Musings of an ABD

I have reached the end of the doctoral cohort course work phase of my journey. Having started out as two separate cohorts, I have experienced a blending of groups that has worked out for the greater good of all.

Implications
The cohort model of learning is the definitive model for adult learning. UOP has established itself as a platform leader in this arena. The ability to learn from peers who are experts and experienced in a variety of fields, and bring various skills sets, and personal experiences to the learning process has been invaluable. The application of theories, models and readings two teams projects and group work provided opportunities for project management and leadership that will continue to have value far beyond this course.

Conclusions
This course has provided a good opportunity to integrate our learning on leadership. It also provided a final clarification of our personal values,views and understanding of leadership in organizational settings. I wish everyone the best in their pursuit of this dissertation. Dr. Jason Berman, who is the Dean of the Business School at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, NY likes to remind me that a doctorate is not a sprint, but a long distance run. There is a Biblical adage:

"The race goes not to the swift nor to the strong, but to those who endureth."

Regardless of our projected, unknown or undetermined date of graduation, wemust remember that to achieve success, we must endure.

Easter Thoughts

Easter is on the horizon. I am looking forward to this day, as it is a family gathering event. Last week my mother was in a six car pile-up, and the only thing that was hurt was her bag of snacks for her bowling tournament! It has given me pause to consider our relationship, and the importance she has in my life. Our time on this earth is not limitless-- we need to remember to put aside petty differences and inconveniences, and to appreciate our loved ones, while we have them.

So-- say amen, and pass the ham!

Jazz, SOTA and El Trumpeto

My son Jerel attended his first Heritage Festival Competition in Williamsburg, VA. You would think he has been a jazz man all his life! Packing instrument, dress clothes, lucky G clef tie (tremble clef for the uninitiated). The 9/10 Jazz band- the youngest ever from School of the Arts- won a Gold Medal!.

Now he is King of the World!

What Tennessee Learned from ADAPT- Free our Sidewalks Now!

My words do not do justice to the Tom Foolery of Tennessee State government, so I have just reprinted the article. (Otherwise, no one would believe this!)

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Wednesday, 04/05/06

State lawmakers don't control city sidewalks Bill would allow legislative leaders to decide which protests to tolerate City sidewalks exist for the benefit of all people — lawmakers, state workers, pedestrians, immigrants, business people, the homeless and, certainly, protesters.

A bill introduced into the General Assembly ignores that fact, treating the area around the state Capitol as the private realm of lawmakers. Wisely, Sen. Bill Ketron, R-Murfreesboro, is attempting to amend the bill to make it more respectful of constitutional rights. A wiser solution still would be to dump the bill altogether.


The legislation was sparked by the protest last month of the group American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today, or ADAPT. Protesters in wheelchairs clogged sidewalks and streets around the Capitol much of the day, making it impossible for some state employees to exit from their buildings. ADAPT wanted to talk to Gov. Phil Bredesen about the lack of home- and community-based care for the elderly and disabled.

As a result, Sen. Jerry Cooper, D-Smartt, Sen. Mark Norris, R-Collierville, and others dropped legislation into the Senate hopper that gave the House and Senate speakers, acting jointly, the power to direct the highway patrol to assume control of traffic on streets, intersections and sidewalks around the Capitol.

Certainly, the tactics of ADAPT enraged many state workers and many Nashvillians. Even some observers, including this page, who agree that Tennessee provides too few options for the elderly and disabled criticized the group for causing such havoc in downtown Nashville.
But giving the legislative leaders the power to declare city sidewalks off-limits to citizens is a solution far worse than the problem.

Moreover, last month the protesters were motivated by the state's health-care policy. Next month, they may be protesting for or against abortion rights or the war in Iraq or a tax-increase proposal or the pending execution of an inmate on death row or a lack of funding for education. The legislation just begs for legislative leaders to pick and choose which protests would be tolerated and which would not.

Several years ago, horn-honking protesters circled the Capitol in their cars in an effort — ultimately successful — to derail a state income tax. Workers in downtown buildings complained that the noise was so loud that it disrupted their work. If memory serves, no member of the General Assembly suggested a bill that would have denied the rights of those individuals.
Protests can be disruptive. There are already laws on the books, however, that allow police to clear streets to ensure the flow of traffic. Metro police and state troopers can work together so that future protesters make their point without barricading workers in their parking garages. They don't need the help of Big Brother. •

Here are pictures from the Tennessean newspaper on the action.

Dissertation Warming Trend Ahead

• Good news! University of Phoenix has decided to let those in the last dissertation course enroll for the independent study course for dissertation writing of chapter four (research) even if the proposal his not been approved! This is a good news, bad news thing. The good news is the process is not on hold, as most people (count -0) have been able to:
• take classes
• write proposal
• have a life
• get committee approval
• have a life
• not get divorced
• go to work
• have a life...(you see the pattern)

The bad news is that for those who have not written their proposal (ie. First three chapters of their dissertation yet) it looks like a long, cold winter in ABD (all but dissertation) Land. If if isn't done by now, five more weeks is not going to get it there.

