INTRODUCTION

Carl James Grindley
Kim Sanabria

In 2007, when the CTL journal was first envisaged, the hunt for a name led us to the words of our college’s namesake, Eugenio María de Hostos. Quite simply, he described engagement as the touchstone of teaching, its test and reason for being, and thus was named the journal, la piedra de toque. A second favorite quote was found at the Hostos museum in the hills high above his birthplace in Mayagüez, where at the end of his life, Hostos is said to have proclaimed: “si volviera a encauzar mi vida, seguiría siendo profesor.” With this wistful image of his life cascading tumultuously down a self-carved channel in a relentless quest to share what he had learned, Hostos captured the energy that committed teachers bring to their task and which the journal similarly showcases.

These symbols aside, it is nonetheless another metaphor, that of the chain, as in spark or catalyst, that best represents the spirit of this volume of Touchstone, now at a milestone in its fifth year. The journal is a record of the faculty’s ongoing work and daily commitments, of the efforts that secure and tow, mesh and lift. After all, we have much to achieve, since the realities of struggle and hardship are a common currency of discussion along the halls of the “C” building. Yet more importantly, so too are those of community, hope, and potential.

A highlight this year was the series of performances at the Repertory Theater of Chain Reaction, the bilingual play exploring the lives of Antonia Pantoja (the celebrated Puerto Rican community leader who founded ASPIRA), and Yojaira (a student at Hostos Community who is struggling toward her dreams). Written by Professor Teresita Martínez, an expert in drama in education, and skillfully directed by Professor Angel Morales, the play is emblematic of the collaborations that epitomize the faculty’s mission, because of its link to other college initiatives. The Book-of-the-Semester project, created by Professor Robert F. Cohen and in existence since 2005, also featured Pantoja’s Memoir of a Visionary: its discussion board and calendar of activities brought students online, and former aspirantes to student forums. These events, in turn, complemented a showing of the documentary film on Pantoja’s life: ¡Presente! produced by Lillian Jiménez. What better examples could we find of our connections than these reacciones en cadena?

We now present the latest edition of the Journal of the Professor Magda Vasillov Center for Teaching and Learning. This year the journal includes pieces on leadership and scholarship, learning and technology, tolerance and the changing panoramas of our world. The centerpiece is a dramatic photo essay. The second section is comprised of philosophies of teaching: personal, intimate comments that are evidence of the faculty’s deep engagement in their classes. We hope that colleagues will take pride in each other’s ideas, and we respectfully thank and congratulate all who have generously linked their efforts together in the shared venture of this faculty journal: contributors, reviewers, readers alike.

Carl James Grindley

The Department of English

Kim Sanabria

The Department of Language and Cognition