A mouthful of food for thought

[Quoted from a story I shared on FB about a wyt teacher bullying a student he did not even teach]

I come from an educator. I have a sibling who works in the public school system. I grew up around teachers. We speak about bullying in school, but most folks think about student-on-student bullying. But there are teachers who bully, too. In fact, there are many bullies teaching students. I should know. In middle school, JFK Junior High, the teachers as well as the students bullied me and many of my peers. There were a few good educators, but the bullying teachers outnumbered them. We say "a few bad apples," but no one says the full quote, "spoils the WHOLE BUNCH." Law enforcement, Education, Medicine, and most other industries did Not begin with Black folks, brown folks, QUILTBAG+, and women in mind. In fact, the police began as slave patrols. Medicine experimented on enslaved people. And though Public Education, started by *Immigrants* in order to equal the playing field, "so the miller's son can be in the same classroom as the bankers son," know that the USA continues its institutions on the basis of systemic bigotry(racism, seismic, homophobia, and xenophobia). Reform does not and will not fix what was made to oppress in the first place. We need complete and total change. Have a thoughtful Friday.

The Teacher See-Saw

When I tell my college students I hated grade school but preferred college, they're always surprised. This statement often shocks my colleagues. 

Unfortunately for me, school life did not often prove as nurturing. On a few occasions, I would find that one teacher, but, most teachers did not seem to notice.

In elementary school, my teacher was so busy trying to get me tested into Special Ed that she didn't see I was a budding artist. When I returned as a high school peer counselor to that elementary school, the other teachers asked her why she had not known about my artwork.

In Catholic School, my Spanish Language teacher encouraged my writing after I turned in a poem. She also stopped my classmates from teasing me for being a left-hander. She was the first teacher to carefully show how I must position my paper.

During most of public school Reading and English, one middle school teacher gave me advice for my writing.

In 10th grade, the Art teacher actually carved over my work and said she was trying to 'correct' it. I was drawing furry characters... *sigh* I was disheartened but my mom was angered by the incident.

The next year, another Art teacher encouraged me to perfect my animal characters. She was so wonderfully weird and inspiring that I took her second level class in my senior year. She's the art director for my high school, last I checked.

One English teacher accused me of plagiarism. And had to give me my good grades when I did exceptionally well on the SAT Practice Test, and my book report on the hated Great Gatsby. 

Another told me I should take her Honors course.

Finally, in community college, an English professor encouraged me to register for Creative Writing, a course I had never heard of(Yes! Be shocked)!

When You Find the Sweet Spot

 When you find that sweet spot during creating

As some of you may know, I work occasionally on some comic stuff. Not professionally, but my own stories. I've gotten two comic strips published (one became shortlisted in a humor contest) and I've been creating a slow and infrequent stream of comics over time.

For one particular fellowship I applied for, I created a 20-page graphic novel within a month and a half. Let me say I will not do that again! I didn't get the reward, but I learned more about myself as an artist in a more urgent medium. Similar to when I am involved in Inktober, the October event where artists globally participate by creating an ink illustration a day.

Why am I saying all this?
That's because I think I found the style I needed for one particular story. Tentative title is "Summer to Winter" and it's from my main character's poem. She falls in love for the first time and with her high school  homeroom teacher. Before you screech to a halt, don't worry, I don't normalize abusive relationships in my stories. As a writer, I try to depict violence for what it is - something abnormal that can be overcome through solidarity, healthy emotional support systems, and the idea that the vulnerable and the oppressed need protecting as well as dignity and respect.

During graduation, she lets her teacher know how she feels about him before they part ways. They keep in contact during her college years but part ways again before both come back into each other's life through a crisis. Eventually, through trial and error, they become a couple. The story does not end there. There are other secondary and tertiary characters involved in their own romances and who get their own stories told but all eventually revolve around the former student and her former teacher's romance because the other cast members were from her class or her school.

This story started in the early 2000s and because I wanted to be one of the next U.S. manga creator, I purchased actual comic paper from my local comic bookstore. I tried inking with nibs -you know, dipping nib pens into ink bottles?- I even used an ink wash with paintbrushes. Yes, I was INSANE.

It turns out that it took me a month to create ONE PAGE. A MONTH. I would need 200 years of life to complete this story, so I scrapped it!

Years later, I tried a line art style. Black lines, solid blacks balanced with white. That worked for a time. I worked on regular-size art paper. I created more pages, however, the plotting was all wrong. The pacing had slowed, character motives weren't clearly thought out, it looked good and I was happy with the new look but I wouldn't want to submit this anywhere.

