Mens Haircut Austin - Rob mcclendon: here's what's coming up onyour "horizon." today, our focus is on education, but educationin some very different places. we begin in a juvenile correction facilitywhere through skills training, hopes are to break the cycle of crime and punishment beforeit ever starts. keith musick: we're trying to change theseguys' lives. we're trying to make them better men, preparethem for real-world situations, prepare them to get a job, prepare them to re-enter societyand be productive. rob: austin moore takes us to ada, oklahoma,to look at an alternative to incarceration for nonviolent drug and alcohol offenders.
tom landrith: when you rate no. 1 in lockingup women, there's only two conclusions you can draw: either women in oklahoma are meanerthan anybody else or there's something wrong with the system. rob: we change gears a bit to look at therole diversity plays in education. jason kirksey: it has always been important,and we began to recognize the value of it more recently. rob: and we end our day with a light-heartedlook at the difference between what teachers say and what they may mean. oh, yes, cole, he's a handful.
rob: stay with us for "oklahoma horizon." female announcer: "oklahoma horizon" is madepossible by careertech - a job for every oklahoman and a workforce for every company; with additionalsupport from the oklahoma department of agriculture, food and forestry. rob mcclendon: hello, everyone. thanks for joining us here on "horizon." i'm rob mcclendon. well, there is growing consensus that oklahomacan no longer afford to approach crime and punishment as it has.
each year, we imprison more people per capitathan 47 of the 50 states, and the cost - over $20,000 a head annually. but a program targeting juvenile offendershopes to break the all too typical cycle of crime and punishment. our blane singletary shows us how. blane singletary: out here in weatherford,in these tranquil surroundings, you probably couldn't tell that this is a group home forjuvenile offenders. kent roof: this is one of our level e grouphomes. it's kind of a step down program for theseincarcerated juveniles to step down from an
oja facility and institution. blane: kent roof is regional director of skillscenters for careertech. and skills training is the focus of the cedarcanyon adventure program. roof: this is a holistic approach to makingour students successful. blane: all of the facilities on the groundshere are designed to build up these 16 to 18 year olds in such a way that they won'trepeat the same mistakes that got them here. and one of the main ways they do that is bybuilding things themselves. wes warren is the program director for cedarcanyon. wes warren: they're here because they madesome poor decisions, but they're also here
to try to get their life back together. blane: these boys enter this program in thelast seven months of their sentence, and for many of them, this is the light at the endof the tunnel. warren: we teach them some job skills so theygo back into their community and hopefully go into a construction component, a job siteor restaurant whatever it may be. blane: no matter what career path they decideto take, the hope is that they will use what they've learned here in the shop. keith musick is the instructor. keith musick: if there's anything that they'regonna be, they can be an astronaut, they can
be a scientist, they can be an artist, theycan be whatever they want to be, but one thing they're gonna be is incredibly useful. if all the power goes out, they're gonna knowhow to build and fix things with their hands. and that's what we teach here, it's a foundationand a basic set of skills that allow you to feel useful and be proud of the skills thatyou've built. blane: and while one might not think theseyoung men would ever want to pick up a hammer and saw, many of them have really taken tothis program. omar: learning's gotta be my favorite part,just getting into it. you know, doing all this and doing everythingwe do right now you see.
that's my favorite part, just getting my handson and all that stuff, you know. malik: i've built a lot of cabinets sincei've been here, took them all to my grandma's. dominic: i could be having a bad day, butas soon as i step out in the shop or like other things, get my mind off those bad things. it definitely helps out a lot here. blane: and it isn't just busy work. in their time here, they can work on becomingcertified carpenters, earn their ged and carry it forward to more skills training or straightinto a job. counselor bethany armentrout says this varietyof activities is exactly what these teens
need. bethany armentrout: there's so much need forexposure in different areas to target different things. even though they're standing, you know, usinga hammer or a drill or a miter saw, mr. musick does a fantastic job on exposing them to leadershipopportunities, teaching them how to work together, troubleshoot things. it's conflict resolution even though theymay not be in my office terming it that way. they're working through that in all arenas. blane: certification is a plus, but it's theskills they learn off-paper that can be the
most important. musick: the biggest part in what we do isnot the tool use. i tell them if they get out of this programand they know how to swing a hammer, they know how to use a saw, that's all well andgood. but it's more important to me that they leavehere better men. it's more important to me that they learnhow to communicate with people properly, with one another properly - that they know howto walk in and be professional and be courteous and how to speak confidently. blane: programs like the one at cedar canyondon't just give these teens a clean slate.
