Category: Blog

Teachers Create Our Future

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All of us have bragged about the great teachers we’ve had who have helped us along in life, but not every teacher is wonderful. Some teachers just don’t strive to improve and help kids.

According to About Education, ineffective teachers share similar characteristics:

  • They lack the ability to manage their classrooms. If they can’t control the students in their classrooms, they won’t be able to teach them effectively.
  • [They] lack real content knowledge. They will quickly lose credibility with their students if they do not know what they are teaching, making them instantly ineffective.
  • [They] lack motivation. [These] teachers do not challenge or stay engaged with their students.
  • [They] lack organizational skills, [making them] unproductive and overwhelmed.
  • [They possess] poor people skills, which affects students, parents, other staff members and administrators [and] can quickly become the downfall of a teacher.

On the other hand, greatly effective teachers:

  • [L]ove to teach and have a passion for teaching young people
  • [D]emonstrate a caring attitude
  • [R]elate to their students one on one
  • [T]hink outside the box
  • [A]re willing to be creative and adaptive to individual needs
  • [A]re proactive rather than reactive
  • [A]re excellent communicators to everyone who surrounds a student
  • [C]hallenge their students to do better

[W]hy would anyone ever want to become a teacher? The budgets for our classrooms dwindle each year, and teachers continue to take money out of their own pockets to provide their students with supplies. [S]chools are getting older, and fewer new schools are being built annually. Based on the school shootings over the last few years, teachers must now worry every day about the security of their students and themselves. […]

[Despite] these [concerns], teachers continue to inspire, and new, idealist[ic] college graduates are joining their ranks. This year, 284,000 new teachers joined public schools, compared to 222,000 a decade ago, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics. Public schools employed 3.1 million teachers this year, putting the average pupil-to-teacher ratio at 16 to 1, […] the same as it was in 2000. Public school expenditures this year were $634 billion, [or] $12,605 for each student. The […] average [percentage] of high school [students who dropped out fell to] 6.8% […] from […] 10.9% in 2000. The percentage of students enrolling in college in the fall immediately following high school […] is 65.9%; in 1976, it was 48.8%. Looking at the decline in dropouts and the increase in kids starting college, […] our current crop of teachers must be doing something right.

It does pay to stay in school. Today’s working adults age[s] 25 to 34 with a bachelor’s degree earn around $46,900 [annually], while those with an associate’s degree earn around $35,700. High school graduates earn around $30,000 [per year], and the median is $22,900 for those without a high school diploma.

The fact that the United States is ranked the 14th best educational country in the world according to Pearson is a real wake-up call. […] South Korea is ranked first, followed by Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Finland, the United Kingdom and Canada. Pearson found the top-ranked countries offer teachers higher status in society and have a culture emphasizing education. Society’s attitude about education and its underlying moral purpose seems to be stronger in the top-rated countries. […]

It continues to amaze me that people want to become teachers. New teachers make around $36,000 [annually] and can earn $58,000 after 20 years, so striking it rich does not seem to be the reason to pursue this noble career. These teachers have a spirit that the rest of us just don’t possess. This school year, teachers took an average of $513 out of their own pockets for classroom supplies, food for hungry kids in their classes, instructional materials and books for their student. […]

It is up to concerned citizens and parents to make a difference for our kids and give teachers more help. The National Teacher Assistance Organization gathers donations […] for professional assistance to teachers. At Donors Choose, public school teachers post classroom project requests, and you can donate to the project that most inspires you. At Class Wish, you can help fund any teacher in the country. […]

It takes an entire village to bring quality education to the next generation. Our teachers care about their students [and] their neighborhoods, and they want to mold our kids into adults who care about our community. Great teachers start to move the minds of their students along the path of knowledge, preparing them for the journey of life and propelling them into the future of adulthood. Now that teachers are finishing up this school year and preparing for the next, it is up to our legislatures, our community leaders, parents and ordinary citizens to support all of our kids before it is too late. Our teachers have the compassion and willingness to bring our kids back into the top-10-rated countries in the world, [b]ut it is up to the rest of us to realize that a highly educated society means success and prosperity for all. […]

Original article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marc-joseph/teachers-create-our-futur_b_10325238.html

The Poor Are Getting Poorer

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Today, 83% of people living in poverty are either children, elderly, [disabled], students, [caretakers] or [the unemployed], according to The Washington Post. There are six million families with children living in poverty right here in the United States, [considered the] wealthiest nation in history, which means one in five families are living in poverty. For the U.S.A. to ensure no children grow up in poverty-stricken households, it would cost us $57 billion a year, or $578 [annually for families not living in poverty].

