughter is the great legacy of Dionysus Eleutherios.
Sculpture, like wall-building, is a reductive and an additive process. We must trade possibility for reality with each chip of the marble, each stroke of the pen, to impose our thoughts on an indifferent world. There are two arts immune to immutation, impervious to imperfection, that are themselves not products, but productions; they are music and theatre. The former began its death in 1860, the latter in 1888, but the former has proven itself far more resilient to the neverending Apollonian siege of mankind. Perhaps this is because dance is the final Dionysian, pagan ritual– a refusal to succumb to the Apollonian heartbeat of song and a mockery of the social dynamics considered inviolable during the day. Perhaps, as such, dance is the great defender of music, so that even with thousands of performances digitally captured, we are still desperate to see music live. And live it does; as performers live, so too does music float from mind to mind, coming when called, but never dismissed so easily. A concert is a communal ritual to Music herself, for ceremony and celebration is best done in cooperation.
Theatre, however, has followed the path of orchestra and opera– those sedentary musics– into an almost total Apollonian arrest. Stasis has a natural foothold in these arts, an advantage which technology has pressed, as it has in every non-participatory art, to displace these into devices in the audience’s homes. This keeps us superficially happy, superficially cultured, superficially social– there is a market for keeping us such and keeping us such sustains the greater market. However, the specific causes for man’s Apollonian march towards utter iconography is beyond the scope of this essay, and it will suffice to use this march as its own cause while considering the death of art.
The best part of a traditional play is intermission. I hope you don’t take me as a philistine for saying so; I shall offer an illustration: a main character dies on stage, the lights fade, the tension is ripe, the curtains close, the audience erupts in applause, then simmers down as light envelops them, small, hushed conversations spring forth like a babbling brook, then grow emboldened, people rise, you chat with your companions and the conversation carries you out the door, you order a $20 cheese plate in the lobby– you’re feeling ostentatious, even theatrical– you eavesdrop on other conversations, you imagine yourself hiding behind a garden wall while doing so, you spontaneously interrupt someone’s conversation, it’s uncouth, but (again) it’s theatrical and we all appreciate that here, don’t we? But soon the magic fades and the stage calls us all back– you and me and our new friends– and the scene plays in reverse, the audience settles and lights fade then the stage bursts to life and intermission is over. Intermission reigns supreme in traditional theatre because no mere spectacle can compare to even the dullest ritual.
Thus far I have briefly discussed the nature of art and her current subverted position in our society, differentiated between performance and non-performance art, and explained in more detail the state of performance art within this schema by contrasting music and theatre. However, this is a newsletter for the Connecticut Writing Project, not my personal diary, so eventually I must quit my sophistry and discuss an exciting enterprise within these spheres that will be taking place in Chester, Connecticut on the Summer Solstice.
When our earth’s ellipse nears the sun, that great beacon of Appolonian power, perhaps it is only natural for humans to rebel. Does heat dissolve boundaries? Does it remind us of our own powerlessness? Does it defy us to spit in its face? Whether we’re driven mad by Apollo or are merely driving Him off with Dionysian displays, Midsummer Night has long been a cause for celebration. Shakespeare understood this well; A Midsummer Night’s Dream transcends boundaries, as dreams and festivals always do. Drawing heavily upon pagan inspiration, Shakespeare illustrates the power of nature and her providence, love, in dissolving societal boundaries. Supernatural forces intercede into the daily struggles of humanity, flinging us towards utter despair before lifting us up towards salvation. Greek tragedy tells us of our impotence in the face of Fate and comedy has long informed us of our relative power in self-destruction. Shakespeare’s play redeems levity, subdues tragedy, and offers a resounding assurance of human resilience.
Amanda Abbott has devoted much of her life to the study of Shakespeare’s works, and only a full biography– for which I have neither the time nor skill– would do her credit. My impressions are that she is as passionate a character as Shakespeare has ever devised: she dreams so nobly and unapologetically that not only will she sway her audience, but Titania and Oberon themselves might smile upon the production.