they fill in that slate with the skills theywill need on the outside, to stay on the outside, and that's a challenge. according to "oklahoma watch," one-third ofjuveniles placed in level e group home facilities like this one re-offended later in life. but with this program still in its early daysand the people behind it standing by to help even after these boys are released, thereis hope that those numbers can turn around. armentrout: the kids need us. so many times in their lifetime, they couldn'tcount on anyone. someone said that they were gonna come throughfor them in one way or another and didn't
do it. i come here because there's 16 boys dependenton that, and it's not just me. they depend on all of us to be here, workingtogether to help them. roof: you know, careertech can't do it. family counseling can't service, but all ofus together we can do it, make an improvement, and help these guys be successful. blane: they say it takes a village to raisea child, and from what many here are saying, that holds true for those who need to be raisedback up. musick: we're trying to change these guys'lives.
we're trying to make them better men - preparethem for real-world situations, prepare them to get a job, prepare them to re-enter societyand be productive, be positive, be professional. that's what i'm here for, and that's whatthis program is all about. rob: when we return, helping those in thedeadly grip of addiction. female announcer: you're watching "oklahomahorizon" with rob mcclendon - weekly insight into your changing world. rob mcclendon: well, the state is set to receiveclose to a million dollars from the federal government to battle opioid abuse. drug overdose deaths in oklahoma increasedeightfold from 1999 to 2012, many of these
from powerful prescription painkillers. now, oklahoma is one of 11 states with a dramaticincrease in the abuse of heroin and other legal opioids like hydrocodone and oxycodone. according to the latest national statistics,oklahoma has the 10th highest drug poisoning death rate, surpassing the number of peoplekilled in car accidents each year. rob mcclendon: well, breaking the cycle ofaddiction is one of the goals of a program in ada, oklahoma, called soar. our austin moore shows us how the group isusing our state motto of "labor conquers all" to change lives.
austin moore: judge tom landrith has seenthe cycle too many times. tom landrith: we put drug addicts in the penitentiaryand they come out better drug addicts than when we put them in. austin: because of that frustration, judgelandrith helped establish the pontotoc county drug court in 1997, where participants optto sign a contract agreeing to go through treatment in a court administered programor submit to lengthy jail time. landrith: a lot of the terms of the contractare pretty complicated, but as far as what you get if you do not fulfill your end ofthe contract, it is really simple. it'll say drug court or 30 years.
i've had three that were drug court or life. and as a general rule, i think the averagewould be about 9.6 years. it is a pretty harsh sentence because we aregonna invest a lot of time and as many resources as we can into your recovery, and it's a 24-monthprogram. austin: the national association of drug courtprofessionals reports that for every dollar spent on a drug court, taxpayers save $3.36on incarceration costs. but when they went looking for that dollar,judge landrith and his peers came to a freeing realization. landrith: we could use the recovery programfor the men to help fund the drug court itself.
and we formed two 501(3)(c) corporations toput that in motion. austin: creating the southern oklahoma addictionrecovery center, or soar. doug davis is the executive director. doug davis: soar is a therapeutic work program. we take nonviolent drug offenders. we're a minimum of a six-month program toone year. we have employers that we put guys to work. so their earnings go directly to the facilitywhile they are here. it pays for their room and board, their counselinggroups, transportation and such.
austin: the core of the program is straightforward. it is to remind these men through work whatit is to feel useful. davis: the guys will come in and tell me,"i ain't never worked before." because i ask them what kind of work theydo? what kind of skills do you have? and you'll be surprised how many will tellyou, "i've never had a job." and i'm talking 25-30-year-old men has neverhad a job. their job was to sell drugs and hustle thingson the street. and that's what they'll tell me.
