The spring semester, in which schools across the country closed their doors and teachers pivoted to remote instruction on a dime, was challenging for everyone involved. But a new survey shows that teachers' sense of success dramatically declineda troubling sign, since many schools have started the new school year remotely, too.

But there is some good news: Teachers who had supportive school leadership were the least likely to experience a dip in their sense of success.

Researchersanalyzed data from working condition surveys that were taken by teachers in both the fall and spring semesters of last school year. The spring survey, which was taken between April 27 and June 23, focused on teaching during the coronavirus pandemic and yielded a sample of 7,841 teachers across 206 schools and nine states, including Illinois, Texas, and New York.

Researchers found that 53 percent of teachers reported a decline in their sense of success. Of those reporting a decline, a quarter reported a significant decrease.

"I think we need to really value teachers' own perceptions of their self-efficacy, because ultimately if a teacher doesn't feel successful, it's really unlikely they're going to be helping students meet the academic standards and achieve the type of success we're looking for on a day-to-day basis in classrooms," said Matthew Kraft, an associate professor of education and economics at Brown University and an author of the study.

Also, teachers' sense of successthe degree to which they feel lke they're making a difference in students' livescan influence whether theystay in the profession, Kraft said.

"Teachers don't make a whole bunch of money. They have a very physically and emotionally and psychologically challenging job, particularly now," he said. "The kind of joy and value that they derive from helping kids is really a key part of what makes teaching rewarding and meaningful, and if that's absent, it's easy to see why teaching would be an even less attractive profession."

Education Week survey data found that teacher morale declined over the spring semester, as teachers grappled with unfamiliar technologies, retrofitted their lessons, responded to an avalanche of emails, texts, and calls from parents and students, and worked to emotionally support their students during a scary, unfamiliar time. On top of all that, teachers had to juggle the needs of their own children andother loved ones.

Teachers said they were more likely to quit at the end of the last school year than they were before the pandemic began, the EdWeek survey found.

A Difficult Work Environment

The working conditions survey found that 40 percent of respondents said that caretaking responsibilites made it difficult to do their job, and 16 percent said they were unable to balance their work with other responsibilities at home. Mid-career teacherswho are more likely to have school-aged childrenwere more likely to have these work-life balance challenges.

See also: Tips for Balancing Work and Life While Teaching Remotely

Meanwhile, 8 percent of teachers were uncomfortable with the technology needed to teach remotely. This was especially the case for veteran teachers: 22 percent of teachers with three decades of experience said they weren't comfortable with online teaching tools.

Teachers also reported that their students were less engaged during the spring semester, and about a quarter of teachers said their students lacked the technology needed for remote learning. Teachers in high-poverty schools reported less student engagement than their peers in affluent schools.

But for all of those teachers, supportive school leadership made a difference. Researchers found that teachers who could depend on strong communication, fair expectations, and a recognition of effort from their administrators, along with targeted professional development and the ability to meaningfully collaborate with colleagues, were much less likely to experience declines in their sense of success.

That support "helped to buffer them against the challenges" of switching to remote learning, Kraft said.

See also: How Principals and District Leaders Are Trying to Boost Lagging Teacher Morale During COVID-19

Researchers wrote that school leaders could work with teachers to set professional expectations and determine the training they need, as well as design structures for both formal and informal collaboration. Effective school leaders also made sure teachers feel appreciatedin the spring, many administrators helped troubleshoot problems teachers were having, encouraged their staff to set boundaries, and offered scheduling flexibility.

Teachers with supportive school leadership felt less isolated, which bolstered their sense of success, researchers wrote.

A New School Year

Although the spring semester was chaotic and many teachers considered it to be emergency learning, Kraft said he worries that the fall semester could present some of the same problems.About half of the 800 districts in Education Week'sdatabase on school reopenings, which is not nationally representative, have opted to resume in-person instruction at least some days of the week, including four of the 25 largest districts.

"I think for those schools starting remotely, the challenges will be even greater because they won't have the personal relationships established to draw upon when starting class online," Kraft said. "Teaching is a relational job. It is about knowing your students, knowing their individual strengths and areas for improvement, knowing what motivates them, connecting with themthat is so hard to do in a remote context."

To help tackle that problem, some schools are hosting socially distanced meet-and-greets, where teachers can meet their students in person from a safe distance. For example, elementary students at Copeland Manor School in Libertyville, Ill., got to meet their teacher for 30 minutes on the school's front lawn before classes started.Andincoming kindergartners at Popp's Ferry Elementary School in Biloxi, Miss., waved to their new teachers from their cars in a drive-through line.

School leaders will also have to help meet teachers' needs as professionals and help create conditions that will allow them to be successful, Kraft said.

"It takes dedicated school leadership, clear communication, [and] coherent school practices that allows teachers to focus on their core jobs," he said. "This is challenging for everyone, but the stakes couldn't be higher."

Image: Lily Hart, a foreign language teacher at Bellows Falls Union High School, works with her students online from her Keene, N.H., home on March 31. Kristopher Radder/The Brattleboro Reformer via AP

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Teachers Felt Less Successful During the Spring School Closures, Survey Finds - Education Week

Trump will caricature the Democrats moderate convention as a wild, far-left celebration of

This past week, the former vice-president laid out a forceful case for the importance of empathy and character in high office, his ability to reverse the manifold failures of Donald Trumps regime, and the threat that a second Trump term would pose to American democracy. Did he and his fellow Democrats at the convention who echoed his points do so successfully? In todays tribal and polarized America, theres no easy way to answer that question.

Both Bidens speech and the convention as a whole clearly were pitched toward moderate Democrats and even some Republicans, particularly in swing states. From the perspective of those viewers, Biden and his party performed brilliantly.

