On NORD Reform

On NORD Reform
By: Cornelle D. Carney
September 28, 2010

In the civilian world, I am the youth liaison at the Greater New Orleans Afterschool Partnership (GNOAP), a nonprofit intermediary organization that promotes out-of-school activities for young people. Before I deployed in January 2010, I spent the last four months of 2009 promoting the 10 for 2010 platform. This platform includes ten reform initiatives that GNOAP and the out-of-school community wanted the next mayor, now Mitch Landrieu, to adopt. One of those reform efforts was the restructuring of NORD into a public-private partnership venture which purpose would be to bring the NORD facilities and programs up to standard. An example of this standard comes from neighbors in Baton Rouge—the Baton Rouge Recreation & Park Commision--or BREC. This reform effort has moved from the idea stage to possibility.

As I did in 2009, I still stand behind this reform effort which is coming up for vote. Some of the critics of this plan are skeptical of it because they are concerned that community input and interests were not present during the idea-to-possibility stage. This concern is valid and I wholeheartedly adore the commitment to preserving community interest by including them in all major planning process. Consistent with this commitment, I assure the community that their interest were included. For one, GNOAP engaged youth, including me, in this process by having them research other recreation departments in cities similar to New Orleans. We were tasked with figuring out what differences and similarities were there any why. Numerous meetings and conversations were held with parents about this initiative explaining this issue. This issue was discussed with parents, students, educators, business people, politicians, and other public interests at the January 5, 2010 mayoral forum at Walter L. Cohen High School.

Furthermore, this initiative was supported by hundreds of youth and adult allies at the Super Youth Saturday Rally which was held on January 23, 2010. As you can see, much effort has been made around obtaining community input. I call upon the community to move this initiative forward to bring quality back to our children. Our young people are no less deserving than their peers in other cities but we are treating them like second rate, undeserving citizens. As the Army is always preaching to soldiers “Do the Right Thing!” Who Dat for Kids?

I invite you all to read this op-ed I wrote regarding this: http://www.nola.com/opinions/index.ssf/2009/11/between_school_and_home_a_gap.html

in search of the CURE

I thought it’d be a little easier than this. You know… the thought of loosing someone that meant so much to you for so long. I guess what makes it all the more difficult is my inability to figure out what went wrong. I am inclined to believe that I did nothing wrong. After reflecting again, maybe I did contribute. “I was not helping you grow any,” was the logic behind your decision to take a hike. I am sorry for not helping you grow, but if it means anything, you did help me grow and I appreciate you for that. I am not asking for clemency; just for a cure to how I feel inside.

At 76 Days

Situation Report: At 76 days
16 September 2010
Cornelle D. Carney

Eleven more weeks and a new unit will be here to replace my unit. Anticipation has never been greater as we are slowly coming closer to ending the 2010 deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn.

Side note: Did you know that the original name of the Iraqi war effort was going to be Operation Iraqi Liberation? President Bush and the Department of Defense decided against that name because its acronym is Oil.

There was a combustible situation that happened about a week ago when soldiers, myself included, started protesting the situation under which we were expected to work. The biggest protest was transitioning from eight to 12 hour shifts. I was not too much concerned with the hours I worked. My concern was not being able to read anything that was not military related while at work. Apparently, unauthorized “propaganda” (they called my school books this) could negatively affect my alertness while on duty. This was ironic and unfair because the same leaders who made this rule played video games, barbecued, and even went to the gym during work hours. I approached my leadership with this issue and threatened to seek assistance from the Equal Opportunity and Inspector General Offices and conditions changed immediately.

On a lighter note, I got a letter from my six years old nephew, Ashton, two days ago. That letter came just in time and further motivated me to do what I have to do here so that I can get home to my family and Ashton. He loves that I am in the Army and boasts about me to all of his classmates. All of the stresses that come with being in the Army and deployment are worthwhile when you have someone that looks up to you in a positive light. Ashton is an extra layer of accountability in that I know he is watching me so I have to make sure my actions are reflective of a positive mentor.

I am about to finish doing homework. Thanks for reading; I hope this provided some information as to my situation. If you have any questions feel free to contact me; information below.

Cornelle D. Carney
E-mail: editor.cornell@gmail.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/cornelle.carney
Blog: www.situationreport1.blogspot.com

Can you differentiate growth and self-actualization?

