Inservice

Greetings to members of the inservice, please click on the link below to check-in on our travels.

~Inservice Up-date~

Days in Lyon, Travels from Oxford

Sitting in lobby in Lyon, France. We are surrounded by angels and Van Gogh-style paintings. We've come a long ways, Oxford was a stepping stone for an educational journey that has taken many paths. We've visited Rembrandt, Carravagio, and Michelangelo. We have walked with students viewing DaVinci and the Palace of the Popes. We spent the afternoon in the walled city of Avignon. We have been so impressed by the architecture and the spirits that surround it. I took time today to sing echoes of Ave Maria in a Medieval Church. The eyes alone can educate, but the sights and sounds and the cold stone of the buildings brings history to our touch.

And we leave for Paris tomorrow, and to visit the Leuvre and explore the sights of the DaVinci Code. We will be home in four days.

Continued Journey

We are now in Venice. The streets are busy and the gondola ride was relaxing and fun to have Italian virtuoso singing tunes through the canals. We just came from Lucern, Switzerland--and I fell in love with all the backstreets and hidden markets. We visited a church that kept bees for future honey to raise money for the poor. We enjoyed a spectacular Rhine River Cruise full of Midieval castles and mountains. The gondola (mountain version) ride above Innsbruck was both scary and inspiring. By far we have fallen in love with Amsterdam and Lucern. These reminded us of Oxford and the peacefullness of the villages.

Hi to Paula and Mary Sasa for all of your help and support--thank you.

We head for Pisa and Florence tomorrow (early in the morning). AREVADERCI!

A Note

Davinci Code trials being held in London, reporters are on the scene. I visited the sight where the Knights of Templar were located. The Changing of the Guard = fantastic! Three bands with bag-pipes playing Amazing Grace in the background. Sherlock Holmes, on Baker St = fun to see.

Hello from Amsterdam!

Sorry to leave London, it's been foggy and drizzling, but we loved it. We will miss all of the buses. I had a great time at St. Paul's Cathedral, I'm glad they saved it from the great blitz. Beautiful white and gold interior. An original painting of the illuminated Christ (just like the one we saw in Oxford) was housed in the Cathedral. Missing Harris Manchester College and all of the interesting people we met--even more so than ever now. It felt so safe and secure there, compared to the 8 million people living in London. We went to a wonderful French meal at the London resaurant: Brasserie Roux. The food was awesome, the service was impeccable, and their website is: www.sofitelstjames.com . Dinner was followed by the wonderful play, The Phantom of the Opera. Chandelier came so close to our heads in a different scene, and it felt like the Phantom had been singing to us, we were so close. No bus was there to pick us up afterwords, so we returned to the Roux and they treated us gracefully. We will miss London and all the great bus-rides and people.

Hi to Paula Ascher! Hope pod-casts are enjoyable!

Tomorrow, I head to Anne Frank's house with Torey.

Continuation of Oxford Presentations

We want to continue on with the next presentations:

The next professor, L. Nevarro, Austin Community College discussed women and equal leadership in higher education. She suggested that women of power in education are often dicrimintated against. They either join the "good old boys club", or other women ostracize them. It is a no win situation. Women give up child-bearing years and a personal life. Women join at there own peril. Women in places of power, at the conference, shared their distressing stories. It made me feel really good about myself and my dean at home at CGCC, Susan Wolfe (who is doing a great job). She gives me lots of freedom and support.

Professor Judy Tinelshof; Talbot School of Theology, Biola University, Californa. Title of workshop: The Contribution of the Value-Scale to Gender Equalities. She spoke to the issue of sexism being alive and well at spiritual colleges. This creates a double bind for women who are expected to be religious and non-confrontational. She has come a long way in trying to represent women on campus. She feels she needs lots of support and prayers to get her job done in a religious atmosphere.

