What could have easily been presented as an earnest and heartfelt suggestion for education reform has come across as a terribly naïve and hurtful diatribe, pointing the finger at (who else?) those pesky, ignorant teachers.

Although I have not a single aspiration to become a lawyer, doctor, accountant, or work in any other profession Ms. McGuigan deems worthy of esteem, I still foolishly consider myself to be “bright and hard-working.”  I’m also smart enough not to expect everyone to carry my perspective on education. However, unlike Ann, I don’t believe that composing a negatively-worded and judgmental letter is going to spark the progressive overhaul that’s desperately needed in American public schooling.

While I won’t argue that I didn’t have any of my own personal frustrations with the banality of some of my education courses, I would be lying if I didn’t say I felt inspired and challenged with others. That being said, I have the sneaking suspicion that I would have felt that way regardless of what I was studying.

If anybody expects to go to college for four years and graduate an expert in their field, they are presented with a massive reality check before too long. I didn’t register for classes under the impression that I was about to receive a neatly wrapped tool kit on how to be a fantastic teacher. During the process of my residency, I learned and grew more in a day of teaching than in my years as a student. Rather than curse what you consider my poor education, I quickly realized that there is no reasonable way in which a four-year program can prepare someone for the reality of being an educator, and it’s ignorant to write a shamelessly critical epistle when you fail to recognize the fact that the majority of how someone learns to teach happens when they’re actually standing in front of a classroom.

While there are, of course, crucial topics that need to be addressed, discussed, and introduced during the undergrad experience, teaching happens to be a vocation where the most knowledge comes from experience and on-the-job training. A cynical outsider can argue that we are sending woefully unprepared teachers into the hot seat. Fortunately most educators (who consider themselves to be lifelong learners) understand that with every class and every year there will be growing pains and opportunities to change.

I’m happy this letter has opened up a dialogue about a critical issue, but it bothers me that it has done so because of its biting tone. As an instructional assistant and a soon-to-be teacher, I hope the flippant way the author demeans the very people who care the most about students is something that can stay out of future discourse.

I am eternally grateful for the “slackers, idiots, and crazies” who have chosen to devote their lives to educating us Wyoming idiots. As an aspiring teacher, I can’t wait to take my unrelenting optimism and continue to believe I’m actually in a position to make a difference in a part of the world. I understand that in doing so, I run the risk of being judged by the large handful of people like Ann, who’ve got it all figured out and will continue to dish out advice lined with hurtful stereotypes.  That little slice of reality doesn’t bother me so much, but that’s probably because I’m a future teacher…I hear they’re not so bright.

Branding Iron

More Posts - Facebook - YouTube

The police dogs, cattle prods and brutality toward King and other marchers is remembered each year on Martin Luther King day, or the third Monday in January. What some do not remember are King’s latter years that fill the gap between when Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1965 that strengthened existing anti-discrimination laws including those concerning voting rights, and 1968, the year King was assassinated.

After winning rights for blacks across the nation, it sometimes is assumed that King was done campaigning. In fact, however, after the victory for civil rights, King started focusing on class based issues in America.

According to Aimee Glocke, a professor in the African American Diaspora and co-chairwoman for Days of Dialogue, King went through an ideological change in his later years leading up to when he was assassinated.

In the time between his civil rights campaign and his assassination, King gave a speech on the Vietnam War, and was involved with the Poor People’s Campaign and a sanitation strike in Memphis.

In his speech, “Beyond Vietnam,” King criticized the American government saying that the U.S. was “the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today.”

King applied these criticisms of the Vietnam War to a critique of the U.S. foreign policy in the 1970s. According to FAIR, a national media watch group, “King said, the U.S. was ‘on the wrong side of a world revolution.’ King questioned ‘our alliance with the landed gentry of Latin America,’ and asked why the U.S. was suppressing revolutions ‘of the shirtless and barefoot people’ in the Third World, instead of supporting them.”

One of King’s largest projects came about in his last years. Titled the Poor People’s Campaign, his intention was to have a multi-cultural mass of poor people descend on Washington D.C. and set up tents.

The goal of this campaign was to have congress pass anti-poverty legislation. Along his journey of recruiting, Dr. King made a fatal stop in Memphis.

Dr. King’s visit to Memphis was in support of a local sanitation strike. T. O. Jones, according to The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture, started the strike. Jones was a sanitation worker who was fired for his union activities.

