Community College Students

It has been my experience that most of the students at my community college are too under-prepared and/or lazy to pass college level classes.  As a result, many professors make class too easy, and I become jaded as students complain that I am too difficult.  I constantly gripe about the poor quality of students.  Now at the end of the Spring 2012 semester I am giving final exams and have the strange need to point out some of the successes.  Indeed, while most may not be college material there are others who wade through terrible circumstances to achieve their academic goals.  The following are the stories of but a few students I've worked with this semester. I have changed their names to protect their identity. 

Jose comes from an economically depressed family background.  He is poor.  Violence and alcoholism is common at family functions.  He missed my midterm because he was cleaning up the blood from a high profile murder here in town.  I read the news report.  His brother and cousin got into a knife fight and one killed the other. Jose made up the exam, and did well.  He is averaging a high B in my class and articulate the material better than many of the A students.  He is bright and he works hard.  I suspect that he will probably be the first in his family to graduate college. 

Mr. Hamilton is an older student.  This is his first semester back to school in 25 years.  One day this semester he came to school with sunglasses and scrapes all over his body.  Earlier that week eight men mugged and beat him.  In that same week his girlfriend of 15 years passed away.   He had a rough semester.  Nevertheless, he responded well to my academic criticism and eventually turned in a final paper worthy of a perfect score.  He earned a solid B grade this semester. 

Sarah is an adorable Cambodian girl who strives to serve her family.  She is the oldest sibling, and lives in a small apartment with her mother, grandmother, and three siblings ranging from 11 years old to under a year old.  She is the primary care-giver for all in her family, including her sickly grandmother who she shares a room.  Sarah also has medical problems of her own.  She was born with fluid on the brain and has an internal tube that drains liquid from her brain, down through her neck, and into her chest.  She lives in fear of minor bumps that could end her life.  She has to get surgery every few years to install a longer tube, in order to keep up with her growth.  This semester she faced surgery with the choice of no anesthesia or the risk of death. Nevertheless, she attends class regularly and always has a smile.

Jamal is a young man who defies the odds. At this college, black men have an average GPA of 1.8.  When you take out the few middle class and small town black men, the remaining group has an even lower average GPA.  I have had several middle class black male students pass my class, but over the past two years only two poor black men have passed my classes, and both were motivated by sports scholarships.  Jamal has no scholarship to entice him - only his own desire and work ethic to pull out of the alcohol and violence that he candidly describes when asked about his family.  He is not my best student, but he is among the few poor black men I've had in class that won't give up and keeps doing his best.  He had a passing grade going into the final exam, well above the average for his demographic group.

Last, Cherly is probably my favorite.  I met her two years ago when she tooik my night class.  She is a reformed homeless methamphetamine addict, and has the rotten teeth to prove it.  For several years she lived on the streets, in parks, and moved from location to location in pursuit of getting high.  She has two children who's birth motivated her to change her life.  She has been clean for four years now and serves as an officer in several campus clubs, and offers peer mentoring/tutoring.  Recently she asked if she could list me as her children's emergency contact, which I found flattering.  It also means that she has no real support here in town.  She has clean up her act and stayed clean all on her own.   She is about to transfer to Cal State Bakersfield where she hopes to pursue a career in social work.  Her passion is helping other people overcome the past she intimately knows.

Each semester I meet students like these.  Sure, community colleges may be overwhelmed by too many ill equipped, lazy, and financially parasitical students; but it also has some wonderful gems that motivate me to be a better teacher and person.

Waiting for Sept. 1, 2012

We love BYU football. Can't wait for Sept. 1.

Need Money? Close Korean Posts.

If this is a time of budget cutting and we're starting to gut medical care and education and other core needs, then lets go ahead and put everything on the table - including Korea.