The next presentor, Jeff Weatherly--professor of the University of North Dakota, and Cheryl Terrance, assistant professor. We know the problem, but do we know its source? Retaining female faculty. At their college, they supplied statistics showing their hiring practices are fairly equal. Cheryl noted she can not obtain public documents which show male vs. female pay-scales. She seemed concerned that this issue needs to be addressed. They have trouble keeping female faculty and turnover is great. They are committed to doing better in their Psyche department.

Jackie Halstead, from Christian University TX, presented. The Academic Climate of Women Faculty in Faith-based Institutions. In her experience, she is also troubled by taking risks at her job. She has a positive out-look and she works with a very high-risk population. She reports she experiences the double-bind of the "good old boy club" guised in religion. She feels she's come a long way as well.

Next presentor: Julia A. Malia, associate professor, child and family studies; University of Tennessee. Julia reports women need clubhouses. She describes special places women create on their campuses for safe-haven. Julia creates music and operas on the side to reduce her own stress. She is an accomplished musician and she lives what she prescribes for keeping stress at bay. She is comfortable with her college role, and she is a good model for other women to follow.

Helga Madland, professor Emeritus, University of Oklahoma--was the next one to present: the Tention Between Family Leave and Female Faculty. She reports women are being persecuted for raising families and keeping their jobs. We have lots of roads to travel.

Janelle Melvin, professor of Evergreen Valley College, California: Women of Indian Origin in U.S. Graduate Engineering Programs. She reports Indian women with engineering degrees are not allowed to work in the U.S. Their husbands are allowed, the wives are kept at home. Domestic violence has increased and they are trapped in their homes.

Hulya Unlu, Senior lecturer, German language program, Pennsylvania State University: Turkish Feminist Literature. She reports women from her country are competing with eachother for jobs. This is a sad state of affairs, a no-win situation. She has come far and represents her family very well. She is an educated and outstanding individual. She keeps a great sense of humor about her country and the women.

Tess Fegel-Osborne, professor of Psychology, Columbia Gorge Community College, OR: I described the difficult role of young women who are abused at a young age who come to my classroom later in life, who feel very left behind. Pandora's Paradox, Disclosing the Hidden Truths of Gender Discrimination. These women have locked away their dreams, they are afraid life will no longer build their dreams. Many of these women have also suffered from child sex-abuse. Their "box", metaphorically speaking, is full of rage, domestic violence, drug/alcohol abuse, and depression. I am also the director of a Children's Trust Fund Program servicing young parents. These women are caught in a horrible paradox. Do they move forward when they come to school, or are they forever caught in secrets and lies? A poem of loss and recovery challenging women to find their shield, fight the demons, and with the help of women they can overcome their ghosts.

Anne Lazaroff, associate professor of Psychology, Antioch University, Seattle WA: The Role of the DSM Manual in the Maintenance of the Subordination of Women. Anne warns us to go carefully in diagnosing women's mental health issues. We need to use critical thinking skills and caution in order to not put women in boxes. They have been harmed enough. Proceed carefully and cautiously in our diagnostic efforts. Anne has great humor and courage to work with women who have been offended by our culture in more ways than one.

Helen Nabasuta Mugambi, associate professor, California State Univ. The Crooked Shadow, Gender Inequality and the Global Commodification and Exploitation of the Image of the African Woman. Helen presented a dinamic report reminding all of us of the beauty of the individual cultures. Always look beyond the color of the skin and see the beauty within.

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We had a wonderful ceremony concluding our conference. A five-course banquet meal was served in the great hall of Harris-Manchester College. Much laughter and tears to say good-bye to new-found friends and powerful comrades, professionals, and soul-mates.

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And now, if anyone would like to hear my presentation of Pandora's Paradox (the very same which I presented to the Oxford Round Table), please click on the link below:

~Pandora's Paradox~

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We also interviewed a student of Harris-Manchester, Jouko, who is majoring in the field/s of Psychology. To hear his interview, please click on the link below:

~Student Interview~

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And on a final note, thank you to all of the conference members as well as guests (and also our very helpful interviewee, Jouko). Thanks also goes to all of the commenters and viewers as well. We had a once-in-a-lifetime experience at Oxford, and we will not-soon forget it.