King aligned himself with the workers’ mission to address the issue of their poverty and the unfair treatment they were receiving.

According to the same source, “40 percent of [the workers] qualified for welfare to supplement their meager salaries. They received virtually no health care benefits, pensions, or vacations, worked in filthy conditions, and lacked such simple amenities as a place to eat and shower.”

Glocke added that, even today, sanitation plays an important role in society’s infrastructure. If a city were left for weeks without any garbage being picked up it would be devastating.

King thought the plight of these workers also aligned well with his Poor People’s Campaign. Unfortunately, King never made it to Washington, D.C. to see the tent city that he had been such a big part of organizing because he was assassinated on the evening of April 4, 1968.

Email: Davis Bonner

Branding Iron

More Posts - Facebook - YouTube

Sunshine grabs a football and throws it 60-some yards and hits the formerly-racist-but-now-accepting-of-his-black-teammates linebacker Gerry Bertier in the shoulder pads.

I hear this is how Austyn Carta-Samuels’ brief two-year career began at the University of Wyoming. That’s of course leaving out the fact that we already had a quarterback, because all we had was Dax Crum. Also, Carta-Samuels best attribute as a signal-caller was not his arm; it was his ability to use his legs. I won’t go as far as to say he throws like a girl, because that’s a third grade insult, but I will say that he throws like he’s from California. (Nor am I suggesting that the Cowboys had any sort of racial divide like in that movie, just to clear that up)

I guess the only thing that makes sense about this analogy is the blond haired kid from California.

Last year I saw an absolutely poignant photo of the football star someone caught while shooting a basketball game. Carta-Samuels, sporting a tight, white polo shirt with the collar popped up ever so stylishly, wearing a backwards LA Dodgers hat with his arm around some young lady right in the front row of the AA – like he thought he was LeBron or something.

I guess I’m not surprised he left, I’m just surprised there wasn’t a one-hour special on The Mtn., where he proclaimed that he was “Taking his talents to South Beach.”

The first way our program is going to get any better is if Christensen can build a recruiting base over a few years. In the months since the Cowboys finished their season, that hasn’t exactly happened.

Strong safety Shamiel Gary, kicker Ian Watts, wide receiver David Tooley, and, of course, the ‘Magna’ Carta-Samuels have all left the program.

Aside from “Remember the Titans” analogies, perhaps the other thing that the exit of Carta-Samuels brings to mind is similar exits of players from the Cowboy basketball team during the past few years. Scholarship players have bolted from the hoops team like it was going out of style in the years since Heath Schroyer has been coach.

Apparently, it’s becoming an epidemic in the likes of overrated athletic programs on this campus, i.e. football and basketball.

I understand the desire to leave a place like Laramie, especially in mid-January. California sounds really nice this time of year. On top of the ruthless, frigid weather, I couldn’t imagine playing for the Cowboys, it’s hard enough to watch them.

Not that anyone cares, but I also don’t believe he can be viewed as a highly desired prospect. There are deceiving statistics that might make teams think so, but all you have to do is watch him play.

He threw for 3,655 yards and 19 touchdowns with only 13 interceptions in two seasons, and he rushed for 758 yards and six touchdowns. The Cowboys won nine games and lost 13 that he started.

I don’t see him as a quarterback that can sustain drives, and I don’t believe that he’s anything more than a high school-style, running quarterback that is entirely too hesitant to throw the football sometimes.

Yes, he played a tough schedule both years that he was here. Yes, his receiving core and offensive line wasn’t outstanding. But the one thing I always wanted to see, and never did, was a big upset win from the guy.

In the past two years, Wyoming played No. 2 Texas (eventual BCS national runner up), BYU, TCU and Utah in 2009 when they were all very good teams, No. 3 Boise State this year, and another run against TCU and Utah this year. TCU won the Rose Bowl and Utah was ranked all season.

There’s no question that this schedule was quite formidable, but here are a few more stats that stick out to me.

Of his nine wins, not one came against a ranked opponent, and the combined record of the teams that the Cowboys defeated in the last two years with Carta-Samuels under center (all but two) is 43-66. Six of those points came from 1-AA Independent Southern Utah, which Wyoming beat 28-20 this year at home, and Wyoming’s combined margin of victory in seven of Carta-Samuels’ nine wins was 26 points. It’s largest margin of victory in that stretch was eight points.