Compared to past conventions, Bidens address accepting the presidential nomination was comparatively short, at around 25 minutes. The absence of cheering crowds, on account of the pandemic, meant that some of his best lines didnt have quite the emotional resonance they otherwise would have. But Bidens delivery was fluid and heartfelt. His speech occasionally soared, particularly with its evocation of his personal tragedies and invocation of poet Seamus Heaneys call to make hope and history rhyme.

The rest of the convention went off without hitches or glitches. Other leading Democrats also spoke effectively, with the addresses of both Obamas seemingly destined to enter the annals of great rhetoric. Overall, the convention broadcast a strong message that Democrats are firmly grounded in American traditions and values yet also prepared to responsibly undertake ambitious change. They can be trusted to end the coronaviruss ongoing scourge, revive prosperity and distribute its benefits more widely, repair the frayed social welfare safety net, bring about both greater racial justice and greater social unity, and restore Americas respected place in the world.

If Trump wins, the 2020 Democratic convention may eventually be seen as the last gasp of a politics rooted in this countrys founding beliefs in rationality, persuasion, and democratic norms

The Biden endorsements that came from left-leaning figures like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren were strong and unambiguous. Warren implored Democrats to end this dark chapter in our nations history and Sanders urged his supporters to elect Biden for the sake of democracy, the economy and the planet. The urgency of defeating Trump has united the Democrats, both in the upper reaches of the party as well at the grassroots, more than anything else in decades.

But what difference will this convention really make? It may give Biden a temporary bump in the polls, but viewership for Bidens speech at the virtual convention was down 21% from Hillary Clintons in 2016, so the bump presumably will be correspondingly modest. And few Democrats, after the 2016 debacle, take comfort in polls that show Biden with a substantial but not insurmountable lead.

Orienting the convention toward moderation was a huge gamble, the success of which cant be assessed until we know the elections outcome.

If Biden loses, expect brutal hindsight recriminations from progressives. They will argue that the convention should have gone low, not high. Theyll say the Democrats should have waged culture- and class-warfare against Trump, just as Trump surely will be unrestrained in stoking rage and hatred against Democrats at the upcoming Republican national convention. Theyre complaining that progressive young firebrand Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, often hailed as the future of the party, got only 60 seconds of speaking time at the convention far less than the time allotted to old white men (and sometime Republicans) like Michael Bloomberg and John Kasich. Theres no way to know how many progressive bitter-enders wont vote for Biden, but some of them clearly may use the convention as their excuse.

The implicit theory that there are Trump-leaning voters in the swing states whose minds can be changed by a moderate-friendly Democratic convention may also be faulty. Political scientists, always striving to have their discipline displace economics as the truly dismal science, have concluded that our voting behaviors increasingly have become determined by our affinities and preferences. A persons race, religion, gender, neighborhood, and even choice of grocery store and entertainment all of these multiple identities now reinforce a persons partisan identity. And when we are in the grip of our political identities, we discount factual evidence contradicting our beliefs. Learning more about our political opponents doesnt make us more sympathetic toward them; instead we dislike them with even greater intensity.

It might appear that Bidens cogent convention speech laid waste to the Republican claim, on which they have invested millions of dollars in campaign advertising, that hes a dotard in the final stages of senility. But Republican partisans will go on believing that about him despite any evidence to the contrary. Trump will caricature the Democrats moderate convention as a wild, far-left celebration of Antifa, the Green New Deal, and urban rioting and his followers will believe that too.

If Trump wins, the 2020 Democratic convention may eventually be seen as the last gasp of a politics rooted in this countrys founding beliefs in rationality, persuasion, and democratic norms. But the successor of this politics may be taking shape in the form of the QAnon movement.

The convoluted and quasi-religious QAnon conspiracy theory, for which no evidence has been shown to exist, claims that President Trump is fighting to save the world from control by an elite Democratic cabal of Satanic, cannibalistic pedophiles. Two years ago, this movement was found mainly in the darker reaches of the internet. Now the Texas Republican party has adopted the motto We Are the Storm, apparently referring to the QAnon belief that Trump will soon stage a military countercoup against the deep state that will lead to the arrest and execution of his political opponents. Trump has recently embraced the QAnon movement, and it is supported at least in part by more than 70 Republicans running for Congress this year.

American democracy has had a good run. Many of its best qualities were on display at the recent Democratic convention and in Joe Bidens speech. Heres hoping well have more conventions like that in the future.

Originally posted here:
The Democratic convention went off without hitches. But was it a success? - The Guardian

Written by Anupam Kher | Updated: August 26, 2020 8:57:48 am Unfortunately, the more Narendra Modi grows, the more delusional his critics become.

I have been in India for the past five months, writing extensively a book on COVID is on the way working on interesting film projects, spending quality time with myself and sometimes with my mother (Kirronji being in Chandigarh). I have also been reflecting on various subjects. That I am passionate and outspoken about matters pertaining to my country is well-known. Among the many topics, the one that has caught my eye is the repeated political success of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Is it destiny? Or hard work? Is it about facing an easy opposition? My thoughts and research took me to the different arguments, which I will touch upon before sharing my views.

PM Modis critics they like to call themselves Modi haters as well have been consistent on one thing. They have spun tales about him, used all sorts of adjectives to describe him.

On October 7, 2001, when Modi first took over as Gujarat CM, the dominant view was: One year and he will be history. That was soon proved wrong. Through his tenure as CM, Modi was portrayed as a regional leader satrap at best who had no takers outside his home state. In the winter of 2013 and spring of 2014, the project Modi is unelectable reached its climax. The subsequent summer obviously proved them horribly wrong. The years after 2014 were spent convincing themselves and each other that Modi is a one-term phenomenon. Had any government voted to office with such a large mandate returned again, they asked.

Opinion | PB Mehta writes: The greatest allure of vishwas is that you maintain it by simply believing

On May 23, 2018, an oath-taking ceremony in Bengaluru became the cynosure of many eyes. Standing on one platform were the all ends of Indias political spectrum, hand in hand, together in letter and spirit. This grand alliance would ensure the end of Modi, they avowed. Exactly a year later, on May 23, 2019, Narendra Modi returned to office with even more seats. (On a side note, the government in Karnataka did not last long, tumbling due to the weight of its contradictions a few months later.)

