Dear Native in the DAWG House,
I'm sorry. I have no excuses.
Love, Michael
In other news, I have a meeting with my adviser today. I hope that it is a fruitful one because I really need to turn this corner which will hopefully equate to the "final stretch". The final stretch means 4 things: 1) promotion to candidacy (which means you are qualified to do research; 2) written exam (demonstrating my comprehensive understanding of my discipline); 3) last course requirement in the EDLPS program (!); 4) dissertation! So, there's really that much to do. Hehehe.
I really am chuckling because even though I am being sarcastic, I am also being realistic to what remains for my degree and I'm ready for it.
What I am NOT ready for is the change that will come with the completion of this degree. I (And when I say 'I' I hardly mean me, myself, and I. I really mean I and my mentors and confidantes.) have been contemplating what I will do next after completing this tremendous accomplishment. What would you do? See, it's not that easy to answer, is it?? I think the real quandary for me is the vast ideas of what I could do. Further, it is a challenge when friends and family ask, "What are you going to do when you finish?" I know they mean no harm, but try to think of it this way: Say we were driving together, you're driving (You're a horrible drive, btw). What if I asked you, "Which way are you going to turn?" every time we came to an intersection? I mean, you know where your going, right? You don't, because I didn't set it up in this story. And, that's my point, your driving probably sucks because I'm asking you all these questions at every intersection and the destination is unwritten.
Did I mention that my dissertation will focus on the history of education? Also, did I mention that it will focus on the College of Ethnic Studies that existed at Western Washington State College (Western Washington University) from 1969 to 1978? If you don't know, now you know.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Sunday, April 26, 2009
The ABC's & Purpose of WE!-- SOC Conference, Yakima, WA
Here is the workshop outline & activity descriptions for the last workshop Melchor and I presented in Yakima, WA. If you plan to use this material, if you can, please give us some props. Also, let me know if you can't understand how to do something. Sometimes the descriptions might get confusing as well as the philosophy behind it. Also, the formatting looks a bit weird on blogger. Enjoy!
Northwest Students of Color Conference
Friday, April 17, 2009
Yakima Convention Center, Yakima, Washington
“Uniting Colors, Shaping the Future!”
Presented by:
Michael M. Vendiola
Melchor M. Vendiola
The ABC’s and Purpose of “WE”!
In America now, too many of us treat the choices by which we decide our common future as the territory of others. We feel that we don't know enough to act on issues that concern us, and that our actions will make no difference, our voices will never be heard. This creates a self-fulfilling prophecy. The more we withdraw from civic life, the more we leave immensely consequential decisions to a politics driven by greed, short-sightedness, and expediency. Conversely, the more we take on the difficult problems of our time, the more we can tap common power, creativity, and strength.*
Attention Getters: Use these to get everyone’s attention!
• Yell out, “Did someone lose a $20 bill?”: People’s ears usually perk right up.
• Clap once if you can hear me… Clap twice if you can hear me. Keeping going up until it’s completely silent.
• Quiet Coyote hand signal. You’ll have to be creative with this one. I like to say that Quiet Coyote is quiet because he ROCKED OUT too hard and now he’s deaf.
Introduction of Facilitators/Goal of the workshop
• Measure of Success
o Was it memorable?
o Was it Useful?
o Did you have fun?
Healthy Things for a community: Use this to get the group to focus!
• Affirming Identity: Who are you? What do you stand for?
• Building Unity: What do you have in common with other people?
• Cultivating Leadership: How can you make your community stronger?
Affirming Identity: Who are you? What do you stand for?
True Leadership Points North: Use this to demonstrate the beauty of multiple perspectives!
1. Everyone stand and find a bit of space where you can outstretch your arms without hitting anyone.
2. Close your eyes.
3. Position your whole body so it faces north and reach your hand forward and point exactly north with your pointer finger.
4. Keep your hands in place and open your eyes.
5. Explain that we all come from different places and have different perspectives. Explain the importance of honoring everyone’s perspectives even when you are sure they are wrong! (It’s process on how to work together. Then you’ll find the answers!)
6. Patience goes a long way. Also, sometimes people need a leader to point the way. Direct everyone to point north. It’s that way! We’re all together now!
7. Listening = Silence
Star Wars: Use this as a fun way to get comfortable!
1. Everyone get into a large circle around the room.
2. Close your eyes.
3. When you open your eyes make and keep eye contact with one person across the room (repeat this instruction a few times!).
4. Go to that person. Partner up. Say hello! Give them a hug!
5. Tell the group you are going to remake Star Wars (or you can make up 3 characters of your own).
• Chewbacca: Act out make the sounds of Chewbacca.
• Darth Vader: Act out Darth Vader using the force on someone while making a zapping noise.
• Yoda: Act out Yoda by making yourself short and giving yourself ears and saying the line, “Help you I will!”
6. Go through each character again with the partners facing each other.
7. Now get back to back. Without talking try to guess which character your partner will act out when you face each other.
8. On three, jump around, face your partner, and act out the character you think your partner will do. 1, 2, 3!
9. Change partners and repeat steps 7 & 8.
With your partner discuss:
• What makes up your identity?
• What makes you uncomfortable about your identity?
Building Community: What do you have in common with other people?
Musical Hula Hoops: Use this to mix up a large group (and form small groups if you need to)!
1. Everyone spread out in the room. Give yourself some space to move around.
2. We’re going to play some music. Each song will be a different style of music. When you hear the song, dance the style of dance you think is appropriate to that song. Enjoy yourself!
3. Really Important: For each genre of music someone in the room will be an expert on how to dance to that type of music. Quickly find them and emulate what they do.
4. As you can see, we’ve spread out some hoops on the floor. When the music stops you are to go to the nearest hoop and stand inside of it. EVERYONE must be inside a hoop. (It’s important to make sure you have enough hoops for everyone to easily fit into a hoop. Webbing to make hoops is available at REI.)
5. Let’s give it a try. (Play music and once everyone has moved around a bit stop the music.)
6. Okay, here’s the real thing. (Play music.)
7. (You might stop and start the music a few times so that the group gets a hang of the idea.)
8. (Now, begin to remove hoops from different areas of the floor. This will cause the other hoops to become snug when the music stops.)
9. Keep dancing! (Keep removing hoops until you have a nice snug group in each hoop.)
Aristotle once said that a barbaric culture consumes all of its resources for the present, whereas a civilized culture preserves them for later generations. Many of our society's most destructive present actions yield consequences whose gravest implications aren't immediately apparent. That's true of our casual destruction of the planet. It's true of our writing off entire communities of young men and women who will grow into adulthood bereft of hope and skills. It's true when we say, in one of the richest countries in the world, that we can't afford to address our most pressing common problems.*
Amoebas: Use this to get all the small groups to work together and eventually work to form a whole large group!
1. Staying in your small group, reach down and pick up your hoop. Fit as many people as you can on the inside.
2. Everyone who is on the outside of the group must face outward so that both hands are on the hoop.
3. If you have both hands on the hoop close your eyes and keep them shut (Repeat a couple times).
4. The people on the inside are the only ones who can keep their eyes open.
5. Your goal is move as a group and form together with all of the other groups. When you form up with another group yell out, “WOO HAA!” so that the people with their eyes closed know you’ve accomplished something. Keeping joining together until all the groups are joined together.
6. GO!
The most successful attempts to heal our society's ills and promote human dignity are often local grassroots efforts; imagine their impact if we gave them enough resources to do their work as well and as powerfully as possible instead of forcing them to scramble constantly for crumbs.*
Hula Hoop Races: Use these for some friendly competition and to allow groups to get to know each other!
1. Staying in your small group, get on the outside of the hoop and grab on with two hands.
2. Notice how you all connected. You all are like a community. Each person can feel every small ripple.
3. While holding on to the hoop, work as a team to move the knot around the circle.
4. See how fast you can get it around!
5. Let’s have some friendly competition! Let’s see which group is the fastest to get the knot around the circle. (Have someone be a spotter.)
6. (After racing a few more times have everyone calm down and start the next activity.)
7. Keep the knot going. When I yell, “Stop!” stop the knot wherever it is.
8. Who ever has the knot in front of them has a chance to ask a quick question (examples):
a. What’s your favorite color?
b. Where are you from?
c. What’s your name?
9. Everyone responds quickly and then you get the knot going again.
10. Go!
Imagine if we taught how ordinary citizens have changed the world, again and again, even against entrenched resistance. Young women and men just coming of age would learn the stories of citizen efforts like the abolitionist, women's suffrage, populist, union, civil rights, and environmental movements: How ordinary people have learned to act despite their flaws, hesitations, and failings; learned to persevere, even under the most difficult of circumstances; learned to keep on until they prevailed. Historical examples can teach how seemingly impossible efforts can create powerful change. They give a sense of possibility that counters cultural cynicism. They allow those coming of age to think not only about addressing small, immediate issues, but also their deeper roots. They teach the arts and skills of democracy—how to reach out to our fellow citizens, organize them for change, and make our common voice heard.*
Cultivating Leadership: How can you make your community stronger?
