Reach - Then Teach

Let me show you something ... We have a daughter. Her name is Hannah Adelle. She studies, therefore she thinks. She thinks, therefore she is. Her name means "graceful and noble". She is a lover. She loves her parents. She loves #LEarning. She #LEarns by studying her interests ...

(NOTE: It's not all about math with me ... I introduce StandupStorytelling and #TheSeeSayShow here) Let me show you something ... I love math. I love to do math. I also love to LEarn what math *does*. Math can be a little strange, though. Its oddities can confuse and irritate me. One such oddity is math's exclusive, alienating, almost "elitist" terminology, language, and "personality" ... and math...

Let me show you something ... Let's define a few key terms again ... for the first time. "Doctrine" is a "system of authoritative beliefs". "Indoctrination" is "teaching an authoritative system of beliefs". A "discipled indoctrinator" is one who has been indoctrinated in a way that teaches them how to indoctrinate others. "Discipled indoctrinators" defend and protect the ideas that shaped their le...

Let me show me you something ... I am a game designer, and have discovered that they are a great way to share information. Many years ago, I wrote one called “NOW YOU KNOW (History Quiz Bowl)”. It shares the stories of ordinary people who inspired me with their work … in a “Jeopardy”-styled format. The Lewis C. Scott photo that I just shared is from a "Lemon Street Stories" category used on a “NOW...

Let me show you something ... This is Lewis C. Scott. The "C" stands for "Clyde". Mr. Scott is a hero and role model of mine. He taught at Lemon Street High School - Cobb County's segregated high school for Blacks. He was everyone's favorite teacher. That is not an exaggeration. He is my hero and role model because I know that his school leaders (his bosses) leaned on him for an unusual amount of...

Let me show you something. Let's define a few words, then use them in sentences. "Doctrine" is a "system of authoritative beliefs". "Indoctrination" is "teaching an authoritative system of beliefs". "Conflation" is "confusing or blending ideas". Here's the sentence - "Education is the conflation of our fallible memories and indoctrination" ...

So let me show you something. Please bear with me - this might be hard to see (and hard to hear). I love school, but do not always like it. School does not know its role. It does not know what its name means. When you don't know your role (roll), you cannot identify and execute your power and purpose. You can abuse it easily, though ...

My name is Derrick. I study, therefore I think. I think, therefore I am. My name means "leader of his people". I am a lover. I love #LEarning. I #LEarn by studying my interests. I have studied #LEarning so much that it has become my passion ...

Dear Hannah - I'm a #StandupStoryteller. I'm the "Brother From Another Planet". Strange people think I am strange. I think that what I experience is strange. And still I rise. I just completed another school year. I am trying to see where I have been ... and where I am going. As I prepare to close this chapter of my story ... and continue to move and use my voice as my authentic self ... in an env...

Dear Hannah - I'm a #StandupStoryteller. I'm the "Brother From Another Planet". Strange people think I am strange. I think that what I experience is strange. And still I rise. I just completed another school year. I am trying to see where I have been ... and where I am going. The final "trilogy" entry is a list of six-word "stories" that present the lessons I have learned well enough to share ......

Dear Hannah - I'm a #StandupStoryteller. I'm the "Brother From Another Planet". Strange people think I am strange. I think that what I experience is strange. And still I rise. I just completed another school year. I am trying to see where I have been ... and where I am going. My road ahead is paved with "potholes" and promise. Both provide lots of opportunities to understand. I understand where I...

Dear Hannah - I'm a #StandupStoryteller. I'm the "Brother From Another Planet". Strange people think I am strange. I think that what I experience is strange. And still I rise. I just completed another school year. I am trying to see where I have been ... and where I am going. My visit to Hannah's class was life-changing. I had met most of her classmates through attendance at other school activitie...

Dear Hannah - I'm a #StandupStoryteller. I'm the "Brother From Another Planet". Strange people think I am strange. I think that what I experience is strange. And still I rise. I just completed another school year. I am trying to see where I have been ... and where I am going. March 21 was a good day. I took the day off to dream. See, I have a dream. One day, I will use #StandupStorytelling and #Th...