I scrapped it once again. I worked on other things. The same journals I used for other stories, I began scripting some of the more complex comic stories. I applied for freelance work. I submitted to contests, fellowships, and grants (I'm going back to applying for writing grants - wish me luck!). I also worked on other stories and submitted to publications.

And then I opened an Instagram account so I could show partials, unfinished sketches, draft pieces and progressions that I didn't want on my DeviantArt account. That's when I noticed the feedback I received from followers, friends, and colleagues. Another artist friend suggested using markers. I used to use them as a kid but now there were even more sophisticated types and different brands. They can make a piece resemble ink work, ink wash, watercolor, acrylics, and even pastels. Let me try some other formats! Let me experiment and since Instagram isn't commitment, dabble and see the responses.

Former student: This doesn't look like a draft! It looks finished! It looks professional! What markers are these?
Friends: I love your comics! Amazing outcome! Dreamy, steaminess, and romantic.
Colleagues: I know this character is your ideal man. You made this man good looking in just a few strokes. What materials do you use?

Pretty positive and a boost to the confidence I needed to try again. I have also been advised by peers and students as to how to market and I'm doing my research as I go. I also found some illustrator-friendly software while I was researching the software that would makeover my website, so I need to practice that as well.

And as always, thank you for sticking with me. In which ever format this comic story appears, I will let you, my dear readers, know the links and where to view and/or buy it.

A pleasure as always.

Why the Teacher(s)?

Happy 2019!

I tend to have a lot of educator characters (main and minor) in my slice-of-life comics and I wondered about that. 

And then it occurred to me: While reading "Archie", I was often curious about teacher, Miss Grundy, and the school principal, Mr. Weatherbee. 

What did they do after school? Did they like each other? What kind of families did they have or come from? What were their hobbies? 

As the child of a schoolteacher, I knew that teachers didn't live at the school but had homes like everybody else. Also, why were story teachers always old?

These sorts of questions drove me crazy as a kid. I also had to stop a lot of stupid rumors among my fellow elementary school classmates.

No, teachers didn't live at the school. They didn't sleep under their desks.
No, teachers had families and kids.
They do have spouses.
And teachers had nothing to do with the cafeteria food menu.
That's why they often bring their own lunches.
And no, teachers didn't give out homework to torment us.
Oftentimes, they had to answer to a higher authority, such as the school administrators and school boards.

Why did I only see a scratching of the surface on these musings when I watched those Hollywood films about a teacher going into a ghetto neighborhood to 'save the children'? What about the teachers who already lived there? Didn't they have a say?

Family, friends, family friends, I was always surrounded by teachers. Why not tell the stories I overheard? Why not come up with my own?

Teachers have a life, let's all acknowledge that, shall we?

Because it's Back-to-School time!

My mom was a school teacher for 30+ years, both in New York and in Florida before retiring.

By having a teacher for a parent, not only did I get my school supplies ahead of time but I actually enjoyed shopping for them rather than going to school. As the youngest, I've gotten a lot of cute memorable stuff over the years.

When in second grade, Mom bought me some Crayola crayon-rocket-shaped erasers. My classmates kept harassing me and my teacher thought I had brought in toys and disrupted the class. But I showed her they were erasers.

This episode taught me to be particular with what supplies I revealed to schoolmates and how jealousy can get someone into trouble.

*Please Politely* Stalk Your Teacher (subtitle: Please email or call your teacher if you have a problem)

Nothing annoys me more than many in this new generation of students. 

Whether they are struggling in a class, need more info about an extra credit assignment, or just a quick question, it seems there is a lack of initiative on a student's part to be proactive.

Here is what I mean. While tutoring, a student complained about how he/she couldn't stand the teacher and that the teacher was harsh. This went on for several sessions until I asked the student if she/he spoke with the teacher.

"No."

Me: Did you at least drop them an email?

Student: Nooo...

Me: Why not?

Student: I don't wanna bother them!

Another student had a last-minute assignment during Finals' Week. After assisting, I asked the student if she/he was turning in the assignment by email. The student said no, that it had to be delivered to the teacher's office but the student had never been to the office the whole semester, and needed to start searching for it.

Me: But you went there before, right? To your teacher's office?

Student: No, not really.

Me: But why not?

Student: *shrugs* No real reason.

Me: Do you have an idea to find the teacher's office?

Student: I can look on the syllabus.

Me: *Raising my voice* That isn't the point!

Really? You're insulting your instructor, believe the person to be unfair, but instead of you asking them directly, you're going to complain to your tutor, or text your friends, rant on social media, and nowhere in sight does your teacher know of your tribulations because YOU DON'T WANT TO BOTHER THEM?

