Who: I met up with Annie, a DOE 5th grade teacher, who I met at a NAPAWF*New York City event, where we discovered that we went to the same high school.
When: August 21, 2017.
Why: I wanted to ask her about the education sector in Chicago, because she was a teacher there before moving back to NYC.
What: We ended up observing the solar eclipse descending/ occurring (what is the right word?) in LES, NYC and engaging neighbors, visitors, folks in LES.
How: Annie made a pinhole projector after watching a DIY video and carried it outside to watch this once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon. From little kids, older Chinese folks, hipster peeps — young, old, tall, short, black, white, yellow, brown– she invited everyone to watch the eclipse on her projector. She helped out a man who made his projector wrong with the extra aluminum that she was carrying!
Watching her unabashedly invite and engage with others with English, Mandarin, and Cantonese sparked my own compassion to engage others to see the phenomenon. Spending the afternoon with her reminded me of the simplicity and power of being curious together. She genuinely wanted to share this experience with everyone and that gave her the boldness to invite others. Such a necessary reminder on how we can influence and engage with one another.
So humble and grateful that I was part of her team in inviting people.
Kinectic Dots 