Since May 2019, the naysayers, cynics and so-called Modi haters have taken to another delusionary tablet the TINA medicine. Modi wins because there is no alternative, Modis best friends are the Opposition today, Only Modi can bring Modi down, they now argue.

Unfortunately, the more Narendra Modi grows, the more delusional his critics become. Democracy can never have one pole. There will always be two or more poles, however minuscule the non-dominant one may be. The fact that the voting machine has a list of multiple candidates, represented by multiple symbols, shows that democracy is never short of alternatives.

Modi bashers have toyed with dozens of alternatives. Everyone has been kosher including extreme leftists, jihadists, failed dynasts, anarchists, separatists, even those who had earlier worked with Modi in the RSS and BJP. In 2013 and 2018, alternatives were seen even in Modis own party. Therefore, if any Modi basher is telling you, Modi succeeds because there is no alternative to Modi, they are obviously lying and being delusional.

Opinion | India needs a political leader not a messiah or a maharishi

The truth is, all alternatives were tried, propped up and supported but none cut ice with the voters. They have time and again reposed faith in Modi, who they see as a decisive, relatable and dedicated leader. Every alternative to Modi has failed because none of them can serve like him. In the last six years, he has delivered on the largest poverty alleviation drive seen in the history of India. The Jan Dhan Yojana got 40 crore citizens not only bank accounts but also a leak-proof way of getting due assistance from the state. Ayushman Bharat, PM-KISAN, Atal Pension Yojana, PM Fasal Bima Yojana and many more such social security schemes gave a safety net for the poorest of Indians to fall back on and prevented them from sliding into poverty. Ten crore toilets were built under the Swachh Bharat Yojana and eight-crore households were made smoke-free by way of the Ujjwala Yojana. In the last year alone, two crore households have been given piped drinking water connections every household in India is to be given the same by 2024.

Under Modi, the corridors of power no longer reek of the stench of big-ticket corruption. Defence deals no longer feed the monetary hunger of a select few dynasties. Instead, they strengthen the nations armed forces.

The same Modi who was once seen as a mere CM and thus being unable to conduct foreign policy has demonstrated what an India First foreign policy looks like.

Which of the so-called alternatives to Modi offer such vast amounts of deliverables? From seeing him celebrate Diwali with flood victims in Kashmir, or with troops on the border to seeing him touch the feet of an elderly tribal woman or a safai karamchari; from seeing him wield the broom to hearing him talk about menstrual hygiene from the Red Fort, India relates with Modi. He appreciates the inherent strengths of the 130-crore Indians. Which other leader thought of writing touching letters or emotional tweets to sportspersons, artists, cultural icons and youngsters? He has made a place in lakhs of households as just another family member, with the people in good and bad times.

Is there any alternative to such leadership? I would love to know.

My father often taught me: If you are speaking the truth, you do not have to remember it. Today, Narendra Modi is the longest serving administrative head compared to all previous prime ministers. He has held the office of CM and PM for a combined total of almost 19 years. No previous PM has held both positions cumulatively that long. Such political success and affection have not come his way because there were no alternatives to him. It has come because Modi has immersed himself in his work. Political landmines and personal slander have been answered by more development. No wonder, while Modi is implementing his vision for a New India, his haters are stuck where they were two decades ago confused about alternatives to him.

This article first appeared in the print edition on August 26, 2020 under the title The TINA delusion. The writer is an actor and former chairperson, Film and Television Institute of India

Opinion | If Congress doesnt listen, nation will not get strong opposition party it deserves

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PM Modis success owes to his striking a chord with people, not because there isnt anyone to challenge him - The Indian Express

The Masters Fitness Collective Championship represented one of the first major live CrossFit competitions to occur in over 160 days due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Morning Chalk Ups own Tommy Marquez and Patrick Clark were there providing coverage of the masters-only event that featured more than 90 athletes competing across 14 divisions. They provide their top takeaways from this past weekends action in Fort Wayne, IN.

Patricks Points

An exercise in futility:C.J. Martin is notorious for programming some of the hardest workouts for the athletes in the Invictus stable. The athletes who stick with it and survive are often rewarded with great success in the sport. Hes one of the best when it comes to providing the tests necessary to find the best athletes. So when he was tapped to come up with the events for the MFCC, competing athletes knew they would be challenged and whoever finished atop the leaderboard after four days deserved to be crowned champion. Martin programmed ten events that hit each fitness module and domain.

What I saw was a lot of athletes who were time-capped including the final event of the competition, Feeling Legless. Only 32 total athletes finished that workout (not including Tommy Marquez who jumped in and competed with the 50-54 mens division, winning the heat over CrossFit legend Ron Ortiz). Three divisions didnt have a single finisher. Is this a testament of masters athletes being worn down by the final event or the programming? I received mixed answers, but from the athlete perspective they were overall happy with the events. They felt that the tests were very difficult and they all welcomed that challenge.

So despite multiple events without finishers and countless athletes not being able to complete the workout at the end of the day the athletes who stood on the podium on Sunday were the right ones and were rewarded as so.

Masters of the Universe:Ive seen my fair share of masters athletes competing. I judged this division for the last three years at the Games. Every time I came away in awe of what they could do. People my own age and even those the age of my parents all out-performing anything that I am capable of doing on my best days. Seeing 60-year old Patricia Claro doing handstand walks (by the way check out her story and journey to the competition) or 65-year old George Koch stringing bar muscle-ups together was inspiring.

This collection of former Games athletes and hopefuls put on a display in Fort Wayne. Watching them compete was an honor and for the organizers of the MFCC to put this competition on for them was also impressive. They gave these amazing athletes the end of the season that they deserved. Some of these athletes had their first opportunity to compete at the Games taken away from them due to the pandemic, others like Claro were competing in their first-ever competition. They may not get the attention or fanfare of the elite Games athletes but they certainly deserve it.