Agree/Disagree: Use this to build a sense of what your whole community is like!
1. Gather in front of the signs. (Point each one out.)
2. A statement will be read out loud and after each statement you are to position yourself next to the sign that makes the most sense for you.
3. For this activity it is REALLY important that you honor everyone’s opinion by respecting it. This is not an opportunity to argue. It is an opportunity to see the makeup your group. (You might emphasize that you’ll be spending the day/week/year working together.)
4. After everyone positions themselves, I will ask some clarifying questions to get your opinion of why you chose the position you’ve chosen.
5. Let’s give it a try.
1. Strawberry ice cream is my favorite ice cream flavor.
6. Get the idea? Try to be as truthful as possible and try not to stick to one sign! (The words in brackets can be used to ask the clarifying questions and are usually related to the theme of the gathering. The statements you use can be made up of ideas that you are trying to accomplish with bringing the group together.)
2. Dogs are better pets than cats.
3. I prefer the color green over the color purple.
4. It irritates me when people talk on their cell phone in a public place where I can fully understand their conversation.
5. I feel comfortable talking on my cell phone publicly and do so often.
6. I’ll be the first in my family to go to college. (Access/opportunity)
7. Growing up I felt like I had “enough”. (Class)
8. I consider myself to be a leader. (Leadership)
9. I know of a really good leader.
10. I have good plan for my future. (Goal setting)
11. I prefer working alone rather than working in a group to get things done. (Working together)
12. I have a strong urge to contribute to the community. (Community building)
13. I’ve been picked on because of my Race. (Race)
14. I’ve picked on someone else That may have been hurtful.
15. I currently practice some part of my cultural heritage. (Native Language & songs)
16. I love to have fun!
17. Michael & Melchor are the bomb.com!
25 Rules for Happiness: Use for some thoughts to ponder on leadership!
P.M. Forni, cofounder of the Johns Hopkins Civility Project identifies twenty-five rules that are most essential in connecting effectively and happily with others. They are:
1. Pay Attention
2. Acknowledge Others
3. Think the Best
4. Listen
5. Be Inclusive
6. Speak Kindly
7. Don’t Speak Ill
8. Accept and Give Praise
9. Respect Even a Subtle “No”
10. Respect Others’ Opinions
11. Mind Your Body
12. Be Agreeable
13. Keep It Down (and Rediscover Silence)
14. Respect Other People’s Time
15. Respect Other People’s Space
16. Apologize Earnestly and Thoughtfully
17. Assert Yourself
18. Avoid Personal Questions
19. Care for Your Guests
20. Be a Considerate Guest
21. Think Twice Before Asking for Favors
22. Refrain from Idle Complaints
23. Give Constructive Criticism
24. Respect the Environment and Be Gentle to Animals
25. Don’t Shift Responsibility and Blame
Closing thoughts: Use this to close up the activity and have the group reflect on what they’ve accomplished!
Measure of Success
• Was it memorable?
• Was it Useful?
• Did you have fun?
In small groups discuss:
• What happened? What was interesting?
• What are the ABC’s of WE?
• What are some things you can take with you from this experience?
Thoughts on leadership:
• Crush your idea of what a leader is and put yourself in the picture as a leader.
• Surround yourself with competent, dedicated, & caring people.
• Find a leader you like, whether it’s someone you know or read about, and study them intensely.
Thoughts on working together:
• We all have a place in the community that leads to a purpose. Find out what is your purpose!
• Community Leadership means: We’re ALL RIGHT! & We’re ALRIGHT!
Thoughts on Community Organizing & YOU:
• A helping hand is always nice… Especially when it’s from you.
• Don’t always look at what’s wrong. Look at what’s right and make it happen more!
*Italicized excerpts from Citizenship by Paul Rogat Loeb
Northwest Students of Color Conference
Friday, April 17, 2009
Yakima Convention Center, Yakima, Washington
“Uniting Colors, Shaping the Future!”
Presented by:
Michael M. Vendiola
Melchor M. Vendiola
The ABC’s and Purpose of “WE”!
In America now, too many of us treat the choices by which we decide our common future as the territory of others. We feel that we don't know enough to act on issues that concern us, and that our actions will make no difference, our voices will never be heard. This creates a self-fulfilling prophecy. The more we withdraw from civic life, the more we leave immensely consequential decisions to a politics driven by greed, short-sightedness, and expediency. Conversely, the more we take on the difficult problems of our time, the more we can tap common power, creativity, and strength.*
Attention Getters: Use these to get everyone’s attention!
• Yell out, “Did someone lose a $20 bill?”: People’s ears usually perk right up.
• Clap once if you can hear me… Clap twice if you can hear me. Keeping going up until it’s completely silent.
• Quiet Coyote hand signal. You’ll have to be creative with this one. I like to say that Quiet Coyote is quiet because he ROCKED OUT too hard and now he’s deaf.
Introduction of Facilitators/Goal of the workshop
• Measure of Success
o Was it memorable?
o Was it Useful?
o Did you have fun?
Healthy Things for a community: Use this to get the group to focus!
• Affirming Identity: Who are you? What do you stand for?
• Building Unity: What do you have in common with other people?
• Cultivating Leadership: How can you make your community stronger?
Affirming Identity: Who are you? What do you stand for?
True Leadership Points North: Use this to demonstrate the beauty of multiple perspectives!
1. Everyone stand and find a bit of space where you can outstretch your arms without hitting anyone.
2. Close your eyes.
3. Position your whole body so it faces north and reach your hand forward and point exactly north with your pointer finger.
4. Keep your hands in place and open your eyes.
5. Explain that we all come from different places and have different perspectives. Explain the importance of honoring everyone’s perspectives even when you are sure they are wrong! (It’s process on how to work together. Then you’ll find the answers!)
6. Patience goes a long way. Also, sometimes people need a leader to point the way. Direct everyone to point north. It’s that way! We’re all together now!
7. Listening = Silence
Star Wars: Use this as a fun way to get comfortable!
1. Everyone get into a large circle around the room.
2. Close your eyes.
3. When you open your eyes make and keep eye contact with one person across the room (repeat this instruction a few times!).
4. Go to that person. Partner up. Say hello! Give them a hug!
5. Tell the group you are going to remake Star Wars (or you can make up 3 characters of your own).
• Chewbacca: Act out make the sounds of Chewbacca.
• Darth Vader: Act out Darth Vader using the force on someone while making a zapping noise.
• Yoda: Act out Yoda by making yourself short and giving yourself ears and saying the line, “Help you I will!”
6. Go through each character again with the partners facing each other.
7. Now get back to back. Without talking try to guess which character your partner will act out when you face each other.
8. On three, jump around, face your partner, and act out the character you think your partner will do. 1, 2, 3!
9. Change partners and repeat steps 7 & 8.
With your partner discuss:
• What makes up your identity?
• What makes you uncomfortable about your identity?
Building Community: What do you have in common with other people?
Musical Hula Hoops: Use this to mix up a large group (and form small groups if you need to)!
1. Everyone spread out in the room. Give yourself some space to move around.
2. We’re going to play some music. Each song will be a different style of music. When you hear the song, dance the style of dance you think is appropriate to that song. Enjoy yourself!
3. Really Important: For each genre of music someone in the room will be an expert on how to dance to that type of music. Quickly find them and emulate what they do.
4. As you can see, we’ve spread out some hoops on the floor. When the music stops you are to go to the nearest hoop and stand inside of it. EVERYONE must be inside a hoop. (It’s important to make sure you have enough hoops for everyone to easily fit into a hoop. Webbing to make hoops is available at REI.)
5. Let’s give it a try. (Play music and once everyone has moved around a bit stop the music.)
6. Okay, here’s the real thing. (Play music.)
7. (You might stop and start the music a few times so that the group gets a hang of the idea.)
8. (Now, begin to remove hoops from different areas of the floor. This will cause the other hoops to become snug when the music stops.)
9. Keep dancing! (Keep removing hoops until you have a nice snug group in each hoop.)
Aristotle once said that a barbaric culture consumes all of its resources for the present, whereas a civilized culture preserves them for later generations. Many of our society's most destructive present actions yield consequences whose gravest implications aren't immediately apparent. That's true of our casual destruction of the planet. It's true of our writing off entire communities of young men and women who will grow into adulthood bereft of hope and skills. It's true when we say, in one of the richest countries in the world, that we can't afford to address our most pressing common problems.*
Amoebas: Use this to get all the small groups to work together and eventually work to form a whole large group!
