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This past week, we\nstudent researchers were delighted to have our drab, physically-distanced lecture\nhall filled with lively discussions about Storm Lake\u2019s history, national\npolitics, and education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Class opened on Monday\nwith news from Dr. Offenburger. He had transcribed our interview with Dr.\nMichael Whitlatch, and the process took around seven hours. Mindful of\nstudents\u2019 time, he therefore decided each of us will only have to transcribe two\ninterviews this semester, rather than three. (This process was supposed to be\nmade easier by Zoom\u2019s automatic voice-to-text transcription service, but the\nsoftware proved less reliable than expected.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once this business was\nsettled, the class launched into a long discussion about Art Cullen\u2019s recent\nbook, Storm Lake<\/em>. In fact, before Dr.\nOffenburger\u2019s arrival, we already had begun to discuss Cullen\u2019s book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Typical of college\nstudents, we opened by bonding over the parts of the text we struggled with\nmost. Once the discussion formally started, we were ready with a series of critiques.\nFor one, we thought Cullen occasionally oversimplified complex dynamics, paving\nover broad claims with a humorous and folksy \u201cthat\u2019s just the way it is\u201d kind\nof tone. Other students noted that some chronological jumps felt choppy and disrupted\nreader immersion. Many also felt drained of precious time by various anecdotes.\nOf course, we didn\u2019t fault the book itself for this. It\u2019s a research problem:\nsifting the wheat from the chaff, searching for evidence to meet our own\nparticular needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nevertheless, our\npraise far outweighed the criticisms. It was a well-written, well-structured\nbook. It served as a compelling, cogent introduction to Storm Lake, its\nhistory, and how economic circumstances brought it unexpected changes. Students\nwere especially impressed by Cullen\u2019s retelling of the public affairs reporting\non Big Agriculture that earned his paper the Pulitzer Prize. Fellow student Adam\nKimble told the class he \u201cwanted to underline the whole section.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Students were captivated by the chapter \u201cWe Can\u2019t Go On Like This,\u201d which detailed the environmental history, degradation, and future in Storm Lake and the surrounding region. Also noted were the innumerable mini-profiles of area residents prominent throughout the book. I (Joey Puckett) likened his style to Gene Weingarten of the Washington Post<\/em>, and students took note of his anecdotal structure for their own forthcoming profiles of Storm Lakers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The text\u2019s broad political scope raised questions among students curious about Iowa and its people within the national political scene. Specifically, students inquired about immigrant gun ownership, housing divides, the police force, and the protection of the lake. Michel Reising observantly commented on Cullen\u2019s politics, \u201cI know where he stands on some issues. I know how he feels about guns, because nobody in my community at home would use the phrase, \u2018assault weapon.\u2019\u201d Our discussion about national politics highlighted a welcome challenge for the class: addressing hot-button political and racial issues directly. These questions are front and center in the study of Storm Lake. Whereas most history courses avoid discussion of current events, our course demands we work through these questions, without evasive or couched language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our many political\nquestions spurred interest for us to speak with other residents of conflicting\nexperiences: an unabashedly anti-immigrant resident, for example, or a former\nsubordinate of Steve King, or a Tyson executive. Dr. Offenburger mentioned that\nhe reached out to Tyson, but has received no response to date. Only time will\ntell if these interviews come to pass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Much like last week\u2019s\nguests, Cullen\u2019s love for Storm Lake radiated throughout the text. Our\nadmiration grew for him as a loyal local, a dogged editor, and an eternal optimist.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n On Wednesday, the class was joined by Dr. Stacey Cole, Superintendent of the Storm Lake Community School District, for a discussion on education. She spoke about her experiences running the district during the pandemic, working with a diverse student body, and serving underprivileged students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In her introductory remarks, Cole said she was \u201creally all about the underdog, and thinking about how to help people win who don\u2019t have as clear of a path to winning options as others.\u201d Cole said of Storm Lake\u2019s unique challenges, \u201cOne of the things that I know is true in Storm Lake, that I don’t believe is true in every Iowa community, is what we do in Storm Lake matters every single day, the decisions that my teachers make every single day.