Tommys Takes

Live CrossFit Competition Is Possible (And Safe!):This weekend was a prime example of how a CrossFit competition can be run in a manner that is both effective and safe for all the athletes and people involved in putting it together. This doesnt mean we can just open the flood gates of competition to get everything back to normal, but using the right precautions and protocols, events can mitigate risk and get people back on the competition floor.

Everyone was tested prior to competition with blood based tests that took exactly ten minutes to get results that included a readout of whether or not a person has developed the anti-bodies within a six week period. Tests were made readily available onsite for everyone throughout the weekend as well. Strict cleaning protocols using electrolyzed water an EPA approved disinfectant for COVID-19 thats safe even for use on human wounds were in place to clean after every heat. Any competition will still require a level of trust and an understanding of the role of personal responsibility in participating, but even with a demographic of masters athletes a competition spanning four days with multiple divisions isnt out of the question.

The Community is a Tremendous Resource:When the CrossFit Games team punted on holding competitions for the Age Group divisions, they put all hope of having some sort of definitive conclusion to the Age Group season in the hands of the community. What they got was three separate groups stepping up to the plate to fill the void in unique and promising ways.

Take this past weekend for example, the competition was the first ever event put on by the Masters Fitness Collective, and not only did they pull off a great competition, they managed to do so before CrossFit could put on the Games. Event director Bobby Petras connections via his day job where he owns and operates more than two dozen assisted living facilities gave him unprecedented access to testing and personal protective equipment, as well as insight into cleaning and safety protocols that made the event possible.

This is a prime example of how leaning on the community and the wide swath of people within it can yield tremendous results. CrossFit HQ has largely kept a firm grip on the operations and dealings involved with the Games, but the success of the past weekend warrants at least tossing lines out on a regular basis to seek new resources and information that can benefit the sport as a whole.

For a daily Digest of all things CrossFit. Community, Athletes, Tips, Recipes, Deals and more.

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Four Takeaways From The Masters Fitness Collective Championships - Morning Chalk Up

WASHINGTON The third night of the Republican National Convention featured a keynote address by Vice President Mike Pence that highlighted the Trump administration's successes and attacked Democratic nominee Joe Biden.

Pence's wife, Karen, also spoke, as did senior White Houseadvisor Kellyanne Conway, who said earlier in the week that she would leave that role at the end of the month.

Trump's convention speech is scheduled for Thursday night, when he will formally accept the Republican nomination. The president has already spoken and appeared on numerous occasions throughout the convention.

Here are the top moments from Wednesday night:

Vice President Mike Pence addressed the Republican National Convention from the historic site of Fort McHenry in Baltimore. Pence's keynote speech contrasted theTrump administration's record with what he said America would look like under a Biden administration.

"President Trump set our nation on a path to freedom and opportunity from the very first day of this administration. But Joe Biden would set America on a path of socialism and decline," Pence said.

"Every day, president Trump has been fighting to protect the promise of America. Every day our president has been fighting to expand the reach of the American dream. And every day President Donald Trump has been fighting for you. Now it's our turn to fight for him," he added.

Pence,head of the president's coronavirus task force, defended the Trump administration's handling of the pandemic.

"In our first three years, we built the greatest economy in the world. We made America great again. And then the coronavirus struck from China," Pence said. "We built hospitals, we surged military medical personnel and enacted an economic rescue package that saved 50 million American jobs," he said, adding that "no one who required a ventilator was ever denied a ventilator in the United States."

The coronavirus has infected more than 5.8 million people in the U.S. as of Wednesday, more than a quarter of the globe's reported cases, according to Johns Hopkins University data. On Wednesday, the nation's death toll reached above 179,000.

Second lady Karen Pence took the stage at the Republican National Convention to deliver a softer message to voters and address the families of U.S. military service members.

"The Pences are a military family. Our son, Michael, serves in the U.S. Marines, and our son in law, Henry, serves in the U.S. Navy," said Pence. "And one of my key initiatives is to elevate and encourage military spouses. These men and women, like our daughter, Charlotte, and our daughter in law, Sarah, are the home front heroes," she added.

She then shared a handful of stories from military spouses and described their unique hardships.

"Military spouses may experience frequent moves, job changes, periods of being a single parent while their loved one is deployed all while exhibiting pride, strength, and determination and being a part of something bigger than themselves," Pence said, before thanking these families for their service.

Pence also took a moment to thank health care workers, teachers, first responders, mental health providers, law enforcement officers, grocery and delivery workers and farmers.

Conway, who on Sunday said she would leave her White House role at the end of August, gave a speech that focused on how Trump has supported women in leadership roles.

"For decades, he has elevated women to senior positions in business and in government. He confides in and consults us, respects our opinions, and insists that we are on equal footing with the men," she began. "President Trump helped me shatter a barrier in the world of politics by empowering me to manage his campaign to its successful conclusion," she added.

Conway addressed her work on tackling America's drug abuse crisis and the support she received from Trump in those efforts.

"When President Trump asked me to coordinate the White House efforts on combatting the drug crisis, he said, 'This is personal, Kellyanne.' So many lives have been ruined by addiction and we'll never even know it because people are ashamed to reach out for help, or they're not sure who to turn to in their toughest hour," she said.

Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, who recorded her remarks in a barn, flanked by a bale of hay and a tractor, spoke about Trump's support for farmers and slammed the Democrat's Green New Deal.

"If given power, they would essentially ban animal agriculture and eliminate gas-powered cars. It would destroy the agriculture industry, not just here in Iowa, but throughout the country," Ernst said of Joe Biden and the Green New Deal. Biden hasn't explicitly endorsed the proposal, which has been pushed by the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, but has called it a "crucial framework."

