What up tho!
If you made it this far, that means you must really want to read my stuff. Congratulations! You have crossed the finish line, jumped across the gap and reached the top of the flag pole, passed the test!
So yeah, I’m a writer. Unfortunately, it’s not my full time gig. I’m a high school English teacher, a football and wrestling coach, a husband, and a father to a few felines.
My writing is on a crazy spectrum. You should find something you like from my writing of academic articles on pedagogical strategies to poems and flash fiction. I try to write all the time (not nearly as much as I want to). I just hope that my stories and essays help you learn something interesting or literally say, “cool story, bro!”
I graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago with a B.A. in English Education, then promptly reached my dream of becoming the coolest, yet most insightful, English teacher. Yeah, I’m that teacher who says, “Shakespeare is hip-hop, guys. We just gotta look a little deeper!” Then proceeds to analyze why the three witches in Macbeth were actually fortune telling rappers. I hope my students thought that was pretty cool. But what I hope YOU think is cool is my writing.
Now I’m sitting here click clacking away on my outdated work Macbook attempting to write an “About” page on my blog.
But check this out real quick – I think writing is all about breaking rules, having fun, and learning something in the process. And that’s the point of The Culturalist (Formally known as “But StayWoke!”)
So here’s what I plan to do with my blog: Do it for the culture!
Whether it’s through my essays, poems, stories, or personal struggles, I guarantee you wont get caught sleeping afterwards.
The Culturalist 
Hey. This work is priceless. I found this site because we were in EOL 550 together and your for-class-site led me to google you and I found this. I shared it with a student just today. For days, he has sat blank, not been feeling any of the standard writing prompts. I shared this site with him and he instantly launched into a conversation about lyrics and delivery (and we decided Chance is one of the best to do both well). His posture changed entirely. Idk what will come next but this was good in and of itself. Thanks tons. Keep up this very good work.
I’m glad this helped out someone! I haven’t posted in a while, but it’s great that it’s sparked something in a student. Please email me (drando3@illinois.edu) with any updates!