Real.Strong.Women of Distinction

Thanks to my Alpha Chi Omega sister, Cecilia Sierra Edwards, for nominating me for one of the Real.Strong.Women of Distinction Awards.  

In an effort to maintain an accountability in my writing, I share with you all my responses to the required questions for the nomination.

Please share the impact your Alpha Chi Omega experience has made throughout your journey to success.

Maximum Number of Words: 300

When I joined Gamma Rho chapter, I was a shy sophomore with a few friends 400 miles from home.  Alpha Chi Omega gave me the tools to come out of my corner with confidence and determination.  The skills I learned in Alpha Chi Omega were invaluable as I headed down my career pathway as an educator.  I never dreamed of leading a classroom, a department meeting, or national organization.

My sisters elected me Chaplain my senior year.  Through leadership development programs provided by the chapter, and informal mentoring by local alumnae, I learned more about organizing a band of women to impact the community than I ever thought possible.  Furthermore, Alpha Chi Omega fostered my creativity and gave me a passion for working with diverse groups.

I learned just how important the skills learned in Gamma Rho activities were when I entered the classroom as a teacher.  From project organization and leadership to public speaking, Alpha Chi Omega prepared me as well as my education course work for creating a learning environment that reached all students where they were and engaged them in the content.

My experiences in Alpha Chi Omega created a sense of self-confidence and reliance that allowed me to pursue and complete a doctoral program in geographic education.  I may have been smart enough to pursue graduate study, but Alpha Chi Omega taught me perseverance which is essential to advanced academic coursework and research.  Once again, the networking and organizational skills proved essential as I entered academia earning both promotion and tenure at the first opportunity.

From the high school geography classroom in rural south Texas to teacher preparation programs at an SEC flagship institution, the skills I learned in Alpha Chi Omega have lasted and continue to help me foster change in our world.

Tell us about your accomplishments as they are applicable to your successes.

Maximum Number of Words: 300

After leaving Texas Tech and Gamma Rho Chapter, I earned a Master of Arts in Teaching from Trinity University and taught high school social studies in south central Texas six years - moving from novice teacher to co-lead geography teacher of a group of 13 geography teachers.  In 1999, I won one of the Target Teachers Scholarships to further my education.   

I coordinated the Texas Alliance for Geographic Education’s 2001 Geography Awareness Week (GAW) program and traveled to Washington, DC, to work with other GAW coordinators at the National Geographic Society.  I made connections with award-winning educators and so many others.  I received the runner-up in the National Council for Geographic Education (NCGE) Natoli Dissertation Award in 2007 for my research on underrepresented students’ perceptions of careers in geography.  

I mentored students on projects that have been accepted for publication and/or presentation at nationally recognized conferences such as the National Council for the Social Studies, the ESRI Education Users’ Conference, and the Applied Geography Conference.  The Mississippi Geographic Alliance Steering Committee nominated me for an NCGE Distinguished Teaching Award in 2012.  

Additionally, I worked with ETS on the Praxis II National Advisory Committee for Geography, and as a table leader for the Advanced Placement (AP) Human Geography exam.  The APHG community helped me more clearly see a future for geography in the K-12 classroom.  Through their eyes, I see a future beyond place-name geography.  

In 2009, I was asked to fill the unexpired term of the Recording Secretary.  I served NCGE in that capacity until my election as Vice President of Curriculum & Instruction.  As President of the NCGE Board of Directors in 2016, I helped implement a more modern system of governance for nonprofit organizations and led the organization through a strategic planning process for the next five years.

Flood Them in February!

 A group of concerned voters from north Mississippi met today and drafted the following letter. Please share widely among your networks.

Thanks,
e


Dear Mississippians:

The 2017 legislative session is in recess, and the legislature has yet to decide on an educational funding formula for Mississippi schools.  The likely next step is for the Governor to call a Special Session of the legislature, which under the rules of a Special Session, would allow the Governor and Speaker of the House to bypass all rules, regulations and deadlines in the legislature.  