Ernst, the first female combat veteran elected to the Senate,has carved out a role for herself as a vocal advocate for victims of sexual abuse in the military. This year, she faces a close reelection raceagainst Democrat Theresa Greenfield.

Ernst also lauded the success of trade deals brokered by Trump with Japan, as well as Mexico and Canada. She did not, however, mention Trump's phase one trade agreement with China, which he has touted as being a win for American farmers.

Ernst added that during the coronavirus pandemic, Trump again turned to help farmers.

"When the pandemic hit, President Trump heard us in our call for assistance for our farmers. Knowing we have an ally in the White House is important," she said.

U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, who was a U.S. Navy SEAL, discussed his time in the armed services and called America a "country of heroes."

"Our enemies fear us because Americans fight for good, and we know it," Crenshaw said, adding that the Trump administration had defeated the ISIS caliphate and restored America's "might again."

"America's heroism is not relegated to the battlefield. Every single day we see them if you just know where to look," he added.

"It's the nurse who volunteers for back to back shifts caring for Covid patients because she feels that's her duty. It's the parent who will re-learn algebra because there's no way they're letting their kid fall behind while schools are closed," said Crenshaw, of Texas.

His speech did not mention Trump by name, a rarity for the convention thus far.

CNBC's Kevin Breuninger and Christina Wilkie contributed to this report.

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Here are the highlights from Night 3 of the Republican National Convention - CNBC

Last week I had the opportunity to read your opinion piece, We need to have a conversation-about race from the July 1st paper. As the title suggests, I would like to continue the conversation. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with the Wenatchee Valley on your perspective regarding racism in the past and with current events. As mindful readers often do, I read your article a few times thinking about the overall message you wanted your readers to take away, the reasoning supporting your claims, and some wonderings that have stayed with me.

You mentioned the Rev. James David Manning and quoted him, Black people have to knock that chip off their shouldernobody can say anything about Black people publicly without being called a racist and a bigot. My first wondering was about your relationship with Rev. Manning. I was curious to know more about him so I did some research and found many articles, including one from the Huff Post. He sounds like a very involved Black man within his church, school, and society. How long have you known Rev. Manning? Was the quote you shared from a personal conversation you had with him regarding race? I thought it was interesting to read about some of his other opinions, including education. I wonder why you didnt share with your readers his involvement with his school and locking up students, teaching kids to hate gay people, and convincing parents to abandon their children? While these topics dont necessarily have to do with race, I do think it is important that one voice does not speak to the narrative for all. As a white woman, I am not a representative of all white people. Likewise, the Rev. James David Manning is not the one voice for all Black people.

I am also curious about your claim that Black people create problems by their own bad behavior. What do you define as bad behavior? Everyone exhibits bad behavior from time to time. Yet, why is it that as a white person, if I am pulled over by the police (which has happened a few times) I am always given a chance to speak, ask for clarification, or admit to my bad behavior without fear? Why does being Black mean one must Allow the arresting officers to take them into custody peacefully even if they have not committed any crime?

You mentioned that in present society, Black people are no longer being shut out of equal opportunities by referencing the West Point graduation and how every race and gender were represented. Yet you did not provide any statistics. Graduates of West Point themselves are acknowledging there is systemic racism and havewritten a proposal to the West Point Leadership asking for an antiracist West Point. When I think of this representation, I picture the same number of white graduates and graduates of color. To me, equal representation means equal opportunities. I am curious how stating the graduates represented every race and gender supports the idea that Institutional Racism is no longer relevant? You mentioned that, We honor those who have achieved success through hard work and honesty. How does the comparison of pay for Black and white men with the same experience and education doing the same job in the same geographic location fit into this claim? Black people who work hard and achieve success do not benefit equally.

As a white woman, I know I will never understand what it is like to be a person of color. I can, however, try to educate myself in the uncomfortable concepts such as prejudice, discrimination, racism, and oppression and my part in them. I have read the definition of racism in many sources. In Robin DiAngelos book, What Does it Mean to Be White? she writes, Racism is more than race prejudice. Anyone across any race can have prejudice. But racism is a macro-level social system that whites control and use to the advantage of whites as a group. Thus, all whites are collectively implicated in this system.

I did not choose to be born into a systemic racist society, but I do know I benefit in many ways because I am white. I think it is time to listen to people of color and not dismiss their challenges. How can ones personal experience be misguided? People of color are not thugs or bad boys and girls who are driving this false agenda. They are our fellow doctors, teachers, nurses, baristas, engineers, scientists, architects, UPS drivers, chefs, hair stylists, dentists, construction workers, etc. who have their own stories, narratives, and experiences. Whether I agree with their means of protest or not, it is time for a change in our society. These protests would not be happening if society was indeed equal. In my opinion, the loss of material things is not equal to the loss of lives.

I believe it is important to participate in a dialogue between people where we can listen, learn, and reflect. Sometimes that means accepting discomfort and non-closure. It also means that I may not always agree with what is being shared based on my own experiences. I know my experiences limit me and my understanding. Instead of focusing on the disagreement I listen to try to understand how my ideas, behaviors, or the system is problematic. As a white woman and ally, it is my responsibility to allow my thoughts and ideas to change based on what I learn about the world and the experiences of others.

Thank you for opening the conversation.

Daveen Cordell

Seattle (Former Cashmere High School Graduate

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Continuing the Conversation - Cashmere Valley Record

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Tracy Henderson

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. University of Arkansas alumna Tracy Henderson of Austin, Texas, says giving back is a great way to leave a legacy. Her planned gift commitment of $300,000 will create three new endowments at the university.

The gift was counted in Campaign Arkansas, the universitys recently concluded capital campaign that raised nearly $1.45 billion to advance academic opportunity.

Hendersons endowments will provide a scholarship for students who were placed in foster care during a portion of or throughout their childhood; funding for the Department of History in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences; and support for the University Libraries.

