1.      On Afrocentric History in American Education by Jon Hale: http://www.processhistory.org/afrocentric-education/

This article describes the history of afro-centric education efforts in the US, I found this helpful to better understand how and why Black teachers employed this information in their classrooms. 

• File

• File history

• File usage

• Global file usage

• Metadata

• File

• File history

• File usage

• Global file usage

• Metadata

1. Keeping sub-purposes and overall system purposes in harmony is an essential function of successful (dynamic and alive) systems (p. 22) Meadows, D. Ch.1.  This seems to be crux of solving wicked problems.  When the sub-purposes get out of line with the overall system purposes, Meadows suggests the death of the system.  It seems to me that this parallels what is happening in our country politically right now.  The sub-purposes of political parties, religious interest groups etc. have become the priority more than preserving our democratic functioning.  The result appears to be a slow death of our democracy.  I think EDU 701 and PPM 715 purposes are looping in my brain at this hour - since they have the same ultimate end-game, I hope that means my brain will continue to somewhat function - despite fatigue haha!
2. Stocks act as delays or buffers or shock absorbers in systems (p. 28) Meadows, D. How do public universities that are serving disadvantaged populations, in an under-sourced way, possibly develop any/enough stock to act as reasonable buffers for all that comes at vulnerable groups and individuals?

1. The function of a system is to bring the discrepancy between what is and what is desired to zero, no matter what direction the discrepancy is (p. 33).  What is the role of higher education settings in the balancing feedback loops that regulate retention for marginalized populations entering 4-year programs?  Or what additional opportunities should 4-year institutions be providing to support retention for marginalized populations when they enter into 4-year institutions - knowing they arrive disadvantaged and experience a constant barrage to their systems?
2. The second kind of feedback loop is amplifying or reinforcing, self-multiplying, or snow-balling - a vicious or virtuous cycle that can cause growth or runaway destruction (p. 35).  What is a Chancellor of a public university system to do when an element within the system is failing to adequately function, resulting in death (small “d”)?  The necessary actions required to adequately balance the system are not attainable due to resource constraints.  At what point, does a Chancellor or Governor call it quits? necessary actions required to adequately balance the system are not attainable due to resource constraints.  At what point, does a Chancellor or Governor call it quits?  What decision-making models are effective in deciding to close or merge?

1. “We recognize at the outset that what precisely defines a school district varies significantly depending on perspective. The term district can refer to a school board, a collection of schools, a geographic demarcation, a legal entity, a bargaining unit, a central office, a set of enrollment boundaries—the list goes on. There are many versions and visions of school districts (p. 217).” 
2. “The first is the belief that district governance and local control serve as an embodiment of educational democracy" (p. 219).  The authors present this as a dominant narrative.  I agree that this narrative or idea prevails.  I never took the time to reflect on or even tried to understand some of my own frustration with school board functioning at certain points, until I read this statement in the article. The authors go on to explain the dominant narrative and provide additional clarifying context that serves in summarizing;

1. “We approach this by asking the following questions: First, how has the idea, or definition, of what a school district is changed over time, and why have discussions of districts periodically resulted in controversy? Second, what has it meant to be a good or effective district through history, and how has district quality been assessed, measured, or determined? And, finally, as the district has developed over time, how have researchers and practitioners articulated what they see as its appropriate role?” (p. 218).  How are we measuring the quality of a school board today?  How do we encourage citizens to evaluate the effectiveness of a district with some consistency?  How can the functioning be evaluated if there is not a standardized definition of what a school board 'is' or what it specifically does or how it is supposed to do the function?
2. “We must attempt to better understand the connections between the school district and instructional improvement, a relationship that many researchers now believe should be the core consideration of school reform efforts” (p. 219).  What have we been using as the core consideration(s) of school reform efforts?  Standardized test scores? And there are many looping aspects that intersect and form a complex web of intersectionality that is not easy to navigate or evaluate.  As the article points out... there are federal, state, local influences.