This is the Friday of the week beginning on May 18, 2020. Welcome to Free-thought Fridays!

This week brings GEMINI SEASON! The most wonderful time of the year!

This is the last week of Ramadan! Time to eat ’round the clock.

Bigs ups to Ancestor Malcolm X whose birthday was this week, May 19.

What are you all doing on Memorial Day weekend?

These are my top ten (shareable) thoughts in this week’s rhapsody of Miss Jae’s Musings:

1. Social Media. Facebook introduced Avatars to its users this week. How do y’all like them? I fancy my Memoji more. It gives me an option for earrings—a girl’s best accessory! My locs are longer than medium-length, but not quite considered “long” yet. The app did not have a-little-bit-longer-than-shoulder-length as on option. My avatar rule of thumb is: If they do not have the option that fits me, choose more. Here’s my Facebook Avatar. Me in all my glory, with a little more hair. 😊 #myavatarisfinetoo

2. Mentors. It is not easy to secure a mentor for graduate school. I have conducted a few mentorship interviews with some impressive PhDs. Of them, this week was the most inspiring meeting to-date. She is the one I would choose. I am now eagerly waiting to know if she has chosen me back. In these moments there’s always that line between hoping someone chooses you and being okay with them not. Let’s see what happens! 😬#seekingamentor

3. Schoolin. In a few short months, I will be the mother of a high schooler! HIGH SCHOOL! The planning and paperwork involved with transitioning to high school and registering for a seat is a part-time job. (A more elaborate post on this coming soon!) Yet, I am finally done with planning, course mapping, and submitting documentation. He’s off to 9^th grade with a seat at our first choice school. After over a decade of homeschooling, the manchild secured a spot at one of the best schools in District, and my mama-heart rejoices! #highschoolmama

4. Professional Panels. Months ago, I submitted my proposal on diversity in writing to the University of Southern California and it was accepted! I thought I’d be off to Cali this week, but ‘Rona has other plans! I am at the point in my career where the 3Ps matter significantly: presentations, panels, and publications. How do you still strive towards these accomplishments amid a pandemic? It has been quite the challenge. Imagine my surprise when my university (in partnership with another organization) emails me to inform me that I have been invited to sit on a panel to discuss online teaching! So, maybe I have (temporarily) “lost” the USC bid, but I have gained panelist experience! Well … I have to make it past the panelist interview first, but I’m feeling pretty good about it. #misspanelist

5. Surprise, Surprise. Weekends have been rather mundane during ‘Rona. It’s a nice break from the 2,574 Zoom calls and another 4,389 hours of screen time, but other than it’s still pretty dull. This past weekend, my partner informed me that he had a trip planned but he would not tell me where. One of my favorite outdoor activities is mountain climbing (by trail) and since there aren’t many options in D.C., I have not climbed in a while. Imagine the glee in my body when we crossed the state line “in the country” to hike a mountain trail in good ole West Virginny. My Pic-of-the-Week is me at the top and over the water! #naturegirl

6. Lady Linguist. I would not consider myself a pure linguist. I appreciate studying linguistics to understand how a language works. I like knowing the rules, exceptions, nuances, and language-specific whatnots that makes a language unique. I also enjoy studying how the language informs culture and how culture influences language. After that, I’m done. As an American Black Diasporan, I often study the AAVE (African American Vernacular English) dialect. One does venture far into AAVE without “meeting” John McWhorter. He, like me, has pondered how the Coronavirus will impact language. In this article he suggests much about “pandemic language” but I am most-interested in writing. McWhorter argues that while COVID-19 will not thwart communication, it will create a gap. “But they will be missing the benefits of more artificial, yet useful aspect of language that, in societies with writing, most students experience mainly in the classroom.” I can appreciate that he did not limit these writing tenants to just the classroom because I have taught both in-person and online writing instruction to students who gained the aspects he says will be missed. But, I do know that it can (and in some cases )will be lost in virtual teaching and learning. Now more than ever, I want to offer a writing course in the fall to do my part in closing this gap (at least somewhat). Who’s down? #pandemiclanguage

7. New Content. On Mondays I publish new content here at JaePhd. This week, my post “The Simple Math of Provision and Multiplication” went live. I confront the lazy approach to relationship building and the nothingness often brought to it. Life works in very interesting ways. A day after I published this post, my partner brought to my attention that, though it may not have been my intent, I was dragging in a particular area of our relationship. Go figure, right!?! The week I decide to discuss laziness in relationships is the same week this man calls me out. I got to work! You won’t catch me out here slipping. I like to earn my stay wherever I am. If you have not checked this post out yet, please do! While you’re at it, leave a comment with your thoughts! #contentconfessional

8. New Generations. A new generation has been named! Introducing Generation Alpha to idenify babies born in the 2010s through the mid-2020s as the first group to be born entirely in the 21st Century. Experts and researchers report that Generation Alpha are the children of Millennials. Well…unless you’re someone like me who chose to have your babies earlier in life. Both my sons belong to Generation Z. You never know though, I may bear another child before 2025 and fit the bill after all. #makingbabies

9. American Schools. Did you all see the CDC’s plan for reopening American schools this week? I am not against schools re-opening as long as there is a solid, effective plan. Problem is, I have not read one yet. The CDC’s plan looks good on paper (kind of) but in real life, I do not see it. A 3-year-old wearing a mask all day? Students not sharing any supplies? Assurance that all students remain six feet apart for each other at all times? Did we forget that schools house children from ages 3-18? It really irks me that “educators” in this country create policy and plans without teacher and parent input. It further rubs me when “we” expect children to perform behaviorally in ways that do not support their current developmental timeline. When psychology and education do not “talk” to each other for the BENEFIT of our children, it results in paper-pushers placing burdens on teachers to demand that a 3-year-old child wears a mask all day school! ‘Scuse me …. have you met a 3-year-old before? Not gonna happen. Not in the best schools with the best teachers with the “most-perfect” toddlers. This plan screams: We did not consult teachers! How unfortunate. #plandenied

10. Time Management. Weeks ago, I wrote a review on a book that inspired me to track my time spent on tasks related to career capital. In that same post, I shared a free tool called Toggl that does that tracking and categorizing for me. I wanted to give you an update on it! I receive an email with a weekly report of my time. Each time I begin a certain tasks, I click the “play” button and assign the category. I spent 11 hours, 38 minutes, and 52 seconds on ME last week! See below for report. {I wanna add a side note to this “career capital” idea. See the instructional design course below? It was because of my attendance in that course that I was extended an invitation to the panel I mentioned in musing #4. It pays to invest in yourself to occupy the spaces you want to be in!} Okay, carry on! #reclaimingmytime

Love, Light, & Musings