Henderson says one reason she decided to attend the U of A was because her father played football for the Razorbacks. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in history in 1984, minored in French and says she dreamed of working in international management one day. Henderson completed her Master in Public Affairs degree from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin and then spent 28 years working with the state of Texas, including time with the legislature, before serving as chief financial officer of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission and later the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. She now works part-time with the U.S. Treasury as an intermittent advisor.

At this point in my career, I am doing international management, she said, noting that she travels internationally for her job frequently. And its what I set out to do all those years ago at the U of A. I grew up a lot during those four years in Fayetteville and started honing the tools to find myself.

The Tracy L. Henderson Endowed Scholarship: Promoting Foster Care Success was inspired by her work with protective and regulatory services in Texas and a similar scholarship program that is offered to all residents of Texas.

My time as chief financial officer for protective and regulatory services was a learning experience, she said. I have great admiration for people who work in this area. I wanted to be able to help former foster care children whether traditional students or not get a college degree. I was fortunate to graduate debt-free from college, and I want others to be able to do the same.

Scholarship preference will be given to qualified students who were placed in foster care during a portion of or throughout their childhood and who are admitted as full-time students at the university.

I met Tracy through the Austin Chapter of the Arkansas Alumni Association and could see right away that she was a loyal volunteer, said Katy Nelson-Ginder, associate vice chancellor for development. Her passion for the university and the Razorbacks was evident, and she showed great pride for her history degree and her familys U of A legacy.

Through her work with family and protective services, Tracy saw the potential of foster children who had overcome obstacles and wanted to continue their education. She is investing in them with this gift, so theyll have the opportunity to attend college and aspire to their dreams. This just further demonstrates Tracys passion for helping others and her philanthropic spirit.

The Tracy L. Henderson Endowment for History Research and Support will assist undergraduate or graduate-level students in the Department of History, where Henderson earned her bachelors degree.

Funding from the endowment will be used to cover costs related to conducting research, presenting research at conferences and associated travel or conference expenses.

We are so grateful for Tracys support, said Jim Gigantino II, professor and chair of the Department of History. Not only is she helping our fantastic students succeed in their education, but she is an outstanding and inspiring example of what one of our graduates can and has achieved.

Hendersons third endowment, the Tracy L. Henderson University Libraries Endowment, will help purchase, maintain, digitize and facilitate access to materials that support scholarship and research at the university.

I spent a lot of time at Mullins Library as a history major, Henderson said.

University Libraries Dean Dennis Clark said, This endowment enables us to provide students and faculty with the collections and access essential for learning and research.

Henderson is a life member of the Arkansas Alumni Association and is counted as a Thoroughred for her 30 years of consecutive giving to the university. She is also included in the Towers of Old Main, a giving society for the universitys most generous benefactors.

About Campaign Arkansas: Campaign Arkansas is the recently concluded capital campaign for the University of Arkansas that raised a record $1.449 billion to support the universitys academic mission and other key priorities, including academic and need-based scholarships, technology enhancements, new and renovated facilities, undergraduate, graduate and faculty research, study abroad opportunities and other innovative programs. The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in a wide spectrum of disciplines as it works to fulfill its public land-grant mission to serve Arkansas and beyond as a partner, resource and catalyst.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among fewer than 3% of colleges and universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.

Originally posted here:
Three New Endowments Created Thanks to Henderson's $300000 Gift - University of Arkansas Newswire

Stanford will not allow students who take leaves of absence to participate in or hold leadership positions in voluntary student organizations (VSOs), according to the Universitys Aug. 13 Re-Approaching Stanford newsletter. The decision comes even though most undergraduate education will be delivered remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The decision to enforce this policy for the 2020-21 academic year marks a reversal of the policys suspension by Stanfords Office of Student Engagement (OSE) during the spring 2020 quarter, when VSO leaders who took leaves of absence were permitted to keep their positions.

Vice Provost for Student Affairs Susie Brubaker-Cole and Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education Sarah Church wrote that only students who are enrolled or on their Flex Terms will be able to continue their involvement in student organizations.

Before the 2020-2021 academic year, students were expected to enroll in autumn, winter and spring quarters, with the summer quarter serving as an optional term. This year, Stanford is expecting undergraduates to enroll in three of the four academic quarters in autumn, winter, spring and summer, with the option of taking one quarter off as a Flex Term, in which students are not enrolled in classes but retain access to university services and resources.

Financial officers of VSOs must be enrolled students, and are not eligible to retain their position if they choose to take a leave of absence or are on their Flex Term because of the level of liability and financial responsibility they carry in that role.

OSE oversees and supports more than 650 registered undergraduate and graduate VSOs. OSEs student organization policy on membership states that student organization members must be currently registered students in good academic standing with the university.

The policy also clarifies that students on leaves of absence or suspension cannot serve as members or leaders and must fully disassociate themselves.

A number of students have expressed concern that the enforcement of this policy in the upcoming remote academic year could be detrimental to student organizations and leaders.

Julia Thompson 21, an undergraduate student majoring in aeronautics and astronautics, said that the policy forces students who may not have the resources to be successful in online classes to not take leaves of absences and enroll remotely. She added that racial injustices, unstable home environments, the impact of COVID-19 and other barriers to academic success may limit many students ability to engage in academic responsibilities.

At Stanford, Thompson holds leadership positions in several VSOs, including the Stanford Student Space Initiative, Fascinate, Applied Cybersecurity, Society for International Affairs at Stanford (SIAS) and Health Education for Lifetime Partnerships.

Thompson, who lives in a rural community, told The Daily she has difficulty connecting to the internet to attend online classes and complete coursework. She noted that it would be nearly impossible for her and her two brothers to engage in online classes at the same time, given the lack of high-speed internet in her home.

Moving elsewhere, Thompson said, would require paying rent, and I would need to take a job or internship for the fall quarter. And to do that, I would need to take a leave of absence.

The Universitys decision, however, requires her to choose between a leave of absence and her leadership positions.

