Great observation and commentary. My wife is a “gifted and talented” elementary school teacher in the Washington State system. As a witness to the talent pool the State is identifying, I see it all end at the identification stage. There are some enhancement activities, but it hasn’t been too strong on career linkages. There is no outside “scout” engaged and supporting this endeavor, and consequently execpt for zealous parents and teachers(and occaisional a sympathetic school board member), who cares? I wonder if our American culture will react until this gets to a crisis status?
The link to careers really is something we’re missing, and as you point out, that’s even a problem for those kids who have already been identified as gifted and talented. The Kellogg New Options Initiative is aimed at trying to design that link for the millions of out of school youth - those who drop out, maybe get a GED - who are not well served by the education system. I recall a program officer at the foundation making the observation that good results for those young people from youth development programs are “abundant,” but that it is the connection to working life that is missing.
One hopeful anecdote I can mention, though, is that, for whatever other shortcomings they may have, some charter schools in LA are producing excellent results with low income children, many of whom are from immigrant families in which English is not spoken at home. One of the pioneers of this effort in LA, at least, Yvonne Chan, founded the Vaughn Learning Center in a heavily Latino section of the northeast of LA. The school now has excellent API scores, but more interestingly, and maybe more important from the standpoint of preparing for globablization’s effects, these children are all expected to be proficient in both English and Spanish AND to take 4 years of Mandarin. I hope we’ll soon see calls for making such an emphasis on mulit-lingualism the rule, not the exception. (Yvonne Chan was recently honored by the Irvine Foundation as one of 6 outstanding leaders - here’s the link: http://www.irvine.org/leadershipAwards/recipients/yvonneChan.shtml).
Thanks for your comment, and plese tell your wife to keep up the good work (my parents were both teachers, a great calling).
I happened to stumble into a situation where I witnessed and recognized the gap between the individual and their career opportunities in a Native American community. That has lead into the development of a movement (SuKadem Foundation) here to fill that gap through a unique link. A Native American I met holds specific commercial characteristics that very few individuals in the US are known to possess. He also has a heart for helping, that has lead him to participate in a youth program that is in part financed by the Kellogg Foundation. I am only beginning to understand all the implications, but I know the unmet need in his federal procurement opportunities are in excess of 2% of the federal budget. That alone is a big bite to chew, and takes tremendous resources. He is a unigue link between “living wage” jobs and marginialized communities.
The challenge for me as his project director is: where do we find the human resources in a tight employment market to capture even a drop leaking out of this federal bucket? I believe the answer lies in attracting and utilizing the marginalized overlooked groups in our world that are a treasure trove of skills and abilities. The multi-language skills you mention developed through immigration and living lives in diverse communities seems a natural precursor and advantage. It’s where I am inclined to look and aggressively pursue linkages to fill the need.
My daughter (recent GSB grad) tipped me off on the Kipp Foundation, another charter school exhibiting positive results from disadvantaged groups. It helps to see others (Vaughn Learning Center) sharing the lessons learned. I believe reinforcing the educational work of many committed individuals (like Yvonne Chan) will break the cycles of poverty and inherent social illness. It will only be by linking the hopeless to hope and opportunity that progress will be made.
I hope we become part of the solution to the disconnect. On a small scale, I’ve seen some results. It’s powerful and satisfying to witness the transformation. Again, thanks for your insights. It all helps. I plan to share your comments at our next staff meeting.
What a good article - I wish that we could loose this divifde between funded and non funded. At the end of the day it is about results, sorry greenbacks. Irrespective if it is from you bosses pockets or Joe public
Results - make Succsess and where used properly can save lives.
I happened to stumble into a situation where I witnessed and recognized the gap between the individual and their career opportunities in a Native American community. That has lead into the development of a movement (SuKadem Foundation) here to fill that gap through a unique link. A Native American I met holds specific commercial characteristics that very few individuals in the US are known to possess. He also has a heart for helping, that has lead him to participate in a youth program that is in part financed by the Kellogg Foundation. I am only beginning to understand all the implications, but I know the unmet need in his federal procurement opportunities are in excess of 2% of the federal budget. That alone is a big bite to chew, and takes tremendous resources. He is a unigue link between “living wage” jobs and marginialized communities.