So are [we] all going to pitch in to make this happen? […]

[O]n Jan. 8, 1964, President Johnson declared “an unconditional war on poverty in America.” […] He pledged better schools, better health, better homes, better training and better job opportunities, [as well as] more libraries, public transportation and food relief for the poor. […] The Food Stamp Act was passed in 1964, and the Child Nutrition Act came in 1966. Both Medicare and Medicaid were launched in 1965. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) became a cabinet department in 1965, and the HUD Act of 1965 expanded funding for existing federal housing programs, added rent subsidies for the elderly and disabled, gave housing rehabilitation grants to poor homeowners, had provisions for veterans to make low down payments to obtain mortgages, and set money aside to have community centers constructed in low-income areas. […]

Our poverty level […] in 1964 was one in five families; [o]ur poverty level today [remains] one in five families. The Heritage Foundation reports that since 1964, U.S. taxpayers have spent over $22 trillion on antipoverty programs, [or] three times the cost of all U.S. military wars since the American Revolution. Are we just spinning our wheels?

Nationally, all of these numbers are very scary, [b]ut if you look at it locally, it is even worse. In my own state of Arizona, The Arizona Daily Star reported in April that Tucson’s poorest residents are about to get poorer. Five thousand residences were just notified that the state is taking them off the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and several hundred are losing their Temporary Assistance to Needy Families benefits. [T]he Tucson City Council is [also] voting on reducing funds sent to the Community Food Bank and the Primavera Foundation, which provides pathways out of poverty through safe and affordable housing. […] Primavera reports that over the last couple of years, with their current funding, they could only service 42% of the 3,600 families that needed shelter, and half of those had children. How many more families will now have to suffer because of the city council vote?

It is a given that [the] government is under pressure to curtail their spending, so ordinary citizens and nonprofit organizations need to step in to fill the void, as our poor are getting poorer. Luckily, there are several nonprofits[…] where we can turn […] with our donations and also volunteer to help. The Children’s Defense Fund is a strong and effective independent voice for all children. The Salvation Army […] feeds, clothes and comforts those in the most need. The Gospel Rescue Missions provide social services to help the less fortunate with 300 missions serving 50 million meals and providing 20 million nights of lodging. […]

The numbers of those in need in America are staggering. Our government has no more money to allocate to additional programs. It hurts all of us when our neighbors go hungry or can’t find a place to sleep. Our total society suffers when we deny children a good night’s sleep and a nourishing meal, because they are the future of America. This is not a political or religious issue; it is a moral issue that we all need to embrace.

Original article here: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/marc-joseph/the-poor-are-getting-poor_b_9830104.html

I Want to Work for a Great Company

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What makes a company good and sustainable and a place where people want to work? According to BusinessKnowHow.com, there are five traits of a good company:

  1. [T]he leadership team must have a great ambition for the company.
  2. [This ambition must address] an unmet customer need.
  3. Good companies stay focused on what they know and can do well.
  4. [These companies] devote relentless attention to execution.
  5. [S]mart companies engage all of their associates in building businesses—from idea creation to delivery to the customers—so ideas just don’t come from the top down, [but] from the bottom up and every direction in between.

If everyone in a company feels they own a piece of the product and are held accountable, a good company will become great, [s]o human capital has really become the most important asset of just about any company, big [or] small.

All big companies started as small companies run by entrepreneurs with good ideas. Apple and Amazon were created in the founders’ garages. Google started as a dissertation project. […] According to Fortune, entrepreneurs with good ideas come from all walks of life; [f]or example, 33% of new entrepreneurs are college graduates, 20% of startups seeking venture capital have a female cofounder, […] and immigrant entrepreneurs account for 28.5% of all new business owners. [T]here is no true definition of what type of person will start a company.

[W]orking for a giant company does have its perks:

  • Big companies are large because they have done something right.
  • They have already developed a competitive advantage in the marketplace, so jobs can be quite stable.
  • [I]t is possible to change positions and move to a new area without having to leave a big company.
  • [E]mployees may get a higher starting salary, and opportunities for income growth may be superior to small companies.
  • Benefits also tend to be better.
  • More training becomes available, and a clearer promotional path may be offered.
  • Large companies [can] provide better equipment and access to newer technolog[y].

[As for one of the major drawbacks to] working with a large corporation, […] size sometimes is an obstacle, with layers of management slowing down not only personal fulfillment goals but great ideas that may take too long to be accepted.

