Kevin A. Marshall 

“Ordering Rhymes: Understanding Hip Hop Lyricism through the Liberal Arts”

Designed for diverse homeschooling teens and parents, professional educators, artists, and community leaders interested in the technical English Language Arts (ELA) merit of socially-conscious Hip Hop lyricism; facilitated to introduce participants to the principles of classical rhetoric
(African American Museum of Dallas)

“Freedom to Think: An Introduction to Malcolm X’s Use of the Liberal Arts” 

Designed for diverse homeschooling teens and parents, community leaders, and university students; facilitated to introduce diverse learners to the liberating and empowering nature of classical liberal arts education through the personal experience of an often oversimplified Black American intellectual figure during Black History Month
(African American Museum of Dallas; Constantin College of Liberal Arts, University of Dallas)

Curriculum Design for Institutional Clients

Course designer for the American Society for Islamic Philosophy and Theology’s Templeton Foundation-funded “Verification and Renewal Curriculum” (VRC)  college prep curriculum—set to serve private Islamic high schools and homeschooling cooperatives around the country with liberal arts and humanities-infused college prep curricula for American Muslim students. Freedom to Think was commissioned to provide designs for key VRC courses, namely world literature, American history, logic and critical thinking, literature and composition (with an introduction to classical rhetoric), and African American literature.  

Community Organizing & Development

Organizer for the Association for Core Texts and Courses’ (ACTC) initiative to expand membership of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), their faculty members, graduate students, and honors undergrads within the organization, as well as to individuals from the aforementioned groups teaching and studying within historically white institutions. This initiative aims to better acquaint teachers and students less familiar with the African American tradition of Great Books and liberal learning with those contributions. Additionally, this initiative aims to invite the rich perspectives of African American scholars and university students regarding the human experience through the discussion of Great Texts in general. This initiative closely supports ACTC’s mission to revive and diversify common core Great Books education within higher education spaces.

Huston-Tillotson University (HBCU) | Guest Lecturer (Austin, TX)
June 2024–July 2024 & June 2023-July 2023

Taught the classical liberal arts portion of Hons. Pub Speaking w/ the Classical Liberal Arts (Comm 1315H) as part of this historical black university’s IDEAL Summer Academy for incoming freshmen. Mentored students’ transition into university-level thinking and discussion through utilization of Socratic seminar methods; introduced visual sentence diagramming to alleviate shortcomings in syntax and composition; introduced students to university-level “analytical/active reading” techniques through a guided gloss of Prof. Mortimer Adler’s How to Read a Book; developed students’ understanding of the principles of logic and classical rhetoric for practical applications.

Teachera Language School | Academic English Teacher (Konya, Turkey)
Nov 2022–May 2023

Delivered Advanced English instruction through a mix of “direct method” foreign language instruction and the facilitation of engaging exchanges about language through cultural and historical topics. Students ranged from approximately 15 to 40 years old.

Independent Language Instruction | Academic English Teacher (Istanbul, Turkey)
July 2020–Sept 2022

After integrating into the cosmopolitan Istanbul district of Uskudar, I developed an English teaching reputation within the district as a uniquely effective and engaging language instructor serving Uskudar’s young professionals, their teens, and college students. At times, this included semesterly contracts with noteworthy cultural foundations/NGOs such as the Istanbul Center for Research and Education (ISAR) and the ILEM Academic Studies Association.

BILDEV Foundation for the Study of Science and Thought | Ed. Consultant (Istanbul, Turkey)
Dec 2019–May 2020

Academic English instruction and activity design; coordinated language table activities in which researchers assisted one another in the development of foreign language skills. My students were typically history and philosophy university students (undergraduate and postgraduate).

Faith in Texas, Dallas | Civic Engagement/Organizing Fellow (Dallas, TX)
April 2016-July 2017

My last foray into politics before moving overseas to teach English. Faith in Texas is a branch of a national interfaith social justice organization named Faith in Action (formerly PICO). Faith in Texas was distinct from the other PICO chapters in that it was the Texas branch, necessitating a level of political independence and moderation needed in structuring faith-based, bipartisan support for different social issues, such as immigration reform and principled criminal justice reform. Grassroots community organizing methods were applied on an advanced level including membership, leader, and chapter development, as well as campaign management.