and placing them at a job, you can see thechange in 'em. you can see the change in 'em when we getthose doors of opportunity opened up for 'em. you know, even if it is just going down toleachco and working eight hours a day. it's something they have never done beforebut yet they feel good about theirself. and they'll sit, and we'll talk about it ingroups. and they tell me how they feel about theirself,of actually going and earning their keep, earning their way - paying their way whilethey're here. austin: over the years, the success of soarand similar programs has been undeniable. unfortunately, these programs are usuallyonly available to men, so pontotoc county
leaders recently opened the landrith house,a sober living facility for women. davis: it's not ran like the men's facility,but it is a structured environment, very structured environment for a sober living home. austin: unlike the soar house, the women hereget jobs where they earn their own money and then pay their way in the facility. however, just like the men's program, landrithhouse is dedicated to keeping the women busy and engaged in community activity while helpingthem develop new habits and new options, an opportunity for change that gives laura robuckhope to rebuild the family that drugs tore apart.
laura robuck: it helps a lot. that's what i couldn't do going back to thesame county. yeah, i needed to get out. i couldn't stay there, not without my husbandand my children, not being able to have my family. austin: a change of habit and of setting thatis so crucial to drug recovery. davis: i hate to see it when guys roll outof here and they have to go back to the same place that they just came out of, you know. because the majority of 'em don't stay, can'tstay straight.
can't fight it off. i know people that don't know anything aboutdrugs or addiction don't really realize that and they think, well, "if you went and didsix months, you've been clean for six months, why can't you stay straight?" well, you're an addict, you know, or you'rean alcoholic. and if you go back and place yourself rightback in the same position that you was at, it's like going to the barbershop. you go sit in there enough times, you aregoing to get a haircut. austin: often leaving the best option buildinga new life in a new community, which is what
landrith house, like soar, hopes to jump-start. landrith: this facility will hold six. and then we'll do another one and put somemore in there and gradually get it up where we take up the whole block. we may start out small, but we think big. austin: a lofty goal to deal with a massiveproblem. landrith: when you're ranked no. 1 in lockingup women, there's only two conclusions you can draw, you know: either women in oklahomaare meaner than anybody else or there's something wrong with the system.
rob: to put programs like soar into perspective, it costs roughly $6,000 a year to educate a studentand almost four times that amount to keep someone locked up. now, if you'd like to learn more about thework underway to find alternatives to incarceration, i have the personal story of soar productdoug davis, as well as several of our past justice reform stories streaming on our websiteunder our value added section. female announcer: still to come on "oklahomahorizon," what teachers think versus what they say. tim clue: he never shuts up.
he never shuts up. wait, wait, that's it, i'll say his incessanttalking is good expression. female announcer: but first, the role of diversityin education. rob mcclendon: well, oklahoma state universityis being nationally recognized for its commitment to diversity. for the fifth year in a row osu has won theaward from the "insight into diversity" magazine. now, earlier, osu's vice president for institutionaldiversity jason kirksey visited with me about benefits diversity can bring any university. rob mcclendon: dr. kirksey, how importantis diversity, not only in education, but in
the workforce? jason kirksey: diversity is an aspect of society,rob, that has always been important, and we began to recognize the value of it more recently. but it certainly gives us an opportunity,as i like to say, to cultivate excellence, you know, having different perspectives, differentideas, different thoughts about solving certainly issues that we see at the institution as weprepare students to go out into the world, but also once they're out into the workforceand the ability to make a variety of contributions. again, solving, you know, a lot of the problemsthat we see, particularly on a world scale. rob: have we closed the gap when it comesto people of color, when it comes to just
bringing them into the conversation? kirksey: we're doing better. as i like to say, "we're a work in progress,and there's always work to continue to do." and so we have certainly made good progress,but there's more that we can do to integrate the variety of perspectives and ideas, in,that go into solving a lot of the issues that we see today, both at a university level aswell as a societal level. rob: i want to get your perspective on notonly the black lives matter movement, but also some of the things we've been seeingon the college campuses, some of the protests. there are a fair amount of people that wouldsay to me that, "i thought we were past that."