On the other hand, […] working in a smaller company can be quite rewarding. [According to the Small Business Council, there are 5.73 million employer firms in the United States, and those with fewer than 20 employees make up 89.6% of these companies. These small businesses produce 46% of the non-farm GDP.] [Accordingly], in a small company:

  • [Y]ou can influence and directly contribute to the company’s success.
  • Changes can be quickly implemented, which is one reason smaller companies are often more innovative and can swiftly adapt to new opportunities. These options can make small companies quite interesting for individualists who thrive in an innovative environment.
  • Small companies can give the feeling of being part of a family, which […] can strengthen the relationship between coworkers and conveys the feeling of being more connected to the work. […]
  • Small companies give employees the opportunity to exhibit their entire skillset, because [you’ll] often wear several different hats. […]
  • It may also give employees the chance to lead earlier in their career.

The disadvantages of being in a small company include less job security and more pressure, because failures will be more visible and have a major impact of the existence of the entire company. […]

Having to make a decision on what type of company to work for follows us throughout our careers. According to About Careers, the average person changes jobs 12 times during their lives, [s]o we have many opportunities to decide if we want to work for a big company or a small company. […]

I would tell you to find a small business that you can help build, [b]ut if you do this, [keep in mind that] healthcare costs continue to be a major issue, and small-business owners are still worried about economic conditions and how they might impact their business, which could affect your job. Small businesses have much smaller safety nets in place than bigger businesses, which makes owners more vulnerable to threats like market shifts and new laws and regulations, that could be the catalysts the loss of your job. […]

If you like swimming in a bigger pond even though you may feel like a small fish, there is merit in working for larger employers with their extra resources, formal structures in place and the big pool of people to interact with throughout the day.

[I]f you thrive on getting involved in all kinds of new and varied projects, which causes you to develop new skills and knowledge where you feel you become a vital part of company growth, then smaller businesses may be right for you.

So ask yourself what size fish in what size pond you want to be, so you will not be hooked into being a fish out of water.

Original article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marc-joseph/i-want-to-work-for-a-grea_b_9518984.html

Businesses Need American Education to Be Great

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Listening to the [2016] presidential debates, all [of] the candidates want to make America better than it is today. They want America to lead the world, not to follow. According to Ranking America, [the United States leads] the world with the largest prison population at 2,217,000 prisoners, followed by China at 1,657,812 and Russia at 646,085. We also [claim the world’s] highest divorce rate, […] and [we have] the most lawyers per person (one for every 265 Americans). [T]he one thing we do not lead the world in is education.

The […] United States is ranked [No. 14 in the world when it comes to education], according to Pearson, [which should serve as] a real wakeup call. […] South Korea is ranked first, followed by Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Finland, the United Kingdom and Canada. Pearson found that the top-ranked countries offer teachers higher status in society and have a culture emphasizing education. [T]o think—just three decades ago, the United States was ranked first in the world [for education], and, if we could’ve hung onto that ranking, education would be a nonissue in this year’s elections.

[I]n 1990, the U.S.A. ranked first in the world in four-year degrees attained; today, we sit at No. 12. […] [Just last year], Atlas reported the U.S. government spent […] $154 billion […] on educational accounts, including the Department of Education, school nutrition programs, Head Start, student loan subsidies and veterans educational benefits. Education costs were 4.2% of the total budget, [a percentage surpassed by more than] 100 other countries worldwide. […]

The connection between a good education and income is overwhelming. Today’s working adults ages 25 to 34 with a bachelor’s degree earn [an average of] $46,900 [annually], while those with an associate’s degree earn $35,700 [per year]. High school graduates earn $30,000 [annually], and the median is $22,900 [per year] for those without a high school diploma.

Business leaders recognize that U.S.-based firms cannot compete without an educated populace and a skilled workforce, according to Harvard Business School. Of the 34 countries that signed the Convention for Economic Corporation and Development, [the] United States [ranks] 27th in mathematics, 17th in reading and 20th in understanding science. […]

How can we reverse this slide? [Your initial response may be to] throw more money into education, but that is not the right answer. America is the greatest, most technologically advanced country in the world, and we need to put this advantage to work in all schools. […] [O]ur schools need to let go of archaic practices and embrace technology to engage students, connect learners with educators, and invest in redesigning traditional school models that embrace the Internet and technology. Our own kids are way ahead of us on this. When you see a three-year-old teaching her grandmother how to use the Internet, you know this new generation is ready for just about any technology our schools can throw their way. Once we wake up and realize that our kids can use modern technology to learn the sciences and math in an engaging, relevant and personalized learning experience, this newest generation will drive us back to being No. 1 in the world. [D]on’t [think] that technology [alone can] enhance our kids’ experience; […] the real keys to strong schools are great teachers and principals who can implement technology creatively and efficiently.