1. Staying in your small group, reach down and pick up your hoop. Fit as many people as you can on the inside.
2. Everyone who is on the outside of the group must face outward so that both hands are on the hoop.
3. If you have both hands on the hoop close your eyes and keep them shut (Repeat a couple times).
4. The people on the inside are the only ones who can keep their eyes open.
5. Your goal is move as a group and form together with all of the other groups. When you form up with another group yell out, “WOO HAA!” so that the people with their eyes closed know you’ve accomplished something. Keeping joining together until all the groups are joined together.
6. GO!
The most successful attempts to heal our society's ills and promote human dignity are often local grassroots efforts; imagine their impact if we gave them enough resources to do their work as well and as powerfully as possible instead of forcing them to scramble constantly for crumbs.*
Hula Hoop Races: Use these for some friendly competition and to allow groups to get to know each other!
1. Staying in your small group, get on the outside of the hoop and grab on with two hands.
2. Notice how you all connected. You all are like a community. Each person can feel every small ripple.
3. While holding on to the hoop, work as a team to move the knot around the circle.
4. See how fast you can get it around!
5. Let’s have some friendly competition! Let’s see which group is the fastest to get the knot around the circle. (Have someone be a spotter.)
6. (After racing a few more times have everyone calm down and start the next activity.)
7. Keep the knot going. When I yell, “Stop!” stop the knot wherever it is.
8. Who ever has the knot in front of them has a chance to ask a quick question (examples):
a. What’s your favorite color?
b. Where are you from?
c. What’s your name?
9. Everyone responds quickly and then you get the knot going again.
10. Go!
Imagine if we taught how ordinary citizens have changed the world, again and again, even against entrenched resistance. Young women and men just coming of age would learn the stories of citizen efforts like the abolitionist, women's suffrage, populist, union, civil rights, and environmental movements: How ordinary people have learned to act despite their flaws, hesitations, and failings; learned to persevere, even under the most difficult of circumstances; learned to keep on until they prevailed. Historical examples can teach how seemingly impossible efforts can create powerful change. They give a sense of possibility that counters cultural cynicism. They allow those coming of age to think not only about addressing small, immediate issues, but also their deeper roots. They teach the arts and skills of democracy—how to reach out to our fellow citizens, organize them for change, and make our common voice heard.*
Cultivating Leadership: How can you make your community stronger?
Agree/Disagree: Use this to build a sense of what your whole community is like!
1. Gather in front of the signs. (Point each one out.)
2. A statement will be read out loud and after each statement you are to position yourself next to the sign that makes the most sense for you.
3. For this activity it is REALLY important that you honor everyone’s opinion by respecting it. This is not an opportunity to argue. It is an opportunity to see the makeup your group. (You might emphasize that you’ll be spending the day/week/year working together.)
4. After everyone positions themselves, I will ask some clarifying questions to get your opinion of why you chose the position you’ve chosen.
5. Let’s give it a try.
1. Strawberry ice cream is my favorite ice cream flavor.
6. Get the idea? Try to be as truthful as possible and try not to stick to one sign! (The words in brackets can be used to ask the clarifying questions and are usually related to the theme of the gathering. The statements you use can be made up of ideas that you are trying to accomplish with bringing the group together.)
2. Dogs are better pets than cats.
3. I prefer the color green over the color purple.
4. It irritates me when people talk on their cell phone in a public place where I can fully understand their conversation.
5. I feel comfortable talking on my cell phone publicly and do so often.
6. I’ll be the first in my family to go to college. (Access/opportunity)
7. Growing up I felt like I had “enough”. (Class)
8. I consider myself to be a leader. (Leadership)
9. I know of a really good leader.
10. I have good plan for my future. (Goal setting)
11. I prefer working alone rather than working in a group to get things done. (Working together)
12. I have a strong urge to contribute to the community. (Community building)
13. I’ve been picked on because of my Race. (Race)
14. I’ve picked on someone else That may have been hurtful.
15. I currently practice some part of my cultural heritage. (Native Language & songs)
16. I love to have fun!
17. Michael & Melchor are the bomb.com!
25 Rules for Happiness: Use for some thoughts to ponder on leadership!
P.M. Forni, cofounder of the Johns Hopkins Civility Project identifies twenty-five rules that are most essential in connecting effectively and happily with others. They are:
1. Pay Attention
2. Acknowledge Others
3. Think the Best
4. Listen
5. Be Inclusive
6. Speak Kindly
7. Don’t Speak Ill
8. Accept and Give Praise
9. Respect Even a Subtle “No”
10. Respect Others’ Opinions
11. Mind Your Body
12. Be Agreeable
13. Keep It Down (and Rediscover Silence)
14. Respect Other People’s Time
15. Respect Other People’s Space
16. Apologize Earnestly and Thoughtfully
17. Assert Yourself
18. Avoid Personal Questions
19. Care for Your Guests
20. Be a Considerate Guest
21. Think Twice Before Asking for Favors
22. Refrain from Idle Complaints
23. Give Constructive Criticism
24. Respect the Environment and Be Gentle to Animals
25. Don’t Shift Responsibility and Blame
Closing thoughts: Use this to close up the activity and have the group reflect on what they’ve accomplished!
Measure of Success
• Was it memorable?
• Was it Useful?
• Did you have fun?
In small groups discuss:
• What happened? What was interesting?
• What are the ABC’s of WE?
• What are some things you can take with you from this experience?
Thoughts on leadership:
• Crush your idea of what a leader is and put yourself in the picture as a leader.
• Surround yourself with competent, dedicated, & caring people.
• Find a leader you like, whether it’s someone you know or read about, and study them intensely.
Thoughts on working together:
• We all have a place in the community that leads to a purpose. Find out what is your purpose!
• Community Leadership means: We’re ALL RIGHT! & We’re ALRIGHT!
Thoughts on Community Organizing & YOU:
• A helping hand is always nice… Especially when it’s from you.
• Don’t always look at what’s wrong. Look at what’s right and make it happen more!
*Italicized excerpts from Citizenship by Paul Rogat Loeb
The Youth and Adult Partnership
Hey! Some of you may not know that I present workshops at various venues across the country. In more recent times (in the last year or so), I've entered into an agreement with my son Melchor to present together at every gathering that I am asked to present. This idea comes out of the Kellogg Leadership for Community Change project that focused on Youth & Adult Partnerships. We came to a number of understandings revolving around this idea:
~If we are trying to inspire Youth & Adult Partnerships, at the very least we should model it.
~As an adult, I have many experiences that may be useful to young people.
~As a youth, Melchor has the viewpoint of a young person THAT IS OFTEN OVERLOOKED.
~We are committed to presenting empowering information that is understandable & engaging to people of all ages.
~We are committed to presenting something that is memorable.
~We are committed to presenting something that is useful.
~We are committed to having fun with each other and with the participants.
At any rate, we are growing as a team and I believe that it is something that is healthy and empowering for our relationship.
The reason I am explaining the above is for two reasons:
1) If you have an interest for this type of work, let me know-- We'd love to come out and work with you!
2) We follow a philosophy of liberating our workshop material out into the community. With that, my next post will be the actual outline and description of the activities from our last workshop at the Students of Color Conference in Yakima, WA. I hope it might be helpful for you.
~If we are trying to inspire Youth & Adult Partnerships, at the very least we should model it.
~As an adult, I have many experiences that may be useful to young people.
~As a youth, Melchor has the viewpoint of a young person THAT IS OFTEN OVERLOOKED.
~We are committed to presenting empowering information that is understandable & engaging to people of all ages.
~We are committed to presenting something that is memorable.
~We are committed to presenting something that is useful.
~We are committed to having fun with each other and with the participants.
At any rate, we are growing as a team and I believe that it is something that is healthy and empowering for our relationship.
The reason I am explaining the above is for two reasons:
1) If you have an interest for this type of work, let me know-- We'd love to come out and work with you!
2) We follow a philosophy of liberating our workshop material out into the community. With that, my next post will be the actual outline and description of the activities from our last workshop at the Students of Color Conference in Yakima, WA. I hope it might be helpful for you.
Monday, March 16, 2009
The 10 Year Anniversary
[Editor note: This is my submission to the Ethnic Student Center (ESC) Newsletter. The ESC is another part of my life.]
In August of 1998 I started as the Ethnic Student Center Coordinator/Activities Adviser. It is hard to believe that 10 years have gone by. In that time I have been truly fortunate to work with amazing people, one after the other, in the form of students. These people now reside all over the world and I am so pleased that we have a common strand and ethic that was cultivated in the Ethnic Student Center.
