Blogging on the Powwow

Well, here I am folks. I leave Washington tomorrow, bound for some much-needed time at home over the holidays. It's hard to believe that I am already one-third of the way through my Congressional fellowship. I spend most days feeling like I don't know what's going on around me and that I don't know anything . Then I remind myself of how much more I know now, than I did in September. True, that, but it's difficult to stay focused on that truth, when so many unknowns are zipping by my head daily, if not hourly. Here's a brief mention of the things that I have learned, but I suspect that I'm going to learn a "whole lot" more (not sure that is quantifiable) when the 115th Congress is sworn in on January 3, 2017. What impresses me most about working among Congressional staffers is that they get stuff done.  In my normal academic life, as a professor of social policy and research methods, I read or hear about things that are troubling and think, ...

Congress has been in session for the last two weeks. I'm getting exposed to increasingly more of the procedures, rules, and customs of Congress with every day that passes. I still only understand about twenty-five percent of what I encounter, but that's better than the ten percent where I started. I've been paying close attention to a specific bill that's been trying to move through Congress: the  Family First Prevention and Services Act . This bill, if passed, would accomplish two primary things in child welfare: (1) federal dollars only kick in to support children in the child welfare system once they enter foster care; this bill would make it possible to fund services for families before placing a child in foster care, if it is safe to do so; and (2) it emphasizes using group home placements as a last resort, instead prioritizing the child's family of origin, then kinship foster care, and then foster care, before placing a child in a group home. The Family First ...

It was a pretty quiet morning in the office today. One of the higher-level staff in the Senate office where I work came into "my" end of the long office and said, "Voigt..." (speaking to a law fellow near me) "and Douglas... Want to go to the Senate floor?" The Senate floor?!  "Yes! Of course!" I turned around from my desk to look at him. He was putting on a suit jacket and had a tie, untied, draped around his neck. He seemed a little agitated; he was in a hurry. "Okay, then. The Senator is over there now getting ready to speak and he's going to give you floor privileges. Are you wearing a suit jacket?" He paused to look at me. "Yep, you are. Women  are required to wear a jacket on the Senate floor. You're all set. Let's go. I'll explain the rules on the way." Then we were off! We followed him, as he tied his tie, down to the basement of the Senate office building, onto the Senate train to the Capit...

It's been over two weeks since my last blog post. I really should be prepping for the class that I am teaching that starts tomorrow, but like all academics I know, I can put class prep off indefinitely. Heck - if I can't improvise in the classroom after 13 years of teaching, then what am I doing there anyway, right? The fact that I have taught this class, or a class like it, three or four times means that I should  essentially be a pro by now. We'll see if I'm feeling like a pro when my class starts tomorrow at 9:00pm. Yes, that's right, a 9:00pm class. Thank goodness it's online. Did you hear about those classes that Bunker Hill Community College was offering at 11:45pm-2:30am ? I can't imagine. But, I digress. So much has happened since I last blogged on November 1. Little did we know about the upset that we would experience in the presidential election. I'm reluctant to say too much about that because of my current position. So, I'll tal...

One of the things that has interested me most about being in Washington and working for Congress is that proximity really matters. Even in the world of technology and alternative forms of communication, people want to sit down, face-to-face, to discuss matters that are important -- and to try to convince staffers why it should matter to them as well. I have been surprised at how far people will travel to convey their messages to Congressional staffers in a room that is no bigger than 5x5 feet. The layout of Capitol Hill just reinforces this propensity. I am still astonished, daily, at how close together everything is in Washington. Look at the map below. In the center outlined in pink is the Capitol building. Below that in purple, are three House office buildings, (the map is only showing one, but there are three), where all of the Congresspersons have offices. Above, outlined in orange there are three Senate office buildings. Finally, on the right, in blue, is the Supreme Court. Wal...

I should probably be practicing oboe tonight. In fact, I know that I should  be practicing, but I'm "wimping out." After all, today I ran a marathon. Surely, a practice session would put me over the edge. We'll see how I feel about that tomorrow night when I'm in rehearsal... Today I ran my 11th marathon. In truth, in 2008 I also ran a 50k race, which is 31 miles, and of course, longer than a marathon. Anything longer than a marathon is called "ultra running." I think that's because you're ultra, ultra insane. But, to make things easier, I just tell people that I've run 12 marathons, because most people don't really care about the nuisances of 26 miles vs. 31 miles, etc. So, indeed, today I ran my 12th marathon at the Marine Corps Marathon (MCM). I ran this race last year, too. I didn't as much fun last year as I did today. Last year, I went into it totally exhausted - week 8 or 9 of the semester and I had been surviving on very ...

As many of you know, I have spent the last 20-25 years driving... everywhere . When I was in high school I started my treks into Massachusetts, traveling about 130 miles each way for voice lessons. When I was finishing college, I commuted 135 miles each way. Grad school? I had it down to about 100 miles each way. My first two years at Bridgewater State University, I traveled from Saco, Maine to Bridgewater, MA -- 120 miles each way. When we moved to Massachusetts we knocked 50 miles off my commute to Bridgewater, so now it's only 70 miles each way. To further complicate this, for decades, Neil commuted 30,000-50,000 miles a year, like most free lance musicians living in New England (and likely other places) do. Now I'm in Washington for 12 months and I have been driving about 10 miles a week.  Our Camry just sits in the garage where I am renting an apartment. I drive it each week 4 miles to Catholic University for wind ensemble rehearsal and every other week I drive it 12 blo...

