Black Tie Lounge

I shouldn't go too long without blogging because when I finally get back around to it, I'm so cluttered with all the things that I haven't said that my words come out as jumbled as my thoughts. I appreciate those friends that even though I have not seen them in ages or spoken to them frequently, it's still like we are able to pick up where we left off without the awkwardness of wondering what I should and should not say. I'm going to try that with you all. Some pretty big things happened this summer but it wasn't as fun as I hoped. I made more money than I have before. Got to connect with students in a powerful way. JudahLYFE appeared as a guest on Bobby Jones Gospel, which is a show that is televised nationally. I started my first full-time job with benefits. Sound amazing huh? I say it wasn't the best because I didn't enjoy it like I hoped. Have you ever had some of the best times in your life take place in some of the most rockiest of circumstances...

Each summer, I get the opportunity to advise students. This includes keeping them on track with finishing their degree, helping them understand the requirements to transfer to a 4 year university, and giving them sound advice so they don't  go into debt for  by making all out make bad choices.  So, I'm in the Advising office and the majority of people I work with are teachers. We got into a discussion about our expectations when it comes to student conduct. This then transformed into a discussion about how this generation has entitlement issues or have been babied only to their detriment. What's sad is that these are the same jokers failing out of class. One of my colleagues said that it's like they can't be embarassed. Calling a student out in the middle of class, or giving them an F does not embarass them. Good conversation. This morning the discussion continued but it was directed toward an event that happened at Herndon High. Allegedly several students pull...

Guess what song I woke up to this morning? Well I didn't exactly wake up to any song. Instead I cut on the television after I woke up and the song that played after some random stripper song--the type that has a beat and the type of lyrics that will only have an affect if you are drunk in a club throwing ones--was a song that I am beginning to use as my own. Low and behold after the stripper song was a video to "Titanium" by David Guetta and Sia, which is the latest single off the album Nothing But the Beat. Pop music fans may recognize Sia because she is featured on FloRida's song Wild One. "Titanium" goes like this: I'm bullet proof nothing to loose fire away fire away Ricochet, you take your aim fire away fire away You shoot me down but I won't fall I am titanium You shoot me down but I won't fall I am titanium Not only does this song get me hyped to run when I don't want to but it also encourages me to keep pushing through the ...

I'm watching a video that I assign to my students for points toward their grade. I decided to share this and other videos I have used for my class. Listening Chapter Language Interpersonal Communication This is just a taste

Fresh off the car break in, I came up with the bright idea of polling my students to see what things I can adjust. Sure I may come to class with some chucks and an H&M sweater or V-neck T-shirt, say some very sarcastic things, forget the very material I am presenting but I do care what my students/clients think about my services. I always wanted to get some instructor feedback but I never cared to actually think about what to ask. This time, well, I still didn't think of what to ask. I kind of came up with the questions on the spot but I did follow through with what I was thinking as I carried out this poll. I asked if the students were satisfied with the course at this point. I asked if there was anything that I could do more or less of. Lastly, I asked for general feedback. Now if I judge my students based of the looks on their faces as I present material to them, then I'd say that I was in to possibly get ripped a new one. To which I would have just kindly said eff you,...

Tomorrow class will be in session and I don't exactly have it all together. Trust, I'll have it on point by class time. This semester I've made a few changes. Instead of doing 8 week sessions to bring in the bank, I'm teaching the full 16-week semester. This will give me more time to focus on the students and actually give me time to plan assignments. Assignments: that's another area I have bulked up on. Buddy boy those that had me last Spring had it good. I rarely had assignments but I was hard on them when it came to the work they actually did turn in. This time I'm more informed and am ready to facilitate the progress of my students. The only thing right now I'll be somewhat winging is this public speaking class I picked up last week. Enrollment for that class was through the roof so I took on that course to make sure I had enough classes to keep me at a certain income level. Speaking of enrollment all my classes are full. I want to roll my ...

I'm not completely sold on everything in this video but I do accept the validity of a good majority of it. Not everyone goes to private school and not everyone walks away from a university brain washed into thinking college will be the cure all to the American Dream. Just like any system there are those that use it for good and those that use it for the wrong reasons. Strikingly, the education system is not exempt. Enjoy!