For those concerned that all Mississippi schools and students receive adequate educational funding, please write postcards to your State legislators.  Let’s Flood them in February! Postcards work best when they are respectful, short and state that you live in their district.  Important points to cover:

1. The Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP) is not flawed; it has been fully funded only twice (e.g. 2002 and 2007) since its passage.  
2. Urge your legislator to advocate for total transparency about the funding debate.  
3. Last year the Educational Enhancement Fund allocated $36 million dollars for classroom supplies, but only $12 million dollars reached classrooms.  

This is step one in an what is likely to require ongoing action steps. You may choose to write to one or all three points, but above all personalize your message to maximize the impact of your note.  To be successful, send your postcards by February 28th.

We recommend you direct one note to Senator Tollison as Chairman of the Senate Education Committee.  Then, let your legislators know how you feel,  and let your friends know how they can help.

Most sincerely,

Fund Education First!

Legislative Contacts

Senator Gray Tollison  

Chair, Senate Education Committee

Room: 404-A

P.O. Box 1018

Jackson, MS 39215

(601) 359-2395

District 8

Representative Trey Lamar

Room: 201

P.O. Box 1018

Jackson, MS 39215

(601) 359-3343

District 10

Representative Nolan Mettetal

Room: 205-A

P.O. Box 1018

Jackson, MS 39215

(601) 359-3331

District 12

Representative Jay Hughes

Room: 400-F

P.O. Box 1018

Jackson, MS 39215

(601) 359-3339

District 13

Representative Steve Massengill

Capitol:

Room: 400-E

P.O. Box 1018
Jackson, MS 39215

(601) 359-3353

District 23

Representative Jim Beckett

Room 205-C

P.O. Box 1018

Jackson, MS 39215

(601) 359-3335

If your Representative is not listed above, visit: http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/members/h_roster.pdf

House Education Committee:

   John L. Moore, Chairman; Rob Roberson, Vice-Chairman

     Members: Toby Barker; Richard Bennett; Joel Bomgar; Randy P. Boyd; Charles Busby; Credell Calhoun; Gary Chism; Alyce G. Clarke; Carolyn Crawford; Dana Criswell; Becky Currie; Scott DeLano; Jarvis Dortch; Bob Evans; Mark Formby; Jeffrey S. Guice; Ashley Henley; Gregory Holloway, Sr.; Steve Hopkins; Chris Johnson; Vince Mangold; Carl Mickens; Orlando Paden; Rufus Straughter; Sara R. Thomas; Brad Touchstone; Kenneth Walker; Sonya Williams-Barnes; Cory Wilson

The full Senate roster can be found at: http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/members/s_roster.pdf

Senate Education Committee:

   Gray Tollison, Chairman; Chris Caughman, Vice-Chairman

     Members: Kevin Blackwell; David Blount; Terry C. Burton; Eugene S. Clarke; Angela Burks Hill; W. Briggs Hopson III; Billy Hudson; David Jordan; Chris Massey; Sollie B. Norwood; John A. Polk; Brice Wiggins; J. P. Wilemon, Jr.

Disgusted by Our Administration

Edyte and I met in 1982 at John H. Wood Middle School.  Time and distance pass, but we are still the best of friends.  I feel blessed to be part of her life.  

Edyte is a first generation American, a mother of multiracial two (now grown) children, an artist, and a teacher.  Her parents' story of emigration from Hungary to the United States is a powerful one.  I hope she shares it with the world one day.  

I share Edyte's piece with you so it may be shared with a broader audience.  

I'm proud to call her friend!

#Resist #NoBanNoWall #ScienceMatters #BeTheChange #WomensMarch 

By Edyte Hargita Parsons * Sunday, January 29, 2017

I am signing up on the Muslim registry, if it actually comes to fruition. I will sign up not because I practice any religion but because I stand by my fellow Americans. I know too many beautiful, wonderful, amazing, dynamic Muslims. The school I teach at has a good proportion of Muslims and I stand by them. If they intern my little Muslim students, I will stand with them; go with them if need be. I will continue to educate them the best that I can. They shouldn’t be there alone.

I will support my nation’s children.

A Jewish registry will find my name on it as well. Not only because my grandparents ran during the war, uncles and aunts passed away during that horrible time, but also because our nation has had incredible contributions from this community that I refuse to ignore.