kirksey: yes. and a lot of that is awareness and understandingand recognition. and the black lives matter movement in particular,i think, has brought a broader sense of awareness. you know, those issues are new that we seethat are being focused on, this level of activism and social engagement is something that is,i think, new for this generation and has captured the attention of much broader segments ofsociety and has certainly been good because it elicits conversations that typically wewouldn't have or we would just make the assumption that things are fine and everybody's doingwell. and what this movement has done is, is heightenthat sense of awareness and allowed us really,
in many ways, for instance, to take deeperlooks at issues. particularly issues of race, which spreadsinto other issues of gender and religion and other types of diversity in society. so the movement has really required us tore-evaluate perspectives on where we are. rob: so do disparities still exist in highereducation? kirksey: they do. you know, one of my roles as the chief diversityofficer is to make sure that we're working to create fair and equitable opportunitiesfor, certainly in the student context, for every student that shows up on campus to havean equal opportunity to achieve the goals
and dreams that they came to oklahoma stateuniversity for. rob: we often focus on the economy here on"horizon." i want you to tell me why diversity is importantfor the bottom line for today's companies. kirksey: well, i think rob, the fortune 500companies have demonstrated to us for probably half a century now the value of diversity. you know, diverse populations and organizationsemployees tend to be more creative and innovative. they tend to be more empowered and feel betterabout doing the jobs that they are responsible for doing. and ultimately, that produces a better product,be it automobiles or computers.
and so there's a real value for organizationsto achieve diversity because it truly does impact the bottom line. rob: so let's take that one step further. what is the value of higher ed in contributingto diversity and the workplace? kirksey: well, certainly as an institutionour responsibility as a land grant is to improve the quality of life, of the citizens, thestate, the nation and the world. and so that means that we have to make surethat we are open and accessible to anyone who aspires to earn a higher education degreethat meets the admission standards of osu. and in that, we're able to work with companiesthrough certainly various programs and career
services to help them satisfy their desiresto employ a diverse workforce. and so creating essentially that pipelineof diverse employees that go out into the workforce ready and prepared, whether thatfirst job is in oklahoma city or tulsa or dubai or beijing. and so the institution, as it has always beenthe case for higher ed institutions, you're preparing citizens to go out into the workforceand have a significant and measurable impact and contribute to making society better. rob: all right. thank you so much.
dr. jason kirksey is the vice president ofdiversity for oklahoma state university. rob: well, osu is home to more than 70 diversity-relatedstudent organizations as well as supporting k-12 programs that help minority studentstransition into college. female announcer: "horizon" is at your fingertips- join us on facebook, twitter and youtube to catch the segments you may have missedand our latest new content as it happens. rob mcclendon: tim clue likes to call himselfthe unlikely teacher. a self-described terrible student, clue wenton to become a university instructor, comic and motivational speaker. so when he sent us his own third-grade reportcard, we just had to share his trip down memory
lane. [music]. tim clue: so, yeah, actually this is kindof crazy. i, uh, stumbled across my, my actual third-gradereport card. yeah, that's really it. nah, nah, don't read, don't get ahead of me. now, i think this first one is a bit of atell. i mean, i mean you'll get it. ah, yes, a live wire.
my mom used to call me a handful. sure, but what she wanted to write down was,[pause]. yeah, yeah, like that. yeah! definitely that. ok, get a load of this one. [pause] this here is every teacher's desperatesearch just to think of one nice thing to say. just one!
she's like, "he never shuts up; he never shutsup!" wait, wait, that's it! i'll say his incessant talking is, is, goodexpression! yes! that will work! which is much nicer than this. [pause] all right what's next here? [pause] uh huh, sure - my wife said that tome yesterday. really?
look, look, look right here. we see [pause] what almost feels like a confession. look how she runs out of room even tryingto explain herself. i mean even the writing looks painful. but really, duct tape, hallway, i mean "snakeeye" - a teacher's got to have tools. and i didn't blame her, in fact i think sheshould have just written down what she wanted to say. "i know why you're so happy when you drophim off." oh, and now, this last one - oh boy this isjust so layered.
