The Abandoned Baobab: A Brief Synopsis



I just finished reading The Abandoned Baobab by Ken Bugul for a Global Perspectives class called African Women Writers, and I'll suggest to you all to read it as well. Full of symbolism and meaningful themes including migration, implications/impacts of colonization, feminism/womanism, alienation, abandonment as well as all kinds of relationships, familial and otherwise, I think it's a crucial text for all of us who want to become more wise and culturally relevant teachers. 

The process of making this video was challenging but a good one! I had never done something like this before, and I'm grateful for the opportunity. I hope you also enjoy it and learn something from it. I will definitely find these slides + recording skills useful in the profession, and I also think students will have a blast with it as I did. Learning to put together a brief synopsis of a text while keeping an audience engaged is an crucial life skill, one that I will find value in incorporating into my classroom.

*I do not own the rights to any of the photographs in this presentation. 

Comments

  1. This is great. It was nice to hear of a baobab tree in a different context from The Little Prince.

    Thanks for the really interesting background information about the author, the book, the title, and the context surrounding the book.

    You have a great voice for this. You sound confident in your knowledge, but your tone is not condescending. It makes this video sound like something you could use in a classroom.

    You incorporated interesting and unique visuals to keep your presentation visually interesting without loading it up with text.

    I'm glad you found the process to be enjoyable. I agree that the communication skills we teach in an English class need to go beyond just writing (but not at the expense of writing, of course). It is a new literacy that student can really take advantage of.

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  2. Brittany,

    I really appreciated viewing your presentation. One skill of yours which I think really came across effectively is you exuding confidence in your voice and with the subject matter at hand. I felt throughout the entirety of listening that you had a very well-rounded understanding of both the author and the text. Now, in the context of a high school audience, the students may not fully tune-in to the kind of detailed analysis and perspective you provide, and may instead be looking for just a general overview of the story. Along these lines, I will be the first to admit that I have a difficult time discussing literature in a manner that isn't gauged toward a college setting.

    Jake

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  3. Hi Brittany,

    Thanks for the great presentation! You did a great job of keeping your teaser brief and concise, which I applaud you for because I really struggled with that. You spoke clearly and naturally, and definitely made me as an audience member feel informed and comfortable, so thank you for that! I also enjoyed your visuals. I also feel like this would be a great resource to use in the classroom and am happy to hear you are motivated to use engaging activities in your classroom!

    Thanks again,

    Natalie

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