SITREP: Can you differentiate growth and self-actualization?
By: Cornelle D. Carney


I was recently informed by a former friend that I had not grown much. My first reaction to this was who gave him the title of growth measurer? Then, I began to ask myself what is growth? How can one determine growth? These questions led me to look more closely a growth.

Ironically enough, in one of my education classes, we were studying measuring a child’s growth and I came across this quote by Myles Horton: “You have to start where people are, because their growth is going to be from there, not from some abstraction of where you are or someone else is.” This is a perfect way determining how to measure growth. Which made me wonder did he measure my growth based on where he is or where I am?

Now this week in a psychology course that I am taking we are studying motivation, human development, sexuality and emotion. Maslow, a famous psychologist developed this hierarchy based up human needs:
1. Physiological needs (air, food, water, sleep, sex, etc.)
2. Safety and security (physical and emotional safety)
3. Love and Belonging (family, friendship, caring)
4. Esteem and self-esteem (the need to think well of oneself as well as for others to think well of him)
5. Self-actualization (full use of personal potential)

Maslow describes the first four levels as basic needs. He describes the fifth level as the need for personal growth by self-actualization. According to Maslow personal growth can be measured by one’s full use of personal potential.

So now the next question that develops is am I not fully using my personal potential? Is this what my growth was being measured by, my use of personal potential? Which made me develop a list of my personal potentials and self actualizations:

1. I have the potential to well educated. I am doing this by attending a post-secondary institution even as I am serving in Iraq. I will not stop at a bachelor degree nor at a master degree. I will earn a PhD.
2. I have the potential to own a house. This will be actualized when I activate my Veterans Administration home loan program.
3. I have the potential own a car. I do own a car now; fully paid for and insured.
4. I have the potential to do whatever I want…

I stopped at number four because I quickly realized that I have the potential to do whatever I want. So how can true growth be measured by the use of one’s personal potential? I have to side with Horton on this in recognizing growth from one point and a person’s life to another. I believe that realizing one’s personal potential is important in determine how much he can grow, but it is not the way of determining growth.

Constructive Criticism
As I try to determine the areas that I do well in and the areas that I need to realize my potential in I seek your assistance and support in helping me do so. You attention is desired, but I know a lot of you have other, more important things to do so I understand your not participating.

1. What are some areas that I do well in?
2. What are some areas that I should realize my self-potential and strive to do better?
3. What are your recommendations on how to self-actualized more?

Thanks for reading,
CDC

E-mail: editor.cornell@gmail.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/cornelle.carney
SITREP Blog: www.situationreport1.blogspot.com




Cornelle D. Carney

Biography

Cornelle’s Story
Cornelle D. Carney is a New Orleans native. Cornelle was born and raised on the westbank of the Mississippi River in a community named Algiers. He is one of nine children. When Cornelle was three years old he lost his father, a former Army Sergeant, to a tragic vehicle incident which forced his mother to care for him and his eighth siblings alone. After his father’s death, Cornelle’s mother moved the family to a suburban area just outside of New Orleans called St. Bernard Parish. He started school in St. Bernard Parish Public Schools system attending C. F. Rowley Elementary School, Chalmette Middle School and Chalmette High School. Cornelle joined the Chalmette Middle School marching band where he rose through the ranks to become the drum major. He made history in the predominately Caucasian school and community by becoming to first African American to lead any school band in the parish. After completion of middle school, Cornelle went to high school. Cornelle started to face resistance. Discrimination became more obvious to him during his high school years; and as a result, Cornelle started to get into trouble.

Hurricane Katrina: A story of hurt & hope.
Hurricane Katrina struck, devastating the St. Bernard Parish community. He and his family evacuated before the storm to Gwinnett County, Georgia where he started school. His family could not assimilate to the new culture so they packed up and moved back to New Orleans on Thanksgiving Day 2005. In December 2005, Cornelle started attending O. Perry Walker Charter High School in New Orleans. He did not want to be a student at Walker, but he had no other options. Pre-Katrina Walker was a school that was deemed a failing school by the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. The school was taken away from the controversial Orleans Parish School Board and chartered to the Algiers Charter School Association. Additionally, Walker was plagued by a school shooting approximately three years prior to Hurricane Katrina.

All of the stereotypes that Cornelle had of Walker were disproven when he was greeted by a stern, yet caring administrator—Mrs. Mary L.H. Laurie. Her first words to Cornelle were “good morning.” When he did not respond to her she immediately stopped him and gave him a speech about how giving someone the greeting of the day is basic courtesy and respect. Walker’s turnaround story was featured on CNN and was deemed a model school.

