Dorothy Rowley
Christine D. Easterling, a past president of the District of Columbia Retired Teachers Association (DCRTA), has been honored for her volunteer work with youth at Raymond Elementary School in Northwest.
Easterling was recommended for the honor by DCRTA awards chairperson, Sandra Jenkins, who noted that her mentoring had resulted in students writing their own articles in the book, "Inspirational Treasures: Essays by Educators and Students reflecting the Joys of Teaching." The book, which was spearheaded by Easterling and published earlier this year, is a whimsical and thought-provoking compilation of experiences on the joys of learning and teaching.
"Thirty one youth wrote articles for the book," said Easterling. "They became instant young authors who were proud to see their names and articles in print. This experience might have inspired them to write their own books one day."
Nominations are currently open for the National Retired Teachers Association (NRTA) "With Our Youth!" awards which celebrate the accomplishments of volunteers working with children and youth.
The "With Our Youth!" program was formed in response to the 1997 Presidents' Summit for America's Future, at which the NRTA network originally made a three-year pledge to provide 45 million volunteer service hours with 1.5 million youth in 2,000 communities. The goal was met and exceeded, and the program continues to grow and flourish.
For more information about nominations and the program, please visit: http://msg4svc.net/culvi/476761/48/1205/81/0/S/0/0/dfhy.html
Vice President Joe Biden was the clear winner in Thursday's debate with GOP contender Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan -- and, in a sometimes heated exchange -- he did what President Barack Obama failed to do in last week's match with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
Biden, 69, came to the table that was aggressively moderated by ABC News' Martha Raddatz, armed with plenty of heart, whereas Ryan, 42, didn't display much muster until the ending rounds of the 90-minute nationally televised debate. On the real side, Biden had a lot to say, and he was eager to say it, effectively reassuring voters that as a team, he and Obama understand what the American people deeply care about.
However, while the Biden-Ryan debate solidifies the position Obama assumed prior to the Oct. 3 square-off with Romney, the real fight won't be won until voters flock to the polls on Nov. 6.
In a feisty showdown where there were real clashes and exchanges from the start, Biden often flashed a toothy grin as if to brush off many of Ryan's non-detailed responses to a host of pointed questions by Raddatz.
Ryan who on the other hand, repeatedly harped on the Obama-Biden record of the last four years, was mostly intense and super sensitive. He expounded on the administration's policies – such as those he said have hindered economic recovery and weakened the country's standing and influence on issues that include ensuring American military forces will pull out of Afghanistan by 2014.
"[Americans] are going bankrupt," Ryan said about the future of programs like Medicare and Social Security. "Medicare was there for my grandmother and mother . . . [but in order to ensure] it for my generation, we must reform [those] programs."
He also accused the Obama administration of not having "any credible solutions [for Medicare and Social Security] on the table."
Biden, who insisted the GOP was never big on Medicare -- even from its beginning -- said the Obama administration wouldn't be part of efforts to privatize Social Security or to engage in a vouchers program.
Ryan in turn, took a shot at reviving the economy, noting that like Democrats, the promise of the Republican tax plan is to grow the economy and to create jobs.
"We want to lower tax rates across the board," Ryan said, to which Biden reasoned, "the only way we can close [any] loopholes, is to focus on efforts aimed at helping the middle class."
Former U.S. Rep. Ron Dellums [D-Calif.] woke up in the wee hours of the morning on Friday wondering what he would tell a young audience at McKinley Technology High School in Northeast later that day about his career and life experiences.
On the other side of town, Reggie Weaver, former president of the National Education Association, would tell students at Roosevelt Senior High School in Northwest, that as a young boy in rural Illinois, he never gave much thought to setting or achieving goals. But he knew that he would go to college.
"That's just the way it was," said Weaver, 73. "My mother said I was going to college and that was that."
Dellums and Weaver joined a contingent of accomplished African-American leaders who visited schools located throughout the country on Friday, Sept. 28, to talk about their journeys along the highway to success and how their young listeners could follow in their footsteps during the third annual HistoryMakers program.
While Dellums, a 13-term congressman, explained to students that he deliberately lied to his mother about securing a full college scholarship and turning his life around in his rough-and-tumble neighborhood in Oakland, Weaver talked about the path that led him to advocacy in public education.
"When I was growing up, I didn't exactly have goals, but I knew I wanted to do things," Weaver told his audience. "However, in going to college I took advantage of opportunities that came my way and in doing so, it took a lot of hard work and treating people right."
Both Dellums and Weaver have earned their place in history. That's why they're considered HistoryMakers and asked to participate in the national Chicago-based program, founded in 2009 by Julieanna Richardson. The annual back-to-school event, sends approximately 500 distinguished African-American leaders from the ranks of politics, education, entertainment and business into schools to inspire students to excel in their studies. About 250 schools – including 30 in the District – participated in the program this year.
Another HistoryMaker, Howard University music professor Raymond Jackson, also a noted classical pianist and lecturer, talked to students at Friendship Collegiate Academy in Northeast about the importance of music in education and being open to various genres.
"Music represents the highest form of art. It's a great model of perfection and balance," Jackson said. He encouraged students to consider writing classical music.
The music teacher enjoyed the day.
"It was a very fruitful visit," said Jackson, who considers Friendship to be one of the finest schools in the District. "The students were receptive and I was pleased to have had the opportunity to increase their thoughts about music."
When it comes to providing state-of-the-art learning environments for students, officials in the District of Columbia have been on a steady roll.
Over the past few years, several of the city's 136 public schools have undergone facelifts to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. And, on Friday, Sept. 28, District officials revealed yet another plan for renovation with the unveiling of the design for the new Frank W. Ballou Senior High School in Southeast.
"From the classroom technology and state-of-the-art band room to the parent resource center, child care center and a health/dental center, the new Ballou will exemplify how a high-tech high school can provide learning and health and family services for an entire community," Mayor Vincent Gray told residents and community leaders during the unveiling ceremony. Ward 8 Council member Marion Barry, City Administrator Allen Y. Lew, Deputy Mayor for Education De'Shawn Wright, and Department of General Services [DGS] Director Brian J. Hanlon also attended the evening event.
The District-based Bowie Gridley Architects and the national firm of Perkins & Will created the design for the $120 million modernization of Ballou.
Work on the school, located in the 3400 block of Fourth Street in the Congress Heights neighborhood, begins this winter and will be completed in two phases through 2015. Opening is slated for August 2014.
Boasting 37 classrooms, the facility will enroll 1,400 day students and approximately 900 part-time evening students. Featured amenities will include a new cafeteria and athletics wing, a greenhouse and designated spaces for visual and performing arts.
Hanlon added that the new school will serve as a national model. "[It will be an example] on how to use technology to support learning in the classroom, in energy and sustainability systems, and teach the next generation how it can protect the environment now and for generations to come," he said.
While Washington Teachers' Union chief Nathan Saunders expressed excitement about the District's long overdue investment in schools east of the river, he said he was concerned about the placement of qualified faculty.
"Inasmuch as resources were dedicated early to those schools [east of the river], it's very significant that Ballou will finally get its due," said Saunders, 46. "However, the District must investment equally in the physical plant as well as in the personnel inside."
To that end, Saunders said that he'd reviewed the design for Ballou and believes its dedicated spaces will work well as long as competent teachers are involved.
"And I speak most notably about the legislation that was sponsored by [D.C. Council member] Jack Evans to put librarians, art and music teachers in every school," said Saunders. "After all, to have a modernized school with a library, but no librarian doesn't work."
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