Abbott aims to bring together a cast of all ages, from all walks of life– those who might otherwise pass by each other on the street– to perform. Casting like such shows blatant and admirable disregard for the societal lanes we walk in, the expectation that our journeys run parallel to time itself, which never has and never will be the case. Moreover, Abbott takes no heed to the gender of characters while assigning roles; as Shakespeare assigned roles exclusively to men, Abbott assigns exclusively to people.
These actors will be performing in a garden amphitheater, on a historic hotel property. The stage is custom-built by Leif Nilsson, who has long used the space as the venue for his band. He is the reason I have placed such a focus on music in the introductory philosophy of this article, and I shall return to the topic of his music later. For now, the venue is of particular interest due to its connection with nature and lack of formal structure. The former calls to the very heart of the play, and indeed it feels improper to watch A Midsummer Night’s Dream from parallel rows of metal seats in some boxy theatre. Against traditional concepts of theatre, which aim to separate the play from the realm of so-called distractions, the actors won’t be competing with nature for the audience’s attention; rather, the two will be collectively beckoning us from the mundane sterility of modern life. If all the world’s a stage, then why not let your stage be all the world, all of nature in her chaotic beauty? So asks Abbott, through her choice of venue.
As is appropriate given the exceedingly Greek nature of the play, Amanda Abbott and Leif Nilsson have given music back to the playwright, echoing ancient Greek choral refrains. Leif and his band, Arrowhead, take on the roles of the mechanicals, infusing their folk music into the play itself. Folk music, a great beacon of musical storytelling, is a communal art that pulls stories from their pedestals. This genre is often bawdy, tragic, or uniquely both, and there could be little doubt that it is perfectly thematic for Shakespeare’s play. By giving the audience music from the mouths of mechanicals, Leif and his band will draw them further into the story and further from their seats. Such a force, evenly applied to the audience and actors alike, becomes one of unification, as music is in any context. By filling the mechanicals’ roles with music, Abbott and Leif ground the story in the elevation of the common man, even in the face of gods, and utilize the full power of performance to defend Shakespeare from the immobility that modernity maligns him with.
In explaining her work, Abbott referred me to a quote from James Baldwin’s Why I Stopped Hating Shakespeare, about the responsibility of a poet to his audience, which follows:
“And his responsibility, which is also his joy and his strength and his life, is to defeat all labels and complicate all battles by insisting on the human riddle, to bear witness, as long as breath is in him, to that mighty, unnameable, transfiguring force which lives in the soul of man, and to aspire to do his work so well that when the breath has left him, the people — all people! — who search in the rubble for a sign or a witness will be able to find him there.”
But such is the responsibility of all artists, and one that Abbott shoulders well while directing. I have considered not including Baldwin’s quote because the very fiber of Abbott’s work is such that it shouts this sentiment in every detail– the casting, venue, and music each defeat labels and complicate battles– but it was of such note to her that I cannot omit it. This performance will defy preconceptions of age, gender, history, staging, Shakespeare, and– I dare say– of theatre itself! By crossing the boundaries of our society, Abbott will create an immersive and communal theatre experience, uniting actors and audience in celebration of love, nature, and humanity, and in defiance of convention, preconception, and categorization.
Amanda Abbott has said to me that “it is in our nature to learn about ourselves through storytelling.” She certainly has much to teach us– and indeed she is eager to learn– through her directing of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. To capture my overall enthusiasm for her project (it would be impossible to capture even a fraction of her own), I must rely on a phrase she uses with every correspondence– “Huzzah!”
Huzzah for theatre!
Huzzah for music!
Huzzah for Shakespeare!
And Huzzah for the daring director Amanda Abbott!
Arrowhead, the band that will play the parts of the mechanicals and accompany the production.
I teach a film class I inherited from a retired teacher. I’d never taught film before – and if I’m honest, my brother is the movie guy. We have a family friend who used to teach a film course at Eastern. When I told him about my class, he reminded me that I knew nothing about movies.
