Biographical sketch – Steve Govedich

I have been a soldier, a student, a crisis counselor, a deputy sheriff, a Head start Director, a college instructor, a school board president, a gunsmith, an amateur astronomer, and finally an assistant Dean for Liberal Arts. Obviously some of these situations were more important and involved more of my life than others, but they all contributed to my convoluted – occasionally optimistic, often pessimistic - view of the world.

My first real work experience was a Chinese linguist and intelligence technician from 1964-67 during the Southeast Asian War Games that we often refer to as the Vietnam War. I was in a position to know that that war was based on lies, and I firmly believe that our most recent war (against terror?) is another unnecessary and costly fiasco like Vietnam. I have to wonder what's patriotic about sending more of our brave young men and women into another useless military adventure.

As a Head Start director I was frequently dumbfounded by the workings of the federal bureaucracy, but I was always heartened by the willingness of parents and community members to support positive activities for young children. Helping parents feel more secure and competent in their roles as parents was the focus of much of my work in Head Start. I especially remember one evening when the question, “How hard do you have to hit them to get them to mind?” prompted a lively and useful discussion of alternative methods of disciplining young children. I always look back fondly at the time I spent in the Head Start program in spite of some of the “idiot bureaucrats” that I had to endure. The “Peter Principle” is real and it works. (Look it up if you haven't heard of this important bureaucratic principle.)

As a reserve deputy sheriff I discovered that it was possible to experience both utter boredom and sheer terror within a matter of seconds. This volunteer law enforcement experience gave me a deep appreciation for the difficulties faced by cops in our society. This gave me a perspective on humanity was never articulated in my psychology or sociology courses in college. The best part of this experience (I was a reserve deputy for five years) was the chance to take drunk drivers off of the road and to occasionally help people who were in real trouble.

As I matured in my teaching career I came to believe that the information I had to convey was less important than the process of discovering, assessing, and using information. My students learned (hopefully) to question the validity of sources, to assess the quality of information (what's the evidence?), to determine the biases/perspectives of the authors/journals, and to look for who might benefit from their acceptance of a particular point of view. I often had students tell me that I had ruined the evening news for them. They couldn't just watch the news anymore. They wondered what the news anchor had left out, who decided what to include, how the information fit into the network's ideological framework, and how the information presented might tend to influence their personal political and/or economic activity. Facts aren't enough. Facts, as I often pointed out in my classes, represent a particular ordering of reality based on a theoretical interest. (Chew on that for a while)

As a college administrator, I watched people who couldn't prepare a decent lesson plan if their life depended on it making instructional policies that burdened real teachers with unnecessary paperwork/reporting requirements that wasted time and undermined efforts to provide high quality educational experiences for students. I coined the term “administrivia” to describe this activity. As an assistant dean I came to see my main goal as the protection of my instructional colleagues from the more idiotic demands of an isolated and arrogant higher administration.

At this point in my life, I have decided to avoid schedules, routines, and conflicts as much as possible. I enjoy reading, hiking, kayaking, traveling and camping throughout the Southwest, riding and repairing bicycles, tinkering in my shop, visiting my children , researching topics of interest on the internet, and living with my wife of nearly 45 years. At VerdEnergia I am able to participate in meaningful and constructive activities around the farm and enjoy the company of a varied and stimulating collection of individuals. I'm looking forward to helping to build the farm and engaging in the sense of community VerdEnergia promotes.