The two wins not included in that stretch were against CSU this year when the Cowboys won 44-0, and their 2009 win over New Mexico 37-13. By the way, New Mexico has had two straight 1-11 seasons, with it’s one win this year coming against Carta-Samuels and the Cowboys.

It’s not that he didn’t do some good things as a true freshman, but that bowl run still seems to me as six wins against teams the Cowboys were supposed to beat. It was the same story this year. Three wins against teams we were supposed to beat – and not a single other win for that matter.

Did you ever notice how NFL teams switch quarterbacks after three losses even if it’s not the quarterback’s fault sometimes? I think Cowboy fans can view this as that sort of shift – even if it wasn’t a decision made by the coaching staff.

Sure, it’s obviously harsh to blame all this on one kid from California, but I’ll be the first to say I’m not devastated by his departure.

Later bro’, hang ten.

Branding Iron

More Posts - Facebook - YouTube

The group was founded three years ago by a group of women in Bernardo, California. It is an ecumenical ministry, meaning all faiths are open to join, where people come together and create quilts for people who are going through life-changing events, Pastor Marilyn Engstrom said.

These events range from a cancer diagnosis to surgery to the birth of a baby. The group designs a quilt for the individual while taking into consideration colors and interests that person may enjoy.

They then hand-tie the quilt. “With each knot a prayer is said,” Engstrom said.

12 to 20 people create the quilt, and many come from different church denominations.

A few years ago, a member of the ministry wanted to make a quilt for a soldier but knew that a quilt was too large for the soldier to take. Instead, Prayers and Squares made a single quilt square for the soldier, Engstrom said.

Members of his unit thought the square was a great idea and word got back to the group.

Since then, Prayers and Squares have made over 6,000 quilt squares for men and women in the military. Each has a special note on the square, such as, “We love and appreciate you. As you carry this prayer square, may you be reminded that you are never alone. We pray for your protection and that God gives you peace and brings you home safely.”

Many of the squares are carried in soldiers’ pockets and on helmets.

Groups like Engineers Without Borders and UW nursing students who have traveled to other countries have also received squares. These squares are brown and gold, while the soldier prayer squares are red, white and blue.

The popularity of Prayers and Squares has also grown to include a Junior Prayers and Square ministry.

It started when a group of grade school girls came in during the summer to volunteer.

“It’s become an after school program,” Engstrom said. This group includes students from late elementary to junior high. They have started designing their own quilts that are given to teachers and fellow classmates in need.

Recently, Prayers and Squares received a grant from the Episcopal Diocese of Wyoming to continue growing the ministry. With the grant, five new sewing machines and other equipment was added.

Anyone interested in volunteering with Prayers and Squares can attend meetings that are held from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Tuesdays in the Gild Room at Hunter Hall at 104 South Fourth Street.

Branding Iron

More Posts - Facebook - YouTube

Over the past several years, the economic recession has created hard times for everyone, but despite the concerns, the University of Wyoming’s Foundation has stayed strong in the numbers of donations it has received.

Through the generosity of alumni, corporations, friends of the university, and other foundations, UW’s Foundation over the past few years has been able to continually receive a little more than $30 million on average per year in private support.

Appointed by the University Board of Trustees to raise, receive and manage private gifts to maximize support for UW, the Foundation’s average yearly donations have exceeded any previous period.

The money, which supports the university’s infrastructure, students, faculty positions and many other programs, is a vast improvement from a decade ago when the Foundation was averaging only $10 million dollars per year.

“Private giving has escalated dramatically at the university over the past decade,”

Ben Blalock, president of the Foundation, said, “The University of Wyoming has remained strong in the hearts and minds of our alumni and friends.”

Though the economic downturn has had an effect on the fundraising effort, the dollar totals have remained much stronger over the last few years than estimated.

Blalock believes a major reason for this steady level of donations is due to the fortunate position of the school—in a state where the economy has remained reasonably strong.

With the average number of donors to the school numbering around 24,000 annually, the university is always striving for continuous improvement despite its surprising stability.

An independent, nonprofit corporation with a Board of Directors comprised of 36 members that has been part of the university for more than 48 years, the Foundation fits a specific niche that helps fund many specific projects on campus.

“Donors tell us how they want their dollars to be designated and then we send those dollars over to the University of Wyoming so they end up in the hands of students and support faculty positions, and other programs,” Blalock said.