He may be right, but I like movies. And I do understand a little bit about stories.
But it’s true I failed the only film class I took. It was too early, and I didn’t like the first few movies the professor screened so I stopped going. I kept that in mind while combing the closets of the previous teacher, full of DVDs I never watched before, for movies to screen. I decided stories focused on the youth experience was the way to engage students of varied tastes and identities.
There are so many stories about teenagers. Hollywood figured out early kids would pay real money to watch stories about themselves. They’re also the group with the most time to sit around and watch movies.
I was surprised to find out the opposite – that youth representation in popular films fails to reach the percentage of young people in this country. And within that category, it’s whiter than a Henry James story.
I buy into a “windows and mirrors” philosophy on literacy–that stories can simultaneously provide us windows to the world around us, and also reflect our own experience. Really good ones do both. I looked for variety in the experiences, identities, and backgrounds in these stories thinking that the more kinds of stories about different people we see, the better we can empathize with those people.
And after looking at the data, I had to ensure that I made visible the groups presently invisibile both behind and in front of the camera.
The movies needed style. If they had a little edge, even better. The big essential questions I cared about focused on our ability to read images closely, to learn the grammar of movie-making, and to understand the way filmmakers use this form to construct identity and tell stories that can challenge our worldviews in fantastic ways.
I went digging. I scoured lists, and added movie channels to my streaming accounts. I subscribed to the Criterion channel. I joined LetterBoxd and started writing reviewsI found movies I’d never seen before – great movies. I found The Hairy Bird, a fun teen comedy set in the 60s about an all-girls private school. I found speculative stories such as D.E.B.S., and other genre films.
We watched early shorts from contemporary filmmakers Ryan Coogler, Sofia Coppola, and Gina Prince-Blythewood.
My school’s rigid film policy made it hard to find the kind of representation I wanted in my class, especially when it came to queer stories.
Early on we watched Marlon Riggs’s documentary, Ethnic Notions. I remembered this film from my own high school years, and its clear discussion of racial stereotypes reminds us why it’s important to ask questions about who is in front of the camera and who is behind it.
Students found these stories compelling and powerful. They fell in love with Quincy and Monica in Love & Basketball. They rode the highs and lows of Arthur’s and William’s quest to play pro ball in Hoop Dreams.
Students require authentic, “real world” applications of writing, and to see them written with polish. I used my own writing and Roger Ebert’s endless library of work to teach movie reviews. In Ebert’s case, his simple and direct prose style is perfect for teenagers developing their craft.
I enjoy participating in the writing process, too, and am proud of a Saturday Night Fever review a student inspired me to write.
I stress the concept of voice to students: how we get the ideas from our brain onto the page in a way that feels true to us. As students became more sophisticated movie watchers, their writing bloomed with personality and style. Reviews grew more confident and clear. Essays and short responses bursted with a close attention to detail and good thinking.
When I reflect on the past semester, I’m heartened by the real growth I saw in these cases.
And I saw some great movies. All that digging for movies netted in a long queue of movies “to watch” alongside the stack of books “to read” on my desk. The more movies I watched, the more movies I wanted to watch. And share with others. After all, sharing the really good stuff with others is the reason I became a teacher.
I recently finished James Baldwin’s “The Devil Finds Work,” his book-length essay about movies. It was on my “to-read” list for a while. In the book, he scrutinizes a handful of films with his trademark precision, which then catapults him into these exacting takes on race, gender and sexuality. I came away inspired to not only look that closely at stuff, but to watch more and more.
Now, I have a lot to think about and a few more movies to add to my queue.
An educator has one of the most important roles in society. Educators pave the way for the youth and young adults in a community; this job takes more than just a certification and after interviewing Katie Grant it is evident that educators who devote themselves to the field will become the most qualified and prepared to take on the laborious job. Katie Grant is an English teacher at Manchester high school where she teaches both sophomores and seniors. Katie is a graduate of Uconn’s school of education IB/M program. NEAG school of education is a very selective program where only devoted students with experience in the field will be accepted.
