Strengthening Communities Through Education and Integration Act: My thoughts

Last month, Senator Hillary Clinton and Congressman Michael Honda filed the Strengthening Communities Through Education and Integration Act of 2008, which would provide funding for ESOL (English for speakers of other languages), increase the availability of English and civics classes for both children and adults, and attempting, through tax credits, to involve business in the provision of services to employees. It would also provide integration grants so that states can assess the needs and circumstances of their immigrant populations in hopes that comprehensive integration plans/programs can be developed.

I think this is a great idea, personally; my parents are immigrants, and Massachusetts has a very high population of immigrants. Immigrants make up 14% of Massachusetts’ workforce, but a significant number of those people have anything from language barriers to problems with literacy. One would think that the state’s representatives would be all over this, but as it turns out, nobody is.

Twitter

I set up a feed that sends updates from my blog to my Twitter page. This post is mainly just a test to see if it works; I read that WordPress blogs sometimes have difficulty.

And if it doesn’t work, at least you have a new Twitter to follow!

“Personal” Business Cards

Last year, I ordered my first set of business cards from VistaPrint. I got 250 cards for free and was extremely satisfied with both the service and quality of the cards. (And now they flood me with coupons and discounts, which I can’t complain about.) After I received the cards in the mail, I handed them out to pretty much everyone who would take one. A few people asked me why I would bother to do so. After all, I don’t have a business. What use would business cards have for individuals?

Why Have A Business Card?

For me, the answer was: Networking. You never know when you are going to meet a person with whom you’d want to exchange information. The person in front of you in line at the grocery store may work in the same field as you do, and you’d like to expand your network. The guy on the pec dec at the gym might have an “in” at a company you’ve been dying to work for. A group of teenagers could be jamming on ukuleles outside of your favorite coffee shop, and you are a huge ukulele enthusiast. You may even just run into your old friend Araceli from college and want to meet up for lunch sometime. What easier, more convenient way to give out your contact information than on a business card? It certainly beats scrambling in vain for something to write with/on.

Right now, you’re probably thinking, “This sounds well and good, but have any of these situations actually come up?”