Something I thought about:

  • Obviously the invasion of Ukraine is weighing heavily on all of our minds — and in addition to trying to process myself, I was thinking about how to approach this as both a teacher and a parent. On the teaching side, I decided to follow the lead of my students. If they were distressed, I’d discuss it. If they simply wanted to work, that was fine. As a parent, I was more proactive — we talked through things this morning and ended up donating to various organizations and setting up a fundraiser to support World Central Kitchen.

Something I did:

  • Got my university accounts restored after the university was hit by a cyberattack.
  • Headed back to the classroom — this was the first week of class.

Something I read:

  • Witness by Ariel Burger. Ariel was the TA when I took Literary Responses to Oppression with Prof. Elie Wiesel at Boston University. His book is part memoir/part reflection on Wiesel’s pedagogical practices, and this was exactly the right book to read this week.
Elie Wiesel believed in the power of education to change history. He saw the simple act of transmission from teacher to student as a source of hope as the world continues to struggle with itself.