I was able to share my family story, too. Two first-generation parents. Grandparents who worked as an electrician, practical nurse, linotype operator (none of my students had a clue), and restaurant and boarding house operator. I introduced my three siblings to my students either through Ted Talks or remote video guest lectures.
My students and I talked about how access to resources of all kinds shapes who we are. We talked about how food means different things to people of different means. And of how our relationship to our possessions carries over from generation to generation. And of family educational experiences that shape our past and our future.
My father, who had no hope of a college education until he served his country and earned the GI Bill, often pondered how our family had leaped in one generation from no post-secondary education to one MA and three Ph.D. degrees. Today, as I read my usual news sources, I was reminded of all the privileges my family had.
Even though money was often tight, we were never completely without a cushion and never had to resort to predatory lending. Even though my parents never owned a home until their children were grown, they never faced the red-lining practices that lead to contract selling and serial eviction. And even though we didn’t have a glittering roster of fancy friends, we did have family and we knew our neighbors.
I’m grateful to be standing on the shoulders of family, teachers, friends and neighbors. I am grateful to be in this place of privilege where I can challenge public relations students to write, reflect, and repay veterans for their service.
I’m grateful to be standing on the shoulders of family, teachers, friends and neighbors. I am grateful to be in this place of privilege where I can challenge public relations students to write, reflect, and repay veterans for their service.
