Author Jayne Thompson led a keynote lecture in the Alumni Auditorium of Widener University. The keynote lecture focused on the life experiences and struggles of Jayne Thompson. The lecture began by Jayne Thompson speaking about her early childhood and some of the many challenges she faced while growing up. She discussed the poor economic conditions and the violence surrounding her hometown of Greensboro, North Carolina. She used illustrations to help the audience visual some of the events she witnessed in her life. One image was the Greensboro Massacre, which occurred when Jayne was a child. The Greensboro Massacre was a shooting of five protestors by the Ku Klux Klan due to racial issues. Her lecture then transitions into her teen years and high school. Jayne always had a love for books and reading, after high school she furthered her education by going to college. Towards the end of her lecture she began to reflect on her current life. She talked about her students at Chester High School and …show more content…
The lecture focused on problems that Jayne encountered throughout her life; however many of these problems still exist today, especially right here in Chester, Pennsylvania. The social issues that Jayne encountered are hindering children and adults from obtaining an education. This is eye-opening because it brings awareness to these issues and a change should be made in order to fix these issues. I thought Jayne was brave for going above and beyond to help these individuals given the circumstances. These children were rough and some could even be violent, however she pushed herself to help these kids. I also thought it was interesting how Jayne takes great pride in her all her students’ writings. Jayne stated, “I keep every single piece of writing from my students in a drawer in my office.” This made me see Jayne as more than just a teacher, but as someone who deeply cares for her