Winter is in the air....

So it has reached that time of year again, when each morning I awake and start a fire in the wood stove. We only burn for the morning, then let the coals die down as the sun hits the south-facing windows, say 10:30 or so.

The cold weather makes it slightly more enticing to sit inside and fiddle with my computer, although I'd pretty much always rather be outdoors. But as the sun and the new moon are setting almost simultaneously and my kids are in bed, I thought I'd write a bit.....

My tech journey has been pretty uneventful. I installed the new Mac OS X, the Lion (Rawr!). It has some cool new features I am just learning how to use. Mostly, I like the faster everything. Downloading, web surfing, file saving, etc. are so much quicker! And the iCloud is cool. I'm still not sure how it all works, but somehow everything syncs when I am not looking. It's like Star Trek but without the goofy outfits.

So take care out there in techie land and enjoy the waning autumn. I look forward to seeing y'all in a couple of weeks!

Good Times at the Grand Casino

So Thursday was fulfilling. Got to ride down to Hinckley with some great colleagues (including our cohort's very own Muskadee!). Inspiring conversations, good coffee and donuts and some laughs.

Martin Brokenleg's talk was engaging and informative. Also very affirming that a good portion of what I think about multiculturalism in the classroom is on par with the research and his philosophies. In fact, I have used the Circle of Courage for years in a variety of settings as the foundation for curricula in outdoor and residential settings. Most recently, I have adapted it to use in trainings with student leaders in my current position. I had the opportunity to ask his opinion on the appropriateness of my adaptation and he said he supports how I am using the model. Very affirming!

I'm having fun with my website and continuing to work on Moodle stuff as a UMD Seminar instructor.

On a personal note, my son Lev turned 2 on Friday! Above is a photo I took with my iPod of his cupcake train. We had a fun party with some other families on Saturday. We all sang Happy Birthday while he hid under the table.

Video du Jour....

Check out my new website for a collection of YouTube gems.  I will post a new video every morning and then archive them on the site.  Please note the category tabs on the left-hand side of the page.  Enjoy!

http://dfrank.weebly.com/

Multi-tasking?

I'm sitting here in class blogging while we are talking. I'm really testing whether or not I can pay attention to what people are saying while I'm typing about something else...................Nope, don't think so!

Statesman Opinion Piece

It has been a crazy week.  I don't know what to say, other than to post a brief opinion article I submitted to the UMD Statesman today.  It started as an 1100 word piece but I was asked to whittle it down to 300 words, so here we go.....

Last week, a hateful campaign was leveled against individuals on campus. As is common in times of crisis, there has been a widespread outpouring of support for those involved.

Sadly, following traumatic events, communities quickly fade back to business as usual, and those not directly involved remain unaffected. When racism is involved, individuals with dominant identities move on most easily, able to ignore daily inequities around us.

For people with subordinate identities, “business as usual” has a different connotation.  It means constantly explaining your “differences,” being expected to speak on behalf of entire groups of people, and often experiencing bigotry first hand.

This semester we are asking, “How did you come to be here?” Not surprisingly, many people of color readily respond with cultural stories, and understandings of how their lives have been shaped by these identities. 

In contrast, white people often lack cultural self-knowledge, and don’t recognize how identity has influenced their life’s paths. This is largely because we as whites are not made aware of our whiteness on a daily basis, while people of color are faced with their “otherness” everyday.

As a university, we have a responsibility to examine how systemic inequities frame our experiences. This means not only exploring how “the other” is ill served, but also how privileged individuals benefit from the system.

In the classroom, this means exploring how cultural biases influence our disciplines and impact our learning.  On an individual level, this means learning how our own stories influence, and are influenced by the stories of others.

Equipped with a deeper sense of self, we allow others’ perspectives to exist on their own merit, rather than only in the context of being “different” from our own.  The result is a stronger community, which becomes inclusive of all people, experiences and perspectives.

-Danny Frank

FYE/SIT Coordinator

QASU Adviser

CEHSP Doctoral Student