Thompson started a petition on Aug. 13 that calls on President Marc Tessier-Lavigne, Provost Persis Drell and Brubaker-Cole to reconsider [the] decision to ban students from participating in and leading VSOs while on a leave of absence. At the time of publication, the petition had more than 180 signatures, comprised of undergraduate and graduate student leaders and a wide variety of student organizations on campus.

The petition emphasizes that VSOs provide crucial resources, communities, and opportunities for students, and the loss of student leaders who are on a leave of absence will also mean that many smaller or newer organizations will cease to exist.

OSE requires each VSO to have at least three student leaders and at least ten members. The petition claims that without enough enrolled members to continue leading the group, many VSOs will be forced out of existence over the coming year. Since some cultural organizations tend to be smaller in size, many students of color and international students will lose a critical resource and community.

Lily Liu 21, president of SIAS, told The Daily that she signed the petition because she believes that students who take leaves of absence should be able to participate in VSOs, as these organizations can provide critical support to students while away from campus.

Liu said that she is extremely disappointed by the schools lack of adaptability, especially since many students are facing financial difficulties or personal crises that prevent them from enrolling.

The Universitys decision puts Liu and other SIAS leaders in a cruel dilemma: choosing between personal well-being and responsibility.

Senior Director of Student Engagement Snehl Naik shared an Aug. 19 email with The Daily, which he sent to student leaders to clarify the upcoming years policies. In the email, Naik wrote that taking a leave of absence from the university includes taking a leave from most experiences of and related to the university, including involvement as a leader or member with student organizations.

Acknowledging the desire among students to remain connected to the Stanford community during leaves of absence, Naik added that students on leave can still attend public events of VSOs.

Naik told The Daily that his office granted exceptions to this policy during spring 2020 to be flexible and support students in a time of great uncertainty. Exceptions would not continue in the upcoming academic year now that weve had some time to pause and rethink how we approach the upcoming academic year, Naik said.

While the Universitys leave of absence policy is beyond OSEs purview, Naik and Jerald Adamos, assistant dean of students and associate director of the Asian American Activities Center, co-chaired the Phase 2 Student Organizations implementation team, which made recommendations to Vice Provosts Brubaker-Cole and Church on how students can remain engaged during their Flex Term or leave of absence.

According to Naik, the implementation team initially recommended that the University allow VSO financial officers to keep their positions during Flex Terms. The vice provosts steering committee, however, decided the liability and responsibilities these roles held required financial officers to be enrolled students.

The Office of the Vice Provost for Student Affairs did not immediately respond to The Dailys request for comment.

Naik said he was concerned by the assertion that some VSOs will cease to exist because of the leave of absence policy, noting that OSE is currently reviewing membership policies that require a minimum of ten students and developing guidelines to streamline the re-entry of inactive student organizations.

Naik wants Stanford students to know that OSE is here for student engagement, we want student engagement to happen, and we are operating from a framework of kindness and grace.

And if there are ideas, Naik added, please share them with us because we are listening.

Contact Cameron Ehsan at cehsan at stanford.edu.

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Stanford to bar students on leaves of absence from VSOs despite remote learning - The Stanford Daily

Catching a glimpse of a co-workers baby or pet can help humanize workplaces and make colleagues more understanding and empathetic one positive byproduct of the pandemic-fuelled remote work phenomenon

The COVID-19 lockdown has become synonymous with working from home for many people. While some research has suggested that remote work can be isolating, it also makes the competing priorities that workers are juggling very visible even sometimes literally so due to the popularity of video calls.

This has the potential to unite workers with the feeling that they are in this struggle of balancing work and personal responsibilities together.

Whether its kids or pets that are popping up onscreen during Zoom calls, remote work has caused a relaxation in the traditional rules of professional presentation and resulted in a virtual workplace that is not only more flexible, but also more humane.

My preliminary research on how remote work has impacted professionals at accounting firms across Canada suggests that working from home has important implications for how accountants, or any professional working from home for that matter, communicate their expertise and credibility in a virtual workplace.

My survey of these workers suggests that what it means to behave professionally has changed, and that the pandemic has made clear the necessity of being able to bring ones authentic self to work.

According to a recent survey by Statistics Canada, nearly one-third of businesses report that their employees are working remotely during the pandemic lockdown.

Thats almost twice the level reported before the lockdown began. The survey also found that just over one-quarter of employers said theyre likely to offer more employees the chance to continue remote work once the COVID-19 pandemic has passed, with almost 15 per cent saying they plan to make it mandatory.

The accounting firm workers I interviewed suggested that almost all of their companies will allow employees at all seniority levels to work from home, at least part-time, going forward. Remote work is here to stay, and will likely have a lasting impact on how work is conducted.

Making the personal visible

Working from home provides a birds eye view into the personal lives of our colleagues, clients and even our bosses. With every Zoom call, we find ourselves being allowed into the private spaces of our co-workers in unprecedented ways.

Zoom meetings have made the personal lives of our colleagues visible. Take for instance a British professors now-famous on-air intrusion, when her daughter interrupted her while she was being interviewed by the BBC. But Clare Wenham, a working mother at home with her child, is not the exception but rather the rule during the COVID-19 pandemic.

My research suggests that rather than detracting from how one is perceived professionally, these glimpses into co-workers personal lives can improve workplace interactions.

Seeing a colleagues cat or meeting their child on-screen provides a sense of community that people used to get at work and are now desperately craving. These on-camera interactions allow workers to reconnect or get to know one another in a new way.

They also enable employees to see their colleagues as human beings with competing priorities, and they consequently become more flexible and understanding as work and personal lives overlap. This may mean being more tolerant of a missed deadline or more understanding of an unconventional work schedule.

Workwear increasingly casual

Theres lots of tips available on how to dress when working from home, but my research suggests that since the beginning of the lockdown, workwear has become increasingly casual.

