Re: Steve - please read this one first -- Talking Circle Alternative

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Date Posted: Fri, 11/22/02 6:39pm
Author: skin
Subject: Re: Steve - please read this one first
In reply to: Steve Russell 's message, "Re: Steve - please read this one first" on Fri, 11/22/02 5:07pm

>Ah, Skin...I hate to break the news, but along with
>not having a HS diploma, I do not have a PhD. I do
>teach PhD students, though.

A law degree is reguarded by most as being on the level of a PhD. Hell, I went to law shool one day and fled for my sanity. Was living with a lady who was the right hand assistant to a lawyer (he later went on to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals) who got off a drunk driver who ran off the road, over about a quarter mile of open field, thru a fence, and killed a little girl playing in her back yard.
But paybacks a bitch - he did some drinking and killed himself in a car. You probably know who I am talking about.
I knew that I was competitive enough to probably do the same so I removed myself from the temptation.

>
>I admit that I have problems with rousing Indian
>students. They seem beaten down, like I was. If
>there is some secret to reaching out to them, I am all
>ears.

I wish it was as simple as a secret. I would get a ghost writer and get rich enough to send all the kids I work with to school forever. It is just a talent that some have and most don't. You can talk to our kids or not. Those that can't, can't and no amount of teaching will change that. They have to KNOW that you care for them and are with them, right up to the wall if necessary. They HAVE to know that you value them above all else. Just being a skin who has an education is not enough. These days, there are lots of us around like that. Now no offense meant there, but you tend to lecture, like the college professor you are. Nothing wrong with that, but our kids have been lectured to for years, and they can tune it out instantly.

But there really is a gift I guess in being able to really work with them. I am lucky enough to have at least some of it. That is no accomplishment on my part - it just happened. I think maybe because of my culture and my father. I worked damn hard on my Master's, and that was an accomplishment. On our trip, I was welcomed back by a few of my old Profs including one who was my Kingsfield. I hated her so much that I worked 10 times as hard just to show her that she was wrong about me and Indians. But all that was just to meet liscensure requirements. It did nothing to know how to talk with my kids.

But the grad schools think that they can develop it - sorry about that. The colleges and universities need to face the facts. They need to hire those who have the gift and pay them to spend about 10 percent of their time on recruitment and 90 percent on retention and support of the recruits.

Probably requiring at least a Master's is OK - whoever gets the job needs to have a good idea how it is to be a student at a major college or university - and how to work the system.

And by my values, whoever does this must be able to support the students in their cultures as well as academics. If they want to assimulate, fine, they have that right. But if they want to be successful academically and still retain their culture, then they have that right as well - the two things should not be multuially exclusive.

Damn, longest post I ever made - probably too long. Hope it fit your question - kind of got lost there somewhere in the middle.

take care.

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Replies:

Re: Steve - please read this one first -- Steve Russell, Fri, 11/22/02 8:40pm
- Re: Steve - please read this one first -- skin, Sat, 11/23/02 11:22am