The contributions of the Foundation to the university’s overall budget are a single digit percentage, but Blalock believes that the foundation contributes to a margin of excellence at UW. 

“When it comes to extra dollars to strengthen faculty positions, to do more in facilities, when it comes to strengthening scholarships funds, many times those extra dollars come through private gifts,” Blalock said.

The Foundation also invests the private assets short-term so they can be spent when the need is there for the university, or depending on how the donor has designated them. 

of a bank for the University of Wyoming. We receive gifts, we invest those dollars, we account for the dollars, we follow up with donors so they have a record how their dollars are being used,” Blalock said.

Other dollars are for endowment purposes, which are invested in a long-term investment strategy so they can grow.

The foundation also has many fundraising programs that are aimed toward alumni and corporations in an effort to seek their contributions.

Work is also done with other foundations that are set up to make contributions that are for philanthropic, potentially to UW.

According to Blalock, the larger gifts come through personal meetings that the foundation has with companies and individuals; from talking to them about making a difference at UW, and provide them the opportunity to direct dollars to the university from proposals the foundation creates.

The Foundation is also response to the donors’ potential interests. 

“The major giving conversations is very much a key part of what we do here,” Blalock said.

And as the university shows more success in all areas of academics, research, and athletics, the more donors and dollars it draws in.

Individuals see the momentum at the university and are more likely to want to donate to keep it going, Blalock said.

Email: Max D’Onofrio 

codyconnor

More Posts

I know what it feels like to live in one of those northern sports cities like Minneapolis or Detroit, or even a little less northern, Cleveland. I go to school in Laramie, a place where the sports are, at times, as hard to deal with as the painfully cold climate.

It’s far less dramatic in Laramie than in places like Cleveland; Wyoming doesn’t have a LeBron James who left us in great disappointment and anger to a much warmer, more glamorous place like Miami. Something like that could have happened if Dave Christensen would have had the possibility to leave for Arizona State this upcoming offseason. Ten wins in two seasons and a 3-8 record this year doesn’t really build a firm stepping stone to lift your coaching leg into the Pac 10 though. 

Sorry Dave, guess you will have to wait one more year to construct your stairs made out of Cowboy football. Good luck in the WAC next year—I mean MWC; I’m sorry, I got the letters mixed up after TCU left this week.

If you have picked up this publication any time in the last two or three years, you probably know my stance when it comes to Cowboy athletics. I’m highly skeptical, bitter and brazenly sarcastic to a point of unkindness. This disposition, however, does not come from a hate for Cowboy sports.

When I was a kid, well actually I’m still a kid now, a 22-year-old about to graduate but still very much an immature college student. Personality analysis aside, before college (not sure what age, somewhere between whippersnapper and delinquent) when I was shorter than I was now and didn’t have to shave as often, I attended Wyoming football games as a wide-eyed Brown and Gold-loving Cowboy fan.

I loved watching the underdog Cowboys beat the hell out of Utah with nothing but scrappy defense and what could best be described as hard-nosed Cowboy football.  I would go with my dad and little brother and it didn’t matter that it was freezing cold; it was the atmosphere and experience that made you enjoy the game no matter if they won or lost.

Since then, in the four years I paid to go to school year and attend the games occasionally, my outlook has changed. I’m still a fan, but those aforementioned words like skeptical, sarcastic, and even bitter seem to dominate my perspective.

Whether it’s the fans, the players, or just the oversized, flamboyant whoa “Black Betty” megatron scoreboard, I just don’t feel the same attachment to Cowboy football. Concerning the scoreboard, there are other songs besides “Cotton Eyed Joe” and whatever is playing in the Parlor at the Buck this weekend. You would think that all of the old Cowboy Joe Clubbers would have remixed the Cowboy playlist and turned down the volume a bit by now.

Students are wasted when they go to the games, I will not say if this is or is not my strategy of attending and coping with games, but it is an apparent part of the stadium atmosphere. This year, myself and 11 other guys rented an RV and drove down to Austin, Texas to the Cowboys-Longhorns game. Aside from it being the coolest thing I’ve ever done in my life–12 dudes in an RV for a 22-hour drive to Austin plus some beer is self-explanatory when it comes to coolness—the football game taught me what college football really is; college football in the south. 

Guys wore collared shirts to the game and the girls dressed up too. People cheered for the team, staying for the whole game without puking down the front of themselves and being dragged out by their flat-billed hat by a cop.

