"Theories of Reading" at the UPENN Graduate School of Education

Event: UPENN “Theories of Reading” guest lecture (“Synergy Part 1 of 2”)

Date: Monday, November 4, 2024

Kicks of Choice: House Slippers since I was Zooming it!

Thoughts captured on Wednesday, March 12, 2025

One of the incredible things about being able to move around with “K for the Way” to different places, is you never know the type of synergy that gets created when you're in a place and around people, and how that works out. So this is actually a two-part scenario because the synergy was just incredible with the way it unfolded. This particular post really goes back to me giving the opening keynote at the NCAIS Administrators of Color Conference. After the keynote address, I also facilitated a workshop; one of the people who attended was Justin Brandon – the new head of school at the George School in Langhorne, Pennsylvania.

The workshop I did was about the Kendrick versus Drake beef, and using the lyrical content to think about how we can get students to identify messages about persuasive writing and messaging, Black History and Black excellence. Justin sat in on the workshop and before he left, he pulled me to the side and said “Todd, you really did your thing. I appreciated what you brought to the table. And I think it would be really powerful to have you come and talk to our students at the George school.” I was definitely excited and told him I was here to help make it happen!

Now mind you, I've been trying to connect with Justin through one of my friends – shout out to Shannon Anderson: her son went to the George School, and we have been trying to figure out a way to connect the dots. So with both Justin and I being on the NCAIS conference program, it was just a crazy synergy. So fast forward a few weeks later…I received an email from Justin, connecting me to Shantel Hubert. Shantel is one of the faculty members on campus, and she's also on the MLK Day Planning Committee. Ironically, when Justin called Shantel into his office, he tells her, “I want to show you this book, and I want to talk to you about this author and educator I met, because I think he would be a powerful speaker for our students.” When Justin showed Shantel my book, her response was, “Justin! I'm reading that book right now in my graduate class at the University of Pennsylvania!”

See what I mean by the synergy being crazy?!?

So I began a dialogue with Shantel about what an MLK Day program could look like with me being the keynote speaker for the George School. And in the midst of our conversation, Shantel tells me how she was reading “K for the Way” in her graduate class. In that moment, I said to her, “Shantel, let me know the day that you're presenting on my book – if you want, I would love to come and talk to the class about the book.” That passing comment turned into an invitation to be a guest lecturer in the “Theories of Reading” class at the UPENN Graduate School of Education. Shantel and her partner, Clara, presented on the book, and then engaged me in a question and answer dialogue, which gave me an opportunity to talk about the importance of “K for the Way” in writing and educational spaces. What also came out of that conversation was the importance of mentorship as well as lineage and legacy.

It has always been crucial to properly document the lineage and the legacy of the DJs who I highlighted in the book. And equally important to the same way I’ve document the lineage of these DJs, I'm also very mindful of the lineage and the legacy of the mentors that have come before me: who those mentors are, what they mean, and how they have helped to shape and affect not only my personal life, but also this professional life I've been able to build. It was an excellent conversation with the grad class. Of course, you know, there was a Williams alum in the building, so shout out to my fellow Purple Valley alum. The conversation was deep and rich and exciting. And at the end of that conversation, the messages they sent weren't just thank you messages – they were really testimonials! Shantel, Clara and Dr. Gerald Campano all shared that after I logged out of the Zoom, their whole class was just stuck in awe of the ways that I think about my research and scholarship, how I think about representation, and the mentorship that has helped me arrive to my current professional space. And for me, I’m still shocked and humbled and just really honored when people are reading this work – because there are a lot of academic books that people could be reading. So the fact that people have chosen my book is just so meaningful and very special to me. It really speaks to the way the work is resonating with people, even in moments where I didn't realize the book would be doing that sort of work.

So I want to take this particular post to shout out Shantel and Clara for inviting me into the class. I want to shout out Gerald Campano and the entire Fall 2025 “Theories of Reading” graduate class at the University of Pennsylvania. I also want to shout out Carmen Kynard and Eileen de los Reyes. Rest in peace to John Lowney and Don Oliver. And shout out Matthew Lawson, Robert Jackall, and especially Gloria Powell – all day, every day! To Tim Richards and Marilyn Wilbur (rest in peace)…these are a handful of the people who helped me to navigate some of these difficult, treacherous and elite spaces; if not for them, I wouldn't have been able to make it through and keep my psyche intact. They also allowed me the space I needed to grow and learn and to be great in certain moments. Without these people (and others who I haven’t named here), I'm not sure that I'd even be here to share this post. So part one of this post is going to be shout out to that “Theories of Reading” grad class at the University of Pennsylvania. And there's going to be a part two to this, which, of course, will talk about my experience at the George School. I'll catch y'all in a second – Peace...