Whenever you start working in a new environment, new discipline, or new setting, new words creep into your language - that is, after that hit you over the head, first. Do you know what I mean? I don't mean acronyms or words that are actually new to you, rather words that you know, but that are being used in a way that you have never encountered before. This happened to me when I joined the social work field 10 years ago. One of the core areas of social work education is "human behavior in the social environment" (HBSE). I remember thinking, what?! What nonsense have some academics come up with now?  Soon I grew to understand the meaning and intent behind HBSE courses, or what are sometimes pronounced "hib-zee" courses. The purpose is for social work to distinguish itself from the field of psychology, which focuses on the individual, and sociology, which focuses on the social environment. Social workers pride themselves for training new professionals to look at...

Congress is now on recess until after the November elections. That's five weeks. The Senate went on recess before the House. In my office, I was given instructions on how this impacted operations in-house. The dress is more casual, there are fewer demands on productivity, there will be fewer meetings, fewer encounters with constituents and interested parties, and in general, things are just more low-key. One of the challenges of blogging is that sometimes some of the most interesting parts of life -- professional life, family, friends, and whatnot -- may provide the best material for commentary, but it's not really appropriate for pubic consumption. Since arriving in Washington, we have been schooled about the importance of exercising discretion. I've been wanting to blog about the culture of being on "The Hill," but the presumed Congressional "code of ethics" doesn't really permit me to do so. I've been trying to find a way to get around thi...

Let's face it, I'm a front row, dead center, hand-in-the-air, kinda gal. I'm a willing leader, either because of my natural tendencies or because of professional and life experiences. Some could say that I'm a natural steam-roller, too, because I sometimes think that everyone is on board with my, yes-- my , ideas. How could they not be?!  I have to remind myself to stop and assess and reassess. Let's just say that I'm comfortable in the driver seat. I'm most definitely not in the driver seat here in Washington. I'm barely in the passenger seat. In fact, I think I might be in the trunk. The MSW program in which I teach at Bridgewater State University uses a cohort model . Students get to know each other very quickly. They make close friends, exchange cell phone numbers, and brace themselves for their coming graduate studies. When I get to class, students volunteer, "Did Becky reach you? She had to do a removal of a child today and is going to be ...

What happens at prom, stays at prom. Not really. That's just a funny title for this post. In a previous blog post I wrote about going to "prom" here in Washington - which is the reception between AAAS ( American Association for the Advancement of Science & Technology ) Congressional fellows and Congressional staffers who are looking for a fellow to be placed in their office. Some of the AAAS staff were specifically using the term "reception," as opposed to "prom." A former fellow called it a "meat/meet market." It was most definitely a reception.  Before the event, I had three of my new colleagues to my apartment. We hung and talked about what offices we wanted to work in, what questions we were asking during our interviews, complained about the grueling training (even though we learned so much!), and other things that new friends talk about. We got ready for the prom here at my apartment. I got a kick out of that - like high sch...

I've already blogged about how new everything is here in Washington: sleep schedule, exercise location, transportation, work, shopping, living arrangements, and more. I'm in the middle of a two week training which is turning out to be a mini boot camp, where no one leaves the hotel ballroom for 8-9 hours other than to use the bathroom or to go through the buffet line before returning to our seats for a "working lunch." That's all 160 of us in the ballroom together, presented with speaker after speaker to get us ready for our year ahead. Yesterday I saw a man who started to doodle right around 4:00pm. On a Friday afternoon. In his mandatory dark business suit. Others were texting from time to time. I refrained from checking Facebook, but I texted my new colleague, three seats away from me, about whether she was going to attend happy hour. In case you're wondering, we both attended happy hour. I got a Diet Coke and she got a water with lemon. Clearly, I have f...

So, I've been here in Washington for eight days and I have attended three days of training. Let me tell you, everything is new! At least everyone around me in the sessions speaks English and I am surrounded by fellow PhDs, but everything is definitely new! I have a new schedule. For the past zillion years, I have had the life of an academic. My schedule is largely my own. I work until 10:30pm-12:30am, sleep 6-7 hours, and then get up and repeat. Now? I'm in bed by 10:15pm and up at 5:15am to workout before leaving for training at 7:30am. Leaving for my first day of training on what was called "Day 0." I've never had a treadmill. I always run outside or at the gym. But, here in Washington I was worried about running outside or getting to a gym when it was still dark out. And, sure enough, around 5:45am-6:00am, when I am ready to get on a treadmill, it's very dark outside. So, I have a treadmill here in my studio apartment. I run at the apartment or...

That's a good question. I'm in Washington, D.C. now and I keep asking myself, What am I doing here, anyway?!  I've been getting a lot of questions about why I'm in Washington, D.C. and what I'll be doing. Here's the Cliff Notes version. I have been appointed by the Society for Research on Child Development to serve as a Congressional fellow. What does a Congressional fellow do?  Another good question! Many professional societies/associations appoint Congressional fellows annually, where the goal is to bring highly skilled individuals (people with PhDs) to the policy arena and at the same time, to expose highly skilled individuals to the policy-making process. Here's what my sponsoring professional association says about Congressional fellowships. The SRCD Congressional Fellowship Program is designed to provide greater interaction between the developmental research community and Congress. Fellows spend one year with a placement that involves working for ...

For fourteen years, I adored Murray Straus more than I can imagine adoring anyone. I met Murray in the summer of 2002 when I attended the biannual International Family Violence/Child Victimization Research Conference . His research center, the Family Research Laboratory at the University of New Hampshire  in Durham, NH, had an opening for a new PhD to assume a research position. A "post-doc" position is primarily for newly-minted PhDs, to gain additional, intense training in a specific field of study. In this instance, it was family violence. Having obtained my PhD only one month before, I attended the "Straus Breakfast" one morning and then seized the opportunity to ask about the position. I didn't really know how famous Murray was in the world of family violence, just that he was an important figure. I interviewed on the spot. I started work as his post-doc on October 7, 2002. I was 29 and at the very beginning of a career that felt like it was going nowher...