After three years of open warfare the Korean Conflict concluded with a stalemate in July 1953. That means that next year will mark the sixtieth year since hostilities ended. The Chinese-backed Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) remained communist; the US-backed Republic of Korea remained in the South. The greatest powers for democracy and communism drew a draw. For fear of another invasion, the United States left forces in the peninsula. Decades later the tensions remain, but the risk of a Chinese invasion declined until today when there is little likelihood that either China or the US would launch any invasion across the demilitarized zone. Nevertheless, a formal state of war still exists. Of course if you watch the news on North Korea's latest missile test mishap it is obvious that the DPRK is ever less a threat to South Korea, and certainly no threat to the United States. One fun fact is that the DPRK faces such extensive malnutrition that they just dropped the minimum height requirement for military service to 4'9. A few inches won't make you shoot a gun any more accurate, but it is still hard to imagine the average DPRK soldier as an intimidating foe.

As I sat in my office today I pondered the many ways the US could cut its budget and eventually my mind turned to our bases in South Korea. Do we really need those bases? Are we really afraid of the North Koreans? What threat could the DPRK possibly offer to us that requires the tens of thousands of soldiers stationed in Korea and the billions of dollars we spend there each year? I resolved to look into it further.

In a recent article published by the Foreign Policy in Focus think tank, authors Christine Ahn and Sukjong Hong provide a variety of helpful facts in analyzing this issue. The full text of their article can be found here. Below I've included a few highlights.

In 2010, the United States spent $41.6 billion on its 662 official foreign soil bases (plus more piles of cash on hundreds of other temporary bases). The US has 70 permanent bases in South Korea where 25,000 men are stationed. These Korean bases cost American taxpayers somewhere between $15 and $20 billion each year.

It is even more interesting to note that there is significant civilian opposition to the US bases, and to the continual expansion of those bases. The Cato institute found that between 1988 and 1996, American soldiers in Korea committed an average of two crimes each day. Additionally, as bases expanded, local people resisted dispossession. The best example is that in 2007 some 94% of the people of Gangjeong voted to oppose a new US base only to suffer significant government pressures. Eventually farmers sold out and in 2009 Korea approved the construction. This is only the latest example of uprooting villages for bases, and there is growing resentment in Korea.

So if the threat to United States citizens is nearly non existent, and many Koreans don't even want us there, why is the United States is spending $20 billion/year to maintain and staff these bases? There are several answers; the first relates to international security. Tim Shorrock's book Spies for Hire argues that several bases, particularly Pyeongtaek and Osan, serve as hubs for international surveillance activity. The US only has to respect the privacy of US citizens, and those bases are valuable centers for easedropping on North Korea, as well as South Korea, China, Vietnam, and other Asian nations.

Furthermore, the former commander of US forces in Korea Commander Generall B.B. Bell explained that South Korea is also a center of trade and commerce that the US must protect for our own economic interests. He said, “Twenty-five percent of the world’s trade flows through northeast Asia. Whether it’s Korea, Japan, or China, if you’re trading in the world, one out of every four things you trade, commodity-wise and dollar-wise, is going through that area.” Bases in Korea allow the US to protect international economic interests, he says.

The final argument for maintaining Korean bases is simply for a quick response to any threats by China or anybody else in the Pacific. We need to be ready and able to respond on a moments notice.

All three of these justifications for maintaining the bases have merit, but I can't help but question the need for such extensive entanglement. Do we really need 70 bases and 25,000 men at a cost of $20 billion/year just to spy and protect our economic interests? My guess is that a couple bases and a couple thousand men could do the job just fine.

In a time when we must choose between cutting healthcare and education, maybe its time to cut a few dozen excess bases in Pacific. We already spend as much money on our military as the rest of the world combined, and I really doubt the loss of a few bases and soldiers in South Korea will lessen our economic or military security. North Korea can't even effectively threaten South Korea, and is really no threat at all to American soil.

Buffett Rule Defeated

Today Republicans defeated a Democrat-backed piece of legislation that required millionaires (literally, people making more than a million dollars/year) to pay a minimum income tax of 30%, which is just about the national average for middle class tax payers.