The following is a reprint of my first Spring Quarter essay in the Ethnic Student Center Newsletter written March 1989. After rereading this essay I am inspired by two things:
1. We have been consistent in trying to build community at Western Washington University.
2. The development of Culture & Identity of underrepresented populations is still a strong priority for the Ethnic Student Center.
Enjoy a great spring and, as I said 10 years ago, “Let us come together even more[!]”
“We have come together… not because we are perfect, but in order that we may know our shortcomings and overcome them. We should not feel unhappy if on some occasion we commit an error. We should feel unhappy only if in committing it we had willingly yielded to a weakness in us or had not been vigilant enough, if we had not struggled, or not sincerely enough, to overcome it. You should never lose heart.
-Mahatma Gandhi, 1931
Spring in many cultures represents rebirth. It marks the beginnings of new life. For the ESC it is the beginning of a new life. This quarter we look forward to a high level of programming. We have annual events like Native Cultural Heritage Month, the return of the pow wow, Cinco de Mayo Celebration, Hui O’ Hawaii Luau, and Asian- Pacific Islander Month. We see many added special events and activities by all of the ESC constituents. With the success of winter quarter events we can expect the enjoyment of more successful events during spring.
While having cultural events is special and a great addition to Western’s community, I believe there is a greater treasure. The treasure is that ethnic students and community members, from all races and nationalities, attend ESC club sponsored events. This is the true power of the ESC. We come together. We support each other’s events. We honor and pay respect to all of the cultures we represent. What greater compliment can one give than to share a piece of culture, a viewpoint from your own eyes?
My request is simple. I encourage you to participate. Commit yourself to attend more programs than you attended last quarter. Challenge yourself by attending a program that you would not normally attend. Commit yourself to participate, learn, and enjoy some of the only cultural education occurring on Western’s campus. We’re talking real life education here. I mean, you got your academic cultural education and you got your real life cultural education. Ya dig? We are in the business of real life cultural education. What we got is the cultural education you cannot read in a book. Attend, sit, listen and participate. You might miss out on an opportunity that may profoundly change your life. As I was talking with Jenny Martin of the Peace Resource Center we came to a consensus on this very topic. She said, “Sit and listen because this might be the only time, ever, you will get to hear this perspective.”
Furthermore, if you are feeling really enthusiastic, ORGANIZE. Organize a program, a meeting, a gathering, a walkout, a sit-in, a stand-up-for-your rights rally. Just make sure it is just and honors yourself, family and community. That way you can do no wrong.
Let us take more advantage of the treasure created by the ESC. Let us come together even more.
In August of 1998 I started as the Ethnic Student Center Coordinator/Activities Adviser. It is hard to believe that 10 years have gone by. In that time I have been truly fortunate to work with amazing people, one after the other, in the form of students. These people now reside all over the world and I am so pleased that we have a common strand and ethic that was cultivated in the Ethnic Student Center.
The following is a reprint of my first Spring Quarter essay in the Ethnic Student Center Newsletter written March 1989. After rereading this essay I am inspired by two things:
1. We have been consistent in trying to build community at Western Washington University.
2. The development of Culture & Identity of underrepresented populations is still a strong priority for the Ethnic Student Center.
Enjoy a great spring and, as I said 10 years ago, “Let us come together even more[!]”
“We have come together… not because we are perfect, but in order that we may know our shortcomings and overcome them. We should not feel unhappy if on some occasion we commit an error. We should feel unhappy only if in committing it we had willingly yielded to a weakness in us or had not been vigilant enough, if we had not struggled, or not sincerely enough, to overcome it. You should never lose heart.
-Mahatma Gandhi, 1931
Spring in many cultures represents rebirth. It marks the beginnings of new life. For the ESC it is the beginning of a new life. This quarter we look forward to a high level of programming. We have annual events like Native Cultural Heritage Month, the return of the pow wow, Cinco de Mayo Celebration, Hui O’ Hawaii Luau, and Asian- Pacific Islander Month. We see many added special events and activities by all of the ESC constituents. With the success of winter quarter events we can expect the enjoyment of more successful events during spring.
While having cultural events is special and a great addition to Western’s community, I believe there is a greater treasure. The treasure is that ethnic students and community members, from all races and nationalities, attend ESC club sponsored events. This is the true power of the ESC. We come together. We support each other’s events. We honor and pay respect to all of the cultures we represent. What greater compliment can one give than to share a piece of culture, a viewpoint from your own eyes?
My request is simple. I encourage you to participate. Commit yourself to attend more programs than you attended last quarter. Challenge yourself by attending a program that you would not normally attend. Commit yourself to participate, learn, and enjoy some of the only cultural education occurring on Western’s campus. We’re talking real life education here. I mean, you got your academic cultural education and you got your real life cultural education. Ya dig? We are in the business of real life cultural education. What we got is the cultural education you cannot read in a book. Attend, sit, listen and participate. You might miss out on an opportunity that may profoundly change your life. As I was talking with Jenny Martin of the Peace Resource Center we came to a consensus on this very topic. She said, “Sit and listen because this might be the only time, ever, you will get to hear this perspective.”
Furthermore, if you are feeling really enthusiastic, ORGANIZE. Organize a program, a meeting, a gathering, a walkout, a sit-in, a stand-up-for-your rights rally. Just make sure it is just and honors yourself, family and community. That way you can do no wrong.
Let us take more advantage of the treasure created by the ESC. Let us come together even more.
Monday, March 2, 2009
The Hibernation
Okay, I haven't been as diligent as I could have been. That really sucks because nearly a year has gone by since I've posted. I can't really say what has delayed me and that is makes this situation even more epic lame.
Some short thoughts:
~I'm a lot more interested in the history of higher education mainly because of Professors Williamson, Contreras, & Nerad.
~I'm impressed with my collegues-- the people I take classes with. They are genuinely interested in the progression of education.
~I took a whopper of a statistics class. It is arguably the class that I've learned the most in. Whether I've retained it is completely another question.
~In the spirit of the statistics class-- I just learned how to make this symbol on my Mac: µ
~I am currently taking a 5 credit Qualitative Methods class. I will need to take another Qualitative Methods class for more practice. I am defn hooked.
Some short thoughts:
~I'm a lot more interested in the history of higher education mainly because of Professors Williamson, Contreras, & Nerad.
~I'm impressed with my collegues-- the people I take classes with. They are genuinely interested in the progression of education.
~I took a whopper of a statistics class. It is arguably the class that I've learned the most in. Whether I've retained it is completely another question.
~In the spirit of the statistics class-- I just learned how to make this symbol on my Mac: µ
~I am currently taking a 5 credit Qualitative Methods class. I will need to take another Qualitative Methods class for more practice. I am defn hooked.
Monday, May 12, 2008
The First Year Doctoral Student
I am very fortunate to take a breath! I'm sitting in the middle of Red Square, the center of the University of Washington. I only get to do so because my first class was cancelled. I hope everything is alright.
At any rate, I believe it would be appropriate to take this "free" time to reflect on the near completion of my first year of doctoral studies. (Can you read the excitement in that last sentence? If not, I'm REALLY excited about it!!!) To say the least this first year has been way more than I expected in every positive way possible. I have been fortunate to be in the company of forward thinkers. That is not something you get to say very often, is it? I've been impressed and learned so much in each of the two courses I've taken for the past 3 quarters. It has only fueled my thirst for more knowledge, more wisdom. I really do feel like I am in the right place at the right time. I'm ready to move forward and explore things that I've never even thought about. In fact, that is exactly what I said to Nate Panelo, recent Ethnic Student Center graduate who came up to tell me he's going to graduate school in Vermont, "I'm so glad to be studying things that I never knew people even thought about. I mean, they thought about that? And now, I'm like... I'm really glad they thought about that. Now I'm thinking about it. Now you'll be thinking about it."
Well, the year went by quickly. I didn't even get a chance to talk about meeting Cornel West (who my son knows as "The guy from Matrix II & III." Nor did I get a chance to talk about meeting His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. That will be another day, hopefully soon. My short term plans are to take summer classes and bring the family to Hawaii! Yes, THAT Hawaii! It will be nice, not so much because we'll be flossin' in warm weather, but because I learned so much more about love and family this year and my Dad's family is all there. It will be nice to apply what I learned while we're there.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
The Paper Writing Game
Basically, I have to step my game up in the research paper writing game. And, I don't really feel this way due to responses from professors on my papers. Although, of course, they are influential, I really feel a commitment to reseach appropriately issues relevant to the community. It is a feeling of urgency. A need to address issues in the moment, whether in the historical context or current affairs. One of the hardest issues I dealt with this past quarter was selecting topics to research. The topics seem endless and in dire need of research. I am very grateful for the opportunities to write and learn new methods of looking at issues.