What is going on with these students? 

When I was in college, I remember my friends and I practically stalking our teachers! We would know where their offices were, know their office hours, and practically be found camping outside their doors when they arrived. We read our syllabuses/syllabi like Bibles until they were worn. We didn't use email addresses to contact our instructors because few people had emails back then. They had telephone extensions and we called these numbers. We made appointments too, according to and around the professors' office schedules.

The only thing we didn't do was follow these instructors home! 

Why when the choices of communication were so slim, my generation knew how to contact and TALK to our teachers? 

Now that we can text, email, go on a variety of social media - some of these instructors have their own websites! - and even interact almost virtually, nobody wants to 'trouble' their professor? Foolishness!

You are in college. You are supposed to be an adult. Don't presume that by sitting back and doing n-o-t-h-i-n-g will grant you understanding and countless boons of academic favor! It will not work. Once you don't stay engaged in your college/university life or remain proactive to your success, just take the bitter pill and swallow it.

I don't understand some people...

I don't remember if it was a writers' conference, a workshop, the Miami Book Fair, some random convention or event I usually attend when I'm bored and/or have some extra cash.
Anyhoo, a gentleman was impressed by the fact I was published and had my own website. He asked what inspired my stories.

I told him I grew up on Greek myth and so, at the time, Tabber the Red (my site), had Greek Mythology* on the Welcome Page. He told me that was surprising, since I'm not Greek.

Huh? What? How did you arrive at that conclusion?
No, I'm far from Greek (I'm 1st Gen Caribbean-American), but what I don't understand is that, as far as I could tell, neither was he.

Yet, I got the impression that had I matched his skin color, this man would never have said such a ridiculous summation to me.
What did being non-Greek have to do with being a lover of storytelling that has lasted through the ages?
~~~
I don't like pigeonholes: in high school art, as a girl, I wasn't suppose to draw superheroes.

Instead, I should be creating the fashion art the majority of girls were drawing (one fashion artist even got ticked off when she saw the outfits I created for my characters, and demanded to know how I could draw such outfits - so, she was jealous at how..creative the outfits on cartoon characters were?).

In junior high, I should be drawing still-life instead of cartoons.

In college art courses, an instructor/professor had the nerve to tell me I was too repressed and restrictive, especially when, after completing his assignments, I turned to sketching my own work during free time.

When I decided to take writing seriously, when it no longer became a passing interest, no longer a hobby, but something I wanted to shape my life, there were folks who told me to stop writing about animals, stop living in science fiction world, stop these childish dreams, and focus on reality, and read Urban fiction (you know, because I AM Black).

And let me also mention the English teacher, who, in my first-year of high school, accused me of plagiarism (don't worry, will explain in another post), and a science teacher from my junior high days, a truly dreadful woman, who later showed up at the college I later attended!

Here I was, working at the college bookstore as a cashier, and she, horror of horrors, was the next in line!

Dreadful Teacher: Oh, it's you, Ms. Welsh. You're here. (Because, she could never call us by our FIRST names, as she was mean enough not to make it personal)

Me: Hello, Ms. (Name deliberately omitted). How are you?

Dreadful Teacher: What're you doing here?

Me: I'm majoring in art.

Dreadful Teacher: Oh. THAT again? I thought you gave that up.

I don't know why I wanted to bite her instead of the normal thought of punching her, I guess that was just the so-called 'Furry' in me, but I grinned wide enough as if I was bearing my teeth in a snarl and wished her a nice day.
~~~
As human beings, we all have prejudices; we all make snap judgements. We're all flawed.Yes, if we know a person's ethnicity, we can hope to better understand him/her, if we know someone's name, it betters our chances of connecting with him/her.

I get it. What I don't understand is, when a person can just outright BLURT OUT his/her snap judgements at you on the summation of skin color? Or gender? And then on THAT flimsy basis, decide what you must like, what must be your hobbies, what must be your life? And when you completely change that illusion or assumption, YOU, not the person who makes the snap judgement, are the brunt of that person's ire or confusion?

I don't want to understand. I just want to draw what I like. I want to write what I like. So far, some people like it, some love it, and some hate it no matter what. We are entitled to our interests. We are entitled to our opinions.
But please, for those who think you can decide everything about a person just by looking at them, maybe you're in the wrong business.
You should probably do fortune-telling. Yet, even palmists study a person carefully before making a prediction.


*For those who visit 'Tabber the Red', I have since changed 'Greek' Mythology to 'World' Mythology because the Greek stories led me to reading other cultures' myths and folklore.