Cornelle was just a normal student in school. He did not participate in any extra-curricular activities. He went to each of his four classes during the day and went home when the bell rang at the end of the day. That was until he was recruited by his American Government teacher to join the newspaper club. Cornelle did not believe that he was up for the task as he did not think he was capable of writing for a campus paper. He accepted an offer to become a sports photographer for the paper, only because he was able to attend all of the school’s sports functions for free. He became the paper’s photography editor and eventually became the editor-in-chief of the paper. Cornelle was also recruited to join the Student Government Association, this time by his Geometry teacher. He was a sophomore class representative, junior class representative, and was elected in his senior year to become the president of the Student Government Association.

During his presidency, Cornelle led his Association to the state capitol to talk to talk to elected officials about creating more opportunities for youth to stay out of trouble during out of school hours. He also led them to the state capitol to explain how high-stakes testing programs-- Louisiana Education Assessment Program (LEAP) and Graduation Exit Exam (GEE)--are not fair ways to measure what students have learned. He also led his group of student leaders to Washington, D.C. to express the same sentiments.

He co-founded a national network of young planners all over the called the Young Planners Network. He also co-founded a group of youth leaders across the city of New Orleans that met with former Mayor C. Ray Nagin around issues involving teens called Greater New Orleans Youth Leaders Council. He was recognized by Mayor Nagin for his commitment to assisting in the rebuilding process of New Orleans.

Cornelle was featured on a CNN/Spike Lee Documentary Children of the Storm where his post-Katrina life was told to the world through the lens of a mini video camera provided to him by CNN. He was a speaker on PolicyLink’s Equity Blog: Men and Boys of Color with a panel of highly decorated activists, educators, writers and policy makers. He also participated in a William K. Kellogg Foundation forum on America’s minority male populations school to jail pipeline. Cornelle was the keynote speaker at the Young Planners Network 2008 conference in New York.

Cornelle graduated number six of his 250 student body in 2008. He began his post-secondary education at Loyola University New Orleans. Cornelle aspires to become an educator and education policy maker, specifically serving the young people of urban and disenfranchised communities.

He started working with students at New Orleans College Preparatory (NOCP) Middle School, which was a new start-up charter school. He was also hired on at the Greater New Orleans Afterschool Partnership (GNOAP) as the Youth Liaison/Youth Programs Associate. At GNOAP, Cornelle assisted with the development and deployment of a city-wide mapping initiative that engaged youth by having the canvass their neighborhood for youth-and family-friendly resources. The information collected was entered onto an online database that generated a map that is available for community use (www.neworleans.ilivehere.info). He interned with Tulane University School of Medicine’s Office of Community Affairs and Health Policy as a project assistant. There, he engaged youth in the planning process of building health clinics around the New Orleans area.

School became expensive for him so he joined the Louisiana Army National Guard to help pay for college. A year after his enlistment Cornelle was ordered to serve in Operation: Iraqi Freedom. He will be in Iraq until December 2010. He became a distant learner while at war, continuing his studies online at Grand Canyon University.

Keynote Speech: PLANet Youth 2008; New York City

This is a speech that I gave in 2008. It interesting to see where I am now in relation to my thoughts in 2008.

Good morning young planners! I am happy to be amongst some of the best and the brightest youth and adult allies in the United States, all coming together for one common goal: Youth involvement. As mentioned earlier, my name is Cornell Carney. I am a member of the New Orleans chapter of the Young Planners Network. I am involved in a number of organizations which includes: the New Orleans Youth Leadership Council, the Katrina Leadership Project, CNN/Spike Lee “Children of the Storm” Documentary. I’ve met and continued to meet with the Mayor of New Orleans around youth involvement, I’ve been to Washington, D.C. to meet with Louisiana’s national leaders, I am the President of my school’s Student Government Association, I was a youth delegate for the National League of Cities, and a panelist for PolicyLink’s Equity Blog 2008 National Conference. I say this not for vanity purposes but I say this because a lot of people discount us being youth. They do not believe that we can effect change because were too young or not smart enough. I believe that I epitomize the characteristics of a youth wanting to make a difference and you do too.

Today I want to speak to you today about the importance of youth and why we should be involved in a lot of the planning processes such as: how to rebuild a city, how should the next skate park be designed, what should be added to or taken out of the city’s budget, etc.