During this election year, we can’t count on Congress to help our schools with additional funding in the near future. Our teachers take an average of $513 out of their own pockets [every year] for classroom supplies, […] instructional materials and books—[w]e cannot ask for more from these dedicated public servants. [I]t is up to concerned citizens, parents and business owners to make a difference for our kids. The nonprofit NPower has [a] community corps skill-based volunteering program engaging technology professionals with our schools, so if you are not technologically inclined, you should donate to help them help others. Code.org believes that every student in every school should have the opportunity to learn computer science, so donate to help this cause. […]

One or two business leaders are not going to make a difference in fixing our educational system. It is a country mindset that needs to permeate every school in every city like the attitude found in all the countries now beating us. Our past presidents have set national goals, and we, as a country, have risen up to achieve these goals. Think of Roosevelt taking on the Great Depression or Kennedy telling America we will land a man on the moon by the end of the decade. During this upcoming national election, we need a candidate who truly wants to take America back to being the No. 1 educational country in the world. We know that a better-educated populace will create new businesses and higher-paying jobs that will lift our entire economy. Every business person I know wants that for their company and for their kids.

Original article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marc-joseph/businesses-need-american_b_9239576.html

America Does Not Have Enough Volunteers

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Unlike the 141 billionaires who have pledged to give away at least half of their wealth to charity through the “Giving Pledge,” an effort started by philanthropists Warren Buffet and Bill and Melinda Gates, most of us don’t have the big extra dollars to help out our favorite charities, [s]o [we] need to help by volunteering […] instead.

According to the Corporation for National Community Service, 25.3% of Americans volunteer, [or roughly] 62.8 million [individuals]. They average 32.1 volunteer hours per person per year, which comes to 7.9 billion hours of service. […] Volunteering to help religious activities accounts for 34% of all volunteer hours; [e]ducation [accounts for] 26%, social services [for] 15%, health-related fields [for] 8%, civic duty [for] 5%, [and] sports and the arts each [represent] 4%. [A]ll ages volunteer, so the ethics of volunteering is being passed down from generation to generation. [Individuals] under 24 years old account for 22.6% of all volunteers, while [those] ages 25 [to] 44 [total] 26.7%, ages 45 [to] 64 [equal] 27.4%, and those over 65 account for 23.6%.

[What’s] discouraging, […] though, is the discrepancy of volunteer participation [by U.S.] state. [Several states’ constituents have a higher propensity to volunteer, including] Utah, [which boasts] a volunteer rate of 46% [of its total population], followed by Idaho (35.8%), Wisconsin (35.4%), Minnesota (35.3%) and Kansas (35.1%). [At the other end of the spectrum, however, are] Florida (20.1%), Nevada (19.4%), New York (19.2%) and Louisiana, with only 17.4% volunteering. […]

Why do people volunteer? Energize Inc. reports that most people find themselves in need at some point in their lives—today, you may be [able] to help, and tomorrow, you may be the recipient of another’s volunteer effort. […] Another reason is [because] “doing good” has been embedded in us since we began grade school. Every day, we are bombarded with disheartening news stories [with] issues we cannot influence or control, [s]o volunteering becomes a proactive way of doing something to make the world a better place. […] A third reason people volunteer is to do something they love, whether they are a gardener helping to clean up a blight in their city or a carpenter helping to build or repair a home. Volunteering can help new people in a community make new friends who share their interests and values. It can also can help you polish your resume with a commitment to help others, work in a new type of environment and help develop new skills. […]

Each volunteer’s story is unique. The Arizona Republic recently reported about Keith Colson of Phoenix, who was part of volunteer groups as a youth and wanted to teach his son the same values. [The Colsons] began by giving food to the homeless people on street corners together, [then] they volunteered at the Salvation Army, where he [volunteered alongside someone] who [would become] his wife. Reader’s Digest told the story of Austen Pearce of Maricopa, Ariz., who started volunteering at a food bank at age 10 and noticed the produce was past its prime. He lobbied his city for a community garden, and four years later, he is supplying 200 needy families with fresh produce he and other volunteers are growing.

What is your story, or what is the story you are going to create?

