Mountain Times - Volume 49, Number 40 - Sept. 30-Oct. 6, 2020

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Opinion 8 • The Mountain Times • Sept. 30 - Oct. 6, 2020 OP-ED Five C’s for Vermont schools Dr. Michael Shank As a university professor, I’m constantly thinking about how to best equip my graduate students with life skills. I’m always taken aback when they struggle with how to communicate effectively, handle conflict constructively, think critically, or engage civically. Not only is a degree less valuable now, it’s also less applicable. Especially as it becomes commonplace to bully online and offline, accept anything shared online as “fact,” avoid dialogue and engage combatively, disengage from the public policymaking process, and refuse to view the world from someone else’s perspective. Setting up students for success, then, requires a doubling down – by school and community – on five fronts: skills-building in conflict transformation and resolution, critical thinking, interpersonal and professional communication, civic engagement, and compassion. In Vermont, we’re shifting towards more “transferable skills,”which, according to Vermont’s Agency of Education, include clear and effective communication, creative and practical problem-solving, informed and integrative thinking, self-directed learning, and responsible and involved citizenship. They’re taking a front seat in the state’s educational standards, which is exactly what’s needed, though it’s often left to the discretion of each educator to integrate. And “trickle down” training that accompanies shifts in programmatic focus, where a few people get trained and “bring their learning back,” isn’t scalable. This is the essential stuff on which successful personal and professional environments depend. Let’s teach it with the rigor and resources it deserves. Schools need resources for systematic, schoolwide, skills building if we want the transferable skills initiative to have real impact. Training for administrators, teachers, paraeducators, mental health staff, substitute teachers, board members, and more – i.e. any adult that regularly works in school. Families will benefit from that LETTERS Jerome has served us well Dear Editor, Two years ago I urged people to vote for Stephanie Jerome because of her stance on education. Today, I urge people once again to vote for Stephanie Jerome not because of what she might do for us but because of what she has already done. I’m constantly impressed by Representative Jerome. I’ve reached out to her about various concerns from radon testing in our schools to protecting Vermonters from surprise automatic renewals for apps and services, and each time she has come back to me with information about what the legislature is doing or what she has done to advance the issue in committee. From responding to messages to her weekly column in the local paper, her meetings for constituents, and her attendance at select, board meetings, I have never met a representative so accessible. Jerome also worked hard to create solutions to the unemployment benefits breakdown that happened with Covid-19 as the legislative team action leader, helping her constituents as well as those across Vermont. skills-build, since that’s where learning is modeled, so this should be a community-wide agenda. If we want our students to develop these skills, we need the state to formally give local communities, schools, and teachers the resources necessary to make it happen and set explicit expectations for this work. Take conflict skills. Several districts recently received a state grant to implement restorative practices with support from Vermont’s Restorative Approaches Collaborative. This is good. Conflicts are common in classrooms. Practices to address them and restore relationships are not. Canadian schools show that peer mediation programs successfully resolve 90% of conflicts and reduce physically aggressive behavior 51-65%. That’s significant. These programs make schools safer and more conducive to learning and set up students for success as adults when resolving conflict and restoring broken personal-professional relationships. These skills are helpful with de-escalation on social media and in resolving workplace disputes. That’s why they’re transferable skills: there are lifelong benefits. Take critical thinking skills. The frenzy around whether something is fact or fiction, and the propensity of politicos to push unverified agendas shows how in-demand As a teacher, I know how 5 Cs > 9 Jerome > 9 Vote Hooker for Senate Dear Editor, As a farmer, teacher, and proud member of the Rutland County community, I am voting for Senator Cheryl Hooker in the November election. Hooker is a positive and proactive Senator, who cares about people, businesses, the environment, and the health and sustainability of our community. She has Vermonters can work together to ... live and thrive. worked to improve childcare, food security, and higher education and has supported legislation to increase the minimum wage and provide paid family leave. During the pandemic, Cheryl Hooker has not wavered in her belief that Vermonters can work together to make our state a resilient and safe place to live and thrive. Please join me in voting for Cheryl Hooker for Senate! Carol Tashie, Wallingford Orwellian Trump by Rick McKee, CagleCartoons.com Greg Cox isn’t done yet Dear Editor, As the story goes, a lost driver pulls up to a farmhouse, the farmer is sitting on the porch eating lunch. The driver gets some directions and they chat a bit. “Nice spread you got here, have you lived here all your life?” asks the driver. The farmer grins, “Not yet!” And so it is with Greg Cox, a farmer and activist all of his life (so far!) and he’s not done yet either. Greg has been active in many enterprises for a long time even while being a full-time farmer: At the Farmers Market (of which he is the founding and active member), you can find him teaching young children about farming and growing in the new VFFC greenhouse, selling produce at the market, working with the state and legislature, in community movements to improve relationships and enterprise between the state, citizens, farmers, and an increasingly thriving local agricultural community. He is active in the community, sensitive to the political and social issues of the day, and describes himself as less political Cox > 9 Factory farmed animals are suffering Dear Editor, While we debate the composition of our nation’s Supreme Court, there can be no debate about the supreme suffering taking place in our nation’s factory farms. Recent undercover investigations show male baby chicks suffocated in plastic garbage bags or ground alive because they can’t lay eggs. Laying hens are packed into small wire cages that tear out their feathers. Breeding sows spend their entire lives pregnant in metal cages. Dairy cows are artificially impregnated each year, and their babies are snatched from them at birth, so we can drink their milk. I found more details at dayforanimals.org – World Farmed Animals Day, launched in 1983 to memorialize the tens of billions of animals tormented and killed for food. I learned that raising animals for food is also hurting our health and the health of our planet. Each of us has to choose whether to subsidize these atrocities with our food dollars. My Meat > 9