[pause] see what i mean? no, it would have not made a difference. the poor woman is just doubting herself, wishingfor a more, you know, relaxing career like [pause] yeah, could have done that. ok, [pause] storm chaser, come on, fun! i mean look, all those, they're stressful,yes, but compared to a third-grade classroom? piece of cake! so thank you, mrs. alberts and teachers everywhere. this is one live wire who can never thankyou enough.
rob: to learn more about the unlikely teacher,you can visit him at timclue.com. female announcer: want to see more storieslike this? all our segments are streaming on our youtubechannel at oklahomahorizontv. rob mcclendon: next time on "oklahoma horizon,"we look at immigration through the perspective of a one-time illegal immigrant. akash patel: it would be that immigrants arejust like you. we are people who just want to be here fora better life, contribute, do the right thing, grow our families and our communities andbe good people, be citizens just like you. rob: on oklahoma's show for the heartland,"oklahoma horizon."
rob mcclendon: thanks for including us asa part of your day. hope to see you back here next week. female announcer: "oklahoma horizon" is madepossible by the oklahoma department of career and technology education - with additionalsupport from the oklahoma department of agriculture.
rob: stay with us for "oklahoma horizon." female announcer: "oklahoma horizon" is madepossible by careertech - a job for every oklahoman and a workforce for every company; with additionalsupport from the oklahoma department of agriculture, food and forestry. rob mcclendon: hello, everyone. thanks for joining us here on "horizon." i'm rob mcclendon. well, there is growing consensus that oklahomacan no longer afford to approach crime and punishment as it has.
each year, we imprison more people per capitathan 47 of the 50 states, and the cost - over $20,000 a head annually. but a program targeting juvenile offendershopes to break the all too typical cycle of crime and punishment. our blane singletary shows us how. blane singletary: out here in weatherford,in these tranquil surroundings, you probably couldn't tell that this is a group home forjuvenile offenders. kent roof: this is one of our level e grouphomes. it's kind of a step down program for theseincarcerated juveniles to step down from an
oja facility and institution. blane: kent roof is regional director of skillscenters for careertech. and skills training is the focus of the cedarcanyon adventure program. roof: this is a holistic approach to makingour students successful. blane: all of the facilities on the groundshere are designed to build up these 16 to 18 year olds in such a way that they won'trepeat the same mistakes that got them here. and one of the main ways they do that is bybuilding things themselves. wes warren is the program director for cedarcanyon. wes warren: they're here because they madesome poor decisions, but they're also here
to try to get their life back together. blane: these boys enter this program in thelast seven months of their sentence, and for many of them, this is the light at the endof the tunnel. warren: we teach them some job skills so theygo back into their community and hopefully go into a construction component, a job siteor restaurant whatever it may be. blane: no matter what career path they decideto take, the hope is that they will use what they've learned here in the shop. keith musick is the instructor. keith musick: if there's anything that they'regonna be, they can be an astronaut, they can
be a scientist, they can be an artist, theycan be whatever they want to be, but one thing they're gonna be is incredibly useful. if all the power goes out, they're gonna knowhow to build and fix things with their hands. and that's what we teach here, it's a foundationand a basic set of skills that allow you to feel useful and be proud of the skills thatyou've built. blane: and while one might not think theseyoung men would ever want to pick up a hammer and saw, many of them have really taken tothis program. omar: learning's gotta be my favorite part,just getting into it. you know, doing all this and doing everythingwe do right now you see.
that's my favorite part, just getting my handson and all that stuff, you know. malik: i've built a lot of cabinets sincei've been here, took them all to my grandma's. dominic: i could be having a bad day, butas soon as i step out in the shop or like other things, get my mind off those bad things. it definitely helps out a lot here. blane: and it isn't just busy work. in their time here, they can work on becomingcertified carpenters, earn their ged and carry it forward to more skills training or straightinto a job. counselor bethany armentrout says this varietyof activities is exactly what these teens
need. bethany armentrout: there's so much need forexposure in different areas to target different things. even though they're standing, you know, usinga hammer or a drill or a miter saw, mr. musick does a fantastic job on exposing them to leadershipopportunities, teaching them how to work together, troubleshoot things. it's conflict resolution even though theymay not be in my office terming it that way. they're working through that in all arenas. blane: certification is a plus, but it's theskills they learn off-paper that can be the
most important. musick: the biggest part in what we do isnot the tool use. i tell them if they get out of this programand they know how to swing a hammer, they know how to use a saw, that's all well andgood. but it's more important to me that they leavehere better men. it's more important to me that they learnhow to communicate with people properly, with one another properly - that they know howto walk in and be professional and be courteous and how to speak confidently. blane: programs like the one at cedar canyondon't just give these teens a clean slate.
