For the past few weeks, I've been agonizing over a job I want and that I'm applying for. It's an administrative job at Purdue Cal, a job that would allow me to do a lot of what I'm doing now, but it would also allow me to have more reach, possibly to try out some of my programs and ideas, of which, as many of you know, SOWI is the most accomplished and closest to my heart.
Although I've been explicit with some of you and vague with others, SOWI is going somewhere. I have an idea of where, but I can't be certain. What I can say is that SOWI will be required in most ENG 100 and some ENG 104 classes. It's a great accomplishment for me, and I want to thank each of you that have helped make it happen or who have at least noticed what I've been doing.
I just wish that I could feel satisfied.
Yes, SOWI is designed to help people. It is designed to help all students be successful because I believe that education is fundamental and knowing how to write teaches others to think and advocate, which then allows them to change the world.
But SOWI is not enough.
The reality is that many of the people who most need SOWI will never walk through the doors of Purdue Cal. They may never walk across a high school auditorium stage to receive a diploma. They may never even make it through the front doors of a high school--ever. If they do, they will need so much more than SOWI when they get there.
I know I can't expect to end injustice in the world, nor can I even hope to end it my corner of the world. Injustices occur as a result of deep-rooted problems that portions of our society ignore because turning an eye to them might knock those individuals from their positions of prominence and power. Or make them feel guilty for having those positions.
However, I do wonder if I could be doing more and if it is really ever possible to make a real difference from world of academia since so much time is stolen by competition and intellectual brawls.
So wish me luck as I apply--or not.