Also, of the ten in my cohort, only about four have even submitted a first draft to their committee chair. (Forget about the rest of the Gang of Three!) They have yet to:

• have their feelings hurt
• feel highly ignorant
• feel highly illiterate
• experience mid-grade depression
• take to the bed
• question why they put themselves through this is the first place.

Me, myself, I have to climb that last proposal hurdle..my own personal Mr. Smith (like in the Matrix), and I am Neo.

So, now..I don't run, but turn around and battle (ie. make the nth set of corrections and Battle the Matrix for their acceptance).

Dissertation Cold Front Ahead..

It has been almost two weeks since I sent in my recent proposal to my dissertation committee. As the time lengthened, I started to become more optimistic, figuring it has been approved. (I tend to be an optimist in general.) I also got an email form my academic advisory wanting to clarify who all would be on my committee. So, I put two and two together, and got twenty-two. But I then got the cold front from the committee member-- its not soup yet. (Sigh...)

But if life is not easy, at least it gives you some good with the bad. My second article in the SAS (School of Advanced Studies) Post was well received, and one person wants to add it to the curriculum for the EdD program at UOP in Michigan! Hurrah! (They like me...they really like me!!)

Reflections on my first ADAPT Action

Last week in Nashville was exciting, exhilarating, and exhausting! As a student of history, I have read a great deal about Martin Luther King, Cesar Chaves and others who engaged in protests, marching on government offices to raise public awareness on issues of equality. However, it is one thing to read about it; it is another to actively participate! This experience helped me to understand that we have a great deal of benefits living in the USA, but there is a level of responsibility that is required in a democracy. Laws, statues and funding are not written in stone, but are amorphous entities, always in flux. One's civil rights are not guaranteed in perpetuity. Someone has to take on the challenge of following legislation, keeping elected officials accountable to the constituencies that got them elected to office, and seeking ways to make the quality of life better for all Americans. Before I started at the Center for Disability Rights, I was aware of the challenges of people with disabilities. What I was not aware of was how powerful a role advocacy can have in ensuring quality of life, personal rights and impacting legislation.

So now I have the flu from being out in the elements in Tennessee-- but I have gained a better scope of the impact of the work that I do.

Civil Disobedience- ADAPT style

I participated in my first political protest last week!
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This was the action on Wednesday, March 22nd, as told by Chris alterable, Director of Advocacy:

Hi Y'all. After two days of cold, wet and windburn faces, Wednesday gave us a break. With clear skies and a high of about 50, Wednesday with ADAPT was looking pretty comfortable. Instead of marching to our destination we were loaded onto buses and transported. With 400+ people and nearly half in wheelchairs, moving this group is no small accomplishment.

We got no help from local paratransit - I'm sure you're all surprised. So we were left to our own devices. Several ADAPT chapters had large accessible vehicles and many people had their own vans. Despite one bus that had space for 20 wheelchair's and two more buses for about 10, it still took three runs of ALL of the vehicles to get to where we were going. It was amazing to watch.

We took our group and unloaded in the parking lot of Tenn Care, the state's Medicaid program. Through Tenn Care, Governor Bredesen has cut 300,000 people off Medicaid and has forced people into institutions. Our group lined up and circled around the perimeter of the sidewalk. A group of Tennessee ADAPTers approached the front door to deliver a letter on behalf of the people in institutions who have asked to get out.The media had been following us all morning so they were all over the group that approached the front door. ADAPT then burst into a chant of "6,700 want to get out!". According to the most recent CMS data, 6700 people in nursing homes have said they want out (NY's number is nearly 20,000).

We then rolled our group onward to do a second action. About 1/2 a mile away fromTenn Care is the local office of HUD - housing and urban development. We walked over, and crowded onto the front patio/ sidewalk, chanting "affordable, accessible,integrated housing". The director of the office came down to talk with our group. We used this action as an opportunity to launch a nationwide campaign targeting Alfonso Jackson, the head of HUD. After our time at HUD we made our way back to the hotel, still followed by the media. The great part of the day's media coverage was that the press really started to get it! Chris
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Report on Tuesdays activities March 22, 2006, from Chris Hilderbrant:

Hey All. Another long day in the cold started with a drizzle as we lined up at 12:30.

After 75 ish total arrests yesterday; we were determined to take our message right back at the Governor. We marched back to the Capital where we were arrested yesterday.We lined the sidewalks, facing the Capital and held a press conference. Thanks to all of the work yesterday, the press was actually following us most of the way to the capital. We held our rally with some songs and chants targeting the Governor - whose office faces the street we were on. At the conclusion of the press conference, a group of about 40 ADAPTers broke off to take our demand list directly to the Governor, since he had refused to meet with us. The group tried to enter the Capitol, an allegedly public building, but were blocked by police cars parked end to end.

The group then revised its strategy, marched back to where the rest of the group was, and took over one of the same streets we had blocked yesterday. The cops swarmed the scene quickly after having taken a lot of criticism for being 'too genteel' with us yesterday. As soon as Metro Police and the SWAT Team (!) moved in on our people, the media swarmed in as well. Several stations did live broadcasts and frequent live updates as the arrests progressed - it was coverage like I've never seen!The cops quickly arrested and loaded up the able bodies then moved onto the wheelers. The cops had three large paratransit vans on hand - but it wasn't enough! They had to drop off their first load of ADAPTers and send all three vans back for more. We all stayed, cheering on those who were arrested, as they were driven away.