Katie’s background is very impressive; she has a history of being very involved in the Future Educators club in her five years at Uconn. In this club she was the political director her junior year and the state chair for Connecticut Education Association’s Aspiring Educators program her senior and masters year. Both roles that she devoted herself to were ones that acquired a leader and someone who could be organized and approachable to their peers. Her involvement in Future Educators is just the beginning of her list of accomplishments. Grant also took on honor classes, as she was accepted into the honors program at Uconn. The honors program is very selective and currently only “2,000 students out of the 32,183 students who attend Uconn are in the honors program” according to honors.uconn.edu. With Grant’s devotion to her studies she was accepted into the 2018 leadership legacy program. This program facilitates year-long learning experiences for student leaders at UConn to prepare them for their leadership journeys after they graduate.
Grant’s impressive experience in just leadership itself is enough to understand her amazing ability to connect with her students. However, as an English teacher she has proven her ability to be an expert in her subject through her internships and practice in the writing center at Uconn. Katie was an intern for the Connecticut Writing Project which is a writing based internship. This internship highlights the impressive writing skills of Uconn students through their newsletters posted on the CWP website. Grant also worked for the writing center at Uconn where students go for help with their academic papers. She has stayed connected to writing and feels that it is important to do so as an educator, she says practicing writing “helps you stay connected to the craft… writing is hard”. Grant is aware of how troubling writing can be through her experience in honor level English classes and these first hand experiences allow her to connect and understand her students on a better level by giving herself the assignment to complete before giving it to her students. This way of teaching is an example of a devoted teacher. Grant surrounds her teaching style through the eyes of the students, asking herself “can this question be answered with the information given?” answering her own essay questions is just an example of how she stays connected with writing.
Every educator is bound to have experiences from their past that shaped them into being the teacher they are today. Grant had impactful experiences while student teaching. She got to connect with the kids and it gave her a sense of confirmation of why she is pursuing this career path. Grant also claimed to have “wonderful teachers who got to know my interests”, in fact, one of her teachers from high school introduced her to a book by the title “Death and Life of The American School System”. This book was recommended to Grant because she loves policy. She took great interest in systems and the way a program operates. That very book is what inspired her to become a teacher, she wanted to make a difference in the school system. Grant says she wants her students to leave her classroom “being confident and comfortable with who they are” she feels is important to have an affirming space where students can be themselves and “learn not only what they need but also what they want”. Grant’s dedication to making that impact on her students is inspiring and an outlook on teaching that is hard to find. Teaching is a very hard occupation where students come to you with hardships and difficult conversations. Instead of letting the exhaustion of the tough days at work drain her, Grant takes care of herself in ways that are important for a new teacher. She says “Beyond investing in learning and being comfortable in that space it’s also creating self care routines… even in college start to practice self care”. Putting yourself first after a day of putting student needs before your own is important. Grant keeps the difficulty her job maintained through allowing herself to relax and do the things she enjoys.
Grant has already proven to have a very successful two first years in teaching high school English. Although this is just the beginning, Grant hopes someday she will go back to school and “be more involved in policy work”. Her understanding for her future is clear to her, she feels she needs to stay in the classroom and gain more knowledge on the profession; knowing the profession fully is important to understanding the policy of it. Grant is an inspiration to future educators and she is already making a tremendous impact on the profession and her students.
Amy Nocton is an example of a teacher who positively impacts her students inside the classroom as well as outside the classroom. Her dedication to strengthening and building up the Discourse and Deliberation Program has allowed her to build lifelong connections with her students and spread awareness to modern issues with equity and injustice. However, Amy did not always see herself as a teacher. She was supposed to travel to Chile on her Fulbright, unfortunately it fell through and Amy started to advertise for a Spanish tutor and babysitter. Amy took Spanish classes throughout her whole education; luckily someone hired Amy as a babysitter and Spanish tutor all in one. Amy quickly realized that she is able to form a connection and educate children. Amy furthered her career to teach at the University of Connecticut to teach Latin American Studies. She pursued a teaching career at E.O Smith Highschool as a Spanish teacher.
