Human: Danny by

Kachine

2021-07-19 21:29:53 UTC

Danny,

Brought tears to my eyes with the video and you pointing at the different parts of the poem and the words and the images and the silence in the beginning of the short film, weaving in your story, the work with PSTs, and our work at the institute.

When you shared your story it got me thinking of Jose Esteban Munoz's work on queer futurity. Around the confines of straight time, the ways in which we are suppose to show up and at what time on the gregorian calendar, also makes me think about this quote from him, "“Queerness is not yet here. Queerness is an ideality. Put another way, we are not yet queer, but we can feel it as the warm illumination of a horizon imbued with potentiality. We have never been queer, yet queerness exists for us as an ideality that can be distilled from the past and used to imagine a future. The future is queerness's domain. (p. 1)”

Lastly, I love the Anzaldua quote you shared, specifically, "Awareness of our situation must come before inner changes, which in turn come before changes in society. Nothing happens in the "real" world unless it first happens in the images in our heads.” PREACH! this is the work....i just love the way she conceptualizes this so profound, so deep, yet so simple. <3

ugh-can't wait to feel your energy in human form hopefully sooner than later+++++

Danny,

2021-07-19 21:29:58 UTC

Wow. When you were first sharing, the second Anzaldua quote really stood out to me because I feel like it captures where I am when thinking about navigating these colonial school spaces. In alien waters. They used to be my jam, this is my thing, being a bridge. But when things come up like today with pushback from community and feeling like things have to be watered down, or thought through more carefully, it brings up a lot to for me. because sometimes being in my integrity does mean anger. Does mean frustration. So thank you for helping me process that with the amazing Anzaldua. Then you played this beautiful poem, that reminded me of the little things educators and parents must consider when working with youth. How beautiful that I feel the poetry softened me and helped me remember why I am doing all of this. Thank you for being vulnerable and speaking candidly about that in between space, when we realize we are 'other' in someone's worldview, and beautiful and perfect all at the same time. -Brittni Laura

Alien

robynrasberry — 2021-07-19 21:30:02 UTC

Thank you so much for sharing today, Danny. It's such a pleasure and delight to hear you speak and to learn about you. I hear you in your struggle to find who you are and where you belong, where your people are, where you can see yourself in the people walking down the street. And I appreciate that you want to support educators in fostering that discovery in students.
When I saw the poem yesterday, I had a different interpretation, but I'm seeing it differently after hearing your thoughts. I appreciate your sharing.
I have more to share, but am unable to communicate clearly today. Please know that you are appreciated.

Danny,

maru0383 — 2021-07-19 21:30:07 UTC

So many things you shared with us today resonated deeply with my experiences. From the struggle to find oneself, to developing defense mechanisms to simply "be" in the world, to being othered and being questioning all the time. It's exhausting! I couldn't help but see the parallels of what you shared about your life and the poem. There are so many profound messages in the poem! The idea of how we are supposed to produce, produce, produce (and almost to perfection) is quite sad. Some of the most magical work takes years of development. I love how you are connecting the poem to your teaching philosophy. It's so powerful. Teaching takes so many years of practice and learning how to teach never ends--it's an amazing adventure one experiences! Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful thinking and soul with us my pisces friend <3
-Maria

from bethy

leonarmb — 2021-07-19 21:30:09 UTC

When I read the poem earlier today, I felt like you let us in to a part of you that I was lucky to get to see. The tenderness, the playfulness, the wisdom in that piece-- in my view--is what the world needs, what education deserves. Your intro to the piece was also so powerful. What struck me is when you talked about the "everyday managing," the "knowing what to expect," the wondering which "one of them" you are, choose to be, are labeled as, and so on. What I'm also sitting with is your grounding in Anzaldua and questions about where our elders are, where we find them, who "fits" for us and how that might shift and change, even in the same people. I'm also thinking about you thinking about others in this- your students, pre-service teachers, how you might support them, how they might look to you. Thank you for this piece of you, for all of the profound that you bring.

<3 Danny.

sjstaley — 2021-07-19 21:30:10 UTC

Oh, Danny,
Thank you for sharing a little bit of you, your struggle, your truth, your wisdom. I just want to create the tenderest space for your heart -- to protect against the unlearning that so many in our world have yet to fully engage. I want to whisper in the ear of little you -- the little you in elementary school: you are perfect. Let's sit together at lunch. :) <3 I'm also sitting with the parallels between the struggle that Anzaldúa so beautifully names in that excerpt and the struggle to become that you so profoundly described, and the struggle that (y)our pre- and inservice teachers experience as they learn and unlearn with us in the classes and spaces we lead. It's a never-ending struggle, I think, to become, to know ourselves, and to learn to swim in the alien waters, whether that's in the context of the skin we're in or in the context of learning to teach for equity and justice. It strikes me that the work you're doing to lean into your own struggle will be (and already is) such a source of compassion that you can leverage in supporting your students and teachers. Thank you for sharing your heart. *Sara

Danny

dehe7320 — 2021-07-19 21:30:43 UTC

I know when we spoke earlier you were still thinking through some of this. You were awesome! Thanks for sharing your story of the borderlands and how those feelings have shifted throughout your life. I feel like I know you a little bit better. And I think that the poem is an important one for us to all remember- that learning takes time, that the changes we seek are not always immediate. Makes me think of my own personal journey in understanding myself and the efforts made by teachers that I'm only just recognizing and fully appreciating. Thank you for being you. So happy to have you on our team! - Devon

To be in-between

jago9113 — 2021-07-19 21:31:09 UTC

I am so grateful for the time I spent learning from Chicana studies professors in Arizona, and digging into authors like Anzaldua. The betweenness of things is so very queer - thank you for brining this text/video into our minds and hearts.

I am so grateful for the intent you bring to every conversation, and so happy to be moving toward collective liberation with you. Thank you for your honesty and vulnerability today.

Keeping intact...

pare8771 — 2021-07-19 21:31:19 UTC

Danny- I felt so much richness in what you shared with us today. I love the way you brought Anzaldúa to bear on your experiences and illuminated her wisdom and your own for all of us. I appreciate the emphasis on keeping the multiple parts of us, your multiple selves intact, rather than a pressure that is often internalized to abandon or choose. The poem is so sweet and the video is so cool. Thank you for sharing what it brought up for you and how such reflects what I see as your appreciation for learning and the beautiful, complex processes involved. So grateful to be a part of your world.
<3 Page

rebeccalinares — 2021-07-19 21:34:01 UTC

Danny,

Thank you for sharing with us today. Everything you said was profound and resonated so much with many things I have thought and felt. I remember when I first came across Gloria Anzaldua and how almost magically she gave words and description to so many things I had felt but not really been able to name or know how to talk about. The quotes you picked to share are incredible captures of her amazing work and the power it has. I enjoyed listening to this poem and watching the video with the context you shared in mind. Since we had a chance to teach together this last semester I got to learn many things from you about working with pre-service teachers and listening to this poem and what it means to you was such a beautiful illustration and representation of what I saw in our teaching together. Thank you so much for sharing. <3 Rebecca