I visited my homegirl-colleague Cindy Reed’s African American literature course yesterday to conduct a teaching evaluation. That's the story I told. My real main reason for visiting was to follow up on a research question I developed: What’s going on in Professor Reed’s classes that make her former students react so strongly and positively when they see her on campus?
I figured a look at what's happening in her classes with current students would provide some clues.
At the start of class, no, before the class began, she was engaging everyone by name. If you have a nickname, that’s the name she uses. She’s says their names, says their names throughout the session.
And she’s continually translating course content. We use a common syllabus for our various African American literature courses, and I wrote much of the writing and framing for materials. When discussing the materials in class for her students, Reed is constantly explaining what is meant by some of the wording I may have provided.
“What’s speculative mean?” she asks. “Employ’ right here is a another way of saying ‘use.’” “Here’s another way to say that passage.” There’s perpetual translation.
She’s throwing out vernacular expressive phrasings on a regular. “Got dern!” “OooOOOHHH!” “Come on now!”
She’s moving to that side, then over there, and next right here, and then back over there. You in that room with her, then your eyes working, your head moving, and your ears getting all kinds of experiences.
I’m sitting on one side of the room, and throughout the session, I’m looking out across the whole room. I periodically notice this one young sister who never speaks. But she's deeply engaged, smiling, taking notes, and laughing at Reed’s jokes. I realize that she’s studying, but not just studying the content of what Reed is saying.
No, the student is also studying and absorbing a lesson about what it might mean to be a Black woman talking on a subject and knowing people’s names and having knowledge on a subject and helping others understand. I mean really, it’s clear that this sister is studying this other lesson that Reed is teaching her.
She’s throwing out vernacular expressive phrasings on a regular. “Got dern!” “OooOOOHHH!” “Come on now!”
She’s moving to that side, then over there, and next right here, and then back over there. You in that room with her, then your eyes working, your head moving, and your ears getting all kinds of experiences.
I’m sitting on one side of the room, and throughout the session, I’m looking out across the whole room. I periodically notice this one young sister who never speaks. But she's deeply engaged, smiling, taking notes, and laughing at Reed’s jokes. I realize that she’s studying, but not just studying the content of what Reed is saying.
No, the student is also studying and absorbing a lesson about what it might mean to be a Black woman talking on a subject and knowing people’s names and having knowledge on a subject and helping others understand. I mean really, it’s clear that this sister is studying this other lesson that Reed is teaching her.
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