they fill in that slate with the skills theywill need on the outside, to stay on the outside, and that's a challenge. according to "oklahoma watch," one-third ofjuveniles placed in level e group home facilities like this one re-offended later in life. but with this program still in its early daysand the people behind it standing by to help even after these boys are released, thereis hope that those numbers can turn around. armentrout: the kids need us. so many times in their lifetime, they couldn'tcount on anyone. someone said that they were gonna come throughfor them in one way or another and didn't
do it. i come here because there's 16 boys dependenton that, and it's not just me. they depend on all of us to be here, workingtogether to help them. roof: you know, careertech can't do it. family counseling can't service, but all ofus together we can do it, make an improvement, and help these guys be successful. blane: they say it takes a village to raisea child, and from what many here are saying, that holds true for those who need to be raisedback up. musick: we're trying to change these guys'lives.
we're trying to make them better men - preparethem for real-world situations, prepare them to get a job, prepare them to re-enter societyand be productive, be positive, be professional. that's what i'm here for, and that's whatthis program is all about. rob: when we return, helping those in thedeadly grip of addiction. female announcer: you're watching "oklahomahorizon" with rob mcclendon - weekly insight into your changing world. rob mcclendon: well, the state is set to receiveclose to a million dollars from the federal government to battle opioid abuse. drug overdose deaths in oklahoma increasedeightfold from 1999 to 2012, many of these
from powerful prescription painkillers. now, oklahoma is one of 11 states with a dramaticincrease in the abuse of heroin and other legal opioids like hydrocodone and oxycodone. according to the latest national statistics,oklahoma has the 10th highest drug poisoning death rate, surpassing the number of peoplekilled in car accidents each year. rob mcclendon: well, breaking the cycle ofaddiction is one of the goals of a program in ada, oklahoma, called soar. our austin moore shows us how the group isusing our state motto of "labor conquers all" to change lives.
austin moore: judge tom landrith has seenthe cycle too many times. tom landrith: we put drug addicts in the penitentiaryand they come out better drug addicts than when we put them in. austin: because of that frustration, judgelandrith helped establish the pontotoc county drug court in 1997, where participants optto sign a contract agreeing to go through treatment in a court administered programor submit to lengthy jail time. landrith: a lot of the terms of the contractare pretty complicated, but as far as what you get if you do not fulfill your end ofthe contract, it is really simple. it'll say drug court or 30 years.
i've had three that were drug court or life. and as a general rule, i think the averagewould be about 9.6 years. it is a pretty harsh sentence because we aregonna invest a lot of time and as many resources as we can into your recovery, and it's a 24-monthprogram. austin: the national association of drug courtprofessionals reports that for every dollar spent on a drug court, taxpayers save $3.36on incarceration costs. but when they went looking for that dollar,judge landrith and his peers came to a freeing realization. landrith: we could use the recovery programfor the men to help fund the drug court itself.
and we formed two 501(3)(c) corporations toput that in motion. austin: creating the southern oklahoma addictionrecovery center, or soar. doug davis is the executive director. doug davis: soar is a therapeutic work program. we take nonviolent drug offenders. we're a minimum of a six-month program toone year. we have employers that we put guys to work. so their earnings go directly to the facilitywhile they are here. it pays for their room and board, their counselinggroups, transportation and such.
austin: the core of the program is straightforward. it is to remind these men through work whatit is to feel useful. davis: the guys will come in and tell me,"i ain't never worked before." because i ask them what kind of work theydo? what kind of skills do you have? and you'll be surprised how many will tellyou, "i've never had a job." and i'm talking 25-30-year-old men has neverhad a job. their job was to sell drugs and hustle thingson the street. and that's what they'll tell me.
