Tag: learning
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Keep knowing who you are!
‘Do you know who you are without what you do?’ These words were spoken often during my doctoral studies at Penn State University by my doctoral advisor, Dr. Collins Airhihenbuwa. To him, our research identities, often influenced the research we conducted. If all you see is what you do, he would go on to say,…
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Keep knowing how lucky you are!
In the middle of a very chaotic day, with my house literally in shambles, a stranger knocked at my door. He plowed snow for other homeowners in our village and wanted to know if we needed help plowing our snow. He noted that he used to plow for the previous owner and he would love…
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Keep empathy!
What would you do, if you had a water leak? In your home? On your ceiling or your brand-new kitchen, brand new cabinetry? Would you scream, yell, even curse, as you try to make sense of the endless outpouring of water, snow, ice, melting too quickly and bursting pipes? Or would you remain calm, remain…
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Keep love
We started today in love. My 2nd son is also turning 4. So our home was filled with love. We choose to celebrate it today as his birthday is on Wednesday. Something about birthdays and days dedicated to love, fills my heart with joy. Like with my daughter’s gifts to everyone today. Handmade cards for…
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Keep our silent knowing!
‘Palm on the glass, touching. Face to face, I stand. Unspeaking, I look into my eyes. Silent, knowing.’ In the book ‘The Origin of Others,’ Toni Morrison shared a story about a trip to Vienna Biennale. She described being in a room with artworks on display. She was asked to enter a dark room where…
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Keep knowing where you are from!
We named our daughter Lotanna to remember our father, our son Chiwetel to marvel at the gift we got from God, our other son Olisadubem for God to be his guide, and our baby Ranyenna to be grateful and as a reminder to give God what belongs to him always. The names we gave our…
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Keep Anna Julia Cooper in mind, this Black History Month!
In the spirit of Black History Month, my family and I have been reading about Anna Julia Cooper, the 4th African American woman to earn a doctorate, something she accomplished in 1924. Anna Julia Cooper was as fearless as she was powerful, as sublime as she was effortless in her discussions not only on the…
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Keep motherhood like crawling and the ground in mind!
Have you ever tried to crawl? To place your hands on the ground, your knees as well, and slowly meander forward. Have you ever gone lower? This time, with placing your stomach, flatly on the ground and slowly meander forward. What if you placed an object afar? Then slowly, even effortless, meander forward, towards the…
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Keep the lens of children!
I read somewhere that children are the lens through which adults can relearn how to live. Though their tomorrow’s are uncertain, the often live their today’s free from the limits of the future. For to a child, forever is never guaranteed. Only today and all it’s limits and possibilities. There is an Igbo proverb which…
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Keep spelling my Belle!
With a perfect spelling of the word ‘sponge,’ my daughter won today’s spelling bee for her 3rd grade class. She was proud of herself. I was too. Here is a girl who continues to make me happy with everything she does. Her love for learning is full of grace, full of possibilities and totally captivating.…
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Keep what matters still!
The past few days have been filled with work. Not the kind of work that academics love to do. But the one that people who truly love what they do. It’s sublime, forces you to be still, so the words flow. Word work is becoming my solace in the middle of this pandemic. It’s not…
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Keep questions still with children!
Are grey wolves really grey? Do they have sharp eyes? What do grey wolves eat? For science, these questions were asked by my daughter as part of her designing a habitat assignment. At first glance, I smiled. My daughter is beginning to know the possibilities of questions. Not for their answers alone. That would be…
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Writing with Juliet Iwelunmor 