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LIVING & LEARNING TOGETHER 8 | STUDENT PRESERVES ANCIENT LANGUAGE LIVING & LEARNING TOGETHER 8 | STUDENT PRESERVES ANCIENT LANGUAGE
MODERN Student Works to Preserve Ancient Language By Janet Kacskos
In the age of technology, where everything is temporary and disposable, one Millersville undergraduate student is working to preserve a piece of history.
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Anishinaabemowin is a Native American language spoken by the Anishinaabe people in the northern United States and Canada, and Jordan Traut, a double English and anthropology major and Japanese culture studies minor, is helping to record it.
This past summer, she traveled 15 hours to northwest Michigan with her mom and little brother so she could attend the “26th Annual Anishinaabe Family Language & Culture Camp.” The camp was designed for the Anishinaabe people to celebrate the unity of their language and culture.
At the camp, Traut heard a session from Brian Peltier, a band member of Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory, who is working to revitalize their language, along with their way of life and spirituality. Peltier’s session was on “The 7 Fires of Creation,” which told the origins of the people along with the birth of their language.
Traut is researching Native American oral stories in addition to her regular school work. Traut is also a member of Millersville’s Honors College, and has taken a study abroad semester in Japan. She is the first recipient of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Fellowship.
“My work has focused on collecting Native American creation teachings from people who speak the languages rather than Englishlanguage translations,” Traut explained. “I had the opportunity to learn about the various initiatives they are working on now to save their language.
“I want to use my thesis research to illuminate the incredible beauty of Native American stories and sophistication of their language, which is so closely rooted in their culture,” she continued. “As a student, I try to stimulate change using my writing to spark dialogue on issues close to my heart like the cultural ramifications of unchecked Englishlanguage translation and the value of non-Western literature. By studying Native American teachings and stories, an aspect of my thesis, I want to reach back into the past, through the surviving literature, in the hopes that it can make an impact for Native Americans in the present.”
Her thesis centers on one story in particular, which she traces through the stories of Native Americans, Mesopotamian studies and many other cultures. That is the story of a great flood.
“Stories were orally passed down about a deluge of water that wiped out entire populations,” she said. “It’s similar to the story in the Bible.
We have a shared humanity and a universal fear that if we cross some sort of spiritual threshold we’re not supposed to, that bad things will happen.”
For Traut, it’s important to remember that cultural work like this is valuable right here in the United States.
Traut’s journey to pursue her passions at Millersville began at an open house. That was where she began falling in love with the ‘Ville.
After graduation in May 2020—only three years after she began her college journey— Jordan hopes to head to Canada to learn more about the Anishinaabe language and culture, and work with the elders on learning it.
In the future, she would like to attend graduate school to study and translate Mesopotamian languages.
“The translation of these languages has been done only by men, who have a cultural bias when it comes to women’s roles,” said Traut. “I want to come at it from a female perspective so the women in the stories don’t get lost. Right now, in the translations, they’re relegated to positions as prostitutes.”
“My life goal is to show others that we’re a lot more similar than different,” she said “It’s not something we think about in our Western culture or in the English mindset. We need to realize that other cultures have ancient stories that are just as valuable to study as Western literature.”
W I N T E R 2 0 1 9
MILLERSVILLE UNIVERSITY hosted our 163 RD Commencement ceremony on Sunday, Dec. 15, in Pucillo Gymnasium. Approximately 430 students crossed the stage to receive their degrees. President Wubah personally shook each student’s hand and wished them luck on their future endeavors. The graduating class included 52 students who earned cum laude honors, 47 students who earned magna cum laude honors and six students who earned summa cum laude honors. Four student veterans also earned their degrees. An impressive 75 faculty were on hand to wish their students well at graduation. Six alumni also received awards during this year’s ceremony.
During the ceremony, Andrea Shirk, general manager of Rock Lititz, received an honorary degree; and the commencement speech was given by Michael Shirk, CEO of The High Companies (both pictured below). He detailed the many diverse paths graduates could take
into the working world in Central Pennsylvania during his speech. Whether it’s healthcare, education, corporate business or entrepreneurship, he assured the graduates that “it takes effort, perseverance, and sometimes patience to find a good fit, but opportunities are out there.”
