Ballou High School Author Meets Professor Fan at DC Author Fest

October 25, 2015 SMP Staff

M.H. Jordan, author of “Letters from the S2 Bus” in Our Lives Matter, and University of Maryland professor who uses her essay in her class.

On October 24, the authors of Shout Mouse took part in the second annual DC Public Library Author Fest. While we were selling books at our table, an excited Shout Mouse reader came up to meet our authors and share how she has already been using their words in her college classroom at the University of Maryland, College Park.

So I recently purchased Our Lives Matter, which was produced by Shout Mouse Press and the wonderful students of Ballou Senior High School. I am a teacher of University of Maryland College Park, and I teach an Introduction to University course, where we used this book to address the diversity unit for my class. We read “Letters from the S2 Bus” and “First Hispanic Generation,” which were really [relevant] for my students. I had them read these essays for them to look back on their own lives just to see how far they’ve come as young adults in this world, but also addressing the people, the naysayers, the public who has no idea who they are. So I had them do an assignment in which they wrote a letter to somebody that they met or someone in their life who wants to assume they know who that person is, [but doesn’t know the real truth.] [I asked them to] really take the time to be honest, be bold, let people know who you really are. You’re not defined but what you look like on the outside but you’re defined by every characteristic that you possess on the inside. So to the students of Ballou, to the wonderful Shout Mouse Press family: you guys are doing an awesome job just letting your voices be heard, allowing young people to take time to express who they really and truly are... Thank you for allowing me to use your work in my class, I appreciate it. University of Maryland College Park, we appreciate it greatly. And congratulations.