COMMENTS
BY Doug Robertson
ON July 28, 2007 11:44 AM
Great observation and commentary. My wife is a “gifted and talented” elementary school teacher in the Washington State system. As a witness to the talent pool the State is identifying, I see it all end at the identification stage. There are some enhancement activities, but it hasn’t been too strong on career linkages. There is no outside “scout” engaged and supporting this endeavor, and consequently execpt for zealous parents and teachers(and occaisional a sympathetic school board member), who cares? I wonder if our American culture will react until this gets to a crisis status?
BY Pete Manzo
ON August 1, 2007 12:07 AM
Doug,
The link to careers really is something we’re missing, and as you point out, that’s even a problem for those kids who have already been identified as gifted and talented. The Kellogg New Options Initiative is aimed at trying to design that link for the millions of out of school youth - those who drop out, maybe get a GED - who are not well served by the education system. I recall a program officer at the foundation making the observation that good results for those young people from youth development programs are “abundant,” but that it is the connection to working life that is missing.
One hopeful anecdote I can mention, though, is that, for whatever other shortcomings they may have, some charter schools in LA are producing excellent results with low income children, many of whom are from immigrant families in which English is not spoken at home. One of the pioneers of this effort in LA, at least, Yvonne Chan, founded the Vaughn Learning Center in a heavily Latino section of the northeast of LA. The school now has excellent API scores, but more interestingly, and maybe more important from the standpoint of preparing for globablization’s effects, these children are all expected to be proficient in both English and Spanish AND to take 4 years of Mandarin. I hope we’ll soon see calls for making such an emphasis on mulit-lingualism the rule, not the exception. (Yvonne Chan was recently honored by the Irvine Foundation as one of 6 outstanding leaders - here’s the link: http://www.irvine.org/leadershipAwards/recipients/yvonneChan.shtml).
Thanks for your comment, and plese tell your wife to keep up the good work (my parents were both teachers, a great calling).
BY Doug Robertson
ON August 1, 2007 10:47 AM
I happened to stumble into a situation where I witnessed and recognized the gap between the individual and their career opportunities in a Native American community. That has lead into the development of a movement (SuKadem Foundation) here to fill that gap through a unique link. A Native American I met holds specific commercial characteristics that very few individuals in the US are known to possess. He also has a heart for helping, that has lead him to participate in a youth program that is in part financed by the Kellogg Foundation. I am only beginning to understand all the implications, but I know the unmet need in his federal procurement opportunities are in excess of 2% of the federal budget. That alone is a big bite to chew, and takes tremendous resources. He is a unigue link between “living wage” jobs and marginialized communities.
The challenge for me as his project director is: where do we find the human resources in a tight employment market to capture even a drop leaking out of this federal bucket? I believe the answer lies in attracting and utilizing the marginalized overlooked groups in our world that are a treasure trove of skills and abilities. The multi-language skills you mention developed through immigration and living lives in diverse communities seems a natural precursor and advantage. It’s where I am inclined to look and aggressively pursue linkages to fill the need.
My daughter (recent GSB grad) tipped me off on the Kipp Foundation, another charter school exhibiting positive results from disadvantaged groups. It helps to see others (Vaughn Learning Center) sharing the lessons learned. I believe reinforcing the educational work of many committed individuals (like Yvonne Chan) will break the cycles of poverty and inherent social illness. It will only be by linking the hopeless to hope and opportunity that progress will be made.
I hope we become part of the solution to the disconnect. On a small scale, I’ve seen some results. It’s powerful and satisfying to witness the transformation. Again, thanks for your insights. It all helps. I plan to share your comments at our next staff meeting.
BY David Wilson
ON November 22, 2007 06:02 AM
What a good article - I wish that we could loose this divifde between funded and non funded. At the end of the day it is about results, sorry greenbacks. Irrespective if it is from you bosses pockets or Joe public
Results - make Succsess and where used properly can save lives.
Shake off this PC thing and think global
BY David Wilson
ON November 22, 2007 06:06 AM
I happened to stumble into a situation where I witnessed and recognized the gap between the individual and their career opportunities in a Native American community. That has lead into the development of a movement (SuKadem Foundation) here to fill that gap through a unique link. A Native American I met holds specific commercial characteristics that very few individuals in the US are known to possess. He also has a heart for helping, that has lead him to participate in a youth program that is in part financed by the Kellogg Foundation. I am only beginning to understand all the implications, but I know the unmet need in his federal procurement opportunities are in excess of 2% of the federal budget. That alone is a big bite to chew, and takes tremendous resources. He is a unigue link between “living wage” jobs and marginialized communities.
This is what I refered to - but why stumble - find them yourself - look
http://www.allneedsandwants.com