If you want to volunteer but don’t know how, go to the Hands On Network, which has 250 volunteer action centers matching 2.6 million volunteers to 236,000 different nonprofit initiatives. [You can also] visit Volunteer Match, which connects millions of people who want to volunteer to help animals, children, the homeless, their community, education and many more causes. […]

Community service is not political and it is not mandated by the state. It is something that comes from deep within our core values. Helping others can be as simple as washing dishes at your local shelter or delivering a meal to [the] elderly. […] Can you imagine the impact on our country if just another 10% of our friends and neighbors decided to volunteer for a worthy cause? […]

In our modern-day society, volunteering still forms the core of the American character; [i]t is who we are and how we pass caring and freedom to the next generation. […] If our kids can convince their friends and neighbors through social media that to help others is, in a sense, helping ourselves, we can continue to be the most charitable nation, just like our forefathers [envisioned].

Original article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marc-joseph/america-does-not-have-eno_b_9032152.html

Surviving a Broken World

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We just went through the season of celebration, but, really, is there anything to celebrate? There are hundreds of thousands of refugees crossing the Mediterranean and Aegean seas, fleeing war, persecution and violence in Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and many other countries. The indiscriminate terrorist attacks killing 130 people in Paris were so senseless, as was the loss of 224 lives in the Russian plane crash in Egypt. [W]e continue to have mass killings in our own country; [i]n the three years since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings, [which claimed] 27 people, [including] 20 […] children, another 340 Americans have died in mass shooting incidents. Any of us with young kids or grandchildren have trouble explaining why our modern day world is so violent and unhappy.

This constant bad news has got to be taking a toll on our younger generation, who has instant access to information with their daily exposure to the Internet and smartphones. Add to this the [number of] kids who live in poverty, and you have to question whether the upcoming generations are going to be better off than their parents. According to USA Today, 22% of children in the United States live below the poverty line, which is a higher percentage than during the Great Recession; [by contrast], in 2008, 18% of kids were in poverty. [I]n this great country of ours, poverty is highly unequal, with 39% of African-American children, 37% of [Native American] children and 33% of Hispanics living in poverty. The U.S. Department of Human and Health Services’ official poverty line is [an income of] $23,624 [annually] for a family with two adults and two children.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation found 18.7 million [U.S.] kids, or one in four, live in low-income households, which are defined as families using more than 30% of their pre-tax income for housing. [C]hildren raised in low-income households may get insufficient food and nutrients, which can negatively impact physical development. When children go to school hungry, they are [also] unable to focus [on] learning, [while] inadequate housing can expose children to toxins or other health hazards.

For any parent, juggling work, child care and transportation is challenging. Add in the stress of struggling to pay the bills, [and] parents battling with low income[s] have a higher risk of depression, substance abuse and domestic violence, which can affect a child’s social and emotional development. On top of this, 54% of our kids do not attend preschool, 66% of our fourth graders are not proficient in reading, and 66% of our eighth graders are not proficient in math. By ignoring the needs of these 18.7 million kids, we have a formula for the next generation to fail.

This failure for our society to improve itself has already begun. Bloomberg Business just reported that our middle class—[defined as a] family of three [that] has a minimum income of $41,869—has lost their majority status in the United States [for] the first time since 1970. Over 120.8 million adult Americans live in middle-class households, [including] 51 million [considered higher]-income and 70.3 million […] lower-[income]. The middle class holds 43% of U.S. aggregate income, which also is the smallest share since 1970. Generations have grown up with the goal of becoming middle-class. What do we tell our newest generation?

We need to worry about our kids, [a]nd we need to help them deal with the world around them. […] Each of us can’t teach 18.7 million kids, so we must rely on caring organizations to work with those who need the most help. There are great organizations we can contribute to like Save the Children and the Children’s Defense Fund, [both of which] help these less-fortunate kids. Communities in Schools help students while in school, and the Boys & Girls Clubs of America help create a safe place to learn and grow. […]

Children should be growing up [and] worrying [only] about playing and exercising and eating the right foods so they can become stronger and smarter. Our over-connected technology world, though, throws a wrench into the traditional way Americans have raised their kids for generations. Many times, our children know before we [do] about the tragedies afflicting this world because of their instant connection[s] to computers and cellphones. We can’t protect them from this anymore. We also can’t rely on our government to do it alone, because it is such a huge task that is getting worse as each new year unfolds.

We all make personal New Year’s resolutions, like “exercise more,” “lose weight,” and “spend more time with family and friends.” As a country, our resolution for this year needs to be “help all of our children.” Our children are our hope to change this broken world.

Original article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marc-joseph/surviving-a-broken-world_b_8811312.html

Our Country Should Be Proud of Its Military

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Why does our military get such a bum rap in the news, where all we read about are homeless veterans, veteran suicides and how much our veterans’ hospitals have let us down? Our military is the most professional organization on Earth, and we do not give them credit for how good they really are in keeping all of us safe.

