CNYLatino

Struvite Crystals are life threatening to Cats

Jul 1, 2016 Education

Struvite Crystals are life threatening to Cats

by Annette Bailey

Spanish Translation by Rob English

Struvite Crystals are life threatening; a cat can die in 48-72 hours. Crystals are usually found in only male cats. A cat may try to urinate with little or no output. They may cry out or go frequently into the litter box. Symptoms are serious. Rush kitty to a vet. It’s an emergency so the vet will check for urinary blockage.

Dr. Randy Wysong (maker of cat/dog food) said “it’s not enough to get the grains out of cat food, you must get starch out too. “Pea, rice flour, etc. can cause crystals to grow.

Letter to the Editor

Oct 1, 2015 Education

Syracuse city schools; like many school districts nationwide have experienced rapid growth in the number of diverse, culturally and linguistically diverse students, and students from low-income families. From personal experience working in our community I know they are places of vibrant opportunity, of meaningful and exciting work. In the Syracuse city schools, a multi-cultural and diverse community shows up in the classrooms every day, inviting students, parents and teachers to grow as they learn from each other.

All is not well, however, in our city. As a mother, activist and volunteer in several school committees under the current and former superintendents I have seen some teachers, staff, administrators, and parents view their schools’ diversity as a problem rather than an opportunity. And sadly reality is that communication is broken and our schools are failing on the mission of educate our city children.

There have been intense discussion lately on the School board composition, in my experience the community at large not only understands but demands a diverse and inclusive board and is tired of the blame game and ready for cultural change.

When the Circus Comes to Town

Mar 1, 2015 Education

When the circus comes to town, I cry. It is NOT because I am happy, but because I see and know the unnaturalness of it all for the animals performing. What they are asked to do, how they are made to live almost every day of the year, and how far from the natural wild home where they – or their ancestors – were born. is a most cruel fate. 

When whips, clubs and blunt objects, and electric prods are used on any animal, I am tortured (and should be).  The “training” is demeaning and cruel at best. And those who might enforce regulations are sorely inadequate being only 100 for the 12,000 circus-related facilities in America.

There are a woeful number of animals who suffer and die because of mishandling within some aspect of the circus. We are part of the driving force of this form of entertainment when we choose to attend and support “the circus must go on” mindset.

I Learned what really drives Academic Achievement

Feb 1, 2015 Education

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Dear Mr. Acosta,

As a former successful NYC teacher, teacher-in-charge of cafeterias, group guidance teacher, guidance counselor and athletic coach I would like to share some ideas I learned creating and inspiring significant academic and athletic achievement together with my classroom students and with my sports teams.

I Learned What Really Drives Academic Achievement

I learned during my teaching/counseling/coaching years in NYC’s school system that when we address academic performance the classroom teacher is the singular most powerful……the singular most impactful…….the singular most inspiring driver of academic achievement.

Academic Achievement is not only about classroom subject matter, classroom structure and classroom systems. It is also very, very much about passionate inspiration……passionate inspiration found with students and teachers working hard together in a learning and growing and achieving relationship…..passionate inspiration found in a disciplined supportive classroom environment where together student and teacher are reaching their academic potential.

I learned Academic Achievement is about every student and every educator in a school system exceeding their personal best in pursuit of a unifying vision…..a unifying vision of academic achievement and academic greatness. Teachers who have the courage to be inspired and the courage to inspire their students with such a vision are the most powerful classroom drivers of Student and Teacher Academic Performance. Together inspirational teachers everywhere stand for nothing is impossible!

Teachers/Coaches/Counselors at all Levels of Education

The Mediocre Teacher tells students
The Good Teacher explains to students
The Superior Teacher demonstrates to students
The Exceptional Teacher inspires students

Near Westside Peacemaking Project: Where we are now!

Feb 1, 2015 Education

In December 2014, the Near Westside Peacemaking Project (NWSPP) graduated its first group of peacemakers. Peacemaking is a traditional Native American approach to conflict that focuses on healing and restoring relationships, rather than finding fault or deciding guilt/innocence.

Jose Delgado is one of twenty newly graduated peacemakers. He has been a resident of the Near Westside for four years. He moved here from Puerto Rico with his wife and two of theirfive daughters. In his first few years here, Jose struggled with health issues, legal troubles, and financial difficulties.

Nowadays though, things are going okay for him and his family. His two youngest daughters are doing well at Fowler High School and more of his family has come to join them in the US. He feels blessed to be in good health and have such a tightknit family.

Colombia’s Cajibio and the People’s Congress

Dec 1, 2014 Education

Marylen Salinas enlightens Cortland on Colombia’s Movimiento Campesino de Cajibio and the People’s Congress

Marylen Serna Salinas visited SUNY Cortland on November 19, 2014, and she is a farmer and a leader of the MCC, Movimiento Campesino de Cajibio. She came to speak about the problems that the marginalized communities of Colombia have gone through for years. In order to understand the nature of their struggle, one must seek the root of the problem. The problem is that the Campesinos for years have been oppressed by the state of Colombia, Militant groups, Landowners, and Multinational corporations that take and use the land for their own greed. Out of latter group, conflict between the two, Militants and the State of Colombia, have caused the most problems when it comes to the lives of the people of Colombia.

Due to the conflict between the government and the militant groups they on average internally displace 230,000 people per year, which has accumulated to 4.9 to 5.5 million IDPs (Internally Displaced Peoples) (UNHCR.org). Most of those peoples are Campesinos, Indigenous, and Afro-Colombians, which are the ones that have taken most of the impact of the conflict. Now as a girl, Marylen saw the suffering and asked questions, why are my parents working so hard, but nothing changes? Why must we live like this? These kinds of questions and that level of awareness created the foundation for her work. Her work is to bring back the feeling of self-determination to the community of Cauca, located in Southwestern Colombia, and that involves collective work.

Strategic Leadership November 2014

Nov 1, 2014 Education

Leading Across Cultures

I remember traveling to Okinawa, Japan as a young U.S. Marine, being afraid yet excited. When we landed in Okinawa from LAX we had to participate in a base orientation, where military officials would give us basic instructions for a week on the do’s and don’ts of living overseas.

One of the instructions that were given to us was the fact that you could not wave a person over with your fingers facing up (but fingers had to be facing down), because in Japanese culture it meant that you were calling them over like a dog (so our instructor explained). We were also told that it was considered disrespectful to look into the eyes of an older person for too long. You could see the confusion with all the Americans that were at this cultural workshop, since most had been taught to look into the eyes of those speaking, if not; the person would find it disrespectful.

These mix-ups and lack of cross-cultural knowledge is what prevents many business leaders to have a competitive advantage. Yet we know the world has become global faster than anyone can keep up. The fact remains if you want to survive in this competitive market you need to develop as a cross-cultural leader. Yet research shows that many organizations still lack a diverse cultural presence. The following steps are a framework that leaders and executives can use to assist in their shift to becoming more cross-cultural within and out of their organizations.