For example, in my educational policy class I actually had the opportunity to write a policy proposal. I'd never seen a policy proposal before so to say I was unfamiliar is an understatement. The class created an interest for me in policy making and what better purpose is there for education than to stimulate more inquiry?
Further, in my Education for Liberation class I was able to further understand the purpose of primary sources. And, did you know that education has a history? I'm being sarcastic but it is only to point out my ignorance. True ignorance. I am a strong proponent of ignorance as a matter of choice rather than opportunity. So, it is difficult for me to swallow the idea of my own ignorance because I like to think of myself as a person who is open to new ideas. Low and behold, all the new ideas lay in the past!
Thank you to my professors winter quarter. They were both gentle and challenging which is a great combination for learning.
For example, in my educational policy class I actually had the opportunity to write a policy proposal. I'd never seen a policy proposal before so to say I was unfamiliar is an understatement. The class created an interest for me in policy making and what better purpose is there for education than to stimulate more inquiry?
Further, in my Education for Liberation class I was able to further understand the purpose of primary sources. And, did you know that education has a history? I'm being sarcastic but it is only to point out my ignorance. True ignorance. I am a strong proponent of ignorance as a matter of choice rather than opportunity. So, it is difficult for me to swallow the idea of my own ignorance because I like to think of myself as a person who is open to new ideas. Low and behold, all the new ideas lay in the past!
Thank you to my professors winter quarter. They were both gentle and challenging which is a great combination for learning.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
The Check Plus
I never thought a check plus would mean so much to me... But it does! Here's mine.
• From Geiger and Creso, what were the extenuating factors existing around 1980 that stimulated Federal and State policies to subsidize university-industry research relationships? Was there a “man on the moon” type of quest as in earlier times to gain a technological edge? If there was not a monumental event that stimulated the early 1980s (and subsequent late 1990s) spike, in general, what factors stimulate the relationships and who are the main instigators?
• From Geiger and Creso, what are the “crude performance measures” that have “shackled” Washington state universities according to the authors? And, how does this compare and contrast with the renewed policy since the writing of the article?
• From Geiger and Cerso, the authors speak briefly on the idea of universities being major actors in the creation of “knowledge intensive industries”. Although the U.S. has doubled its expansion of high technology manufacturing since 1995, how much faith can universities put into knowledge intensive industries when other countries like China have increased their industry expansion by as much as 8 times? If federal, state, and universities have this faith, what type of policy would best stimulate the quality the authors suggest is necessary to compete in the economy?
• Quoted from Rimer:
“Parents want the same thing parents in the past wanted,” Professor Roderick said. “They want their kids to be middle class. The problem is that the economy has changed, so doing better now means going to college. And someone has to help them figure out how to do this because the parents don’t know themselves.”
• How beneficial would it be for institutions of higher education to implement programs that educate parents, 1st generation students’ greatest advocates, on how to help prepare their children for their post-K-12 experience? If the goal is to create greater inclusion, would programs focused on educating parents about accessing higher education break some of the cycle of exclusion? (I believe this speaks to the second bullet in the summary of the NEA report that speaks to “Work[ing] to increase the level of public commitment to higher education”.)
• While more and more K-12 educators are jumping on the “everyone can and should be prepared to go to college” bandwagon, can we honestly expect similar ambition and reception from higher education institutions & educators? (Simultaneous goals of access and quality were identified as having “detrimental consequences” to higher education in the NEA report. Can this be overcome in the coming years of increasing demand for higher education?)
• The NEA report states that, “legislators continue to identify broad support for the development of a system that combines K–12 and higher education.” Why hasn’t this happened sooner? Is this the sentiment of all constituents involved?
• Lastly, I would like to second Francesca’s questions regarding how higher education juggles ethics, innovation and commercialization (economic development). As I was reading the Geiger and Creso article I thought of about the issue of ethics with regard to so many commercial industries calling upon higher education for support. I do not want to be repetitive but I do think it is a great topic for discussion. How does higher education maintain a sense of ethics in the face of major corporate influence? Does higher education ever ask itself whether it should be doing all types of innovations? And, does it ever question whether it is in the best interests of the greater good for the whole of society?
• From Geiger and Creso, what were the extenuating factors existing around 1980 that stimulated Federal and State policies to subsidize university-industry research relationships? Was there a “man on the moon” type of quest as in earlier times to gain a technological edge? If there was not a monumental event that stimulated the early 1980s (and subsequent late 1990s) spike, in general, what factors stimulate the relationships and who are the main instigators?
• From Geiger and Creso, what are the “crude performance measures” that have “shackled” Washington state universities according to the authors? And, how does this compare and contrast with the renewed policy since the writing of the article?
• From Geiger and Cerso, the authors speak briefly on the idea of universities being major actors in the creation of “knowledge intensive industries”. Although the U.S. has doubled its expansion of high technology manufacturing since 1995, how much faith can universities put into knowledge intensive industries when other countries like China have increased their industry expansion by as much as 8 times? If federal, state, and universities have this faith, what type of policy would best stimulate the quality the authors suggest is necessary to compete in the economy?
• Quoted from Rimer:
“Parents want the same thing parents in the past wanted,” Professor Roderick said. “They want their kids to be middle class. The problem is that the economy has changed, so doing better now means going to college. And someone has to help them figure out how to do this because the parents don’t know themselves.”
• How beneficial would it be for institutions of higher education to implement programs that educate parents, 1st generation students’ greatest advocates, on how to help prepare their children for their post-K-12 experience? If the goal is to create greater inclusion, would programs focused on educating parents about accessing higher education break some of the cycle of exclusion? (I believe this speaks to the second bullet in the summary of the NEA report that speaks to “Work[ing] to increase the level of public commitment to higher education”.)
• While more and more K-12 educators are jumping on the “everyone can and should be prepared to go to college” bandwagon, can we honestly expect similar ambition and reception from higher education institutions & educators? (Simultaneous goals of access and quality were identified as having “detrimental consequences” to higher education in the NEA report. Can this be overcome in the coming years of increasing demand for higher education?)
• The NEA report states that, “legislators continue to identify broad support for the development of a system that combines K–12 and higher education.” Why hasn’t this happened sooner? Is this the sentiment of all constituents involved?
• Lastly, I would like to second Francesca’s questions regarding how higher education juggles ethics, innovation and commercialization (economic development). As I was reading the Geiger and Creso article I thought of about the issue of ethics with regard to so many commercial industries calling upon higher education for support. I do not want to be repetitive but I do think it is a great topic for discussion. How does higher education maintain a sense of ethics in the face of major corporate influence? Does higher education ever ask itself whether it should be doing all types of innovations? And, does it ever question whether it is in the best interests of the greater good for the whole of society?
Friday, February 1, 2008
Fall 2007 and now... Winter 2008!
I can't remember if I stated this already, but I did pass my courses last quarter! You know how we do... So, to reward myself I decided to sign up for more classes this quarter. So, now I am taking EDLPS 549-Education for Liberation with Professor Joy Williamson (you might remember her from last quarter) and EDLPS 591-Higher Education and Public Policy with Professor William Zumeta.
For the Liberation class my overall thoughts, like last quarters' class with Professor Williamson, are that it is so refreshing to have the readings that we have! Basically, we're reading authors that we don't generally get in higher education. This means that we're getting perspectives that we don't generally get in higher education. And, often times, the perspectives we are getting are ones that I can personally relate to. What does that tell you? Well, I happen to think it is nice when you have some part of your perspective reflected and represented in the educational process. That way you might actually feel a part of it. Hmm... Does this have implications for the greater educational system? I think so. How do young people relate to the educational system?
For the Policy Analysis class my overall thoughts are... Well, it is hard to explain. Have you ever heard of the analogy, "A deer caught with headlights in its eyes"? That was me at the beginning of this class. Let me help you understand it this way. Can you honestly say that you know someone who is a 'policy analyst'? Have you ever embarked on analyzing a public policy? And, answer honestly, if you had to jump up right now to find a public policy, where would you find it? (Please don't say Google.) So, imagine my surprise when I learned that our research project was to find a public policy topic, analyze it, and figure out 2 alternative possible solutions to it and defend an additional 1 main solution to it. Let me know if you want to help. I'll need it.
I've probably said enough. In other news, on the 5th of February I turn 40. Since I can't afford a motorcycle yet, I am planning to take my bike around for a few spins.