Now that I'm an educator things like these. . . . just watch. In The Know: Are Tests Biased Against Students Who Don't Give A Shit?

After a weekend laying in bed, sick with the flu, I am back on my feet and fulfilling my professorial duties. I am grading a discussion board assignment that I gave both of my classes about a week ago. I am not impressed at all. As a matter of fact I'm a little ticked off that some of these students would turn in work that reflects badly on them. Don't get me wrong, quite a few students did well but when the distribution is from 90's and 80's to 50's and 40's what am I supposed to think. All I can think to do is lay the smack down. We've got to fix this, This is really ticking me off.

When it comes to vulgarities, I'm really trying to change my speech. Swear words demonstrate a lack of vocabulary to express emotions--or so I've heard. It's unattractive and not a good fit for someone with moral character. However as a learned individual we have to be honest, direct and impactful. Some words help to accomplish that better than others at the end of the day. This article was sent to me by my homie DJ LookUp. Peep his blog and his music. A young mother from Akron, Ohio was put in jail and given 3 years probation for sending her kids to a school district that they did not live so that they could receive a better education. This is upholding education apartied at its finest. Dang didn't Obama just deliver a State of the Union Address about how important education for economic recovery? I have to apologize, which I'm really not, for not listening to his speech because I know that there are more powerful people than him that are keeping the country as j...

I'm going to get a lot of flack for this but I really just want you all to feel me on this. As a black person in any environment where other black people are the minority, I'm going to notice and be drawn towards other black people that I may cross paths with. Whether it involves me only saying hello or progresses further than that, those moments are significant to me. As an educator, I look for opportunities to mentor young black males and help them along the path. With that said, I'm going to naturally flock or pay special attention to any black students, particularly black males, that I may have in my class. So naturally that has happened but not in the way that I would hope. I have a young black male in on of my 8 week courses. Let me preface this by saying that I have yet to sit down and speak with this student. He portrays a demeanor as though he does not want to be in my class. I get a very deliberate lack of participation when it comes to him-- mind you this is a...

The Pittsburgh Steelers just beat the Baltimore Ravens 31-24 in the play offs now its on to the AFC Division Championship. Last Sunday I got picked to model in DC Fashion Week 2011 . Shout out to Ean Williams and Corjor International . Some of the photos from the model call were featured in Shy Magazine . I will be making an announcement concerning the modeling portion of my brand lol. Really I will, so sit tight. So, I know everyone wants to hear about my adventures as a community college instructor. I survived my first week with plenty of stories to tell. There was not a night that I did not stay up late because I was preparing to lead the class. The funny thing is, since I got hired 3 weeks before the semester I did not really plan out my semester in full. So I'm pretty much going through the book with the students and getting comfortable with the material myself. It's crazy. I kept running into technology problems in the classroom because NVCC decided to change my passwor...

I've had this blog for about 2 years and have yet to scratch the surface of who I am and what I'm about. So today, in a very random order, I'd like to share information that I don't generally think to share on this blog. When it comes to NFL I'm a Pittsburgh Steelers fan. It's a little odd because I have never been to Pittsburgh, it was just a choice I made and a team that I stuck with. So Sunday night, we played the Jets and other than the times we played Baltimore I was really looking forward to this one. Just my luck my family decides to go to a restaurant during 5 minutes into the second quarter. Luckily we go to one with a TV in range. Most of you know the outcome of that game but 10 minutes left in the final quarter and New York gets the field goal and the score is 20-17 New York. My parents decide it's time to leave since we all rode together. We live about 5 minutes away. My mom decides to go to Target to pick up some Christmas cards. In the words...

