Michael F. Shaughnessy
Eastern New Mexico University
Portales, New Mexico 
 

1)     Maya, what exactly is this Mobilize.org?

Mobilize.org is an all-partisan national non-profit that works with and for members of the Millennial Generation. Our mission is to improve the way democracy works by investing in Millennial-driven solutions.

2)     When did it get started and how is it funded?

Mobilize.org was founded 8 years ago on the campus of UC Berkeley when a group of 10 students came together to fight proposed tuition increases for the UC system. Over the past 8 years, we’ve grown from a group of 10 students to a national movement with tens of thousands of Millennials in every state. We’re proud of our diverse funding structure, from over 400 individual donors who give between $10 and $10,000 per year to foundation support from institutions such as the Gates Foundation, the Knight Foundation and the Case Foundation.

3)     What are you trying to accomplish?

Mobilize.org believes that in order to create long-term, sustainable and community based solutions to the challenges facing our generation, Millennials (young adults born between the years 1976 and 1996) must authentically engage their peers in identifying  problems, proposing solutions, and most importantly, must work together to implement these solutions on their campuses and in their communities. Most simply put, we work with Millennials to identify the most important issues that they face in their communities and on their campuses, create opportunities for Millennials to convene to work collaboratively to propose solutions and then they compete for resources to implement their solutions. To date, we’ve had 8 Democracy 2.0 Summits that have funded 21 projects at over $100,000. To read more about our investments, please visit: http://mobilize.org/get-involved/democracy-2-0/awardees.

4)     Tell us about the Target 2020 Education Series of Democracy 2.0 Summit:

For the first time in the 21st century, the current generation of college-aged Americans will be less educated than our parents. Fewer than 46% of students at 4-year universities complete their degree within 6 years and only 3 out of 10 students attending community colleges complete their 2-year associate degree within 3 years. Higher education is a primary factor in improving the state of our communities and our country, as individuals who complete some form of postsecondary education are able to earn higher wages, likely increasing the financial stability for themselves and their families. But if the current student population, all members of the Millennial Generation (those born between the years 1976 and 1996), is somehow falling short of achieving its educational goals, our country faces a significant problem with consequences impacting our nation for decades to come.

With generous support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Rappaport Family Foundation, and to offer Millennials the tools they need to achieve their personal educational goals and realize the impact it can have on their communities by the year 2020, Mobilize.org will convene three Democracy 2.0 Summits in North Carolina (October 22-24, 2010), California and Florida (dates TBD), titled “Target: 2020 | My Education. Our Futures.”

At each summit, 150 students from America’s community colleges will work together and identify barriers they face in achieving their educational goals and develop Millennial-led solutions to address them. Utilizing keypad-voting technology, Summit participants will select the top five projects that will receive Democracy 2.0 Awards; a share of $25,000 and a year of expert support to successfully be implemented on their campuses, in their communities or online. To find out more about Target 2020, please visit: http://mobilize.org/get-involved/upcoming-summits/target2020.

5)     Tell us about Beyond the Welcome Home Democracy 2.0 Summit: To date there have been over 2 million men and women serving our country in Iraq and Afghanistan, and out of that number almost 1.26 million are within the Millennial Generation. In April 2010, Mobilize.org convened 100 Millennial veterans in Los Angeles, California to discuss the unique challenges and opportunities faced when returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan. For more information about our Beyond the Welcome Home Summit, please visit: http://mobilize.org/featured/beyond-the-welcome-home

6)     You were a recent panelist recent panelist in the Power of Social Innovation series. What was your contribution?

It was an honor to participate in the Power of Social Innovation series and share my experience mobilizing Millennial using social media.

7)     Can you provide your web site address so that people can learn more about you, your organization and what you are trying to accomplish?

www.mobilize.org. To sign up for regular updates about our programming and funding opportunities, please visit: http://mobilize.org/get-involved/join-the-mobilize-network
 

Texas’ new English / Language Arts / Reading standards (TEKS — passed in May 2008) require Grades 1 – 3 teachers to teach cursive writing:  “Handwriting Textbooks — Grade 1 – 3 (e.g., forming upper and lower-case letters, writing legibly, margins, spelling, punctuation, spacing between words and sentences, learning cursive script)”

The following explains why Texas chose not to participate in the Obama administration’s CCS/RTTT: 

The arrow means “lead(s) to” —

National standards  →  national assessments  →  national curriculum → teachers’ salaries tied to students’ test scores  →  teachers teaching to the test each and every day  →  national indoctrination of our public school children  →  national database of all students and educators

Below Mary Lou Bruner’s excellent article on cursive writing, I have posted a list of many of the important ELAR skills that our Texas teachers are required to teach their students under the new standards. I have also posted an article that I wrote entitled “Why Teach Cursive Writing” (1.25.11)  and two links to recent articles from ABC News about cursive writing.  – Donna Garner

Is Cursive Handwriting Worth the Time and Effort?

by Mary Lou Bruner, M. Ed.
1-26-2011

It is very difficult for me to understand how educators could even think about doing away with instruction in cursive writing in schools.  Maybe they will also decide to do away with standard spelling.  That would make just as much sense in my opinion.

Reversals are impossible in Cursive Writing.

I have a master’s degree in special education.  In my college coursework I learned that one of the things which helps learning disabled children is cursive writing.  Dyslexic children often confuse “b” and “d” in print form, but it is almost impossible to reverse these letters in cursive.  Those two letters are completely different in cursive writing.

Cursive writing trains the eyes and brain to move from left to right.

Cursive writing flows from left to right.  It is impossible to write backwards in cursive.  Is it a co-incidence that reading also flows from left to right?  Cursive writing helps children train their eyes and brains to be better and faster readers.

Cursive writing enhances learning.

In teacher training courses we have learned that children learn in many ways.  Some seem to depend more upon visual stimuli while others seem to depend more upon auditory clues. But it has been my experience in teaching kindergarten and special education children that the greatest learning comes when more of the senses are involved in the learning experience.  That is why kindergarten lesson plans often call for cooking and tasting which brings the senses of smell and taste into the learning experience. 

Cursive writing is a tactile activity.

The sense of touch is probably more important to learning than taste or smell.  When children write in cursive, they “feel” or “experience” the shape of the letters as they form them on paper. Physically forming the letters with the fingers seems to make an “imprint” upon the brain.  When children have experienced the process of “coding” the words, I think it helps them to “decode” the words. Therefore a person might conclude cursive handwriting helps children learn to read. 

Coding the words using a tactile activity is more meaningful than using a keyboard because all of the keys on the keyboard feel the same.  The difference might be compared to looking at a picture of an object as opposed to seeing a model of the object or the “real” thing which a person can touch and feel.

There is probably much evidence that students who take notes are better learners than students who only depend on their memory.  The actual process of writing might have a substantial influence on memory because to take notes a student must pay close attention to the lecture.

Often college students study by rewriting their notes.  They might do this on the computer or they might rewrite their notes using handwriting.  Rewriting