For the Liberation class my overall thoughts, like last quarters' class with Professor Williamson, are that it is so refreshing to have the readings that we have! Basically, we're reading authors that we don't generally get in higher education. This means that we're getting perspectives that we don't generally get in higher education. And, often times, the perspectives we are getting are ones that I can personally relate to. What does that tell you? Well, I happen to think it is nice when you have some part of your perspective reflected and represented in the educational process. That way you might actually feel a part of it. Hmm... Does this have implications for the greater educational system? I think so. How do young people relate to the educational system?
For the Policy Analysis class my overall thoughts are... Well, it is hard to explain. Have you ever heard of the analogy, "A deer caught with headlights in its eyes"? That was me at the beginning of this class. Let me help you understand it this way. Can you honestly say that you know someone who is a 'policy analyst'? Have you ever embarked on analyzing a public policy? And, answer honestly, if you had to jump up right now to find a public policy, where would you find it? (Please don't say Google.) So, imagine my surprise when I learned that our research project was to find a public policy topic, analyze it, and figure out 2 alternative possible solutions to it and defend an additional 1 main solution to it. Let me know if you want to help. I'll need it.
I've probably said enough. In other news, on the 5th of February I turn 40. Since I can't afford a motorcycle yet, I am planning to take my bike around for a few spins.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
A lot of People Have Thought About Education
Even though I am doing more reading than I've done in a while, I am reading some quality stuff. My professors have chosen some excellent perspectives. From Plato to Toni Morrison, it is all interesting. And then, to be in class and analyze the content amongst my fellow classmates is also exciting. Well, I guess I should be honest, it is both exciting and nerve wracking... Not to go too far down the negative talk road, I sometimes doubt my relevancy to the discussion. I feel like I have a good idea but sometimes I get the sense that I am off track. I get this feeling, for exampe, if I make a comment and no one expands on it. And, I am especially in the hallows of Hell's doubt when I make a comment and there is that nervous dead silence immediately following.
Okay, I put that out there. I'm done with it. So a real positive about these classes is the applicability of the content. I feel like everything I am studying is relevant to my current engagement of community learning. It is exciting to pass it forward to the community. That, in itself, is fulfilling a dream for me. Someone said it is a humbling experience because you realize how much you don't know. I agree and I appreciate and respect it too. I look forward to the future. I have to admit, though, with all these great people who have thought about the process of education over the last few thousand years, I wonder why do we still have a screwed up educational system? I mean, really, how is that possible?
Okay, I put that out there. I'm done with it. So a real positive about these classes is the applicability of the content. I feel like everything I am studying is relevant to my current engagement of community learning. It is exciting to pass it forward to the community. That, in itself, is fulfilling a dream for me. Someone said it is a humbling experience because you realize how much you don't know. I agree and I appreciate and respect it too. I look forward to the future. I have to admit, though, with all these great people who have thought about the process of education over the last few thousand years, I wonder why do we still have a screwed up educational system? I mean, really, how is that possible?
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Class is in Session!
Hey, I went to my first class sessions on Monday. It was all to the good. I'm going to enjoy the readings (as long as I keep up). In some ways I feel like I'm in a cave staring at shadows on the wall thinking it is reality. I will also enjoy the company. It looks like a fun group of people who are interested in learning.
The most exciting part is that I get to be in class with Alberto Mejia (aka Praxis). Former ESC leader. I was overwhelmed with emotion during class introductions when I talked about the ESC being a center concerned with academic and leadership development for underrepresented students and here I am in class with one of my former students. All I could say was, "This is a big deal. I can't believe how big a deal this is."
The most exciting part is that I get to be in class with Alberto Mejia (aka Praxis). Former ESC leader. I was overwhelmed with emotion during class introductions when I talked about the ESC being a center concerned with academic and leadership development for underrepresented students and here I am in class with one of my former students. All I could say was, "This is a big deal. I can't believe how big a deal this is."
Friday, September 28, 2007
Student Orientation
Okay, so I didn't go to the student orientation that was set up for students like me. I went a day early and orientated myself. I was so pleased to see that they put these signs up for me...
It was a good time down there. I got to time myself. How long it took me to walk from wherever I was at WWU to my car. How long it took me to drive from the parking lot at WWU to the parking lot at UW (Figuring out where to park was an obvious side venture). How long it took me to walk from the parking lot to my classroom (as well as, WHERE the classroom was). How long it took me to walk to the HUB to get food and drink and then get back for my next class.
To say the least I feel organized. I also got my UW ID card. The whole experience was inspiring. I'll write more on that later.
It was a good time down there. I got to time myself. How long it took me to walk from wherever I was at WWU to my car. How long it took me to drive from the parking lot at WWU to the parking lot at UW (Figuring out where to park was an obvious side venture). How long it took me to walk from the parking lot to my classroom (as well as, WHERE the classroom was). How long it took me to walk to the HUB to get food and drink and then get back for my next class.
To say the least I feel organized. I also got my UW ID card. The whole experience was inspiring. I'll write more on that later.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Classes Start September 26-- TWO WEEKS!
Okay, basically I am going out of my mind. I never really thought about myself as a self-doubter type of person. I suppose everyone does it from time to time. However, I am REALLY nervous. And, I've been telling everyone this. They always just say, "Aww... You'll do fine..." Wow, do they see something in me that I cannot see? Or, are they just trying to be nice?
At any rate, I am getting, as they say, all my ducks in a line. In fact, while I type I am on hold with my accountant trying to get a copy of our 2006 tax return. Of course we filed for an extension. Thank you to Logan Tax; who have been doing our taxes for the past few years. I tried to get my text books already. My plan was to be a smarty pants and read the texts before class started. However, there are no texts listed for either class. (By the way-- My classes are: EDLPS 520: Educational Moral Endeavor & EDLPS 569: School Reform Issues.) I am finishing up a scholarship application for my tribe. My ideal would be to get enough funding to purchase a laptop and a motorcycle (for the Monday afternoon/commute). One thing that I am pretty excited about is that I get to go school clothes shopping like my kids. Really, it is like Christmas. I've had a lot of fun going through our closet and packing up old and unfittable clothes to donate and make room for SCHOOL CLOTHES! :)
Anyway, I apologize for not keeping up. Please apply this apology to the future.
Oh yeah, one last thing-- Quotes from Miles Davis keep coming to me randomly and when I least expect them. For someone who seemed quiet and spoke with his music, he sure has a lot of quotes. All of them are as random and provoking as his music. I like that!
At any rate, I am getting, as they say, all my ducks in a line. In fact, while I type I am on hold with my accountant trying to get a copy of our 2006 tax return. Of course we filed for an extension. Thank you to Logan Tax; who have been doing our taxes for the past few years. I tried to get my text books already. My plan was to be a smarty pants and read the texts before class started. However, there are no texts listed for either class. (By the way-- My classes are: EDLPS 520: Educational Moral Endeavor & EDLPS 569: School Reform Issues.) I am finishing up a scholarship application for my tribe. My ideal would be to get enough funding to purchase a laptop and a motorcycle (for the Monday afternoon/commute). One thing that I am pretty excited about is that I get to go school clothes shopping like my kids. Really, it is like Christmas. I've had a lot of fun going through our closet and packing up old and unfittable clothes to donate and make room for SCHOOL CLOTHES! :)
Anyway, I apologize for not keeping up. Please apply this apology to the future.
Oh yeah, one last thing-- Quotes from Miles Davis keep coming to me randomly and when I least expect them. For someone who seemed quiet and spoke with his music, he sure has a lot of quotes. All of them are as random and provoking as his music. I like that!
Monday, April 30, 2007
The Video
Here's a video on White Privilege put together by some really great students at WWU (Listed under 'Academic Resources')! Oh yeah... I'm in it.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
The Wait
I'm still very excited about going to the U of W. In fact, here's me being excited:
However... I have to do my FAFSA (Funny story: Every once in a while the Filipino American Student Union will get a call asking, "Hey, I have a question about my FAFSA..." Get it? FAFSA... FASA???). Anyway, in order to do my FAFSA I have to do our taxes. My accountant just filed an extension for us. We have got to get that done! But I digress. I also have to review the summer schedule. It is my plan to take a class this summer as a non-matriculated student. I can hopefully get a tuitiion waiver. What's really cool is that I'll be able to transfer the credits into my program.
Well, I'll be honest, I'm a bit nervous about all of this. Luckily, the other day while I was finishing up my workout at the Lummi Fitness Center, an elder who is now my buddy said these very encouraging words to me after I explained my quest at the U of W: "Well, anything worth having is hard work." Some people have a way of saying just the right thing when you need it. Or, maybe you are just ready to hear it and it was always there.