The legislation came after millionaire Warren Buffett announced that his tax rate was lower than his secretary, and that he and other millionaires should pay at least as much as the middle class Americans who pay close to 30%. Tens of thousands of wealthy Americans are paying a lower percent of their income to taxes than their middle class neighbors. This is possible because it is easy to mix and match capital gains and avoid taxes, legally. The more money you have the more you can mix and match.

Apparently, Republicans are very comfortable slashing Medicare (see the recent budget they pushed through the House) and most recently eminent GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney announced his plans to combine or totally dissolve federal departments of Education and Housing and Urban Development. The justification for these rash measures is that we are spending too much and have massive debt. If that is the argument, then why not let the mega rich pay the same 30% that most middle class people pay? Why are we burdening the middle class with more taxes so the wealthy can pay less?

Republicans counter that taxes taken from individuals represent less money spent in the economy. They say that increasing any tax would stifle the economy. "Let the rich avoid taxes so we can fuel the economy!" This is the crux of trickle down economics.

The great irony is that even Reagan, the imagined champion of trickle down economics and all things conservative shared the liberals exact same opinion on this issue. Years ago he stomped the nation with a complaint similar to Warren Buffett. Reagan demanded change so that the super-wealthy did not pay a lower percent of their taxes than the middle class. If you don't believe me, check out this well cut video comparing Obama and Reagan's nearly identical please for legislation requiring millionaires to pay equal or more than the middle classes:

So if Reagan and Obama are on the same page, why can't the bill pass? Because politics today is more about who's side you are on than what you believe in. No self-respecting Republican will vote for anything a Democrat suggests. Such a move would be political suicide. Are Democrats any different? I don't know. But what we do know is that in this climate every politician is looking out for themselves and America comes last. If you don't like it, call your local representative and complain, and then maybe for fear of losing their job they will do what is right.

Republicans argue that they are not simply protecting rich people but rather saving

Happy Easter

We went to the mall this week and Abby insisted on seeing the Easter bunny. We of course waited over an hour and Lily was done by the time we got up there. I did not intend to buy any pictures because they were ridiculously expensive, but the photographer thought the girls were so cute and ended up giving me a couple free pictures--how nice! I thought I would include them on the blog so that everyone can enjoy them.

Just to add to the fun--here are Abby's four year old pictures!

Relief Society Birthday Dinner Table

On March 20th my Ward celebrated the birthday of the Relief Society. It was a great party and many people attended. Each table was decorated to describe a month of the year and my friend Cindy Rasmussen asked me if I would decorate the October table. I of course said yes! Each sister sat at the table of their birth month which provided opportunities for people to interact that might not have normally. What a good idea. The food was great and company was even better!

See the chocolate eye balls? I found that I still had some from Halloween!

St. Patrick's Day

We arrived back from Arizona on Wednesday evening and the next morning found us at dance and gymnastics. Abby showed off her new skirt made by Natalie and everyone loved it.

Lily fell asleep in her saucer thing. I had to capture it.
St. Patrick's Day was a lot of fun and began with some yummy green pancakes. The girls had matching cute shirts so naturally I had to take some pictures before our Ward party. The party was entitled, "Fish and Feathers" and the food was the best I've ever eaten at a Ward Party.
Here are the treats I made and took to the party.
They were gone by the time I got to them and I was only about the 15th person in line!

Arizona in March

Arizona is so nice in March! The weather was gorgeous and we really enjoyed seeing friends. The girls and I left on March 11th and had to return on March 14th to make it back for Abby's dance and gymnastics classes.

