Learning Keeps Us Young, While Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors Grow Our Humanity

Henry Ford said, "anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young."  My lifelong love of learning and struggling with the hard questions, the challenging tasks, and the analytical pieces of the world combining with humanity fascinates me and keeps my mind young.  Part of my learning brought me to Rudine Sims Bishop's metaphor concerning the need for diverse books.  If you have not heard or read her metaphor, please allow me to introduce her with this clip:

These two quotes that reflect my values led me to spend about three and a half hours in the car during a vacation day this week.  When I received an email from Framingham State University the week before vacation announcing that Clint Smith would be speaking, I texted two of my best friends the screenshot and said, "I already got us tickets. Can you make it?" Enthusiastically, one could. I'd seen Clint Smith at #NCTE19 Baltimore along with Elizabeth Acevedo, viewed his TED Talks and YouTube clips, and my department ordered Counting Descent for some classes. Still, I was drawn to the opportunity to attend the Olivia A. Davidson Voices of Color Lecture Series: Clint Smith, "History Reconsidered."

Attending this lecture (along with my best friend and fellow English teacher), Clint Smith focused heavily on the generational oppression and repression of people of color through purposeful acts, often instituted through government systems.

Applying terms such as positionality, which asks "how does your identity fit into a topic that you're studying?" and implications, which asks "how are your decisions different based on your identity?", Smith provided a foundation for understanding with the ease of an educator in a room of educators and students.

Clint Smith III

Filtering poems in with meaning and emphasis, Smith gracefully addressed the concepts of American exceptionalism and national and individual identity. Citing historical examples that confirm some "stories" are emphasized. In contrast, others are oppressed, Smith challenged educators and students alike to read primary source documents and learn multiple histories to gain an understanding of story versus truth and the impact on "contemporary inequality."

This approach to studying stressed the crucial significance of the ability to "hold a set of complicated truths at once."  For example, Thomas Jefferson was both a founding father and leader in American democracy while also being a slaveholder.  Both of these statements are historically accurate, but the challenge is to accept that reality.  Smith later stated that "an understanding of history can lead to a different type of empathy," and noted "the power of proximity to shape empathy." 

These statements emphasized educators' responsibility to provide balanced learning opportunities to students, not to tell students what to think or believe. This love of a fundamental truth that many educators honor daily is the basis of classrooms across the country. Provide learning opportunities and watch students grow.

Clint Smith III--February 19, 2020

While sharing his poetry and stories of his family and their history, Clint Smith's talent, insights, and affection for humanity were apparent.  His work and research provide readers, educators, and students alike opportunities to learn multiple perspectives and think for themselves.

In short, Clint Smith provides mirrors for some, windows for others, and sliding glass doors for those cultivating their mind and humanity to walk through.



(This lecture was part of Framingham State University's Arts and Ideas series, which runs through April 2020.)