and placing them at a job, you can see thechange in 'em. you can see the change in 'em when we getthose doors of opportunity opened up for 'em. you know, even if it is just going down toleachco and working eight hours a day. it's something they have never done beforebut yet they feel good about theirself. and they'll sit, and we'll talk about it ingroups. and they tell me how they feel about theirself,of actually going and earning their keep, earning their way - paying their way whilethey're here. austin: over the years, the success of soarand similar programs has been undeniable. unfortunately, these programs are usuallyonly available to men, so pontotoc county
leaders recently opened the landrith house,a sober living facility for women. davis: it's not ran like the men's facility,but it is a structured environment, very structured environment for a sober living home. austin: unlike the soar house, the women hereget jobs where they earn their own money and then pay their way in the facility. however, just like the men's program, landrithhouse is dedicated to keeping the women busy and engaged in community activity while helpingthem develop new habits and new options, an opportunity for change that gives laura robuckhope to rebuild the family that drugs tore apart.
laura robuck: it helps a lot. that's what i couldn't do going back to thesame county. yeah, i needed to get out. i couldn't stay there, not without my husbandand my children, not being able to have my family. austin: a change of habit and of setting thatis so crucial to drug recovery. davis: i hate to see it when guys roll outof here and they have to go back to the same place that they just came out of, you know. because the majority of 'em don't stay, can'tstay straight.
can't fight it off. i know people that don't know anything aboutdrugs or addiction don't really realize that and they think, well, "if you went and didsix months, you've been clean for six months, why can't you stay straight?" well, you're an addict, you know, or you'rean alcoholic. and if you go back and place yourself rightback in the same position that you was at, it's like going to the barbershop. you go sit in there enough times, you aregoing to get a haircut. austin: often leaving the best option buildinga new life in a new community, which is what
landrith house, like soar, hopes to jump-start. landrith: this facility will hold six. and then we'll do another one and put somemore in there and gradually get it up where we take up the whole block. we may start out small, but we think big. austin: a lofty goal to deal with a massiveproblem. landrith: when you're ranked no. 1 in lockingup women, there's only two conclusions you can draw, you know: either women in oklahomaare meaner than anybody else or there's something wrong with the system.
rob: to put programs like soar into perspective, it costs roughly $6,000 a year to educate a studentand almost four times that amount to keep someone locked up. now, if you'd like to learn more about thework underway to find alternatives to incarceration, i have the personal story of soar productdoug davis, as well as several of our past justice reform stories streaming on our websiteunder our value added section. female announcer: still to come on "oklahomahorizon," what teachers think versus what they say. tim clue: he never shuts up.
he never shuts up. wait, wait, that's it, i'll say his incessanttalking is good expression. female announcer: but first, the role of diversityin education. rob mcclendon: well, oklahoma state universityis being nationally recognized for its commitment to diversity. for the fifth year in a row osu has won theaward from the "insight into diversity" magazine. now, earlier, osu's vice president for institutionaldiversity jason kirksey visited with me about benefits diversity can bring any university. rob mcclendon: dr. kirksey, how importantis diversity, not only in education, but in
the workforce? jason kirksey: diversity is an aspect of society,rob, that has always been important, and we began to recognize the value of it more recently. but it certainly gives us an opportunity,as i like to say, to cultivate excellence, you know, having different perspectives, differentideas, different thoughts about solving certainly issues that we see at the institution as weprepare students to go out into the world, but also once they're out into the workforceand the ability to make a variety of contributions. again, solving, you know, a lot of the problemsthat we see, particularly on a world scale. rob: have we closed the gap when it comesto people of color, when it comes to just
bringing them into the conversation? kirksey: we're doing better. as i like to say, "we're a work in progress,and there's always work to continue to do." and so we have certainly made good progress,but there's more that we can do to integrate the variety of perspectives and ideas, in,that go into solving a lot of the issues that we see today, both at a university level aswell as a societal level. rob: i want to get your perspective on notonly the black lives matter movement, but also some of the things we've been seeingon the college campuses, some of the protests. there are a fair amount of people that wouldsay to me that, "i thought we were past that."
