Reflect. Revolt. Reveal. Reclaim. Remake

Reflect on the process. Reflection is the gateway to further learning of both yourself and the collective of collaborators

Revolt and disrupt the social norms of entertainment and education. When we stop learning, we become stagnant and become oppressors of our own structures that we seek to dismantle and change. Dialogue, empathy, and communication are needed to learn. We learn with the students, and act as facilitators and mentors rather than “teachers” who make students regurgitate information.

Reveal the problems that are contextualizing our classroom. All learning happens within a contextual environment. It’s important that we hold space for life to occur, and bring that into the learning. We need to bring in Black Feminist Thought, Consent-Based Practices, and Arts-Based Research to the forefront. As Augusto Boal says: “theatre is a rehearsal for the revolution”

Remake how we envision a classroom to be. To me, a classroom is within the community of dialogue and conversation. Everything from a Dim Sum Meal to a lecture hall requires a sense of re-envisioning how we learn and set up the space to learn. It must be collaborative, and begins when you first meet your fellow collaborators (students/attendees)

Reclaim what feels good and joyous to you. We must take care of our needs as humans while learning. Drawing from the lens of adrienne maree brown’s Pleasure Activism and Tricia Hersey’s Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto, we need to focus on the process of education versus the product. Dialogue and all education should be taught from what the collaborators’ needs are, and I may need to adjust how I explain certain topics… but that is part of my own learning. As a Filipino-American, I want to go on the journey of reclaiming spaces for everyone. Reclaim language. Reclaim joy. Reclaim time. Reclaim it all with my collaborators and allies that I work and study with.