Our military is made up of all volunteers, but that was not always the case. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, General George Washington requested the central government be given the power to conscript soldiers for the Revolutionary War, which was a power previously reserved for the individual colonies. Despite the clear need for troops, the Continental Congress turned down Washington’s request. During the Civil War, President Lincoln imposed a draft [that] provoked riots in New York and many other cities. Our first peacetime draft took place in September 1940, and this draft supplied two-thirds of the Americans who fought in World War II. The draft lapsed in 1947 but was reinstated 15 months later for the Cold War. The draft became a casualty of its own unpopularity during the Vietnam War, where draftees made up only 25% of the U.S. military but accounted for more than half of the Army’s battle deaths. In 1973, the draft law expired when Congress refused to extend it.

Last month, I had the privilege of spending a day with the U.S. Army Recruiting Command based out of Fort Knox, Ky., while attending the Kiwanis Summit. I talked with recruiters from all over the country and was totally impressed with their professionalism [and their] commitment to their cause. […] Any one of these soldiers could become a leader in the business world. […] Like I learned in my visit, according to Business Insider, our military force is smart; […] 43% of active-duty officers have a bachelor’s degree, and 39% […] have advanced degrees. [T]he military is [also] very employable in the private sector, according to USA Today. The unemployment rate for [veterans of the wars in] Iraq and Afghanistan […] was 4.6% in October, lower than the national average of 5%, proving that the skills learned in the military do translate back into civilian life. […] This is the lowest unemployment rate for this brave group since October 2007, two months before the recession began. […]

Congress finally came to its senses when they passed the $607 billion Defense Policy Bill last month. It raises the Pentagon’s base budget by 7.7%, which offsets the sequestration that was put in place in 2011. This will allow for a 1.3% pay increase for service members and the setting up of a new retirement plan option for troops, similar to a 401(k) style retirement, according to Politico. What is fascinating about this whole process is the bill passed the Senate 91 [to] three. […] This overwhelming support for our military shows how meaningful a job they do to keep us safe. […]

The transition from military life to civilian life is not easy for all of our heroes, and it can be especially taxing on their families. That is when we, as ordinary citizens, need to step in to lend a helping hand or donate to a cause that works. If you own a business, we all need to make a real effort to hire a veteran, [o]r, if you are not an employer, you can still help by donating to Hire Heroes, a nonprofit dedicated to creating job opportunities for veterans and their spouses. Another great organization to donate to is Welcome Back Veterans, which was created to help returning veterans. One of my personal favorites is Soldiers’ Angels. […]

In 1945, we had 12 million active military personnel, and today, we have 1.3 million, all [of whom] have volunteered to keep the peace. They are our friends [and] family, and [they are the] bravest in our communities. Volunteering is a hard decision to make. It pulls these soldiers away from their towns, their pals and their support systems. Every day, they are in harm’s way. If we can continue to support our service members of today, it will only strengthen our military for tomorrow.

Original article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marc-joseph/our-country-should-be-pro_b_8582036.html

Shouldn’t We Be Helping Those at Home First?

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The United States spends $30 billion a year on official development assistance overseas, according to Oxfam America. […] We have foreign aid [to protect] our national security with [the] hopes it will reduce [the] poverty and injustice that fuel social tensions and [destabilize] countries. It also helps with our own economic interests, because aid can support the generation of demand for U.S. goods, which builds stable trading partners. [Additionally], based on the morality of our country, [providing aid is] “the right thing to do,” because it may help advance human rights and, in turn, democracy. Anyone picking up a newspaper over the last couple of months has […] to question if our aid has made countries more stable, brought democracy to the rest of the world or created a larger demand for U.S.-made goods.

Last year, we spent $14.4 billion to support Title 1, [otherwise known as] the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), [which] provides resources to schools situated in low-income communities. […] This is down from the previous year […] because of the government cut in funds due to our ongoing “sequestration.” Childhood poverty in the United States stands at 21.1%, [or the equivalent of 15.5 million children]—more than one in five. […] The National Education Association says that to reach all eligible children in poverty, Title 1 needs $45 billion. What a coincidence that Title 1 is $30 billion short of helping our kids at home—the same amount of dollars we are shipping overseas.

