April 7, 2007

Senior Academy for Education (SAFE) learns about ‘street children’ projects in Zambia

By Thom Harney
Special to the Times

"It ain’t so much who you are, as who people think you are."

And with that opening William Faulkner quote, Dr. Lewis Aptekar, Ph.D., Professor of Counselor Education at San Jose State University, captured the attention of the members and guests of the Senior Academy for Education (SAFE) at the Foothill Center on the evening of March 6 for the "Harrington Memorial Lecture." It would prove to be an evening in which those in attendance would have their consciences raised, regarding the lives of "street children" and their needs.

Aptekar continued his lecture, entitled, "In the Mouth of the Lion," by quickly relating his opening quote to his early days as a young doctoral candidate when he served as an undercover high school student, documenting the school’s unfair treatment of students, and to his later experiences working with "street children" in South America and Africa. Following Aptekar was a group consisting of three of his graduate students at San Jose State University. Each graduate student described her experiences, insights gained, and personal growth achieved in working with "street children" in the small African nation of Zambia.

Graduate student Lori Lowman participated in the Cross-cultural Education project in Zambia during the summers of 2005 and 2006. In 2005, Lowman worked in a small community where she taught school and helped identify families in need of medical care. In 2006, her Master’s Thesis project helped prepare incoming graduate students for their work in Zambia. In Zambia, Lowman served as a teaching assistant for Aptekar and taught at a high school. Lowman, at the present time, is an eighth grade mathematics teacher in the Oak Grove School District.

(From left to right) SJSU graduate students Monica Starr and Lori Lowman, Dr. Lewis Aptekar, SJSU Professor, Dr. Dolores Escobar-Hamilton, Chair of SAFE, and SJSU graduate student Silvia De La Garza, following the Harrington Memorial Lecture at the Foothill Center at the Villages on March 6. Photo by Thom Harney

Graduate student Monica Starr followed Lowman as a speaker and spoke of her participation in the Cross-cultural Education project in Zambia during the summers of 2005 and 2006. In 2005, Starr counseled HIV/AIDS parents and children orphaned by AIDS. She also worked to develop AIDS awareness in the poorest communities of Zambia. In 2006, Starr worked as a teaching assistant for Aptekar. She also instructed high school students in regard to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Children. Currently, Starr is an intern school counselor at Willow Oaks School in the Ravenswood City School District. An avid cyclist, Starr is a four-year veteran of the AIDS Lifecycle.

Graduate student Sylvia De La Garza also spoke of her participation in the Cross-cultural Education Project in Zambia in the summer of 2006, where she was part of a 15-member team from SJSU that worked at a center for orphans and vulnerable children. The team set up a student council, established a peer counseling program, and educated children in regard to the United Nations Convention of the Rights of Children. De La Garza is now a social worker with the Family and Children’s Services in Santa Cruz County.

More information on the Cross-cultural Education Project in Zambia is available on the web at www.laptekar.com.