Strangers stopped some of one the walk back to tell us they support us and asked more about the issues. I've talked to other people staying in the hotel and apparently the protests have been covered from coast to coast. It's been a great couple days of action and there's another one to go. More details tomorrow.

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This was the view from the ground, sent by Chris Hilderbrant: Tuesday, March 21, 2006 9:5-8pm.

Hey all! It's now late Monday night. After the long bus ride down Saturday and a day of great testimonials, today was the time for action. The expected weather of the day was cold and wet and Mother Nature lived upto it. We started our morning line up late - 11am - in a heavy downpour. People were well bundled, covered in ponchos and powerwheelchair controllers were protected by shower caps! 41 degrees and a heavy rain as we marched to do a short press conference on Legislative Plaza, in front of the Tennessee Capitol. After the press conference, our total national group split into 6 teams and proceeded to carry out the real action of the day.

In the matter of a few minutes we had shut down four intersections and blocked two parking garages! The cops were so unaware that they actually helped my group block half the intersection before they realized what was going on. Throughout the day, Bruce (CDR ED) and I were part of the negotiating team while Shelly Perrin was a leader in her group. The rest of the Rochester group did fantastic work that they can better explain than I.

Ultimately, Governor Bredesen refused any demands regarding ending policies that force our people into institutions. He even refused to even meet and discuss the issue. (Read his letter- it is an interesting how an elected official can spin an event...) http://www.tennessean.com/assets/pdf/DN22731322.PDF

At that point, the police began to negotiate with us about the arrest.This was the craziest arrest negotiation I've ever seen! The cops plan was to arrest our able bodied people separately from those with disabilities. Then the next nonsense they planned was amazing: people with disabilities weren't going straight to jail... First we would be transported to a hospital for a full physical! And if that's not enough, he indicated that at some point in that process they would be separating us from our wheelchairs. Then we could be taken to jail. Nevermind that taking our wheelchairs away from us is illegal. Many of us wanted to be arrested now so that we could get the physical! The joke was that the police fine would probably be less than the copay for a similar doctor visit. So of course ADAPT called the cops bluff and after the first couple arrests, the cops realized how impossible their plans was on themselves. They immediately started issuing citations and releasing us on the sidewalk. Our groups then made their way back to the hotel and after over 9 hours in the nasty elements we were back to the hotel.

The action got huge local coverage and has certainly increased the public awareness of how bad Tennessee's long term care system is and should create a great deal more pressure on the Governor to do something! More action tomorrow! G'night. Chris

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Doctoral Publishing on the Quick

I have published my second article in the School of Advanced Studies newsletter! I am plesantly surprised at the positive response! I have received about a half dozen positive comments, from people who share the same fears, struggles and stress. Seems they found my words encouragining. Who'd have thunk it?

Tales of Doctoral Depression and Proposals

This past few weeks have been a roller coaster of emotion and activity. I am in the process of making changes to my dissertation proposal. Naive me, I thought "How hard can this be? I am a doctoral student. I have made it through various courses, professor changes, unemployment, hospitalization (stress related), various illnesses of family and children...I can write a 100 page paper!So, I get the psychological pimp slap, as my first proposal comes back with so much red (track changes) it looks like it should catch on fire! I take the bed with a low grade case of depression for the weekend. I then steeel myself for the next phase of rewrites, as Conan O'Brien http://www.nbc.com/Late_Night_with_Conan_O keeps me company.

Second set of corrections- I am ready! I am clear! I have mastered a new level of track changes, even if I still can't master this BOLD software http://www1.ecxmall.com/stores/bold-ed/StoreFront.bok that is suppose to make writing this dissertation and point and click snap. So, I send off my second proposal; I add the plethora of UOP required forms that make up the proposal package, as I am so sure this is it! Like true love on a first date, or buying a lottery ticket-- this is it!Yes, I got the back handed psychological pimp slap. So, I take to the bed again, and consider do I want to drop out of school or not...

http://www.cardinalcollective.com/blog/archives/2004/02/000748.htmlBut my angel and peer mentor [Doc Do It] rallies me on, reminding me I have gotten the farthest in the process of both Doctoral Managment studet cohorts. She encourages me to call my committee members that are giving me the most fever and talk it through. My mentor gives me the pep talk, and encourages me to strike whatever deal with the Devil (ie. the committee member who is giving me a hard time) and GET IT DONE!I am a loser, but I am in front of the pack...Sigh...

So, third time is the charm? I sent it off -- AGAIN-- on March 13.

Stay tuned!

Introduction

Welcome to my blog!

I am what Charles Handy defines as a portfolio person- I have three jobs (consultant, college instructor and disability lobbyist) and am a full-time doctoral student. I live in upstate New York, in a former manufacturing engine of the region. As Rochester,NY seeks to find its new identify in the changing economy, I too am seeking to find my new direction in teachings, training, research and advocacy.

Talk to you soon!