Title 1 support is so important to the future of America and what makes a school successful. According to Newsweek and the research done by Harvard professor Roland Fryer, Jr., strictly controlled environments foster success in students. Five principles are reflected in successful schools: frequent teacher feedback, the use of data to guide classroom instruction, frequent and high-quality tutoring, extended school days and years, and a school culture of high expectations. Title 1’s funding goal is “to ensure that all children have a fair, equal and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education and reach proficiency on state academic achievement standards.” [Effectively], Title 1 funds are to be used to improve curriculum, instructional activities, counseling [and] parental involvement, [as well as] increase staff and program improvement.

No kid in America should go hungry, and our government does have a federally subsidized school lunch program. According to NewAmerica.org, this program supports student nutrition in over 101,000 schools and provide[s] free and reduced-price […] meals to low-income children before school, during school, after school and over the summer. […]

In September, the Children’s Defense Fund released the latest data about poverty, stating there are 46.7 million poor people in America, [33% of which] are children, [making them] the poorest age group. […] Children of color […] are disproportionately poor; […] 37% of black children and 32% of Hispanic children [fall into this category], [compared to] 12% of [Caucasian] kids. The younger the children, the poorer they are, with 25% of kids under age five considered poor—and these are the [strongest] years [for] brain development.

We have to be realistic. The government only has so much money to spend to continue to operate. Our legislatures scared us in September by averting a government shutdown and approved temporary spending measures to keep federal agencies operating through December 11. Much like we have trouble balancing our checkbooks and prioritizing where we spend our own money, our government is having that problem on a massive scale and continues to kick the can down the road. […] So until our leaders get their acts together, it falls back on individuals to help the poor, the hungry and the disadvantaged in this country.

Luckily, there are several nonprofits […] we can turn to with our donations and volunteer[ing efforts]. The Children’s Defense Fund is a strong and effective independent voice for all children in America. The Salvation Army, in their mission for “doing the most good,” feed, clothe and comfort those in the most need. The Gospel Rescue Missions provide social services to help the less fortunate. […]

The numbers of those in need in America are staggering. Our government has no more money to allocate to additional programs, so it must move its dollars around rather than hoping to collect more taxes. This country needs to look to help itself first. What would happen if we took all of this foreign aid and poured it into lifting [up] our own struggling citizens?

Original article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marc-joseph/shouldnt-we-be-helping-th_b_8401336.html

America’s Fascination with Cats

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Last month, I was watching my hometown baseball team, the Arizona Diamondbacks, play the San Francisco Giants, [a]nd when it came time to throw out the first pitch, it was thrown out by Grumpy Cat, an Internet celebrity cat known for her grumpy facial expressions. […]

This is not the first time a cat has thrown out the first pitch at a ballgame. Last year, Tara the Cat, who was made famous in a YouTube video that [showed her saving] a four-year-old boy from a dog attack in Bakersfield, Calif., threw out the first pitch at the minor league Bakersfield Blaze baseball game. Obviously, these cats don’t have the paw strength to reach home plate, so to have these cats honored in this esteemed American tradition says a lot about our respect for these pets.

Domesticated cats have a long and rich history, according to the Smithsonian. Cats were first domesticated 12,000 years ago in the Middle East as people abandoned their nomadic lifestyle and settled permanently to [farm] and [store] grain, which attracted rodents. The wildcats preyed on the rodents and stuck around these early towns. In Egypt, the African wildcat was domesticated to control the vermin that was harming the crops and causing diseases. These cats controlled the rat population, reducing deaths, and allowed a larger supply of food for the poor. Because they changed the quality of life for Egyptians, cats became sacred creatures representing life and associated with the goddesses Bast, Isis and Pasht. If an Egyptian killed a cat, they were immediately given the death penalty.

Egyptian traders brought cats to Europe, Greece and the Romans. All of these civilizations used the cats to control the pest population, and the King of Wales also made killing a cat punishable by death, [b]ut during the Middle Ages, cats were associated with superstitions and witchcraft, sin, and Satan. When the plague started in 1348, […] rulers ordered the killing of cats that were thought to carry the devil’s disease. Ironically, because of the mass killing of cats, the rodent population exploded and worsened the spread of disease. The mass killing of cats costs millions of lives in Europe.

Cats were [then] used on ships to control the rodent population, and when Christopher Columbus discovered America, cats on board […] his ship were left behind and flourished to become the American Shorthair cat. Fast forward to today, and in the 1990s, cats overtook the dog as the world’s most common pet, where there are now 500 million domestic cats worldwide!

[A]ccording to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), there are 86 million owned cats [in the United States today], compared to 78 million dogs. Thirty-nine percent of American households own a dog, [however], compared to 33 percent owning cats. […] A total of 70 million U.S. homes—or 63%—own at least one companion animal. There are 54,000 veterinarians [nationwide] taking care of these animals, which is a 55% increase […] in just the last 15 years!

