Battered Not Broken

Reflecting on the 2016 voting season, we are challenged to think anew concerning the connection between the theory and practice of social justice and adult education. I suggest that we should mirror the mission of the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education (AAACE), and its call to “provide leadership for the field of adult and continuing education” (AAACE, 2017). It is my belief that as adult educators, we have not provided leadership for the field in addressing social justice issues because we have been battered and are fearful to address civic(s) topics. Battered is defined as “injured by repeated blows or punishment” (Oxford Dictionaries, 2017). Higher education has experienced repeated blows with the reduction of funding by state legislatures, the questioning of the value of higher education associated with student debt and remedial education, and a feeling of powerlessness and fear among many of my colleagues in the wake of the 2016 democratic process. I contend that as adult educators, we should recognize the 2016 voting results as a call to action to inculcate ourselves with the mission of AAACE, become advocates for higher education, and develop strategies for ourselves, our students, and the community. We must engage in civil dialogues that move us away from divisive political rhetoric and recapture our position as leaders in addressing social justice issues; we may be battered, but it is my belief that we are not broke

Probationary periods- promoting excellence or legel loophole?

This study, prepared for the Department of Public Administration, will evaluate the use and perceived effectiveness of probationary periods within the State of Nevada government. The probationary period is widely used throughout the private and public sectors; however very little systematic data has been collected on this topic. The probationary period can be valued as the most valid determinant of job performance and seen as the last step in the selection process or it can be a tool to deny first amendment rights. The effective use of probationary periods should be of importance to private and public agencies, managers, and prospective employees. Working from literature, selected authors writings and questionnaires, this report will describe and evaluate the use of probationary periods at the State of Nevada. The responding agencies identified that nearly 50 percent of probationary employees do not successfully complete their probationary period. It is recommended that the State of Nevada track probationary period dismissals in an attempt to assess the effectiveness of the probationary period

The Worsening Political Divide: Adult Education as Part of the Cure

The US is experiencing extreme social and political polarization not seen since the Civil War. This divisiveness is causing civil unrest and governmental dysfunction which threatens the stability of the nation. Four major causes of the current state are party realignment, the deregulation of news broadcasting, algorithmic personalization of electronic information, and an unknowing public. Adult education can and should be part of the remedy reducing or eliminating harmful polarization. Knowledge of authoritative systems is key to the solution. To promote such knowledge, adult educators can create practical and theoretical learning experiences about authoritative systems and incorporate such knowledge into existing courses and programs. Breadth of the field should produce myriad ways to do so particular to each educator’s practice

Legal Analysis: Sexual Assault on Campus.

Title IX was originally designed to prevent sexual discrimination in educational and campus activities for any institution receiving federal aid. Though still responsible for this purpose, Title IX and its amendments have developed into an expansive set of laws to protect students. The prevention of sexual assault and sexual harassment is a crucial issue for college campuses across the United States as they work to provide a safe educational environment free from discrimination. Updated legislation and high-profile cases have created a maelstrom for campus leaders. The crossroads of federal oversight, state law, and institutional interpretation of the laws can inhibit educational institutions from responding appropriately when issues arise. This paper offers a legal review, provides policy strategies and recommendations for addressing sexual assault and sexual harassment on college campuses

College and Career Readiness In Appalachia: An Urban and Rural Perspective

Career Ready: Are You? For decades, American businesses have been critical of the workplace readiness skills that high school graduates have brought to the workplace. A shift from a manufacturing-based economy to a more service-oriented job market has created a demand for a labor force that possesses these critical skills. Moreover, what has been lacking are programs that can address this issue. Gewertz (2016) found that only 8% of U.S. high school graduates completed a Career College Readiness program. Also, only 25% have a clear idea of how to move into career pathways coupled with a limited amount of information on how to choose a career path (Cuseo, Thompson, & McGlauglin, 2016). How do we address this issue in Appalachia? Through collaborative efforts with local business, practitioners and postsecondary institutions, students will be exposed to resources that they can use in their transition from middle school -high school and into college or the workforce and beyond. Students who complete the training will earn a career readiness certificate to present to potential employers or an academic institution as a component of their professional portfolio. This program supports a developing model based on three areas of emphasis: Career READINESS, Career AWARENESS and Understanding Cultural DIVERSITY (R.A.D.). The program is structured to support student success plans, career pathways, provide an introduction and further exploration of resources that supports career development. Once implemented, this credential can be provided based on a student’s ability to demonstrate career readiness and work ethic competencies which include problem-solving, teamwork, punctuality, and technical skill competencies

“I’ll Take Two Please … Sike”: Paying the Black Tax in Adult Education

We live in a society wherein anti-Black racism is pervasive. It infiltrates every aspect of life, including work life spaces. In spite of the recent call for higher education to become antiracist, a tall order for an institution literally and figuratively built on racist attitudes and behaviors, higher education continues to be a cesspool for racism. Literature is replete with stories of the toll working in such environments takes on Black and Brown people. Some have called it “The Black Tax.” Palmer and Walker (2020) riff off of Rochester’s (2018) popularization of the financial “Black Tax” to relate it to psycho-social realities of Black people. Palmer and Walker define it as “the psychological weight or stressor that Black people experience from consciously or unconsciously thinking about how White Americans perceive the social construct of Blackness” (para. 2). Black and Brown adult educators pay this tax multiple times in the course of working in academe and that tax is doubled when they teach subjects that center equity and social justice. This paper will share through dialogic reconstruction multivocal layered accounts of Black and Brown adult educators, each with a different positionality, but all who understand what it means to pay the Black tax in adult education. Working from a critical race lens, the authors engage in a collaborative evocative autoethnography to analyze their experiences with the impact of the Black tax on their role as adult education professors in higher education. We determined the following themes as salient to our Black Tax experience: A sick place, moving the line, bring me a rock, and weaponizing our power. Understanding how anti-Black racism operates is key to adult education as a discipline moving toward its ever-elusive goal of parity and justice and reflecting on its theories and practices that stymie those efforts