I will stand by these beautiful, strong people of our nation.

If there is a registry for any denomination of Christianity, I am registering with them as well. I do not practice any Christian religion but I stand with them regardless. We all have the right to practice our choice of religion and I stand by their choice.

I support all the people of this wonderful nation, regardless of their religious orientation.

When there is a registry for LGBTQ, I am signing it as well. There are too many close, personal friends and family in my circle that are LGBTQ that I cannot let them stand alone. Our great nation was built on their contributions as much as any others.

I support all the people of this great nation, regardless of their sexual orientation.

If there is a registry for people of color, be it brown, red, black, purple, green, or any other color, my name will be on it. This little red-headed freckled woman stands by all the people of any race because like most of us, I am a mix of all races. If I do not sign up, I will be denying a part of me and there is no part of me that I am willing to negate. There are too many people, past and present that have offered too much for this nation for me to not support them.

I support all the good people of my country, whatever their race.

Lists of any ethnicity will find my name on it as well. My family ancestry spans the entirety of Europe and Asia and beyond. People originally from America, from Ireland, Poland, Ukraine, France, Italy, China, Japan, Kenya, Ecuador, Mexico, and every other nation in the world are here to build an amazing country we call home.

I stand by their accomplishments and hard work. I support all Americans, regardless of their ethnicity.

I am signing a registry if it comes out for all those that are immigrants or first generation immigrants, legal, documented, or otherwise. Being first generation American, I am most likely already designated for this list but am proudly signing my name for whatever comes along. Alongside every other immigrant, my family has helped build this nation, which, aside from indigenous nations of First Peoples, is every person here.

I support anyone that comes to this nation to build a better life for themselves, their families and this country.

For those that are impaired in any way, I hold my hand up high and volunteer to join that listing as well. My grandparents were both deaf, so perhaps that is why they were running for their lives from Hitler’s regime? I don’t know and frankly, I don’t think it matters. They, and every other person, with or without a disability has made their own lovely contribution to the world we call home.

I support all the people of our America, regardless of ability. I am already part of the “registry” of women and am proud of it. Without women, none of us would be here. No amount of misogyny will diminish the strength I feel in my womanhood. I stand by all the women in this amazing nation.

I support all the people of the country I call my own, no matter what gender they profess. If scientists are held to a standard and become attacked for their profession, I stand by them as well.

I believe in the scientific method. If there is a list of climate change believers, of environmentalists, of conservationists, I will sign it as well. We are a people of intellect and diminishing truths cannot make the country better, rather it will mire us in self-destruction.

I stand by those working to make this a better world through science and knowledge.

What I will not stand by is bigotry, xenophobia, misogyny and hatred. I will not stand by as people are attacked, and ridiculed and hurt because of who they are, not what they have done. I will not stand by people condemning the good individuals of our great nation due to race, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic backgrounds, belief systems, gender, origin or profession. I will support love and acceptance, hard work, tolerance, forgiveness and perseverance. I will support respect and loyalty, family and comradery. If this means I am on every registry so be it. If it means I am subjected to an internment camp, I will be there to support my people and to educate the children until the confinement is over. And I will keep fighting after.

I stand by the America I love.

Longtime Gone

So, it's been a busy almost four years since my last post here.

Lots has happened, and I wrote a mostly-monthly blog as President of the National Council for Geographic Education last year.  You can see those in the NCGE.org Archives.  Here's a link to the last one of 2016.

I dusted off the Blogger account to: 

1. encourage my own writing ethic which I developed over the past year,
2. elaborate on interesting posts in social media in more than 140 characters,
3. create a space for creative non-fiction writing which may not fit my employer's acceptable use of their Google Sites,
4. share my own path of resistance to the current administration (federal and state), and
5. stand with my friends and colleagues as we fight against oppression and suppression of our inalienable rights.

Enough for now. 

Strength, healing, and peace to you all.

ejf

You can follow me on Twitter @ellenjfoster

#NoBanNoWall

#Resist

#NoMuslimBan

#ScienceMatters

#WomensMarch