The special part about Amy’s teaching is that she brought an uplifting energy to school everyday. She was aware that the majority of her students probably will not pursue a major in Spanish and they are taking her course as an elective. This did not stop Amy from building connections with her students. Amy’s teaching philosophy is to bring a sense of kindness and openness each day; this allows students to enjoy class and be eager to learn the material. Amy used film to draw connections between the Spanish language and her students. Despite the lack of engagement some of her students had for Spanish, Amy carried her positive energy outside the classroom. Amy and her fellow colleagues, such as Joe Goldman put together the D.D program. It started after the 2016 Presidential election, this was a time period where there was a lot of negativity and conversations to be had about certain issues in our country. This program was an opportunity for students to speak openly about their thoughts and concerns. These sessions turned into opportunities where the students could speak to a panel of educated authorities about certain topics. For example, mental health, diverse communities, and the suffrage movement. As the program started to build up, Amy and her colleagues trained these students involved to guide these tough conversations and become experts in deliberation. Amy truly carried the value of a teacher outside the classroom and became the face of the Discourse and Deliberation Program.
Amy Nocton won the “Libby Kingseed Teaching with Deliberation Memorial” award. This award was given to her for her work with justice discourse. This award brought a lot of attention to the program; her and her students were mentioned in podcasts, invited to workshops, and specifically a show where black women celebrated their voices through choir. These opportunities lead to help with budgeting and funding the D.D program. Amy’s passion for the program continues to grow, her goal is to help get rid of implicit biases and help students become more educated on the issues in the world. Amy believes it is important for students to get involved because it’s a program where their voice matters and the students are the ones generating all these impressive ideas to create awareness about these topics. This program allows for conversations and it’s an opportunity where staff and students can learn something new through each other.
Amy is an inspiration to these students and also to aspiring educators. Her advice to future educators would be to take risks and don’t be afraid to experience rejection. Her positive mindset is contagious. She is optimistic about the future for the D.D Program, she hopes more and more students will get involved and come together to inspire one another. She feels help from the community and outside the school will help build the program. There is a bright future ahead of the Deliberation and Discourse Program and it is all because Amy has given it the confidence it needed.
Amy Nocton is an example of a teacher who positively impacts her students inside the classroom as well as outside the classroom. Her dedication to strengthening and building up the Discourse and Deliberation Program has allowed her to build lifelong connections with her students and spread awareness to modern issues with equity and injustice. However, Amy did not always see herself as a teacher. She was supposed to travel to Chile on her Fulbright, unfortunately it fell through and Amy started to advertise for a Spanish tutor and babysitter. Amy took Spanish classes throughout her whole education; luckily someone hired Amy as a babysitter and Spanish tutor all in one. Amy quickly realized that she is able to form a connection and educate children. Amy furthered her career to teach at the University of Connecticut to teach Latin American Studies. She pursued a teaching career at E.O Smith Highschool as a Spanish teacher.
The special part about Amy’s teaching is that she brought an uplifting energy to school everyday. She was aware that the majority of her students probably will not pursue a major in Spanish and they are taking her course as an elective. This did not stop Amy from building connections with her students. Amy’s teaching philosophy is to bring a sense of kindness and openness each day; this allows students to enjoy class and be eager to learn the material. Amy used film to draw connections between the Spanish language and her students. Despite the lack of engagement some of her students had for Spanish, Amy carried her positive energy outside the classroom. Amy and her fellow colleagues, such as Joe Goldmanm put together the D.D program. It started after the 2016 Presidential election, this was a time period where there was a lot of negativity and conversations to be had about certain issues in our country. This program was an opportunity for students to speak openly about their thoughts and concerns. These sessions turned into opportunities where the students could speak to a panel of educated authorities about certain topics. For example, mental health, diverse communities, and the suffrage movement. As the program started to build up, Amy and her colleagues trained these students involved to guide these tough conversations and become experts in deliberation. Amy truly carried the value of a teacher outside the classroom and became the face of the Discourse and Deliberation Program.
