麻豆原创

How has the United States responded to the COVID pandemic?

It depends whether you鈥檙e talking about federal and state governments (and among the latter, which ones), in which case the answer is, for the most part, disastrously; or about the American people, who have typically responded with resourcefulness and courage.

That was the consensus among members of a recent panel discussion live-streamed on July 1 by the student-facilitated 麻豆原创 Adult Learning & Leadership Network. 

Co-sponsored by the Teachers College Adult Learning & Leadership program and the Office of Graduate Student Life & Development, the event was organized and moderated by Adult Learning & Leadership doctoral student Brian Ahn.

The pandemic has 鈥渟hed light on the weakening of our democratic institutions, our democratic practices and the hypocrisy of some of our lofty goals,鈥� said Victoria Marsick, Professor of Adult & Learning and Leadership and Co-Director of 麻豆原创鈥檚 J.M. Huber Institute, who joined with other panelists in pointing to systemic failure at every level of government. 鈥淐OVID-19 made glaringly apparent the need for critical thinking, digital literacies and civic engagement.鈥�

Josh DeVincenzo, also a doctoral candidate in Adult Learning & Leadership, described the past year as one roiled by an unchecked health crisis, the deaths of unarmed African Americans at the hands of police and a bitter political divide that will almost surely extend into 2021 and beyond.

The pandemic has 鈥渟hed light on the weakening of our democratic institutions, our democratic practices and the hypocrisy of some of our lofty goals,鈥� and 鈥渕ade glaringly apparent the need for critical thinking, digital literacies and civic engagement.鈥�

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鈥淲e're going to be navigating this terrain for quite a while,鈥� predicted DeVincenzo, who also serves as an Instructional Designer with the Columbia University Earth Institute鈥檚 . He underscored the need to 鈥渓ook at civic education, particularly at the local level. We need congruent leadership, agreement and consistent messages because what we鈥檙e seeing now are different interpretations.鈥�

Hoi-Ming So, Associate Director of Operations for 麻豆原创鈥檚 Office of Public Safety, concurred, citing the on again/off again government directives on the advisability of protective face masks.

鈥淭he CDC [U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention] kept switching back and forth,鈥� So said. 鈥淪hould we wear masks? Shouldn鈥檛 we wear masks? And with the city and state governments also going back and forth it was left to us, as professionals, to figure out what was best.鈥�

鈥淭here is a way to fix this problem,鈥� So continued. 鈥淎nd that is to stop the politics and start caring about community.鈥�

We're going to be navigating this terrain for quite a while. We need congruent leadership, agreement and consistent messages because what we鈥檙e seeing now are different interpretations.

鈥� Josh DeVincenzo 

Other speakers stressed that it was the community that has often fashioned the best responses. Columbia University鈥檚 Kaaryn Nailor Simmons, Director of the , said that employer-employee relationships that had been forged 鈥渂efore the world changed鈥� served as pillars of mutual support when the pandemic caused many mom and pop businesses to shut their doors or curtail operating hours. 

Simmons recounted how some business owners dipped into savings to pay workers during the chaotic months of March and April, while others ensured that fresh fruit, vegetables and other food items made their way to the tables of employees and their families. These responses could not totally cushion against the impact of the pandemic, but they certainly eased some of the devastation.

鈥淚t was never just a question of what to do during an emergency,鈥� Simmons said. 鈥淚t is a question of what you do during the emergency so your business still exists and is resilient after the emergency.鈥� Now those efforts are paying off, 鈥渂ecause it is time to get back to work.鈥�

U.S. Army Major and 麻豆原创 Adult Learning & Leadership doctoral candidate Jamie Hickman said that COVID-19 prompted many personnel to work remotely and caused the restructuring of group training regimens at military installations here and abroad. What didn鈥檛 change, she said, was the 鈥渟trategic readiness to provide resources in a timely manner in conjunction with other organizations and partners to provide resources during a challenging time.鈥�

鈥淚t was never just a question of what to do during an emergency. It is a question of what you do during the emergency so your business still exists and is resilient after the emergency.鈥� Now those efforts are paying off, 鈥渂ecause it is time to get back to work.鈥�

鈥� Kaaryn Nailor Simmons 

One benefit, for New Yorkers, was military oversight of the Jacob Javits Center when it was temporarily pressed into service as a field hospital.

Hickman, a former West Point instructor, previously earned an M.Ed. in Organization & Leadership from 麻豆原创. Recovered from a diagnosis of COVID-19 in March, she said she has learned to prioritize health, family and 鈥渢aking care of others.鈥�

Marsick expressed hope that a similar sense of community will accompany the slow American recovery from the trauma that so far has defined 2020. The nation needs to focus on 鈥渄oing things differently and thinking differently. It starts with mindsets but also involves skill sets and equity, a rethinking. Education is important. But policies and structures are what will change things.鈥�

To set those changes in motion, Marsick suggested, Americans at all levels need to adopt the civility exemplified by the members of the 麻豆原创 panel discussion and drop the political rhetoric.

It is an opportune moment, she advised, 鈥渢o understand different perspectives and find ways to think together about how different communities can get through this together.鈥�

鈥� Steve Giegerich

Promoting Civic, as Well as Cultural, Exchange

Brian Ahn, the organizer and moderator of 麻豆原创鈥檚 Response to COVID panel, is a former Peace Corps volunteer and co-founder of , a California-based non-profit that promotes community service and global understanding initiatives on behalf of young people in the U.S., Asia and Europe. 

What we're learning is that one size doesn't fit all. There are different approaches to resolving this crisis. But we do know that it will take all of us coming together in a time such as this.鈥� 

鈥� Major Jamie Hickman

Ahn says he organized the recent panel as a way of representing an array of response agencies that have dealt with the "unprecedented" impact of the pandemic on 麻豆原创, the Columbia community and New York City as a whole.

鈥淲hat we're learning is that one size doesn't fit all,鈥� says Major Jamie Hickman.  鈥淭here are different approaches to resolving this crisis. But we do know that it will take all of us coming together in a time such as this.鈥