Dear Hannah - I'm a #StandupStoryteller. I'm the "Brother From Another Planet". Strange people think I am strange. I think that what I experience is strange. And still I rise. I just completed another school year. I am trying to see where I have been ... and where I am going. I made a key move this year. I was able to create a STEM partnership with a young aerospace engineer from GTRI ... who was...

Dear Hannah - I'm a #StandupStoryteller. I'm the "Brother From Another Planet". Strange people think I am strange. I think that what I experience is strange. And still I rise. I just completed another school year. I am trying to see where I have been ... and where I am going. Here's one of this year's greater challenges. One of my geometry classes engaged in some "shortcuts and shenanigans" ...  p...

Dear Hannah - I'm a #StandupStoryteller. I'm the "Brother From Another Planet". Strange people think I am strange. I think that what I experience is strange. And still I rise. I just completed another school year. I am trying to see where I have been ... and where I am going. Sometimes you teach people how to treat you. Sometimes they teach you how to treat them. I have mentioned my 3rd-block clas...

Dear Hannah - I'm a #StandupStoryteller. I'm the "Brother From Another Planet". Strange people think I am strange. I think that what I experience is strange. And still I rise. I just completed another school year. I am trying to see where I have been ... and where I am going. Math standards changed again this year. Math, though, has not changed. Math is still as universal a language as music. It i...

Dear Hannah - I'm a #StandupStoryteller. I'm the "Brother From Another Planet". Strange people think I am strange. I think that what I experience is strange. And still I rise. I just completed another school year. I am trying to see where I have been ... and where I am going. This year, I added "Connections" and another game I call "Category Challenge" to my critical thinking arsenal ... and was a...

Dear Hannah - I'm a #StandupStoryteller. I'm the "Brother From Another Planet". Strange people think I am strange. I think that what I experience is strange. And still I rise. I just completed another school year. I am trying to see where I have been ... and where I am going. In January 2024, my daughter's school won their district level reading bowl ... a reading bowl named for Helen Ruffin ... a...

Dear Hannah - I'm a #StandupStoryteller. I'm the "Brother From Another Planet". Strange people think I am strange. I think that what I experience is strange. And still I rise. I just completed another school year. I am trying to see where I have been ... and where I am going. Let me spit some truth serum. "This Masquerade" may never be dismantled. It may be too hard to see it ... to even begin to...

Dear Hannah - I'm a #StandupStoryteller. I'm the "Brother From Another Planet". Strange people think I am strange. I think that what I experience is strange. And still I rise. I just completed another school year. I am trying to see where I have been ... and where I am going. I accept that "mental math", critical thinking, and problem solving skills are in rapid decline in our society ... amongst...

Dear Hannah - I'm a #StandupStoryteller. I'm the "Brother From Another Planet". Strange people think I am strange. I think that what I experience is strange. And still I rise. I just completed another school year. I am trying to see where I have been ... and where I am going. Language and discourse are more important than vocabulary. Vocabulary is knowledge of words. If you say "Chuck D's stentori...

Dear Hannah - I'm a #StandupStoryteller. I'm the "Brother From Another Planet". Strange people think I am strange. I think that what I experience is strange. And still I rise. I just completed another school year. I am trying to see where I have been ... and where I am going. I did not do a formal "annual report" last year. This art was the takeaway, though, of my reflection time last Summer. The...

Dear Hannah - I'm a #StandupStoryteller. I'm the "Brother From Another Planet". Strange people think I am strange. I think that what I experience is strange. And still I rise. I just completed another school year. I am trying to see where I have been ... and where I am going. I am Keisha's husband. I am Hannah's father. They are "mi gente" (my people). I am their provider, protector, friend, helpe...

Dear Hannah - I'm a #StandupStoryteller. I'm the "Brother From Another Planet". Strange people think I am strange. I think that what I experience is strange. And still I rise. I just completed another school year. I am trying to see where I have been ... and where I am going. Let's move away from analyzing the status quo. Let's move toward discussing hope, healing, and substantive change. Our worl...