I'm not a professor exactly or even close but I did accept an offer to be an Adjunct Communication Faculty at Northern VA Community College. I got a call from the Assistant Dean of the department and by the end of the conversation I got an offer to start teaching in January. This officially ends my perpetual streak of taking on mindless/purposeless jobs just to get by. Praise God it wasn't that much of a wait. I mean yes, I'll be waiting for that paycheck but this is a good start. It's a really good start and I'm excited because one of my goals for 2011 was to take advantage of opportunities to teach. I filled out all my paper work today and picked up a copy of the textbook that I'll be using. I'll bask in the glory of the accomplishment for a few days before I consider how I only have 3 weeks to create a preliminary course schedule. One thing I'll take into account is how much I hate it when instructors lecture the whole hour and change. I'm ...

This post is for anyone who has ever made a mistake. I don't usually get into my faith when I post but this interview really encouraged me. One year ago, a successful gospel recording artist and preacher admitted to cheating on his wife. In this interview he reconciles his faith and talks about the process he is going through to restore his marriage and himself. If you get past all the Christian jargon laced throughout the interview you'll see that with every mistake comes an opportunity to face what happened and grow into a better person because of it. There must also be something greater than ourselves that helps us through the process, because depending on ourselves is often what got us into trouble in the first place. Watch and let me know your thoughts.

The first session is over! I get a day and a half off then I'm back at it for a final time. My week has consisted of field trips to courthouses, museums, and federal buildings, afternoon plenary sessions, mock trial and Supreme Court simulations, and a bunch of busy work. My gawd, I'm beat! Highlights from the week include: having a group of 23 students that were focused and got along great; not having to break up a fight; not having a scholar get lost; and an overall good time with the staff. I really enjoyed myself man. I had so many of the youth ask me if I was a lawyer. I find it interesting that now I'm considering it. No, I'm not!! The only reason I'm interested is because I have an inquiring mind about many things, which is one thing that I've learned about myself. Since I'm on the subject, here is what I learned about myself: I really like teaching so I should consider it as a career option and stop trying to run from it because I can't be discip...

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket- safe, dark, motionless, airless--it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.” C.S. Lewis

A paper that I contributed to was accepted to be presented at the National Communication Association's annual conference with the prospect of being published. The topic was on the Black Church as a model for public relations practice. Here's the catch, I built the foundation for the paper but decided to hand over the topic to be modified by my former advisor. He was really excited about the paper I wrote while in graduate school and suggested that I take the topic further and submit it for publishing. I was gung ho about it at first but within months after graduating I realized that I had zero desire to even put the energy into continuing the paper to fit the feedback from the review committee. I went ahead and let my former advisor take the reigns and do to it what he wants. I have since focused on other writing projects. As much as I am committed to being a life long learner, knowing myself and how much I do not miss graduate school, I thought it would be best to invest time...

I got a phone call from a friend that works as an instructor for Upward Bound. She's white but has a serious heart for urban youth. We were both talking about how the black man is becoming extinct, which is a major topic of concern in the type of research that she does. I had the same conversation two weeks ago with a few friends. The black man is becoming extinct and we, myself included, need to step up Below is an excerpt from research done by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies Health Policy Institute. I've copied and pasted some of the stats for you. Read the entire report here . Let me know what you think. Black Male Students at Public Flagship Universities in the U.S. Status, Trends, and Implications for Policy and Practice By Shaun R. Harper For JOINT CENTER FOR POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC STUDIES HEALTH POLICY INSTITUTE,WASHINGTON, D.C. THE DELLUMS COMMISSION Better Health Through Stronger Communities: Public Policy Reform to Expand Life Paths of Young Men of...

As usual I come to this blog with so many jumbled thoughts of what to say and what not to say, what to hold back and what to let loose. I'd better choose my words carefully. The other day, I got up with one of my homies that graduated from George Mason and hung out with some folks he knows. In college I was always the guy that wanted to know everyone and would take the time to do so. Now that I'm 25 and living a professional life I've gotten kinda tired, and to be honest I think I'm good on friends. So getting up with people I don't know that well was a little strange and I had to work up the energy to do so. Whatever the case, it's 4 single, college educated, professional, under 30 black men on a Friday night. Of course we talked about sex and relationships and it was a very interesting discussion. To add to that context we are all men of faith so that adds a different perspective to how we should handle interacting with females. (See how I said should.) So t...