Too Many Hands in the Cookie Jar

32 years ago (1978), education in California began its rapid decline to the national doldrums of education, left without climbing instruments. I would argue that the majority of Californians would agree with me, when I say education should be funded by public funds. I would also argue that Californians would truly get behind funding education through a way that is balanced. I see California as failing its citizenry and the citizenry is failing California. Unless we stand together and embrace reality, we will continue to fail ourselves. Nothing ventured, will be nothing gained. If it meant making that hard decision of taxation, then I say tax.

Two years ago, there was a small grassroots movement attempting to put this issue on the ballot, unfortunately they were unsuccessful. While at the same time, there was an Assembly Bill (AB) 2372—2008 which failed to make any headway within the state senate. Both proposals shared the same idea, which was to create a 1% tax on the first million dollars an individual earns; which would earn a reported 2 billion dollars for education (AB 2372, page 4). I believe all is fair in taxation (e.g. no taxation without representation), if every Californian, between 25—64 years of age donated $20 dollars at tax time; multiplied by 20 million people (roughly), we would generate $400 million dollars for education. Bringing the total to 2.4 billion just for education, if this were to be put in place along with revamping our property tax laws to help get back to the golden age of responsively educating our citizenry, then we would climb out of the doldrums. According to the California Post-secondary Education Commission (CPEC), for every one dollar spent on higher education, we see 3 dollars in (http://www.cpec.ca.gov/). I find it necessary for the leaders of California to cross party lines (against their constituency), so California can become self-sustaining, once again. This would require participatory leadership at all levels, from the voter to the governors office. According to Ralph Brody, in Effectively Managing human Service Organizations, participative leadership, is when a leader’s presents an idea and invites feedback, but retain final decision making authority. Also, they want their employees to suggest alternative solutions (R. Brody, p. 4).

When addressing California, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger pointed to the problem and said there is a need for change in the law. "What does it say about a state that focuses more on prison uniforms than caps and gowns?" Governor Schwarzenegger said. "The priorities have become out of whack…Thirty years ago, 10% of the general fund went to higher education and 3% went to prisons. Today, almost 11% goes to prisons and only 7.5% goes to higher education." (http://realcostofprisons.org/blog) Charles B. Reed, chancellor of the 23-campus Cal State system, acknowledged that gaining approval for the measure would require "heavy lifting," but said he thought it ultimately could win favor with the Legislature and voters." It's a step to begin to change the culture of California back to investing in California's future rather than just paying expenses for California's failures," Reed said (http://realcostofprisons.org/blog). Education is a part of our society’s foundation, which holds tremendous value not only economically, but socially. Life is a continuous journey of experiences that hold lessons for all generations, and it’s just as important to have a balanced source of education as it is for it to be available.

Steve Boilard, Director of Higher Education issues in the Legislative Analyst's Office, questioned the proposed link between higher education and prisons, even if it might appeal to voters." Its apples and oranges," he said of universities and prisons. "Why should state spending on higher education be determined on how much we save on prison reform http://realcostofprisons.org/blog?” President Mark G. Yudof, president of the 10-campus UC system, said he did not know whether it was politically wise to link university and prison funding. But he hailed the governor's plan as "a very useful opening salvo" to restore higher education funding http://realcostofprisons.org/blog. This would mean a real change in the system and how money is divided. We could do way with the “general fund cookie jar” and create separate jars for separate needs, with independent or oversight committees monitoring the expenditures. Because we all know what happens when there are too many hands in the cookie jar, nothing but crumbs are left.

Partnering with the Youth--Part 2

Culturally responsive and relevant after school/summer programs for Native youth in Humboldt County are not prevalent, considering that Humboldt County has the largest Native American population in California, I see that as an issue. While being a service provider for Native youth in Humboldt County, I have be a part of conversations regarding the lack of culturally relevant and responsive curriculum's within the mainstream education, and after school programs. By providing educational opportunities after school and during the summer, specifically for Native youth that are designed to enhance their self identity, community, and educational journey within the mainstream schools. Many now agree that the traditional school day and calendar alone are not enough to produce continuous learning improvements and, as a result, believe that expanding the school day and the school year is a promising solution to support student success (1). But what does that expansion look like? Currently, there are several school-based and school-linked models being implemented and tested, all of which include schools as a core component of a larger education strategy(1).

Approaches to expanded learning

Afterschool programs: structured programs in out-of-school time that coordinate with schools and provide children and youth supervised and safe activities designed to promote learning across time, contexts, and developmental stages.

Summer learning programs: structured programs and enrichment activities designed to supplement academic learning and promote enrichment opportunities during the nonschool summer months.

Extended day and year schools: school models that expand the traditional school day and calendar in order to balance the core curriculum with enrichment opportunities, often including afterschool programs.

Community schools: comprehensive public schools that provide a range of services and supports for children, youth, and families across the day and throughout the year.

