A few days ago, I wrote about an Education Accountability Session sponsored by the Pima County Interfaith Council and others. Though a number of candidates were given a chance to speak — briefly — the highlight of the event was listening to seven young and not-so-young adults talk about their personal educational journeys. These are people who have benefited from a combination of their own hard work, often overcoming daunting obstacles, and educational opportunities they found in Pima County. I was so moved and impressed by their stories, I invited some of them to be on the cable access program I host with Ann-Eve Pedersen, Education: The Rest of the Story. Two of the seven were able to come, though more wanted to. These are busy folks, as you’ll learn from listening to Ana Chavarin in this interview. One of the participants wanted to come, and he was even willing to miss some work and lose some of his earnings, but his boss advised against it. Going to work was definitely the right choice. Another participant apologized to me, saying she was tutoring a young student at the library during that time. No need to apologize to this old teacher for her dedication to helping a student succeed.
Ana, who is currently a student at Pima Community College, has a wonderful story to tell, and she tells it with the kind of spirit which has carried her this far and will continue to carry her into the future. It’s well worth listening to. It actually gets better about halfway through.
A WHAT-MATTERS-IN-EDUCATION NOTE: We’ve read about the PCC governance problems for a long time now. The college still isn’t over the accreditation hump, and it needs to redouble its efforts to improve. But meanwhile, there are all these students on campus who really don’t care much about the president and the board and all the governance problems. They’re getting their educations thanks to the college’s offerings as well as the support they receive from institutions within the college and around Pima County. We mustn’t let the visible problems at the top make us forget about the hard working folks in the classrooms — teachers and students alike — as well as the student services and organizations which supplement the classroom.
This article appears in Oct 2-8, 2014.
It seems like the interviewer is trying to coach her on what to say.
I am still amazed at the adults that were passed through the Tucson elementary educational facilities without an ability to read, speak, and comprehend English.
Were the teachers forced to pass them? Why didn’t anybody tell the truth?
One thing that is becoming apparent in the hispanic community is that education is pursued by women, but not so much by men. This is creating a real gender backlash that may harm them as a whole.
Mr. T, no, I wasn’t trying to coach her on what to say. I’m an inexperienced interviewer, and she’s probably not experienced in being in that situation. She and I talked beforehand so I knew enough of her story that I could make sure she covered all the important points. One thing she said was so good, about why she does all the things she does, it just amazed me — and I hadn’t heard her say it before.
It was an honor for me to sit and talk with her. If I were in a similar situation to her, I think I would crumble under the pressure.
For once, T, for once, when you have a genuine role model in front of you, someone we can all learn from, can’t you say nice things? Or if that’s impossible, say nothing?
That was you? I wish now I hadn’t said anything. And I’m not going to say things that aren’t genuine, just because…
And here I thought I was helping.
I think I should be hurt. Do you just skim my posts or pick out key words, then comment? My entire first paragraph spells out that I did the interview. Key quote:
“These are people who have benefited from a combination of their own hard work, often overcoming daunting obstacles, and educational opportunities they found in Pima County. I was so moved and impressed by their stories, I invited some of them to be on the cable access program I host with Ann-Eve Pedersen, Education: The Rest of the Story.”
Then again, that might explain some of your comments. Maybe it’s not a reading comprehension issue after all.
Not at all. I read these articles online and it never shows the authors name. I thought you were just a commenter that didn’t like me. I never dreamed you were speaking in the first person.
But with all the young people I work with I want to read stories about up and coming entrepreneurs that will build factories, develop products and hire Tucsonans. I prefer jobs over mental health counseling.
Those would be even better stories. We must prepare for the exit of Raytheon from the area. They appear the next to leave.
Mr. T, if your online feed doesn’t say under the headline, “POSTED BY DAVID SAFIER ON MON, OCT 6, 2014 AT 2:00 PM,” the Weekly should correct the problem. Since this is a blog, it’s only online, so that’s the only way to read it. Both my computer’s browser and my phone’s browser identify the author at the top. If your online feed doesn’t have that information, please let me know what you’re using, and I’ll talk to the folks at the Weekly to see if it can be corrected. Readers should be able to know who wrote something.
Thank you, David, for sharing some of these stories. I am grateful that there are people like you who appreciate the struggles of those seeking a higher education. And you offer sound advice: Let’s not let the governance problems that have troubled PCC for more than a decade distract us from the good efforts that are taking place. That said, positive governance is critical to sustaining those good efforts. One PCC Governing Board seat is on the ballot this November with two candidates competing for that seat. I hope we all take a strong interest and elect the candidate who clearly demonstrates his awareness of those struggles today’s students, and those who want to be students, face. In my opinion, that candidate is Mark Hanna.