Hello Rodney,
Thanks for sharing this wonderful story. It'll help me get/think outside of
the box... Lisa


At 12:35 PM 08/22/2001 -0400, you wrote:
>Hello family...
>
>Yesterday, I tried a little experiment. With the first day of classes, and
>my first class, I started out by encouraging the members of the college
>course i am instructing to say the following..out loud..I am Good, I am
>brilliant, i am wonderful..Repeating this, over and over until it sank in.
>Then --i asked them to say it like they truly meant it. As the lecture
>continued, i made frequent reference to this point, White and black.. free
>of both guilt and innocence..We were going to discuss the Black Experience,
>but the course was not about placing guilt or innocence..but rather
>identifying the societal conditions which have led to the inability of both
>whites and blacks to live out their fullest potential. As things got deep,
>as I sensed critical moments for the students for both white and blacks
>--you know those quiet moments that you could cut with a knife..i reminded
>them that they were GBW's --i.e., good, brilliant and wonderful..
>well..never before have i gotten such a positive response to a lecture..and
>never has a student been so moved..this early..to send me an
>email..thanking me for such a class..let me share part of that email..
>and family..this is just the beginning....
>
>
>
>Dear Dr. Coates-
>Hi, this is Ross Meyer, one of your students in BWS 448. I just wanted to
>tell you how much i truly enjoyed class today. I dont know how quite to
>express it without being trite, but I truly felt liberated in a way after
>your amazing lecture. You seemed to push me beyond limits and make
>everything fall into place for me. For that, I truly thank you. You have a
>unique gift for teaching and I look forward to a wonderful semester with
>you. Thank you.
>
>For more of my poetry please check out
>
>http://gw.cas.muohio.edu/umoja/www.ulbobo.com/umoja/index.html
>
>umoja
>
>A new series:
>The Art of Love for the Emotionally Impaired please check out:
>
>http://communities.msn.com/TheArtofLovefortheEmotionallyImpaired/_whatsnew.
>msnw
>
>
>only when lions have historians will hunting cease to be glorified
>
>rodneyc..