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Immigrants Enrich San Diego and the Nation

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Imagine you have had a good life with a stable job and family. Then, imagine that your life turns upside down, be it from war, religious persecution, or social unrest, and you have to start from scratch in a new country with a different language, culture, even alphabet! Welcome to the world of many of my adult ESL [English as a Second Language] students. Despite all that they have gone and continue to go through, they are very grateful to be here

Some people fear the unknown and are suspicious of newcomers, so I’d like to give you a glimpse of my world. I have been both an adult and community college ESL teacher at SDCE Mid-City Center and Grossmont College for over 30 years. I have worked with people from all over the world and their resilience never ceases to amaze me. In one class, I can have students ranging in age from 18 to 65 and from different socioeconomic and academic backgrounds, but they all have a mutual goal. They want to learn English and forge a better life for themselves and their children. For the most part, it is not easy.   [Read more…]

Janet and George Gastil: San Diego Locals Contributing to our Communities

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In her 80 years, Janet Gastil has worn many hats and is a true renaissance woman. She has been a wife and mother, teacher, musician, realtor, and politician to name the most important ones…

Janet Manly Gastil was born in 1936 in Long Island, but moved to San Diego in 1946 when she was ten years old. Like her mother, Gastil suffered from asthma, so going west improved their health. Both of her parents were attorneys and active in social causes which helped to shape their only child.

A student prodigy, Gastil received her BA in English from SDSU [back then known as San Diego State College] at 19. She was awarded a Woodrow Wilson fellowship to Duke University where she got her MA at 20.   [Read more…]

Makeda “Dread” Cheatom: Nurturing Immigrant Art and Giving Back

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The founder of the World Beat Center in Balboa Park is now embarking on a new venture. In collaboration with other local and international artists, they have opened an art and cultural center, Casa del Tunel, right across the border in Tijuana. Like the World Beat Center, Casa del Tunel will be a place where people of many different cultures can come together to teach, perform, and present traditional forms of art to the world. There will be exhibits and art, dance, and music classes. It will be a binational and multinational collaboration. Enrique Chiu, a well-known local artist, is the art director and Wilner Metelus, a Haitian from Mexico City, will collaborate with them.

Casa del Tunel is also a place for Makeda to engage in her philanthropic side as she envisions it as a place to help support the Haitian and African refugees who have been arriving in Tijuana. She hopes to provide jobs, guidance, and promote their art.

  [Read more…]

Mon Dieu! C’est ‘Manifest Destinitis’ at San Diego Rep

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Molière is smiling. The multi-talented actor and playwright, Herbert Siguenza, has breathed new life into his play, The Imaginary Invalid. Manifest Destinitis is set two centuries later in 19th century “old or Alta California”. This high energy play is also brimming with clever and scathing 21st century social commentary on the upcoming election, Trump and his ‘wall’, and the present day health care system.

Siguenza is becoming a San Diego treasure in the theater world with his plays, Steal Heaven, An Evening with Pablo Picasso, El Henry (a favorite of mine), and now Manifest Destinitis.   [Read more…]

Free Classes in San Diego

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One of the best kept secrets in San Diego is the free classes offered at San Diego Continuing Education. Under the umbrella of the San Diego Community College District, Continuing Education has six centers around town, including Cesar Chavez, ECC, Mid-City, CE Mesa, Miramar, North City and West City.

The largest English as a Second Language program in San Diego is offered at all the centers. Classes start at level 1, and some schools have beginning classes for both literate and non-literate students. The levels continue until level 7 which is the highest level.

Some of the ESL level 7 classes are Transition to College ESL courses in which students prepare to be successful in college. They learn about the college system in California and focus on improving their writing and oral presentation skills.   [Read more…]

Lionel’s Legacy: Rescuing and Educating

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In May, as I was walking around checking out all the booths at the San Diego Humane Society Walk event, I saw two sweet and funny little faces that drew me in. They were two senior Chihuahuas named Fred and Ethel, like the couple who lived next door to Lucy and Ricky Ricardo. What perfect names for those silly little faces!

Fred and Ethel are two lucky pooches that were taken in by Lionel’s Legacy, a non-profit organization, out of El Cajon, CA, that specializes in rescuing senior dogs.

Lionel’s Legacy was founded in 2011 by elementary school teacher, Laura Oliver, and her family. Lionel was a 15 year old pit bull that inspired them to start an organization that specializes in fostering and finding good homes for senior pets.   [Read more…]

The Plight of Adjunct Teachers

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Here in California, adjunct teachers are like the comedian, Rodney Dangerfield, in the community college world. They get some respect, but not a lot, despite being the backbone of the system.

More classes are taught by part-time teachers than full-time teachers. The ratio has been as high as 70% part-time teachers to 30% full-time teachers. Part-time teachers are paid by the hour; whereas, full-time teachers receive a salary and if one calculates the hourly rate, it is higher. The various districts do this because it saves them money.

The community colleges in San Diego also limit the number of hours an adjunct can teach each semester, so many part-time teachers become freeway flyers. That means they have to teach at various colleges to make ends meet. They fly on the freeway from one location to another because they don’t get enough hours at one college.   [Read more…]

Baja Dog Rescue

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Life for dogs in Mexico is not very good, except for the lucky ones who have responsible owners. There are so many street dogs roaming about! These street dogs have a very poor quality of life, and because they are not neutered, the problems continue.

However, there are two brothers, Adam and Josh Prater, who along with Adriana Garcia were inspired to try and make a difference for street dogs in Baja. They found a 50,000 square foot space that was available to them in Tijuana, so Baja Dog Rescue began informally in 2008, and in 2010, it came became a non-profit organization dedicated to rescuing and finding loving homes for homeless dogs.   [Read more…]

Ferdinand’s Friendly Familia: Animal Sanctuary in Imperial Beach

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As you turn onto Hollister Road in Imperial Beach, and go into the Tijuana River Valley, you feel like you are in a different world. It feels like the dusty countryside in Mexico, and a place where non-conformists live. This is where you will find Ferdinand’s Familia, a sanctuary for large and small animals, run by an unusual couple.

Ferdinand, the peaceful bull, is a good symbol for this place that was founded by vegetarian peace activists, Michael Pratt and Janice Jordan. They have shared the same vision in life for 19 years. Both are members of the San Diego Peace and Freedom Party.

Ferdinand’s Familia first started in 2008 in their home and with rental stalls. However, as word got out and they began to rescue more neglected and abandoned animals, they realized they needed a larger property of their own and the present sanctuary opened in 2012.   [Read more…]

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