Amy Nocton won the “Libby Kingseed Teaching with Deliberation Memorial” award. This award was given to her for her work with justice discourse. This award brought a lot of attention to the program; her and her students were mentioned in podcasts, invited to workshops, and specifically a show where black women celebrated their voices through quior. These opportunities lead to help with budgeting and funding the D.D program. Amy’s passion for the program continues to grow, her goal is to help get rid of implicit biases and help students become more educated on the issues in the world. Amy believes it is important for students to get involved because it’s a program where their voice matters and the students are the ones generating all these impressive ideas to create awareness about these topics. This program allows for conversations and it’s an opportunity where staff and students can learn something new through each other.
Amy is an inspiration to these students and also to aspiring educators. Her advice to future educators would be to take risks and don’t be afraid to experience rejection. Her positive mindset is contagious. She is optimistic about the future for the D.D Program, she hopes more and more students will get involved and come together to inspire one another. She feels help from the community and outside the school will help build the program. There is a bright future ahead of the Deliberation and Discourse Program and it is all because Amy has given it the confidence it needed.
The University of Connecticut has an impressive writing center where all students have accessibility for feedback, and guidance from fellow college students or professors in order to write grade A work. The man who started it all is named Tom Deans. Tom has a clear passion for writing and developing a workshop based process for student writers at the University of Connecticut. His role at Uconn is not only active in the English department as a professor of many introductory writing courses, but he also teaches graduate level courses and STEM based writing courses. It is important to recognize Tom’s teaching philosophy; he encourages a project based curriculum where there is more room for collaboration and creativity for one’s writing. His courses contain a lot of peer reviewing and mentoring where there is development of many drafts before the finished project. This perspective of writing is similar to what the Connecticut Writing Project practices and encourages all students and professors to do. In fact, Tom Deans has done direct work with Jason Courtmanche and other colleagues for CWP and developing this different styled curriculum of writing.
Tom’s experience with this writing workshop based curriculum has progressed into many different collegiate courses. For example, Tom now assists with introducing this curriculum in STEM major W courses. His work goes further than the University of Connecticut, he is currently teaching at Uganda Christian University to develop the same curriculum there and launch a writing center as well. However, Tom has faced some challenges during his time in Africa so far. There are distinct differences between the education in Africa compared to what Tom was used to at Uconn. A few differences are the status of COVID-19 and how it has affected their classes, the expectations between a professor and the students, the curriculum, and flexibility with studies. Uganda currently has in-person classes but when I spoke with Tom he said one of his challenges was that his two courses were online. He teaches a graduate level course, which meets on zoom, and an undergraduate course. However, there is a disconnect between him and his students for the reason that many do not have access to a device in order to join the daily classes. The U.S has an upper hand with technology and staying connected despite the pandemic compared to third world countries. This level of disconnection presented a challenge and caused Tom to have to adjust to the living circumstances. Uganda is only 3% vaccinated and that demonstrates their lack of resources in order to create normalcy in their school systems.
Tom also mentioned how his relationship with his students in Uganda is very different from his relationship with his students at Uconn. The graduate students there do not feel comfortable calling Tom by his first name, rather they view him as an authority figure and will call him Professor. They treat class as a time where the professor speaks and they listen and do the tasks given to them with little to no collaboration. Tom was used to a different type of classroom where he prefers students call him by his first name and he encourages students to voice their opinion and converse with one another. He realized he needed to find a common ground while he was introducing this workshop based curriculum so he accepted being called Professor and adjusted to what was normal for his current students. Another major difference he learned was that his students in Africa do not have the same privileges as Uconn students when it comes to flexibility in their studies. The students there chose a major and stuck with it throughout their collegiate education. They did not have the option to switch majors.
