The Same Sun Here event that I attended was a panel discussion featuring a senior from South Burlington High School, a middle school English teacher named Mr. Novak, and an eighth grader named Zoe, who all consider themselves activists. Karim, the high school senior, is part of a slam poetry group called Muslim Girls Making Change, that travels and performs in many communities around Vermont and beyond. The English teacher is the adviser of an activism club, and the eighth grader has known from a young age that she is an activist for animal rights, having a strong sense of justice and not being afraid to use her voice.

Activism is one of those words that is spoken and used a lot but not necessarily defined. Therefore, it was enlightening to hear all three of their different definitions of activism. Oftentimes people think of activism as being a large, collective movement, and it can be, but one of the things that really stood out to me about this presentation, was just how individual activism can be. In many ways, activism is like a ripple effect, starting with one individual, and then gaining momentum as others learn about the subject and become passionate about performing such work. Passion was a major trope throughout the presentation, and that anyone can be an activist as long as he or she is passionate about something, and has access to the right resources.

Therefore, as an aspiring future English teacher, it is important to expose students to a variety of readings and resources that cover many social, political, and cultural topics, in order to potentially spark an area of interest and potential passion within a student. It was also enlightening to listen to Mr. Novak discuss the importance of always building students up, listening to their voices, and encourage them to take risks, as another major aspect of activism is confidence- confidence in one's knowledge and passion of the subject, and confidence in approaching the right resources to start making a change. This panel also made me think of the importance of connections, and how as an educator it's important not only to make connections with students, but also to have connections within the school and larger community, in order to connect students with resources for various needs.

This relates to the SMC Mission Statement regarding educators being agents of change as well as "collaborative and knowledgeable instructional leaders" because activism includes collaboration, knowledge, and a passion for igniting change.