Natalie and the girls after our arrival on Sunday, the 11th.
Monday night we got to see our friends, Carric and Jenny Smolnik. Abby loved playing with them in the cardboard house the Taysom's had in their front room. We sure miss the Smolnik's.
Tuesday we stopped over at our friends the Jackson's for lunch. I use to teach Hannah and Cami piano lessons and we grew to love them so much.
We also stopped over to see one of the voice teachers I played the piano for. David Britton is the most wonderful man and I hope we will always stay in contact.
We try to get frozen yogurt each time we go to Arizona and this time was no exception!
Natalie made Abby a skirt for dance class for Abby's birthday!
Then it was time to drive home. Good times seem to end too quickly.

March Friends and Fun

In March we discovered preschool story time at the local library. Quite a few kids usually attend and there is always a craft after. Sometimes Abby gets to go to the video section and check out a new movie to watch for the week. She often picks something to do with Mickey Mouse. One week she even chose a whole collection of Pluto videos that included even classic old Pluto cartoons. She loved it!

Our friends the Weir's moved in and out of our lives way too fast. We loved hanging out with them but they too soon moved away. One night their girls, Mara and Lulu came over and played and watched a movie (with popcorn and everything). We miss you guys!
Matt plays basketball with the faculty at Bakersfield College on Fridays and so we decided to surprise him one day. Abby really enjoyed running around the gym.
We've been wanting to improve the look of the front yard, so we ventured over to Wal-Mart and bought some new flowers. Then we came home and Abby had so much fun helping to plant the flowers with her new Lightning McQueen gloves.
The house is an ever changing and improving being!

Trip to Utah

During the first weekend of March we all headed to Utah to attend the blessing of our newest nephew, Lincoln. My little brother, Brent and his wife Nicole had him in January and we couldn't wait to meet him. He is adorable! We left in the afternoon of March 1st (Happy Birthday Tiff!) and drove through the night. The van is so wonderful to travel in. We hit a lot of snow as soon as we entered Utah and we thought it would get better as we got further north, thinking it would be plowed. Unfortunately it only got worse! We finally arrive at my brother's in Midvale at almost 4 a.m. We were exhausted and Lily of course was wide awake! She slept a little, but both kids were up before 7.

That next day (Friday) we met Abby's birth Mom Amanda and her husband, Richard, and son, Bradley at a mall food court. We enjoyed talking to them and watching the kids run around. It took Abby a little bit to feel comfortable, but then she was running around as usual. We are glad we could see them and will be
forever grateful to Amanda for giving us the greatest gift.
Ready to meet up with Amanda
Amanda, Richard and Bradley
Amanda and Abby
Abby and Bradley
Cute little Lily!

After we saw Amanda we went back to my brother's house and my parents arrived from Washington and were already enjoying little Lincoln.
Lincoln and Nicole
Cousins!
Saturday morning we ventured down to Provo to go to the BYU Bookstore. It felt good to be on campus again and we wish we could have spent more time there. But we had time to get the girls BYU shirts and even found Abby an adidas warm-up outfit which she wants to wear every single day.
On the way to the Bookstore we stopped at one of my best friends home, Jerilyn. We lived together for so many years and it was so wonderful to see her beautiful family of boys! I miss her so much....
Uncle Matt and Lincoln
Saturday evening an unfortunate turn of events occurred. My parents came down with the flu. This was particularly challenging because my Mom cannot move about without assistance and so my Dad was not only sick himself, but needed to take care of my Mom also. they confined themselves to a room, praying no one else would come down with the flu. The saddest part was that they missed the blessing. They were too sick and as I sat in the blessing I wished I could trade places with them. In answer to all of our prayers, no one else got sick and my parents were able to get well enough to drive back to Washington. I was expressing my amazement to my Dad for being able to drive straight back to Washington after having the flu and taking care of Mom and he said, "It wasn't me." He explained that Brent gave him a blessing before he left and that he did not feel tired once and it was because of the blessing. Miracles happen every day.
Aunt Cynthia and the girls
Everyone getting ready for the blessing
Nicole and Lincoln before the blessing

Jen and Lincoln at the blessing
I am so grateful that we could attend the blessing and be with friends and family. We are truly blessed.