The Mountain Times • Sept. 30 - Oct. 6, 2020 OPINION • 9 CAPITOL QUOTES On the GOP’s rush to nominate a Supreme Court Justice... “The history is clear – that if the President and the Senator are of the same party, the confirmation goes through, and if they’re of a different party, the confirmation doesn’t go through. By making this nomination, the President is delivering on his promise to the voters, and by the Senate confirming this nominee, the Republicans who made that promise are delivering on our promise to the voters,” Said Sen. Ted Cruz “My decision regarding a Supreme Court nomination is not the result of a subjective test of ‘fairness’ which, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. It is based on the immutable fairness of following the law, which in this case is the constitution and precedent. The historical precedent of election year nominations is that the Senate generally does not confirm an opposing party’s nominee, but does confirm a nominee of its own,” Said Sen. Mitt Romney > 5 Cs: Setting up students for success in the future from page 8 critical thinking is. When my students fail to back up assertions with good data, I push them to cite legitimate sources. That training can start young, helping students poke and prod for proof. It takes a confident administration to embrace studentled change. If we want our students to enter the world with a critical lens, then we must support informed thinking early. Take communication skills. We know the digital world and Covid-19 have undermined our ability to have constructive in-person conversations and experience the socioemotional feedback that attends face-to-face interactions. The competition from the smartphone is fierce, and social media has made it easy to communicate impersonally and antagonistically. Requiring that curricula prioritize interpersonal communication skills-building is a start, and school districts, like mine, are now rolling out social-emotional curriculum. But it must be prioritized and practiced frequently to put kids on a more communicative path. Take civic engagement. There’s no curriculum for Vermont’s “global citizenship” content area. A weak connection between our lived reality and the school curriculum can leave students uninspired to change that reality. There’s a need to embed civic engagement in classrooms, incentivize it, and build apprenticeships for youth across all aspects of public service. In Vermont, we’re approaching a problematic transition if we don’t tee up the next generation to serve. Unless those relationships are established now, in towns and cities, we face more attrition. Let’s build a mentor corps and transfer generations’ worth of expertise to the emerging leadership – translating that opportunity in ways that appeal. Take compassion. Adult behavior change is tough. If empathy is built early, then perspective-taking becomes possible and the mind more malleable – attributes helpful in crisis situations. In addition to district-wide additions of social-emotional curricula, let’s add a service corps to help those in need. Make it a part of the school curriculum. This is something I grew up doing as a Mennonite, learning to serve and see the world through others’ eyes. Getting our students into public service could do wonders for cultivating compassion. This is the essential stuff on which successful personal and professional environments depend. Let’s teach it with the rigor and resources it deserves. This is what gets you hired because you communicated flawlessly during an interview, keeps you employed because you know how to manage workplace conflict, saves a relationship because you know how to understand a partner’s pain, or transforms a community because you’re actively involved in leading it. Let’s make sure our students are set up for success. The world needs them now. Dr. Michael Shank, a resident of Brandon, teaches at New York University’s Center for Global Affairs and George Mason University’s Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution. “We are not even debating whether the Senate should hold hearings on a nominee in an election year. We are not in the middle of an election year. We are in the middle of an election, “ Said VP candidate Kamala Harris “Senate Republicans can’t get it together to pass Covid relief for all the people who have been laid off, are at risk of getting evicted, or can’t put food on the table. But they’re ramming through a SCOTUS nominee 36 days before an election,” Said Senate candidate John Hickenlooper “I will scrutinize Judge Barrett’s nomination as I have the 19 others over my 46 years ... Yet a dark cloud looms over this nomination, as President Trump and Senate Republicans are dispensing with any sense of basic decency — along with every single precedent ... in order to reshape the Court to deprive millions of Americans of healthcare and unravel their constitutional protections,” Said Sen. Patrick Leahy Covid-19 has reinforced the need for universal high-speed internet access for Vermonters. Without it, we cannot attract companies, people cannot work from home, and students cannot access remote learning. Stephanie has been working on ensur- Jerome: A proven leader, deserves re-election from page 8 ing that every home and business has the access they need. As we face ongoing challenges in the shrinking Vermont economy, she remains committed to advocating for local jobs, as a business person, a consumer, and a legislator. While we face such uncertainty on > > Cox: Focused on what’s best for Rutland from page 8 than pragmatic. This is demonstrated through his already impressive achievements, and in his daily interactions with others. We need this attitude and experience in the Statehouse where Greg Is running for the Senate this year. > Meat: Animals need not suffer from page 8 choice has been to replace animal products in my diet with the healthful, cruelty-free plantbased meats and dairy We need people like him, this is a man who is humble, but who passionately cares and is fearless about advocating for what he believes is right and necessary to make our community better, who is willing to work for positive change without being products, as well as the rich selection of fruits and vegetables offered by my supermarket. A quick internet search provided the national stage, it is a comfort to have someone so reliable and hardworking in Montpelier. Please vote for Stephanie Jerome and send her back to the legislature to keep on advocating for the people of Brandon, Pittsford, and Sudbury. Carrie Mol, Brandon beholden to one party or the other, focused on what’s best for the Rutland County community, as well as this beautiful state. Please consider voting for Greg Cox for State Senate. Sincerely, David A. Engels Rutland lots of recipes and sound advice. Sincerely, Mario Vincelette, Rutland
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Mountain Times - Volume 49, Number 40 - Sept. 30-Oct. 6, 2020

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