Tom reflects on his experience by realizing how fortunate American higher education is. He has a greater appreciation for the accessibilities and support American universities provide for their students. Although there have been difficulties in his time in Uganda, Tom does recommend this experience to others. He feels it supports cultural immersion and allows people to make lifelong connections with the students there. He feels those who have an interest in teaching abroad will enjoy the experience. Tom’s goals going further will be to develop a strong writing center at the Uganda Christian University and he hopes to start launching writing centers in highschools as well. Tom’s devotion to strengthen writing programs abroad and in the U.S, is an inspiration to the work CWP does.
Jason Irizarry is the new Dean of NEAG for the University of Connecticut as of March 2021. After speaking with Jason, it was evident that he is a man who is an ideal example of a leader and has already made a significant impact on the School of Education. Irizarry explained he went into the education field because of his eagerness to make a difference in the world. He has shown persistent motivation to change the education system through his previous teaching background in multicultural education, his efforts to provide the students of NEAG with plenty of opportunities to further their success in the classroom and internships, and his dedication to building the future of NEAG through his connection with alumnus and projects for funding the school.
Irizarry came from humble beginnings from a family who had to work really hard. He grew up in Brooklyn, New York; raised by his grandmother. He is a first generation college graduate for his family and has experienced hard work in many different forms. One of his most important values in life is his family. He has two son’s, one a sophomore in college, and the other a senior in highschool with a scholarship to play baseball at the University of Maryland. Irizarry enjoys spending time at the baseball field watching his sons play. He explains his days as “I’m here most days at 8 and I’m usually here till 5 o’clock and then I meet my son typically at a batting cage to practice batting for an hour before dinner”. He and his son share the same childhood hero, Roberto Clemente. Roberto Clemente is a Puerto Rican baseball player who was known for more than just his talent on the field, but also his devotion to helping the less fortunate and making a difference in the world. Irizarry raised his sons to aspire to be both just as good as a person as Roberto Clemente and also strive to be just as great as a player. Irizarry’s wife is an elementary school social worker and they share similar interests in bettering the education system. He mentions that, “she is immersed in the challenges we are trying to address here in the NEAG school and beyond.” He has many conversations with his wife on challenges in the education system and their direct work with students. Irizarry’s greatest motivation is pleasing his family. His caregiver was his grandmother growing up, she is the voice inside of his head telling him he can do anything he puts his mind to and she keeps him sane when things get tough no matter where he is in life.
Unlike the average administrator, Irrizary had a very unconventional path to education; in fact, he calls himself “an accidental academic”. In his undergraduate years, he was a janitor in Brooklyn who worked a 3pm-12am shift as a way to support himself, and it was not until one evening when he came across a book he says, “was written by a Puerto Rican woman from Brooklyn, New York… I called Affirming Diversity: The Sociopolitical Context of Multicultural Education and it was for the first time I saw my experiences reflected back to me and it offered a vision of what schooling could be like and it worked in the best interest of young people.” Irizarry claims that reading this book changed his whole perspective and the ways he thought about education. This inspired his career in multicultural education. In this day and age, people struggle to see education in a cultural lens. Irizarry’s knowledge in multicultural education further expands his knowledge of different values, beliefs, and backgrounds. This makes him versatile for connecting with all students in the NEAG program.
Irizarry is aware of all the projects and changes that are to come along with the future of NEAG. He claims his seat isn’t even warm yet; he has many ideas and goals to benefit his students. Irizarry currently meets with the alumni committee often. He feels it is important to build relationships and show his appreciation for the work they have done for the program. Little gestures such as this one are examples of the ways he takes everyone in account when building the future of NEAG. Irizarry explains that he often converses with his students to hear their ideas and concerns. Everyday at work is a new day where challenges differ; he is vocal that his ability to overcome these challenges as Dean would not be possible without the help of the amazing faculty and brilliant students. He looks forward to being a part of what’s to come as NEAG continues to grow.
