Welcome to our series, Daily Diaries, where we follow Castilleja teachers through a day in their lives. Today’s teacher is Kay Barrett, who teaches two of Castilleja’s AT English Senior Seminars: Black Women Writers & Culture and Afrofuturism.

7:40 – Walk my dog, Bucky, and drop him off at daycare

8:15 – Commute to Palo Alto

Barrett commutes to Palo Alto on BART and Caltrain from Oakland on the days she teaches at Castilleja and Stanford. On days like this one, the majority of her time is spent preparing for the various classes she teaches. When she doesn’t teach, she normally stays in Oakland and focuses on her dissertation.

9:55 – Teach Black Women Writers & Culture at Castilleja

Today, her class discussed Toni Morrison’s “Recitatif” as part of the “Afterlives of Slavery” unit.

11:30 – Second Coffee! Prep for teaching my writing-intensive class, Race and Technology in the African American Literary Tradition

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Barrett teaches her course about Afrofuturism at Stanford. It is a one-time course offered this quarter and counts towards one of the four courses she must teach as a graduate student.

2:00 – Lunch Break at Mamahuhu

Barrett likes eating lunch at Town & Country Village, just a few minutes away from Castilleja. Today she tried Mamahuhu, a new restaurant that opened recently.

3:00 – Office Hours with one of my Stanford students, featuring a very hungry squirrel!

3:45 – Gave Candy and Fiona a walking tour of Stanford

Barrett showed us around the Green Library, the Main Quad, Margaret Jacks Hall (which houses the English Department), the Oval and the Science Cluster. During our walk, she explained that her experience being a student has recently helped her better understand her approach to teaching. She also told us about her PhD program and educational journey and explained her transition from an all-girls high school going into a coed college. Finally, she advised us to cherish these years because they pass by quickly. Fun Fact: As we admired the beauty of Stanford’s campus, Barrett explained that it was the first college she had ever visited. While she didn’t end up applying (it was too far from her home), she ultimately ended up here—a nice full-circle moment.

4:30 – Teach Race & Technology

We sat in on Barrett’s Stanford course, which was fascinating. The class discussed Octavia Butler’s “The Evening and the Morning and the Night.” They examined the definition of sickness, the pathologization of Black bodies and how the story serves as an allegory for slavery. It was an insightful and engaging conversation, and we saw many connections to themes we’ve explored in our Castilleja English classes.

6:40 – Commute back to Oakland

Barrett takes Caltrain and BART back home.

8:30 – Zuzubowls for dinner

9:00 – Training for San Francisco Half Marathon

Barrett has been training for a half-marathon with her dog, Bucky.