Posting from Sharon

I'm so proud of our mobile learning community here in Mississippi that I wanted to let everyone know how honored I am to be here learning, working, wondering, feeling, reflecting, and perhaps most importantly, practicing the difficult art of collectively renewing a topsy-turvy world. I'm appreciative of Melissa's vision. One thing I've learned here is how difficult it is to practice another art...that of humble non-judgementl compassion. There are lots of conversations about the deserving and undeserving poor and middle class and rich. There are lots of nuances about racism. I was thrilled to hear the folks at First Street United Methodist Church talk social justice context and I was despairing while walking around the Lower Ninth Ward. I wanted to cry and scream...it is unbearable. I only heard crows and the metallic whoosh of the exhaust fans whirling around in the wind. No people. No animals. Signs of death. Signs of poor people, African American poor people, rendered expendable. A neighborhood bigger than than of the Hamline-Midway just blotted out. Very difficult to walk around and yet, people congregate. And lastly, I learn evermore to trust the power of service-learning, whether academic or otherwise. People come together to learn to repair, to practice tikkun olam. And in that vein, with gratitude, I'll sign off.