Sure, I’m aware that I sacrificed the privilege of attending football games like this when I decided to pay less than $5,000 a year to go to college. However, there is an unacceptable excess of flat-billed puking in the stands at War Memorial Stadium. 

There is nothing uglier than a yellow flat billed hat; “307” on the front in brown letters, just to make sure that nice Colorado girl knows not to answer the first three digits of the phone number that appears on her phone from out of state because “Oh, it’s that drunk Wyoming jackass that was falling all over himself at the game.”

The yellow is supposed to be Brown and Gold, but somehow each week Cowboy uniforms drift closer to Brown and Yellow—a wonderful color combination in every way (There’s some of that sarcasm I mentioned earlier)

Before I made some comment about Christensen using Wyoming as a stepping stone, this is purely speculation. However, if he stays here too long he could slowly turn into Joe Glenn and, as a combination of the poor performance of his players and the cold wind of Laramie, completely erode his football soul. 

Call all this four years of frustration with the culture of Cowboy football vented. 

Do I feel better? No, not really, because Cowboy basketball season is just getting started.

Email: Brad Estes  

codyconnor

More Posts

Over the next few years, the university will be evaluating the requirements for USP 2003 in an effort to streamline the process for students and limit the complexity of the requirements.

Every semester, students evaluate their current UW standing and plan their schedule to fulfill the USP requirements for graduation. These requirements include writing requirements, oral communication, science, U.S. and Wyoming constitutions, U.S. diversity and several others.

“The purpose is to make sure that students who come in and pursue a major in a particular field have some breadth in some other areas and also have some of the intellectual equipment to survive in the professional world; some quantitative reasoning skills, some writing skills, some oral communication skills,” Myron Allen, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs at UW, said. 

Allen said that he has no preconceived notions of what the assessment will bring, but knows making the requirements less complicated and less restraining could help many students.

“In principle, we could take a look at it and say it is working just great, but I suspect that we will take a look at it decided that we might want to streamline it, or make it simpler anyway,” Allen said, “It seems like it is just complex enough that some students, and some of their advisors, have trouble figuring out how the students are going to satisfy the requirements.”  

Allen also noted that the goal of simplicity also helps maintain consistency with the faculty’s commitment to teach. 

Branding Iron

More Posts - Facebook - YouTube

On Monday evening in the Classroom Building, Jack Goldstone, the Virginia E. and John T. Hazel Professor of Public Policy at George Mason University, explained about the major population changes that are happening now and the effects they will have on the economy and security in the future.

“Students will be looking for jobs and living in a world that is very different from the one we have lived in for the last 20 years, so they need to know,” Goldstone said.

His speech was based on his essay, “The New Population Bomb: Four Mega-Trends That Will Change the World,” which was the lead story in the January/February 2010 issue of Foreign Affairs. 

Goldstone believes that the four major trends will change the world. They include large emerging markets in the world economy from currently developing economies, aging and shrinking workforces in developed countries, the impact of the huge population in the Islamic countries and their understanding of the world, and the new face of the developing urban world instead of a rural world.

Goldstone used current and predicted population trends to support his arguments. 

In his arguments, Goldstone said all of the growth of the global labor force will be in developing countries in the coming years, and the growth of labor force in the U.S. will be a fraction of what it is now.

He also said over the next 40 years in the U.S., the number of people who are 60+ and working will increase more than people working from age 15-59, and that 89 percent of children under 15 are growing up in developing countries, mostly in traditionally Muslim countries.

“I have worked on the consequences of population change for political stability and economic growth for my whole career, usually in historical cases, but now I am looking towards our future,” Goldstone said.

While here, Goldstone also participated in some undergraduate classroom lectures in addition to his larger lecture Monday.

Goldstone has been on the faculty at Northwestern University and the University of California-Davis and has been a visiting scholar at Cambridge University and Caltech.  

He has written over 100 research articles and is the author or editor of 10 books. 

He has also been a consultant for the U.S. State Department, the FBI, and the Agency for International Development, helping to devise measures and strategies to cope with failing and failed states. 

Goldstone also led a National Academy of Sciences study of United States Agency for International Development democracy assistance programs and ways to evaluate their impact.

He has been a fellow of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences and received grants from the MacArthur Foundation.

