by Maria Corse


I am constantly amazed by the inconsistencies and incongruities I witness in young children. Four and five year olds are informed about the world in ways that I was not until my mid-twenties. However, they are still small children, and behave consistently with age appropriate meters that were set long ago.


Pop-culture is their teacher. Our babies are fed a diet of grossly skewed, slanted, and inappropriate content from the moment their eyes can focus on the closest screen. The implicit messages of entitlement, competition, jealousy, racism, misogyny, hate and mistrust for the “other”, and self-loathing are all presented as perfectly normal.


Kids (especially boys) observe at a young age that emotional and empathetic responses are scorned and ridiculed. Their cultural experiences with equality inform them that derision is how you treat people who are different, coercion and manipulation are how you get what you want, and, that control of others (and the environment) is the ultimate goal.


Our culture teaches that the acquisition of power is the fundamental objective in our modern world. Is it possible to replace this indoctrination with aspirations of love, peace, and kindness by explicitly teaching the three “E"s– emotion, empathy, and equality?


I believe with all my essence that it is indeed a reachable aspiration, because, I am so very privileged to witness the sharing of warmth, gentleness, consideration, and concern every single day. A few weeks ago, during our summer programming, one of DRC's newest Seedling student members was visiting for the day. We were all discussing the one rule at Deep Root Center: Respect yourself, each other, and this space. I asked the kids what respect means to them and this particular five year old spoke up clearly and said, “it means to take care of each other.” I was bowled over and told this child that his definition was possibly the best one that I had ever heard.

The one absolute truth that is often lost in our race towards completion of one more day - bedtime, without a minor catastrophe (or emergency room visit), is that our kids are sponges; they learn through osmosis - absorbing our attitudes, behaviors, mannerisms, facial expressions, prejudices, and our treatment of everyone from a family member, to the check out clerk at the grocery store. These fundamental familial (community) experiences override every single detrimental media message they are bombarded with daily.


Children who are exposed to and included in our “negative” emotional responses, will learn that feeling angry, sad, distraught, pained, or frustrated is a routine, healthy reaction to something that is maddening, sorrowful, discouraging, painful, or exasperating. Young people who are allowed to live their lives without coercion and are able to observe respect and empathy in action, will take care of others. Kids who live along side people with a diversity of skin colors, religions, gender identities, and ideas are more likely to accept and treat everyone as an equal.


Embracing the three “E"s and approaching life counter to societal norms and expectations is not a privilege afforded to few – it is a conscious decision that has powerful and reproducible results.

by Maria Corse

Many people are curious who our students are and why they chose DRC. My response is always very brief and carefully crafted, “We serve young people who are bullied, bored, or struggling for whatever reason in the traditional academic model and want a different way forward.”

There are, in reality, scores of explanations for why youth leave the public school system (either quit school entirely, homeschool, or join an alternative learning facility) and many of them cannot be tidily summed up in one brief sentence. I will say, however, the most common causes are related to the following paragraph I wrote three weeks ago in a post entitled Stratification:

Many students and families, right here in the North Country, are stigmatized, pigeonholed, categorized, segregated, intimidated, and encounter institutionally sanctioned discrimination, simply because of their economic and social standing.

​Socio – economic status, as mentioned in the above excerpt, is frequently the determining factor in a child's (family's) ability to navigate the system. These are the bright, inventive, creative, resourceful, capable, inquisitive, anxious, bewildered, quite often labeled, and occasionally angry young people who show up at our door seeking advice and a chance to take charge of their education. They are the ameba shaped kids who are entirely fed up trying to squeeze themselves into those perfectly round holes.

They are, also, quite often, the kids (and families) who are least likely to have the support of an informed, passionate advocate who can facilitate the multitudes of associated bureaucracy and biases to attain a workable plan that allows, within the very restricted confines of the established definition, for a modicum of academic success.

When Deep Root Center was in the embryonic stages of development, three years ago, before we opened our doors, we knew that this scenario was our truth. We are operating in one of the most economically depressed regions of the entire country. None of us needs the statistical data to prove poverty runs rampant in Northern New York, because, we are living it. There is also a significant body of research that equates impoverishment to an abundance of clearly defined social ills including: drug addiction, obesity, mental illness, food and job insecurity, and homelessness. Again, we don't need confirmation of these facts – this knowledge is blatantly, uncomfortably, and, in our face clear, every time we listen to the radio, watch the news, read the latest news account, or simply step out your door.

Deep Root Center is fulfilling a tangible need here in the North Country. This is a responsibility that we do not take lightly. The mission, to transform the very structure of our economic base by providing our student members (most of whom receive scholarship aid totaling over $57,000 this academic year) with the opportunity to access a dynamic education based on their individual talents, interests, and needs, is crystal clear.

​DRC is our student's safe, enriching, nurturing --- home away from home where they are welcomed, trusted, mentored, appreciated, and encouraged. Through these initiatives DRC members will become confident, motivated, and educated members of society who are open-minded and ready to take on the task of creating a socially (and economically) just community.

There is no doubt in our minds that this work is essential and needed. However, we require your assistance to insure that Deep Root Center's services are available to all who seek them: spread the word about our programs, donate money, help us find and write competitive grant applications, and volunteer to mentor a youth, facilitate hands-on projects, or teach a class. Each child who understands the inherent possibilities of setting goals for future endeavors is an immense win for all of us.   

by Maria Corse

Your reputation, in the end, is all you have. The dollars in your pocket and the property you acquired are incidental, because your epitaph will ultimately be measured by the kindnesses you offered and the promises you kept throughout your lifetime.
 
Most of us have a personal code of ethics based on our morals and values, which were either handed to us as a set of strict rules and beliefs during our childhood and/or developed over time through inquiry and exposure to differing ideologies.
 
The same principle can be applied to organizations, which have guiding doctrines including mission and vision statements.
 
During moments of intensity, it is, often-times, our interpretation of those fundamental concepts, both personally and organizationally, that get muddled, which then, allows our morals to get high-jacked in the name of progress, because our focus was shifted during the immediate crisis.
 
This scenario happens way more than we would like to imagine or believe. I made a decision last week in response to an emotionally charged situation that was based predominately on ease, and, financial realities, rather than philosophy. That choice, while small (in the context of things) and not horribly devastating, now influences one person's expectations of Deep Root Center and me and will require an uncomfortable conversation to reverse.
 
Every time a person or organization makes decisions that change (by degree) their underlying philosophy, based solely on another person's expectations, influence, or requests (as innocuous as they may seem at the time) they are in some small way compromising their integrity.
 
Paul Smith's College in the Adirondack Mountains entertained a defining moment last year when a wealthy donor offered an immense amount of money with the condition that the name of the college be changed to include hers. Happily, the Trustees heard, and, more importantly, listened to the tremendous outcry from hundreds of alumni and declined the generous “gift”.
 
Let me be perfectly clear. I am promoting neither stagnation nor inflexibility ---- change is good, exploration of new ideas is essential to learning and growth. Alterations to ideology, however, should be made consciously, thoughtfully, and deliberately with intentions that enhance personal or organizational positive impact.
 
Integrity is not a commodity that can be bought and sold. It can only be earned through dedication to conducting consistently good work (and owning your mistakes).

DRC NEWS

Canton Village Garage Sales
August 13th, 9-2


DRC will be participating in this event this year. We will have a table in front of our building with craft and other items for sale. The DRC facilities will be open for tours. Maria and several board members will be available to answer any questions you have about our programs.


If you have crafts or used (in good condition) items you would like to donate, please bring them to DRC anytime during business hours (9-5) this week.