\u201d The decisions they make determine whether the kids will succeed and graduate with options, or struggle in the transition from high school to adulthood. Parents who lack the social capital to make informed big decisions usually place enormous trust in Storm Lake schools to help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her student-centric\nmantra shined through as she talked about the many ways schools in Storm Lake\nadapted to recent challenges. The district\u2019s response to COVID, as described by\nCole, is a case study in flexibility and creative logistics. She noted with\npride that the SLCSD tries to answer every question of \u201chow\u201d with a response of\n\u201cyes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n One surprise: some students, who started the year in Storm Lake but were on a trip to Mexico, have been allowed to complete the school year virtually from Mexico. The district has responded to their needs by sending technology to them, whenever possible, so they can work virtually. This aid raised some controversy in the community, Cole recognized, but she believed the rewards far outweigh the risks. \u201cIf I have a hotspot and it\u2019s sitting here on my table next to me, but it could be in Mexico helping a kid get their diploma, it should be in Mexico,\u201d said Cole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This shift online has\nactually reaped unexpected rewards for the district, which may continue in\nyears to come. The changes have addressed the issue of the district\u2019s\novercrowded classrooms. The staff has adjusted well, and has been relieved of\ncertain pressures. The district is also responding to kids who help support\ntheir families by working with the addition of night classes, and changing to a\nmodel of taking one class per month with daily three-hour periods. This massive\nrethinking of what school can be has turned an otherwise dreadful past year\ninto one with some blessings for the SLCSD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cole also spoke about the recent statewide law which mandates schools to provide a 100% in-person educational experience. She expressed frustration with the law, which she believes is the state government\u2019s headstrong way of improving Des Moines schools at the expense of other communities. \u201cThey continue to move a target that we have been trying to hit since June,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of central concern for\nour class: how is the district working to serve such a diverse body of students\nand families? Cole said that children who come from different backgrounds and\nregions tend to deal with different sets of issues. Her goal is to uplift\nstudents from Asian, African, and Micronesian backgrounds to the same levels of\nsuccess the district has seen in Latino students. She invoked author James\nCollins\u2019 Good to Great<\/em> to explain how \u201cgood\u201d can be, in fact, the enemy\nof \u201cgreat.\u201d Another way to put it: \u201cgood\u201d isn\u2019t good enough. Cole questioned\nwhether Storm Lake can celebrate its diversity when the district is struggling\nto meet the needs of non-Latino, non-Caucasian minorities. \u201cI think diversity\nhas become the \u2018good of the great\u2019 in Storm Lake,\u201d she said. \u201cI think being great<\/em>\nat diversity is when everybody is being successful,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Storm Lake, we\nlearned, Micronesian students are the fastest-growing student population. Cole\nexpressed tremendous adoration for these students, saying, \u201cI love our kids\nfrom Micronesia. They are so much fun. \u2026 They are all-in with everything they\ndo.\u201d But such an affable sociability, when met with the implicit bias of\nothers, can sometimes hamper perceptions of student performance. She believes\nthat the structure of the district has not quite adapted to the needs of this\nrelatively new minority population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cole is working hard\nto train staff and teachers\u2014and herself\u2014to identify and question implicit bias.\nShe believes that students from Africa and Micronesia, with their own cultural\nexpressions that can appear more boisterous than those of white Americans, are\nmisunderstood as in-need of remedial instruction. She leads a team of\nanti-implicit-bias staff, which is working to change the perception of employees\none interaction at a time. Cole is optimistic about this grassroots approach to\ncombatting bias, saying, \u201cWhat I know hasn\u2019t worked is you hire someone and\ncall them an \u2018equity coordinator,\u2019 whose job is to create equity throughout the\ndistrict \u2026 That person isn\u2019t going to be in the hallway when someone says\nsomething negative about a Black kid who just walked by.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The anti-bias push also\ninvolves a public relations campaign. Until recently, the only stories of\nstudents in regional news outlets have tended to be negative ones, highlighting\ncrimes or other transgressions. In the past three years, she and others in the\ndistrict have been placing students in the spotlight not for extraordinary\nachievements, but simply as a celebration of their everyday positive\ncontributions to the community. She believes this has already improved the\nwider perception of Storm Lake\u2019s students and shrunk implicit biases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As Cole spoke, she referenced an ampersand\u2014a real, decorative sculpture of an ampersand\u2014sitting on a shelf behind her. She keeps it there to orient her thinking on how to create an inclusive community. Instead of questioning, \u201cHow can we do this or<\/em> this?\u201d she said, the ampersand reminds her to ask, \u201cHow can we do this and <\/em>this?