His current research focuses on the conditions for building democracy and stability in developing nations, the impact of population change on the global economy, international security, and the cultural origins of modern economic growth.

Goldstone came to UW as part of Phi Beta Kappa’s Visiting Scholar Program, which gives universities with Phi Beta Kappa chapters the opportunity to bring about a dozen distinguished scholars to their schools.

The men and women participating during 2010-2011 will visit 63 colleges and universities, spending two days at each one, meeting informally with students and faculty members, taking part in classroom discussions, and giving a public lecture. 

According to their website, Phi Beta Kappa celebrates and advocates excellence in the liberal arts and sciences. 

Its campus chapters invite for induction the most outstanding arts and sciences students at America’s leading colleges and universities. 

Phi Beta Kappa sponsors activities to advance studies of the humanities, the social sciences, and natural sciences in higher education and in society at large.

Co-sponsors for the speech included the History, Political Science and International Studies departments.

jsindt

More Posts

Cindy Hill

Cindy Hill, the Republican candidate for State Superintendent of Public Instruction, said believes she will improve her office by giving meaningful local control to school boards. Hill believes that by giving school boards the information they need to effectively manage what is happening in their schools, Wyoming will preserve local control by being able to appreciate the results of those efforts coming from the classrooms. “Having served as an educator for more than twenty years, I know how important it is to serve the students by focusing education on the classroom and not bureaucracy,” Hill said.  “Too many leaders seem to be more interested in growing the system instead of focusing on Wyoming’s teachers, parents, and students.” She said she does not believe in altering the block grant system where each school district gets to decide how their resources will be spent, but she does recommend utilizing four simple tools, or pieces of information, to collaborate with, not mandate, school boards and communities on how dollars are spent in their school districts to achieve better educational outcomes. 

These four tools are funding/spending, assessment tools, stakeholder feedback, and collaboration. 

 She believes that the biggest issue in the race is PAWS testing, which has generated a large amount of distrust of the Department of Education. 

Hill knows that assessments have always existed in education in one form or another, and that they are an essential ingredient for accountability. Though she does not dispute that there must be accountability in education, she said she believes that there are assessment tools that are timely, useful, and reduce the amount of time spent away from instruction.

“Testing is merely a tool—not the end to be served,” Hill said, “Stated differently, tests should serve us, we should not be serving the tests.”

Hill states that she is committed to ensuring that UW remain able to meet the needs of their students and in remaining flexible and responsive to the needs of those who will employ graduates of UW. 

She believes students should vote for her because she has the experience in public education that is necessary to perform the task at hand and ensure that the educational needs and outcomes of the students of the university are heard and met. 

“It is time to focus on each student and not growing government. I will work closely with the university to ensure that the results that professors, students, parents, and our communities are seeking are achieved,” Hill said, “As your Superintendent of Public Instruction, I will focus everyone back into the classroom.” 

According to Hill, for 24 years her focus has been on improving educational outcomes for students through instructional leadership, by listening to faculty, parents, and students, with the greatest respect for those on the front lines.

She believes that through her ardent and unwavering focus on students, she brings a unique set of skills and practical “in the trenches” experience in growing kids and improving schools. 

“Throughout my career, I have always been committed to growing each student who walks through the classroom door because I value the potential of every student,” Hill said.

Mike Massie

Mike Massie, the Democratic candidate for State Superintendent of Public Instruction, is clear on the campaign trail, that his one and only priority will be making sure that the children of Wyoming get a quality education.  “This is a key to success in our times,” Massie said, “A quality education fulfills the spirit on which our nation was founded by giving every student the ability to pursue life, liberty and happiness.”He believes that the biggest issue that he would face in office is ensuring that Wyoming’s children can get good jobs as a result of the education they receive. According to Massie, Wyoming is spending $1 billion per year on K-12 education, yet graduation rates are too low, the need for remedial work is too high, and third-grade reading proficiency is dropping.

To improve the quality of education, Massie says he will increase parental involvement in their children’s education and make sure that well-prepared teachers are spending as much time as possible teaching students. Course standards will be rigorous, and schools will offer a comprehensive selection of courses that include vocational education.“A quality education is like a sturdy stool, it has four legs and will serve you for a lifetime. The four sturdy legs of the education stool are parental involvement, good teachers, rigorous standards and a complete offering of courses,” Massie said. 

“As State Superintendent, I will pursue all of these.”

