JoanWink.com

Dear WinkWorld Readers,

I have been creating documents for WinkWorld for over 20 years.  First, it was a static newsletter, and then it turned into an interactive blog. All of this is available free of charge for anyone. Just go to WinkWorld News on the left or way down at the bottom on my first webpage and look for the Archive, or any of the other links which you might want. in the past I have focused on the needs of classroom teachers and teacher educators, family/community members, and most of all on what I see as the needs of students. Throughout all of this, I have tried to tell good stories about my ways of understanding teaching and learning.

However, this post is written specifically for Texas A&M former students.  At A&M, we are not alumnus/a, we are all Former Students.  This post may make no sense to others of you. However, keep in mind that the traditions of this university are rich and deep.

One of the traditions is that each graduating student buys an Aggie ring. I graduated in 1991 with my PhD, and there was so much going on for our family at that time that I just didn’t get around to getting my ring. We moved from Texas to California, and I soon became consumed with my life as a professor, a wife, a mom, and a grammie. Years passed, and I still didn’t buy the ring, even though I so wanted one.

Great news! I finally have my Aggie ring. It was an 80^th birthday gift, and I am thrilled.

This is a photo of me waiting for the FedEx truck to arrive.

We, Aggies, tend to find each other in public places by this ring, and we immediately engage in a new friendship. So now, my wish is that I will be in a public place, and some stranger will come up to me and say, ”Gig ‘em, Aggie.” I know, you really have to be an Aggie to understand how much pleasure this will give me.