Hurricane Katrina exposed many realities, one of which being that we cannot trust someone else to do doing something on our behalf. This was a lesson learned for both adults and youth. I have made a pledge to myself to never again let someone speak or do anything on my behalf because sometimes things do not get done. Too often do we entrust our situations to another person and too often do we get disappointed.

Next week I will be transitioning from the youth phase of my life to the young adult phase. We need to develop youth and adult allies to continue to do the powerful work that I’ve been doing with the help of others. I can tell you that it is not all fun and is not always easy but the feeling that you get when you know that you have made a difference is priceless. You are going to need to be tenacious and determined because there will be a lot of distractions especially from people who see us as useless.

In my endeavors, I have discovered many barriers that often got in my way. Those barriers included the lack of commitments from both adults and youths. If we want to make a difference and change the perception that some adults have about youth, we absolutely must be committed. Some adults are not allowing us to grow. They do not realize that making mistakes are apart of the learning process and they intervene too early instead of letting us figure out a solution on our own. We often get discounted because we are our ages. Just because we are 14, 15, 16 or 17 years old does not mean we cannot do positive things. Unrealistic expectations are often being imposed upon us. Here is an example of what I am taking about: I remember a tornado hitting a city near New Orleans. My Student Government Association wanted to recognize a full week of dress down to adopt a family and to donate the proceeds to. We thought that because we were taking an interest in other people that the school would be ok with it; that was not the case. They, instead, wanted us the draft a proposal giving specific details about how we planned to donate the money, so we did. We submitted the proposal and were told that it was not sufficient and were told to write it again. The problem was, in our opinions, was that we did not know exactly what their expectations were so we did not know exactly what to include or not to include in the proposal. Another barrier is that rules are constantly being made on our behalf but we are not being included in the process of making those rules. And last, professionals do not find ways to involve youth in their work. But your success will be measured by your ability to break those barriers and remaining focused. Here is an example of when youth played an important role in the planning process: Consistent with the city-wide rebuilding program, a group of developers held a planning zone meeting for my district. One of the proposals for my neighborhood was to demolish my high school to make way for a transit circle. Had it not been for two of my friends at that meeting to explain how we felt about that scenario, that plan would have been submitted and considered by the city.

To end, I would like to leave you with a personal story. I am one of nine children. My father died when I was only three years old, leaving my mother to provide for me and my siblings on her own and the only source of income that she had was from the military because my father was in the Army. I have five sisters and three brothers and out of my male siblings I am the only one who has not been involved in the justice system. I have one younger brother who is in the seventh grade and even he has been involved in the justice system. They sought excitement by doing things that were illegal while I sought excitement by going to our city council meetings or staying after school sometimes until two in the morning. The main difference between me and my brothers is that I found people who wanted to invest their time in me like Mr. Eric Jensen who I call Uncle E and Mr. Tom Hayes, who I call Uncle Tom, Mr. Davis my school's Positive Behavior Support Facilitator, Ms. Lobdell, my school's Social Worker, and Mr. Gibson, my school's assistant principal, all of them are with us here today. How is this relevant? Well, for two reasons: (1) You, I, we need the support of adults. We cannot go this alone and (2) I have come from a family where I was often criticized for doing the right thing. I could have given in, but I knew that it is my calling to make a difference in my community. I hope this message was well received, and thank you for listening.

Manifest Destiny: Expanding your territory

Manifest Destiny: Expanding your territory
Cornelle D. Carney
11 August 2010

The time is now! I do not know about the rest of you, but it is time for me to expanding my territory—forming partnerships, building collaborations, and fostering growth livin’ the life.

All of this time I have been waiting for life to happen; never did I take the time to realize that life is not going to happen because it is already here. If you know my background, you know that I was not privy to the finer things in life. What I have I have worked for. Nothing was ever given to me, but a lot has been taken from me.

Expanding your territory means doing what it takes to create a comfortable life for you and your family. Sometimes it may take a little getting dirty because you are going to face opposition and adversity. Nonetheless, your ability to preserver and claim what is yours will determine your success.

I am taking back what is rightfully mine and that is life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. No longer can I entrust my well being to someone else because they are not going to look out for my best interest. It will take a full speed movement, on my part, to get that big house that I have always dreamed about, or drive in that fancy car that I see so many other successful people drive, and to just be comfortable. Until then, it is me and this hustle… the name of my hustle: manifest destiny.

Livin’ the Life
Cornelle D. Carney

Facebook: www.facebook.com/cornelle.carney
Twitter: @nolasoldier
E-mail: editor.cornell@gmail.com