School–community networks: intentional connections between schools and community organizations for the purpose of promoting and supporting students’ learning needs.

Online learning: virtual courses and out-of-school time programs that utilize the Internet and digital media to provide learning to students across time, geographic boundaries, and contexts (2).

The vision of Untied Indian Youth Council (UIYC) was created to be a branch of Two Feathers Native American Family Services (Two Feathers) that provides an outdoor adventure based education and therapeutic program; with the goal providing preventive and supportive services for youth and families. UIYC after school program will offer multiple levels learning for all school age children. There will be culturally relevant activities such as; art and song, regalia classes, and story-telling that specifically relate to ceremonies and seasons throughout the year. These types of components will provide all Native youth the opportunity to connect with their community, natural environment, and cultural identity with the goal of building personal strength, self confidence and a better sense of self. Another aspect of UIYC will be academic support services, Native youth/peer mentoring, and life skills classes, as well as Narrative Family Conferencing facilitated by culturally responsive counselors. Jeffries and Singer put forth evidence that supports why it has been difficult for American Indian/Alaska Native students to complete their educational journey. They have illustrated that “alternative schools offer a wide variety of ways in which nontraditional students can become or stay connected to education” (Jeffries et al, 2003 p.43). To ensure that UIYC program relates to the Native youth and their culture, the after school program will provide (1) Native American Indian youth development—culturally empowering the youth to gain a sense of self worth by engaging in cultural specific traditions with Tribal Elders. (2) Cultural Relevant Activities—Tribal specific practices i.e. ceremonial dances, songs, story telling, basket making, river restoration, and etc. (3) Culturally Responsive program facilitators—Tribal elders and/or educators with an understanding of American Indian needs and concerns, traditions, and culture. (4) Native American Youth Mentors—Native American peer mentors of high school and college age. All of these aspects will provide the Native youth with support and guidance as they take on life’s challenges.

Children benefit from positive connections to parents, peers, the community, and other societal institutions. The good news is that connections can be compounding; that is, connections may foster developing relationships in other contexts and participating in structured activities. Of course, causality probably goes in both directions, from family to community as well as from community to family(3).

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1 Little, Priscilla M. Supporting Student Outcomes: Through Expanded Learning Opportunities President and Fellows of Harvard College Harvard Family Research Project. Harvard Graduate School of Education. Cambridge, MA 2009

2 Malone, H., Weiss, H., & Little, P. Rethinking time and learning; in press at Harvard Family Research Project. Cambridge, MA

3 Wilkenfeld, B., Moore, Kristin Anderson, and Lippman, Laura Neighborhood Support and Children’s Connectednes. Washington, DC February 2008 www.childtrends.org (accessed February 2010)

All Things Subjective: Challenging to being Objective

It is my understanding that the nature of social world is driven by interpretations of the words used, to the interventions social workers practice. Every individual is formed by their ecological systems (Urie Bronfenbrenner) also known as social environment, or the nature/nurture, whether it influences ones thought process or emotional responses creating a paradigm where subjectivity influence too many of an individual's choices. From ones spirituality, life experiences or education; therefore, objectivity is truly a challenging state of being, but obtainable.

The First Draft of the Moral Mind—“The initial organization of the brain does not rely that much on experience…Nature provides a first draft, which experience then revises…’Built-in does not mean un-malleable; it means organized in advance of experience.” (Gary Marcus, 2004) for more information, please follow this video link

http://www.ted.com/talks/jonathan_haidt_on_the_moral_mind.html

As I look to practice social work, I will draw from the knowledge, experiences, and lessons lived by my kin (family & friends past, present and future) without realizing it; because my subconscious instinctively takes charge. Taking into account the need to be culturally responsive to another individual, family, or community is imperative to all things within the profession of social work. Before a social worker begins to facilitate the helping and healing process with clients (,individual, family or community) it is my belief to first ask oneself; what is influencing the intervention and is it in sync with the client's values and cultural beliefs?
Before I try to answer this question, I first must understand the difference between cultural competency and cultural responsiveness. Secondly, to better understand what resources are available and responsive to a particular client. Thirdly, help facilitate and action plan that encompasses all things the consumer believes is in their best interest and supportive to their helping and healing process.

Cultural Competency vs. Cultural Responsiveness

Throughout the past 5 years, I have been a member of the Humboldt State University student-body and during this time, I have taken part of discussions and working partnerships which have framed the idea of achieving "culturally competency." I believe that a person (like myself), who is a white male cannot achieve cultural competency outside my own culture. Also, I believe the assumption of achieving cultural competency sets the stage for a divided discourse between individuals, communities, and cultures. I have come to realize this with the help from my field-placement supervisors (Yurok Tribe Social Services, Two Feathers Native American Family Services, and Humboldt County government agencies), professors, and professional peers who are Native American; thank you for being wonderful teachers.