 Massie believes that the Wyoming Department of Education does not need to be bigger, just better at supporting parents, teachers and local school districts in achieving quality education.

If voted the next Superintendent of Public Instruction, he has vowed to work closely with UW, as a nonvoting member of the Board of Trustees, and with the College of Education, not only with teacher training, but also in developing and resources for existing teachers.

Massie believes that UW students should vote for him because he has a proven track record of effectively fighting for and collaborating to create programs like the Hathaway Scholarship Program.  

He has thirty years of experience in education and sixteen years of service in the legislature, along with serving on the Education Committee, acquiring a comprehensive understanding of Wyoming’s educational system and helping pass important legislation, such as the Hathaway Scholarship Program.

“I have helped pass other key educational legislation, including full-day kindergarten, full funding for special education, gifted and talented programs, vocational education classes, libraries, creation of the School Facilities Commission and higher salaries for educators,” Massie said.

Also while on the Appropriations Committee, Massie helped balance the state’s $8 billion budget, where he states he gained a great deal of knowledge about state budgeting and management.

Massie also touts that he has experience of seeing education from all sides, as a parent, an educator, an administrator, and a legislator, will help him make the right decisions, along with his presently work as a director of a private organization devoted to developmental preschools.  

“Through these experiences and those in the legislature, I have a demonstrated ability to work with diverse groups and bring them together to successfully achieve common goals,” Massie said.

Email : MAX D’ONOFRIO 

jsindt

More Posts

It has been 5 years. Houses have been rebuilt and formerly displaced families found their way back to the place where wind and water took everything from them. While New Orleans is not making headlines anymore—and some districts have been repaired—the Big Easy is still suffering.

 “When I first arrived, at a glance, the city looked new and restored. The further I moved away from the more tourist areas and got into the neighborhoods that had less money, it was a stark difference,” Becca Skinner, a social work major and artist, said. “Maybe 1 in 5 houses have been restored. When I left, after witnessing so many injustices to the residents there, my heart was really broken for these people.”

Skinner has traveled to many places across the U.S. to combine her two passions, photography and social justice. Her New Orleans trip was sponsored by the Campus Activities Council and the pictures she took will be on display in the exhibit “Ghosts of Katrina: Five Years Revisited,” which will be held Thursday in gallery 234, room 004 of the UW Union.

The exhibit is an account of Skinner’s journey in the affected areas and her experiences. “I really went all over the city. I spent a good amount of time in the Lower 9th Ward—a neighborhood that was severely affected by (Hurricane Katrina). I spent time here, because I wanted to talk to people who had lost their homes and I was hoping that people in the area were willing to talk about it with me,” she said.

These stories are a way for Skinner to understand the pain of the residents living in the still destroyed quarters, so that she can partake in bringing change to the region. “There were so many that lost their homes, were displaced and have had a tough time recovering from this,” she said. “I am excited to share the knowledge I learned down there, because the first step to change is knowledge.”

And along change, recognition is something that New Orleans’ residents desperately need. “I completely think that Katrina victims have been forgotten about. Unfortunately with time, people’s priorities have been shifted and the people of New Orleans have been put on the back burner. In all honesty, before this trip, I had forgotten,” Skinner said. “It’s important to photograph the 5 year difference because so much is still left to do. With toxic chemicals floating through houses and buildings and mold growing on walls, my immune system was pretty affected. But yet, children play around these buildings every single day and breathe in all of this terrible stuff—it shouldn’t be happening.”

Skinner’s contribution to bringing change comes through the exhibit. The pictures displayed will be able to be purchased and half the proceeds will be donated to the Make It Right foundation.

According to the foundation’s website, “More than 4,000 homes in New Orleans’ Lower 9th Ward were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.” Two years after the initial destruction, Hollywood actor Brad Pitt toured the city and the ward, which still lay in ruins. “He founded Make It Right to build 150 affordable, green storm resistant homes for families living in the Lower 9th Ward,” according to the website.

To get involved with Skinners cause, one can visit the exhibition, which will be accessible until Nov. 11, listen to the changes in culture and life she experienced during her talk on Friday at 4 p.m. at the Albany County Public Library or directly donate to the foundation.

For Skinner, her work is just the beginning. “There is still so much work that needs to be done and people that need to be reached. It’s far from being over,” she said. 

Email the author: ddemic@uwyo.edu 

jsindt

More Posts