~Round Table Discussions~

Hello again, this is my overview on the Round Table discussions and presentations so far...please click on the link below to hear.

*Thank You*

Days: Mon. March 20th-21st, 2006

Our first Roundtable discussion, which took place on Monday, involved the concept of "Feminization of Poverty (made by Elizabeth Glancy, professor--Valdosta St. University, GA)/Gender Rights (K. Wolsborn, professor of political science--College of Saint Benedict, MN)/Classical Mythology (Elise Garrison, associate professor of classical studies--Texas A&M Univ., TX)/At the Top of Your Field (Gloria Bogdan, professor--California St. University, Fullerton, CA)." We pondered the issues of poverty and single-parent families. The families struggle to survive with women as heads of households. The lack of economic support is great. A discussion of the power of words included the book "Wizard of Earthsea" (by Ursula K. Leguin), using your potential via the full meaning and usage of a word. Existential questions of concensus reverses conformative. The village of women and children, the support of the community, the Native American culture, the Americas' hidden archealogical history, the power of thanks, and no longer needing to look back over our shoulders.

Today (Tuesday the 21st), we discussed gender bias in American courts. A new fairness strategy has been created to explore gender bias in language and actions. The next presentation entitled "Women in Power by Literature" (this presentation was made by Patricia Genz, professor of department of languages and literature--Southern Maryland), described bringing in students voices to the Roundtable discussions. The idea of living one's experiences in relationship to books inspires us and changes us. In the telling of a story, one can either lose themselves or find themselves. When true issues are overwhelming and violent, the reader can become the victim, the warrior, the conqueror, or the writer of their own destiny. Then, we reviewed the principles of U.S. Family Law. The old Biblical ideologies of the Bible in defining the family have grown old and disfunctional. The Courts are not ready for the individual to define their own family. The individual family is in conflict with legal definitions and terminology. Do these laws protect families, or do they destroy them? The individual seems ready to define marriage, but the courts are far behind.
This presentation was made by Elaine Martin, political science.

The last discussion on Women and Equal Leadership researched women of power in college communities. Issues of stress, lack of suppport, and lower salaries were a common factor. The common denominator for a successful female college staff was the value of a strong, personal family-life.
This presentation was made by Leslie Navarro, associate professor.

The hottest topic of the day was Roe vs. Wade potential scenarios: the west and east coast could become the only legal states to provide pro-choice options. The second scenario involved drastic results including women needing to seek options in other countries. The issue of protecting the mother as the primary person vs. the rights of the fetus is an important issue. The most significant statement was that the choice to have an abortion is up to the individual soul of the woman, that this is not a good or a bad choice, and needs to be kept neutral in order for the individual woman to keep possession of her soul.
This presentation was made by R. Haskins, professor of Reproductive Law.

Hello Everyone, and Welcome.

Thank you for visiting my blogsite! If you have read the article (which was published in the Dalles Chronicle on Friday) and are interested in the progress of our trip, or are just simply curious--you are always welcome to come and view our updates here.

Today, we (myself and my daughter) completed our 12-hour flight to London, England. After we arrived, we took the bus to Manchester College of Oxford. Located here on the Manchester grounds is a small, but beautiful church with stained-glass windows for which it is famous. I promise to give you more detail as to who made these windows later.

We attended the reception today at 2:00 PM (London time) and met a few of the other attendees of the Women's Rights Conference--all of whom are very educated people from various fields of work (most of which are centered around colleges and teaching). Their hospitality is wonderful here, and at 7:00 this evening we ate in the dining hall with all of the attending men (whose numbers are the fewest in this conference) and women, as well as the other guests.

Tomorrow, guests will have the option to either sit in on the conference or take one of the tours in the morning. I believe Torey will go on the morning tour while I attend the conference (she will sit in later as well as when I am to present my own work on Thursday).

Well, thank you for visiting, and please feel free to do so anytime.