\u201d In a district where over 70% of students are on free or reduced lunches (and whom, by Iowa law, cannot be charged for any other activities necessary to their education), the financial strain is sometimes tough to manage. Financial reality confronts buoyant optimism. Cole has done what she can personally, too, like bringing four or five students along when she and her daughter visited potential colleges. <\/p>\n\n\n\n More importantly, she has worked to address the lack of \u201csocial capital\u201d that students from impoverished families face, particularly those whose parents come from foreign countries. Cole says parents from different cultures often don\u2019t know the \u201cinvisible rules\u201d of high school: which classes to take, how to prepare for and apply to college, or how to navigate the stressful, complex environment of American high schools. Though these families might not know the answers, they know there are people in the district who can help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Right now, [immigrants in Storm Lake] are essential workers who probably\u2014not probably\u2014who absolutely<\/em> do not get the respect that they deserve, for what they have done for their family. And the fact that many of them are here without papers but are still doing the right thing by their kids\u2026that is actually courageous and brave and not spiteful and deceitful as some of the national narrative would suggest.\u201d<\/p>— Dr. Stacey Cole<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Unfortunately, Iowa\u2019s\nsocial services system are broken, according to Cole. Knowing how <\/em>to get help doesn\u2019t mean it is on\nthe way. No matter how desperate parents or the district is for assistance from\nthe state, kids often can\u2019t get the help they need without first entering the\ncriminal justice system. She likens this to criminalizing poverty and mental\nhealth issues. It\u2019s an ongoing challenge not unique to Storm Lake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her goal is to educate\nand provide students with as many options as possible. Cole said there is a lot of work to be done\nin this area. Storm Lake schools recently created a program with the local\ncommunity college to offer training in hands-on careers to kids who want to\nmove on from the classroom. They are also offering a financial literacy class\nand other classes which are career-focused. They are also developing a tiered\ndiploma system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cole also touched\nbriefly on the district\u2019s relationship to Tyson. When asked about the company\u2019s\nrole in the community, Cole laughed and responded, wryly, \u201cThat is a loaded\nquestion.\u201d She continued, \u201cI wish that [the parent company of] Tyson was a more\ncommunity-oriented organization. And by that I mean <\/strong>really loving the communities that they have put their\nplants in, and really thinking about what the needs of that particular\ncommunity are, so I will say that I think that that it could be improved.\u201d However, Cole is immensely grateful that the\ncompany has appointed a new community liaison, Cynthia Trujillo, a \u201cGodsend\u201d who\nworks to bridge the gap between the district and the plant\u2019s working parents. \u201cEspecially\nduring the pandemic,\u201d she said, \u201cI don\u2019t know what we would have done without\nCynthia.\u201d Cole hopes that once the pandemic is over, Trujillo will have more\ntime to focus on strengthening the community\u2019s relationship to Tyson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cole said her biggest takeaway from living in Storm Lake is the incredible courage and bravery of the immigrants who come to live there, whom she is proud to serve. \u201cLiving here now, for as long as I have lived here,\u201d she said, she is inspired by \u201cthe courage and bravery that comes from every family that is an immigrant or a refugee that steps into this community to live\u2026Right now, they are essential workers who probably\u2014not probably\u2014who absolutely<\/em> do not get the respect that they deserve, for what they have done for their family. And the fact that many of them are here without papers but are still doing the right thing by their kids\u2026that is actually courageous and brave and not spiteful and deceitful as some of the national narrative would suggest.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Joey Puckett is a sophomore at Miami University majoring in history and English literature.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Joey Puckett This past week, we student researchers were delighted to have our drab, physically-distanced lecture hall filled with lively discussions about Storm Lake\u2019s history, national politics, and education. Class opened on Monday with news from Dr. Offenburger. He had transcribed our interview with Dr. Michael Whitlatch, and the… Continue reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4179,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_s2mail":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-253","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-project-update"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/stormlake\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/stormlake\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/stormlake\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/stormlake\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4179"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/stormlake\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=253"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/stormlake\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/stormlake\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=253"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/stormlake\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=253"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/stormlake\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/stormlake\/files\/2021\/02\/51C6N0K1EAL._SX329_BO1204203200_.jpg\")
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