Getting an education has become a lifetime goal for Esther Peterson Hubbell. A Navajo from Steamboat Canyon, Esther started school when she was 13 at a Navajo school in Holbrook. Now, she is working on her doctoral degree in education.

Esther says her father's encouragement started her on her way. He sent her, and later her younger sister, to a private college preparatory school, the Ganado Mission. "It was a struggle," she says. "I learned then that I had to have a goal and be determined." Her schooling has varied from 18 months of secretarial training in San Diego, to a Montana auction school, to the University of Arizona, where she earned her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Education.

She works for Arizona Cooperative Extension as a Navajo County 4-H agent, promoting and recruiting for 4-H programs on the Navajo, White Mountain Apache and Hopi reservations. One of her successes is getting 24 people on the Navajo Nation 4-H Advisory Board in Window Rock.

A mother of five children, Esther says she is strongly encouraging them to get an education. "I tell my two girls especially not to do it the hard way like I have. Get started before you're 13 and finish before you have a family."

The Division of Family Studies, College of Agriculture Diversity Committee and the UA Diversity Action Council are collaborating on an upcoming symposium series beginning Friday, January 20, at 2 p.m. in Rm. 202 of the FCR Building. Dr. Francisco A. Villarruel, from Michigan State University, will discuss "A Developmental-Contextual Approach on Conducting Research with Mexican-American Adolescents and Families: Dinosaurs Can Dance La Banda."

A total of four symposia will focus on conducting research on children, adolescents and families from diverse ethnic backgrounds, particularly Mexican-Americans, says Dr. Wendy Gamble, from the UA Division of Family Studies. Speakers are set for sessions in February, March and April. For more information, call Wendy Gamble at 621-7127.

Men and women often get angry for different reasons. According to Dr. Fred C. Humphrey, from the University of Connecticut, the top five reasons for men's anger are:

• Chance annoyances or delays beyond a man's control;
• Unnecessary hostility or lack of courtesy;
• Unfair actions by superiors or government, unreasonable orders from bosses;
• People who are nosy about things men feel are private;
• Being manipulated.

Women are most angered by:

• Unfair personal criticism that attacks feelings of personal self-worth;
• Social slights offend feelings about right and wrong;
• Being let down by people they trust, making women feel naive and foolish;
• Not being able to do everything perfectly, for which they blame themselves;
• Inconsiderate or cruel actions.

The Arizona State Museum has three series of programs about American Indian culture during the Winter 1995 season. The programs include

• seven lectures by American Indian scholars and elders;
• three lectures and children's dance performances from Apache, Navajo and Hopi traditions;
• the January 28th opening of the Hopi, Navajo and Apache sections of an exhibit, "Paths of Life."

For more information, call 621-6302.

Each month, "Value-Added" will feature abstracts about diversity from many sources. If you want more information about any item, please call 621-7145.

Right Place, Right Time

As the demographics of the workplace change, employers must discover the hidden assets of their employees and value contributions from a diverse workforce. Managers need to understand how differences in an individual's background or experience can affect outlook, management style, approach toward work and toward human relationships. Managers need to develop ways to manage such differences.

Ann Reeves, First Interstate Bank of California

Assumptions Can Be Wrong

Assumptions grow from unexamined feelings and beliefs, rather than present facts—so they're very often wrong. Have you ever:

• Wondered what's wrong with unmarried people;
• Thought a new parent couldn't possibly do a good job;
• Told someone not interested in sports to "get a life;"
• Assumed anyone speaking with an accent or using poor grammar is less intelligent;
• Considered someone who chose not to run the fast track a "failure?"

"Banker," First Interstate Bank of California

Multiculturalism

The claim that multicultural education is antithetical to Western civilization is harmful because it creates dissension about the appropriateness of art, literature, and even historial heroes and heroines. The view that multicultural education will undercut national unity is based on a mistaken understanding of its goal. Instead, this education seeks to unify a divided nation rather than divide a cohesive one.

Andrews, Paschall & Mitsifer, "Leadershp for a Culturally Diverse Society", 1993.

Reaching Ethnic Audiences

Fear of the unknown is a great inhibitor of communication. Don't overcomplicate: people are still people, regardless of ethnicity. On the other hand, don't oversimplify: don't categorize minorities into similarities they really don't share. Mingle, observe, and learn. Educate yourself about the cultures of your target audiences. Find a reliable source whom you can use as a consultant. Ask people what they want and need. Focus groups, phone surveys and interviews work as well as they do with any audience. Get feedback. Enlist community support. Trust is the basis of all relationships. Trust is not given; it is earned. Ray Durazo, president of Durazo Communications, Inc., Los Angeles, in Practical Public Relations.

The Sixth National Conference on the Advancement of Student Diversity will be on March 9-11 at the Grand Hyatt Washington, in Washington D.C. To register, call 1-800-206-4805; the fee is $289 before 1/31/95.

Proposals will be accepted until February 1 for the 8th Annual National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in American Higher Education, June 1-6, Santa Fe, NM.

For more information about both meetings, call Shirley O'Brien at 621-7145.