However... I have to do my FAFSA (Funny story: Every once in a while the Filipino American Student Union will get a call asking, "Hey, I have a question about my FAFSA..." Get it? FAFSA... FASA???). Anyway, in order to do my FAFSA I have to do our taxes. My accountant just filed an extension for us. We have got to get that done! But I digress. I also have to review the summer schedule. It is my plan to take a class this summer as a non-matriculated student. I can hopefully get a tuitiion waiver. What's really cool is that I'll be able to transfer the credits into my program.
Well, I'll be honest, I'm a bit nervous about all of this. Luckily, the other day while I was finishing up my workout at the Lummi Fitness Center, an elder who is now my buddy said these very encouraging words to me after I explained my quest at the U of W: "Well, anything worth having is hard work." Some people have a way of saying just the right thing when you need it. Or, maybe you are just ready to hear it and it was always there.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
The Essay
Here's the essay I wrote for my application. Let me know what you think.
Higher Education Program Applicant
I was presented with a unique and possibly lifelong challenge on the day I was to register for my sophomore year in high school. My caring mother sent me to school with a list of classes I should take to prepare for attending college. Upon looking at this list my high school counselor said, “These are interesting classes. But these are not the classes you should take since you most likely won’t be going to college.”
Fast forward nine years later to my senior year at Western Washington University-- I elaborated more of the details of the “Won’t be Going to College” story on a panel addressing the perseverance of students of color through higher education. Through my work as a student leader and community youth organizer I was the only student asked to join the panel of academics. The keynote panel was presented to a regional conference of approximately 200 Washington state high school counselors. In the middle of the audience, unnamed, was my high school counselor.
In reviewing the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Graduate Program in Higher Education, I firmly believe it will help my quest to resolve systematic short falls in the educational system as highlighted in my personal story. I have made education and leadership my life’s work. I passionately seek new ways to inspire and empower community. Utilizing the abundant research of academia already available, I try to make education and leadership accessible to the common person. A core value I hold dictates that the responsibility to disseminate knowledge into the community is held with the individual attaining it. The ideas of education and leadership should not be elitist but readily available to the whole of the community. These ideas have been opportunities for me to be creative, strengthen community, and responsibly organize and contribute to educational institutions.
Within my Coast Salish community there is a metaphor that exacts the idea that Native people walk in two worlds. The first world is the cultural and traditional knowledge of indigenous affiliation. An example of this knowledge is a teaching I received as a young person. It prescribes that balance is a necessity of life and everyone has a specific role in the community to maintain it. The second world in the metaphor is the non-Native society. This world can be described as being individualistic and competitive in nature. The ‘walking in two worlds’ metaphor denotes the idea of two worlds coming together in a manner that an individual has to learn how to exist in both. I have honed my ideas and experiences in education and leadership by drawing inspiration from this metaphor. It is my resolve to draw the two worlds closer and have each exist comfortably together so neither world gives up its identity or degrades the other. This can be described as cultural brokering. As a cultural broker I see myself as a person who can successfully translate the wisdoms of the two worlds through a deep understanding of both. The attainment of education is one avenue where the Native community has been able to bring the worlds to a closer existence. I believe my further education, in both worlds, will lead me to clearly define and culturally broker the best knowledge of the two communities.
As a student leader I was acknowledged as a founder of the Ethnic Student Center of Western Washington University which opened its doors in 1991. What warranted the acknowledgement for the student leaders of that era was the ethic they held toward bringing their home communities to campus: Walking in two worlds. As students of the institution and our cultural backgrounds, it was vital to the process of creating the center that both were equally honored. While we did open a center, not one person could foresee the resonating cultural force the center would come to represent. Since then I have progressed from student to administrator, serving in the professional role for the past eight years. The mission of the Ethnic Student Center is to provide a safe and supportive environment for historically underrepresented groups and allies while providing cultural and educational programs. I hold this mission as a very personal quest to assist in Western’s institutional growth. Additionally, the Ethnic Student Center has served as an outstanding examination into education and leadership providing me excellent preparation for graduate study.
In regard to additional relevant experience, in the last year I have had the opportunity to work with a nationwide initiative generated by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation entitled Kellogg Leadership for Community Change (KLCC). The focus of the initiative is to stimulate shared leadership within the community. Shared leadership can be characterized as the opportunity where all community members are considered in the decision making process. Specifically KLCC hopes the implementation of shared leadership can lead to intergenerational partnerships that advance just communities. An intergenerational partnership is the idea of working across generations to create change and improvement within the community. Although seemingly simplistic, it is easy to observe within the power structures of society that there is a clear disconnect between youth, adults, and elders in any decision making process. As I have studied the idea of shared leadership and intergenerational partnership I have realized that higher education can and must play a particular role. As educators we whisk students through the educational system. However, this is a crucial stage of development as these students are making a transition from youth to adulthood and entering professions. It is very critical that we impart during the educational process the idea of shared leadership and intergenerational collaboration. Doing so would help to address many of the frustrations citizens face in participating and owning local to international societal issues. In my work I strive to stimulate youth to develop leadership skills and find voice. In addition, I work with adults and elders to evaluate power that has traditionally been held by their respective groups. This work has been an exciting time that I feel would only be enhanced in my studies with the EDLPS program.
Although my experience is limited, I have a strong interest in studying the ideas behind problem-based learning. My thirst for research into problem-based learning is in its similarities to my experiences in service learning and experiential education. Serving on the board for the Center for Service Learning at Northwest Indian College has allowed me to gain knowledge about the growing pedagogy of service learning. I was fortunate to assist in coordinating the Summit on Indigenous Service Learning. The focus of the gathering stressed the need for academia and community partners to have a strong understanding of the community of which they want to serve. Service learning provides a student to take academic coursework and apply it to a practical learning experience that meets a real community need. This speaks to another value that I hold deeply: Education is only valuable when applied to community betterment. Service learning greatly epitomizes my philosophy on this value. Similarly, experiential education allows an opportunity where an individual or a group grows through an experience (whether real or metaphoric exercise), typically characterized as ‘learning by doing.’ As a student and purveyor of student leadership development service learning and experiential education are styles that I frequently utilize to impart knowledge. Allowing individuals to utilize their relevant personal experience to analyze a situation is paramount to my way of thinking. Interestingly problem-based learning, service learning and experiential education allow for growth not only for the individual but also as a collective. I believe that every opportunity for collective growth strengthens community as a whole. In my work I constantly draw upon metaphor and use challenging, open-ended questions to help groups learn. This allows the recipient to personalize and invest in learning to analyze the problem and develop a solution. Following this process hopefully the student will reflect on the experience and apply critical analysis to solve larger systemic problems. Although the styles of problem-based learning, service learning and experiential education have been around for many years, they largely remain an unknown educational treasure to the general community. There are many avenues that communities can help themselves grow through the use of these tools. A focus my graduate studies will examine and develop processes to facilitate the dissemination of these pedagogies into the community.
Ya’e tenges is a Lummi language phrase that roughly translates into ‘take me along with you’ or ‘we go together.’ It is a phrase that is typically used when one is requesting mentorship from another. Additionally, it can be used where an individual regards his personal work as the work of the whole community. A more contemporary description phrase would be ‘working for the people.’ I thought of the phrase ‘Ya’e tenges’ from my language after reviewing the Graduate Program in Higher Education Handbook. Particularly resonating for me was bullet two of the program’s mission:
Like all of education, leadership in a college or university is a moral endeavor that requires leaders to consider the larger implications of their work within the context of broader social challenges and dilemmas. (GPHE, pg. 5)
To my way of thinking, to fulfill this mission is to ya’e tenges, to be concerned for the greater good even while acting alone. I have been very fortunate with the opportunities presented to me in my life and career. I have progressed along the educational field and have defined a lot of my own innovations along the way. Consequently, these experiences have prepared me to embark on to my next plateau. I am at a point where I should move to another level of educational leadership. This would allow me the opportunity to set a beneficial tone for the educational community. My short term goal is to join an institution as faculty to create an academic program with a strong emphasis on practical student leadership development. In addition, I have a future goal of developing an educational institution that would strongly support my philosophies in educational equity, cultural brokering, intergenerational shared leadership, problem-based learning, service learning, and experiential education. It is my hope that such an institution would serve as a model and catalyst to improve the education field. Much of the coursework in my desired degree would greatly enhance this possibility. Since I have similar interests, I look forward to studying and contributing to the courses required for completion of the doctoral degree. In critically examining the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Graduate Program in Higher Education I have determined that the program would be an obvious choice in my progression toward my set goals.
Higher Education Program Applicant
I was presented with a unique and possibly lifelong challenge on the day I was to register for my sophomore year in high school. My caring mother sent me to school with a list of classes I should take to prepare for attending college. Upon looking at this list my high school counselor said, “These are interesting classes. But these are not the classes you should take since you most likely won’t be going to college.”