[I]n 2012, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis started the Internet Cat Video Film Festival to showcase the best in cat videos. They receive 10,000 submissions annually of one-minute videos and pick the top 70, which are [then] shown at the film festival. When over 10,000 people showed up for this event, it became so popular that it has led to international tours of the program, and they had their 2015 edition launch a couple of months ago. We noticed on our Facebook page that every time we post a picture of a cat, it is liked or shared thousands of times, [s]o if so many of us take the time to smile, laugh and gush about cats, why are so many of them in trouble?

There are over 5,000 animal shelters nationwide, according to [the] Statistic Brain [Research Institute]. Five million animals enter these shelters, and 3.5 million are euthanized. Sixty percent of dogs are euthanized, and 70% of cats entering shelters are euthanized. Only 2% of the cats are actually returned to their owners. Two billion dollars of taxpayer money is used annually to round up, house, kill and dispose of homeless animals.

October 29th is National Cat Day, which has now been celebrated for 10 years. For those of us who love animals, we should not just be rejoicing only one day this month, because it is our duty every day to help these defenseless animals who have no voice for themselves. There are plenty of concerned organizations that need our support to help reduce the staggering amount of neglected pets. Donate to great nonprofits like the ASPCA, the Humane Society, the American Humane Association, or […] find a shelter near you through the Shelter Pet Project. […] If you cannot support these helpless animals with money, donate your time to help care for them at the shelters. All shelters welcome people who will feed, walk and groom these ignored cats.

Cats provide therapeutic benefits for many of life’s invisible scars. They help us socially and emotionally. The unconditional love cats give us transcends work issues, family conflicts and death. Cats don’t care about the color of your skin, whether you can read or not, or if you are missing a limb. […] Donate to cat shelters and organizations that care for these innocent animals. Volunteer at your local shelter to help cats cope with being alone. No one wants to be alone, and your simple act of kindness goes a long way for cats that can’t speak up for themselves.

Original article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marc-joseph/americas-fascination-with_b_8230420.html

Cold & Forgotten: How We Can Help the Homeless

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As we begin to enter […] fall, [charitable] organizations like churches, the Salvation Army, the United Way and the American Red Cross are beginning [to finalize] their plans to help the homeless in their communities [through the winter]. This is a tradition that Americans have repeated for decades.

Most cities and government agencies are making a real effort to help the homeless, but they can’t keep up with the demand. Ironically, many cities have passed laws banning sleeping in parks and other public places, [s]o when a town does not have enough beds for the homeless, where can they sleep?

Boise, Idaho, [officials] created such a ban on sleeping in public places. A case was brought against the city by homeless plaintiffs who were convicted under the Boise ordinances that criminalize sleeping or camping in public. According to The Idaho Statesman, the U.S. Department of Justice jumped into the suit and sided with the plaintiffs by arguing that criminalizing public sleeping where there is insufficient shelter space unconstitutionally punishes them for being homeless. The government cites the Eighth Amendment, which disallows cruel and unusual punishments to our citizens. In its filing, the Justice Department said, “[E]nforcing these ordinances is poor public policy, because pushing homeless individuals into the criminal justice system does nothing to break the cycle of poverty or prevent homelessness in the future.”

Boise is not alone. […] When there are 578,424 homeless people on any given night this year (401,501 in shelters and 177,373 sleep unsheltered), of which 49,933 are veterans, cities simply can’t keep up. For veterans, stepping back onto American soil isn’t the end of the battle—it’s the beginning of another battle for stability in housing, finances, health and support systems that too easily ends in homelessness. In June, the Department of Veterans Affairs launched the Homeless Veteran Community Employment Services program, which aims to help veterans exiting homelessness and those on the brink of homelessness gain stability and long-term employment. Let’s hope it takes off quickly.

We know that homelessness cannot be solved by the government alone; [t]his is a major problem that affects all of our communities. There are many ways the average citizen can help, [whether] by donating or volunteering. The Covenant House opens up its doors to help homeless youth. Stand up for Kids helps homeless street kids. Support Homeless Veterans works to get these forgotten heroes off the streets. […]

With the limitless potential that the homeless have to make a lasting positive contribution to our communities, we cheat not only them but ourselves by not allocating dollars, either in the taxes we collect or the disposable income we can spare, to helping them. If we ever found ourselves in that situation, wouldn’t we want someone to do the same for us? Together, we can work to get the homeless back on their feet.

Original article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marc-joseph/cold-and-forgotten-how-we_b_8050064.html