48 SCHOOL DISTRICTS FOR STUDENT TEACHING 49 PROGRAMS/CERTIFICATES IN COLLEGE OF EDUCATION Established 1855
531 GRADUATES (FALL 2019) 5 departments 20 PRIVATE & CHILDCARE CENTERS FOR STUDENT TEACHING
846
STUDENT-TEACHING PLACEMENTS (FALL 2019)
HOUSE BILL N0. 390
Social Work Faculty Advocates for Credential Change By Kate Hartman
“This bill would update the school code to have a certification for social workers,” explained Dr. Karen Rice, chair of the School of Social Work. “Currently, schools hire social workers but they don’t have a mechanism for certifying that role like they do other positions in schools. The certification ensures there are standards in place and lays out practice and educational expectations. It ensures that those who are receiving social work services are actually receiving them from a social worker.”
Without this SSW certification, schools are able to rely on other professionals to fill these roles versus a credentialed social worker, who Rice says is the best fit for the task. The lack of a certification diminishes the importance of social workers and the services they provide.
As one of the local area’s producers of quality social workers, Millersville University’s administration, faculty and doctoral students have been advocating for this new credential because of its necessity in the profession, and the positive effects it would have on our graduates moving forward.
In school districts, social workers serve as the conduit between the family and the school to make sure the student is
receiving the support they need to succeed. This can include managing mental health, accessibility, poverty, abuse, violence and many other issues a student might be experiencing.
Without a social worker certification, schools only have the option to require a Home and School Visitor certification, which is not as strict or specific to the profession. A bill currently circulating in the education committee of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives would have a significant effect on the social work profession—particularly School Social Workers (SSW) who are employed in school districts. S C H O O L S O C I A L W O R K E R S T H E V I T A L L I N K HOME SCHOOL COMMUNITY CHILD
“House Bill 390 is a piece of legislation within the social work professional community that has been sorely needed and advocated for since before my arrival at Millersville University 11 years ago,” said Dr. Leonora Foels, associate professor of social work.
The Pennsylvania Association of School Social Work Personnel (PASSWP) a state organization, has been conducting research on this topic and advocating for school social workers to be included in the many areas of need within school districts for years.
Dee Stalnecker, a graduate student pursuing her Doctorate in Social Work (DSW) at Millersville, is the current vice president of the PASSWP, and has been intimately involved in the advocacy efforts. She views this certification as a means to measure quality of professionals in this field, which is positive in raising expectations and outputs in the field. “Certification would raise the standards for SSWs by providing additional education such as educational law, special education, etc.,” explained Stalnecker, who is a SSW in the Derry Township School District. “Those of us who have worked as SSWs learned this information as we went along, but it certainly put us at a disadvantage. Although SSWs in Pennsylvania must have their MSW and be licensed by the state, schools value quality and a means to measure quality; certification is one avenue to ensure that.”
“Currently, our social work students and graduates are still left without a clear path to using their master’s degree or professional licenses (LSW and LCSW) as a vehicle to provide support and services to the students and their families within the Pennsylvania school system,” Foels explained.
In March 2019, a contingent of Millersville social work students and faculty went to Harrisburg for the National Association of School Workers’ Legislation Education and Advocacy Day to call for local legislators to take up the bill.
“The bill is not totally bi-partisan, but there are Republicans and Democrats on it. Support for this bill can be found across racial and gender groups,” explained Dr. Laura Granruth, assistant professor of social work. “This is how Pennsylvania is choosing to pursue certification. Other states may have different standards or pursue different avenues.”
Despite advocacy efforts, this bill remains stalled in the education committee. Stalnecker is hopeful to see some movement early in 2020. “We’re talking about additional advocacy efforts we can engage in to help push this bill along,” said Dr. George Drake, dean of the College of Education and Human Services, and the School of Social Work. “We need to spur some grassroots efforts to get this bill out of committee and onto the house floor.”
When the bill is passed, Millersville will be ready. Dr. Foels has already been working to tailor social work coursework to better align with a SSW certification so that graduating students are set up for success.
Stalnecker credits her involvement with Millersville’s doctoral program with giving her the perspective
to look at this kind of policy issue through a macro lens. Without that kind of learning in the classroom, she is not sure she would have become as involved with PASSWP or this bill. “As a result of my classes, I understand how my role within an organization affects my profession, and how research can strengthen the social work profession as a whole,” she said. “I have evaluated and discovered my professional identity.”
