Professor Rachel Panton Publishes Essay in Edited Collection

According to Rachel Panton, Ph.D., in the Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts, the COVID-19 pandemic reshaped our lives, and especially, the ways we approach writing education with care. Panton’s recently published essay for the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) and the Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) titled “You Good, Fam’?: Mindful Journaling and Africana Digital Dialogic Compassionate Rhetorical Response Pedagogy during a Pandemic,” brings together her background in Africana womanism with practices of journaling and self-reflection to document the importance of mindfulness in facilitating writing instruction in uncertain times. The essay details Panton’s experiences connecting with her students in new ways during the pandemic by focusing even more on their wellbeing and writing process rather than on the products of their writing alone.

“This article brings to mind all of the emotions that were present during the initial journaling experience, as well as thoughts of how times have changed and yet remain the same. I still get misty-eyed when I think about my Spring semester 2020 students. I still think of them often and fondly, and I wonder if they pulled through mentally, physically, and spiritually whole. What we experienced together changed me personally and professionally, and the opportunity to reflect on that journey as a Documentarian for 4Cs allowed me to deepen my Africana womanist pedagogical practices for future students. For this, I am forever grateful,” said Panton.

Read Panton’s essay in the edited collection, Recollections from an Uncommon Time, to learn more about teaching writing with compassionate instruction practices.

Posted 04/23/23