While a minimal level of formality is maintained during video calls with clients, respondents are increasingly casual with their colleagues. Some respondents even report hosting virtual Pyjama Mondays as a fun team-building activity.

The decision to dress more casually is not only a desire for comfort, but also reflects both how employees feel about themselves and how they want others to perceive them.

In the book You Are What You Wear: What Your Clothes Reveal About You, clinical psychologist Jennifer Baumgartner explains that clothes often reflect how you feel about yourself. For harried employees who are juggling multiple personal and professional commitments, being seen in a hoodie and yoga pants illustrates the challenges theyre facing during the pandemic.

But this can be a double-edged sword. Activities like Pyjama Days could undermine perceptions of expertise, maturity and competence.

According to one study on dressing for success:

After just a three-second exposure to pictures of one man in a bespoke suit and one in a suit that is off-the-rack, people judged the man in the bespoke suit more favourably. Experiment participants also rated him as more confident, successful, flexible and a higher earner.

Focus on competence, not presentation

But my respondents suggest that remote work removes the focus from what people are wearing to what they say and what they can do. Remote work provides the opportunity to level the playing field and emphasize talent and expertise over how employees present themselves.

Altogether, my study reveals the potential positive benefits of working from home during a global pandemic.

But will this represent a permanent shift in work attitudes?

While my respondents tell me that their firms are implementing permanent plans to allow all employees to work remotely, I certainly hope that the positive changes Im observing in the workplace continue whether people are at home or in the office.

Erica Pimentel, PhD Candidate in Accounting, Concordia Public Scholar, Concordia University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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COVID-19: Pandemic could have a lasting, positive impact on workplace culture - KitchenerToday.com

Warren Buffett's simple wisdom isn't exactly earth-shattering, but it's still brilliant.Soon to be 90years young, the Berkshire Hathaway CEOhas shared with the world common-senseinvestment and life rulesthat have worked for him.

It will also work for us if we allow these life lessonsto resonate deep in our souls, and then apply them to transform our lives. One of those Buffett rules is rather straightforward: Get rid of your bad behaviors.

Most of us have a sense of what's holding us backfrom reaching our full potential, andBuffett doesn't mince words when it comes to conquering your worst self.

I see people with these self-destructive behavior patterns. They really are entrapped by them.

The solution is quite simple. Headvised graduating students at the University of Florida to learn and practicegood habits early on before it's too late. Here's Buffett:

You can get rid of [a bad behavior]a lot easier at your age than at my age, because most behaviors are habitual. The chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken.

Sure, it's much easier to shake off bad habits in your 20s than in your 50s or 60s. But whatever your age, getting rid of your most self-destructive habits is crucial for success.

When we were children, our parents would tell us things like:Stop talking with your mouthfull, don't burp in public, and stop hitting your brother. Has anything changed now that we wear big-boy pants?

Hardly. We've elevated mud-slinging in the playground to accepted corporate norms and behaviorsthatare taken unfortunately for granted. Here are fivebad behaviors to consider getting rid of.

Gossip is stealthy and many working professionals are unaware of when it happens, even when they're the perpetrators of gossip.

In its worse and darkest sense, gossip is used by people to further their own reputations and interests at the expense of their colleagues. And yet, it's hard to walk awayfrom a juicy story and, for those addicted to gossip (yes, it's a thing), even harder tokeep to themselves.

So when gossip permeates the hallways of an organization to the point where the workplace becomes a hostile work environment, there are dire consequences:

If you want to foster trust and a collaborative, high-performing team or organization, hop off the autocratic high-horse and stop instilling fear into the hearts and minds of people.

This means, as a leader, allowing freedom for others to experiment, lead themselves, stretch, and make mistakes. This will unleash discretionary effort and your team will produce great results.

When leadership is less about control and more about encouraging autonomy and collective wisdom, things happen. Let me rephrase that: Financial growth happens.

Effective communication isn't just about talking;great conversationalists listen intuitivelyto others'stories, asking questions, and searching conversations for depth, meaning, and understanding.

This takes the skill of being presentand in the moment, meaningyou cease having the need to talk over others to get yourpoint across, which works to your advantage. Because when you listen -- truly listen -- you hear peoples' objections, anxieties, and fears, as well asthe solution to problems.

Lyingis a fascinatingpsychologicalenigma. When I looked over the research about why peoplelie, it typically boils down totwo reasons:

Don't take that last point personally. Your colleagues maylie because of your very best qualities as well. But truth be told, it's your worst qualities that will trigger the most lies in others.

InYudhijit Bhattacharjee's terrificNational Geographicarticle, "Why We Lie: The Science Behind Our Deceptive Ways," he said something very thought-provoking:

Lying, it turns out, is something that most of us are very adept at. We lie with ease, in ways big and small, to strangers, co-workers, friends, and loved ones. Our capacity for dishonesty is as fundamental to us as our need to trust others, which ironically makes us terrible at detecting lies.Being deceitful is woven into our very fabric, so much so that it would be truthful to say that to lie is human.

So if to lie is human, you can bet it's happening frequently in your workplace or business. To counter the problem of deception and lying, being aware of the reasons people do it brings you that much closer to protecting yourself against the effects of lying.

That brings us to something obviously lacking at work -- integrity. Let me bring back Buffett to illustrate. In one of his annual letters toBerkshire Hathaway shareholders years back, Buffett wrote: "It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently."

How do you ruin your reputation in five minutes? Don't take responsibility for your actions.Anyone'sreputation, whole career, or successcan quickly fall like a house of cardsno matter the hard effort made or accolades won over the years.

Buffett is saying that, withoutintegrityrunning through your veins, you're going to eventually fail. Heis so sure that integrity is the life force that gives a person his or her influence andsuccess,he once saidthat if you hire or promote people with intelligence and energy but who lack integrity,"you really want them to be dumb and lazy."

The question is, which of these do you need to get rid of?

The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.

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The Personal Rule of Success That Warren Buffett Swears By - Inc.