kirksey: yes. and a lot of that is awareness and understandingand recognition. and the black lives matter movement in particular,i think, has brought a broader sense of awareness. you know, those issues are new that we seethat are being focused on, this level of activism and social engagement is something that is,i think, new for this generation and has captured the attention of much broader segments ofsociety and has certainly been good because it elicits conversations that typically wewouldn't have or we would just make the assumption that things are fine and everybody's doingwell. and what this movement has done is, is heightenthat sense of awareness and allowed us really,
in many ways, for instance, to take deeperlooks at issues. particularly issues of race, which spreadsinto other issues of gender and religion and other types of diversity in society. so the movement has really required us tore-evaluate perspectives on where we are. rob: so do disparities still exist in highereducation? kirksey: they do. you know, one of my roles as the chief diversityofficer is to make sure that we're working to create fair and equitable opportunitiesfor, certainly in the student context, for every student that shows up on campus to havean equal opportunity to achieve the goals
and dreams that they came to oklahoma stateuniversity for. rob: we often focus on the economy here on"horizon." i want you to tell me why diversity is importantfor the bottom line for today's companies. kirksey: well, i think rob, the fortune 500companies have demonstrated to us for probably half a century now the value of diversity. you know, diverse populations and organizationsemployees tend to be more creative and innovative. they tend to be more empowered and feel betterabout doing the jobs that they are responsible for doing. and ultimately, that produces a better product,be it automobiles or computers.
and so there's a real value for organizationsto achieve diversity because it truly does impact the bottom line. rob: so let's take that one step further. what is the value of higher ed in contributingto diversity and the workplace? kirksey: well, certainly as an institutionour responsibility as a land grant is to improve the quality of life, of the citizens, thestate, the nation and the world. and so that means that we have to make surethat we are open and accessible to anyone who aspires to earn a higher education degreethat meets the admission standards of osu. and in that, we're able to work with companiesthrough certainly various programs and career
services to help them satisfy their desiresto employ a diverse workforce. and so creating essentially that pipelineof diverse employees that go out into the workforce ready and prepared, whether thatfirst job is in oklahoma city or tulsa or dubai or beijing. and so the institution, as it has always beenthe case for higher ed institutions, you're preparing citizens to go out into the workforceand have a significant and measurable impact and contribute to making society better. rob: all right. thank you so much.
dr. jason kirksey is the vice president ofdiversity for oklahoma state university. rob: well, osu is home to more than 70 diversity-relatedstudent organizations as well as supporting k-12 programs that help minority studentstransition into college. female announcer: "horizon" is at your fingertips- join us on facebook, twitter and youtube to catch the segments you may have missedand our latest new content as it happens. rob mcclendon: tim clue likes to call himselfthe unlikely teacher. a self-described terrible student, clue wenton to become a university instructor, comic and motivational speaker. so when he sent us his own third-grade reportcard, we just had to share his trip down memory
lane. [music]. tim clue: so, yeah, actually this is kindof crazy. i, uh, stumbled across my, my actual third-gradereport card. yeah, that's really it. nah, nah, don't read, don't get ahead of me. now, i think this first one is a bit of atell. i mean, i mean you'll get it. ah, yes, a live wire.
my mom used to call me a handful. sure, but what she wanted to write down was,[pause]. yeah, yeah, like that. yeah! definitely that. ok, get a load of this one. [pause] this here is every teacher's desperatesearch just to think of one nice thing to say. just one!
she's like, "he never shuts up; he never shutsup!" wait, wait, that's it! i'll say his incessant talking is, is, goodexpression! yes! that will work! which is much nicer than this. [pause] all right what's next here? [pause] uh huh, sure - my wife said that tome yesterday. really?
look, look, look right here. we see [pause] what almost feels like a confession. look how she runs out of room even tryingto explain herself. i mean even the writing looks painful. but really, duct tape, hallway, i mean "snakeeye" - a teacher's got to have tools. and i didn't blame her, in fact i think sheshould have just written down what she wanted to say. "i know why you're so happy when you drophim off." oh, and now, this last one - oh boy this isjust so layered.
[pause] see what i mean? no, it would have not made a difference. the poor woman is just doubting herself, wishingfor a more, you know, relaxing career like [pause] yeah, could have done that. ok, [pause] storm chaser, come on, fun! i mean look, all those, they're stressful,yes, but compared to a third-grade classroom? piece of cake! so thank you, mrs. alberts and teachers everywhere. this is one live wire who can never thankyou enough.
rob mcclendon: thanks for including us asa part of your day. hope to see you back here next week. female announcer: "oklahoma horizon" is madepossible by the oklahoma department of career and technology education - with additionalsupport from the oklahoma department of agriculture.