Fast forward nine years later to my senior year at Western Washington University-- I elaborated more of the details of the “Won’t be Going to College” story on a panel addressing the perseverance of students of color through higher education. Through my work as a student leader and community youth organizer I was the only student asked to join the panel of academics. The keynote panel was presented to a regional conference of approximately 200 Washington state high school counselors. In the middle of the audience, unnamed, was my high school counselor.
In reviewing the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Graduate Program in Higher Education, I firmly believe it will help my quest to resolve systematic short falls in the educational system as highlighted in my personal story. I have made education and leadership my life’s work. I passionately seek new ways to inspire and empower community. Utilizing the abundant research of academia already available, I try to make education and leadership accessible to the common person. A core value I hold dictates that the responsibility to disseminate knowledge into the community is held with the individual attaining it. The ideas of education and leadership should not be elitist but readily available to the whole of the community. These ideas have been opportunities for me to be creative, strengthen community, and responsibly organize and contribute to educational institutions.
Within my Coast Salish community there is a metaphor that exacts the idea that Native people walk in two worlds. The first world is the cultural and traditional knowledge of indigenous affiliation. An example of this knowledge is a teaching I received as a young person. It prescribes that balance is a necessity of life and everyone has a specific role in the community to maintain it. The second world in the metaphor is the non-Native society. This world can be described as being individualistic and competitive in nature. The ‘walking in two worlds’ metaphor denotes the idea of two worlds coming together in a manner that an individual has to learn how to exist in both. I have honed my ideas and experiences in education and leadership by drawing inspiration from this metaphor. It is my resolve to draw the two worlds closer and have each exist comfortably together so neither world gives up its identity or degrades the other. This can be described as cultural brokering. As a cultural broker I see myself as a person who can successfully translate the wisdoms of the two worlds through a deep understanding of both. The attainment of education is one avenue where the Native community has been able to bring the worlds to a closer existence. I believe my further education, in both worlds, will lead me to clearly define and culturally broker the best knowledge of the two communities.
As a student leader I was acknowledged as a founder of the Ethnic Student Center of Western Washington University which opened its doors in 1991. What warranted the acknowledgement for the student leaders of that era was the ethic they held toward bringing their home communities to campus: Walking in two worlds. As students of the institution and our cultural backgrounds, it was vital to the process of creating the center that both were equally honored. While we did open a center, not one person could foresee the resonating cultural force the center would come to represent. Since then I have progressed from student to administrator, serving in the professional role for the past eight years. The mission of the Ethnic Student Center is to provide a safe and supportive environment for historically underrepresented groups and allies while providing cultural and educational programs. I hold this mission as a very personal quest to assist in Western’s institutional growth. Additionally, the Ethnic Student Center has served as an outstanding examination into education and leadership providing me excellent preparation for graduate study.
In regard to additional relevant experience, in the last year I have had the opportunity to work with a nationwide initiative generated by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation entitled Kellogg Leadership for Community Change (KLCC). The focus of the initiative is to stimulate shared leadership within the community. Shared leadership can be characterized as the opportunity where all community members are considered in the decision making process. Specifically KLCC hopes the implementation of shared leadership can lead to intergenerational partnerships that advance just communities. An intergenerational partnership is the idea of working across generations to create change and improvement within the community. Although seemingly simplistic, it is easy to observe within the power structures of society that there is a clear disconnect between youth, adults, and elders in any decision making process. As I have studied the idea of shared leadership and intergenerational partnership I have realized that higher education can and must play a particular role. As educators we whisk students through the educational system. However, this is a crucial stage of development as these students are making a transition from youth to adulthood and entering professions. It is very critical that we impart during the educational process the idea of shared leadership and intergenerational collaboration. Doing so would help to address many of the frustrations citizens face in participating and owning local to international societal issues. In my work I strive to stimulate youth to develop leadership skills and find voice. In addition, I work with adults and elders to evaluate power that has traditionally been held by their respective groups. This work has been an exciting time that I feel would only be enhanced in my studies with the EDLPS program.
Although my experience is limited, I have a strong interest in studying the ideas behind problem-based learning. My thirst for research into problem-based learning is in its similarities to my experiences in service learning and experiential education. Serving on the board for the Center for Service Learning at Northwest Indian College has allowed me to gain knowledge about the growing pedagogy of service learning. I was fortunate to assist in coordinating the Summit on Indigenous Service Learning. The focus of the gathering stressed the need for academia and community partners to have a strong understanding of the community of which they want to serve. Service learning provides a student to take academic coursework and apply it to a practical learning experience that meets a real community need. This speaks to another value that I hold deeply: Education is only valuable when applied to community betterment. Service learning greatly epitomizes my philosophy on this value. Similarly, experiential education allows an opportunity where an individual or a group grows through an experience (whether real or metaphoric exercise), typically characterized as ‘learning by doing.’ As a student and purveyor of student leadership development service learning and experiential education are styles that I frequently utilize to impart knowledge. Allowing individuals to utilize their relevant personal experience to analyze a situation is paramount to my way of thinking. Interestingly problem-based learning, service learning and experiential education allow for growth not only for the individual but also as a collective. I believe that every opportunity for collective growth strengthens community as a whole. In my work I constantly draw upon metaphor and use challenging, open-ended questions to help groups learn. This allows the recipient to personalize and invest in learning to analyze the problem and develop a solution. Following this process hopefully the student will reflect on the experience and apply critical analysis to solve larger systemic problems. Although the styles of problem-based learning, service learning and experiential education have been around for many years, they largely remain an unknown educational treasure to the general community. There are many avenues that communities can help themselves grow through the use of these tools. A focus my graduate studies will examine and develop processes to facilitate the dissemination of these pedagogies into the community.
Ya’e tenges is a Lummi language phrase that roughly translates into ‘take me along with you’ or ‘we go together.’ It is a phrase that is typically used when one is requesting mentorship from another. Additionally, it can be used where an individual regards his personal work as the work of the whole community. A more contemporary description phrase would be ‘working for the people.’ I thought of the phrase ‘Ya’e tenges’ from my language after reviewing the Graduate Program in Higher Education Handbook. Particularly resonating for me was bullet two of the program’s mission:
Like all of education, leadership in a college or university is a moral endeavor that requires leaders to consider the larger implications of their work within the context of broader social challenges and dilemmas. (GPHE, pg. 5)
To my way of thinking, to fulfill this mission is to ya’e tenges, to be concerned for the greater good even while acting alone. I have been very fortunate with the opportunities presented to me in my life and career. I have progressed along the educational field and have defined a lot of my own innovations along the way. Consequently, these experiences have prepared me to embark on to my next plateau. I am at a point where I should move to another level of educational leadership. This would allow me the opportunity to set a beneficial tone for the educational community. My short term goal is to join an institution as faculty to create an academic program with a strong emphasis on practical student leadership development. In addition, I have a future goal of developing an educational institution that would strongly support my philosophies in educational equity, cultural brokering, intergenerational shared leadership, problem-based learning, service learning, and experiential education. It is my hope that such an institution would serve as a model and catalyst to improve the education field. Much of the coursework in my desired degree would greatly enhance this possibility. Since I have similar interests, I look forward to studying and contributing to the courses required for completion of the doctoral degree. In critically examining the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Graduate Program in Higher Education I have determined that the program would be an obvious choice in my progression toward my set goals.
Monday, March 19, 2007
The Letter
Well, here's the good news. I've been accepted to the University of Washington Graduate School to study in the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies program. At completion I will have attained an Educational Doctorate (EdD)degree!
Dr. Michael Vendiola... Wow!
About the title of this post, "The Letter", my buddy Earl Martin told me the old school method of knowing whether you were accepted to the program from his era was that if you get the "heavy envelope" you are in. And, if you didn't get in the program you'd get the "light envelope". But it was confirmed later that way of knowing was no longer accurate. So I was really stressed when I got the letter in the mail and it was neither heavy nor light and there was no model of judging. So, for those aspiring to get into the program, I don't know what to tell you. I was pleased to just to be getting a letter from the Graduate Admissions office. Coming next, the accepted admissions essay!
Dr. Michael Vendiola... Wow!
About the title of this post, "The Letter", my buddy Earl Martin told me the old school method of knowing whether you were accepted to the program from his era was that if you get the "heavy envelope" you are in. And, if you didn't get in the program you'd get the "light envelope". But it was confirmed later that way of knowing was no longer accurate. So I was really stressed when I got the letter in the mail and it was neither heavy nor light and there was no model of judging. So, for those aspiring to get into the program, I don't know what to tell you. I was pleased to just to be getting a letter from the Graduate Admissions office. Coming next, the accepted admissions essay!
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