I am writing to share a new publication: a chapter in Best of Journals in Rhetoric and Composition 2021, edited by Kristi Girdharry, Charles Lesh, Jessica Pauszek, David Blakesley, and Steve Parks and published with Parlor Press (2023). This chapter includes both a reprint of my previous article “Rhetorical and Pedagogical Interventions for Countering Microaggressions” co-authored with Rasha Diab and with contributions by Cedric Burrows and Thomas Ferrel. It also ... Read more ...
Higher Education
These posts consider matters of teaching and learning, career discernment, and equity in education. As a former professor, I share my experiences in school and my decision to leave academia to pursue public writing and community education.
Q&A with Candace Epps-Robertson: On Seasons of Life, Writing, and Career
This interview introduces Candace Epps-Robertson, Ph.D., a collaborator with Heart-Head-Hands, facilitator of writing groups, and co-creator of the new offering, “Pathways Through Burnout: A Cohort Experience.” Candace is a writer, researcher, and educator with deep commitments to justice and more than twenty years of experience in literacy education. She is also Associate Professor of English at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she ... Read more ...
Intervening into Burnout, Building a Sense of What’s Possible
A new article, “Intervening into Burnout,” appears in Inside Higher Ed today. In this follow-up piece to “Honoring Ourselves and Each Other Through Burnout,” I offer examples of creative interventions into burnout. These examples are gifted to me through coaching, so I write with deep gratitude for people who are trying different ways of being, doing, feeling, thinking, relating and imagining in higher education. Here’s an excerpt: “Burnout is also never ... Read more ...
It’s Valentine’s Day, and I’m Again Writing with Heartache
My heart is with you and all of us grieving, raging, and moving through the day with heartache. My heart is with all of us and our people connected with Michigan State University (MSU) and all people impacted by gun violence. With DC and Southern California, with so many people, so many locations. My heart is with all of us living in a state of terror -- in the terrorizing nation-state of the United States and in the midst of normalized everyday violence. My heart is ... Read more ...
Begin the New Year with a Writing Group
Registration is open for writing groups starting in January! Writing groups can support us in many ways—from holding creative space to building community with other writers. I’m excited about a few new things: There are now options to join the weekly group on Tuesdays, Fridays, or both days. Dr. Candace Epps-Robertson is joining as a facilitator. There are expanded sliding-scale registration options. Registration includes a one-day writing retreat for every two-month ... Read more ...
Writing Support for the School Year (and Year-Round)
With the school year starting, many of my recent coaching conversations have focused on writing.Some conversations have addressed genres of writing related to schooling: assignment design, teaching portfolios, tenure and promotion materials, cover letters, dissertations, and grant applications. Some conversations have focused on prioritizing research during the school year, especially how to write in the midst of burnout and productivity pressures. Some conversations ... Read more ...
Q&A with Chloe de los Reyes: Teaching as Continued Learning and Unlearning
This interview with Chloe de los Reyes highlights connections among language and literacy education, lived experiences and positionalities, and striving for social justice. Chloe is a faculty member (Assistant Professor of English) at Crafton Hills College in Southern California. Prior to this position, she worked as and advocated for adjunct faculty for many years. We met almost two decades ago when both teaching and researching in campus writing centers. And we’ve ... Read more ...
Q&A with David Luis Glisch-Sánchez: Life Coaching as Restoring Wholeness
This interview with David Luis Glisch-Sánchez, Ph.D. shares how life coaching aligns with living for justice. Recently, David launched Soul Support Life Coaching with focuses on healing and restoring wholeness. I’ve been really excited to witness David share the vision for this work, build the business framework, and begin to offer coaching and workshops. David is a sociologist who has spent years both doing self-work and studying how others heal “to make whole,” ... Read more ...
Reframing Burnout and Recognizing the Collective Experience
Today, I have a new article published in Inside Higher Ed: “Honoring Ourselves and Each Other Through Burnout.” Here’s the opening: In the past few months, nearly all my conversations have focused on burnout. One friend is running on fumes, another wonders how to keep teaching when her body says no and still another rattles off a near-endless list of what’s not getting done. Such stories are nearly endless, too. The recent Inside Higher Ed opinion piece “Academe, Hear ... Read more ...
Small-Group Coaching: Aligning Career with Commitments
This summer I’m hoping to try something new: small-group coaching focused on career discernment. After several years of facilitating “Career Discernment for Academics: Aligning Career with Commitments,” I’m reflecting on how career discernment can be a lonely experience. This is true even while many people are experiencing similar frustrations and asking similar questions. How do we shift time toward priorities? How do we navigate unjust workplace conditions? How do we ... Read more ...
