Being in Iowa

All this week, IPR’s Rob Dillard has been exploring what it means to be a caregiver in Iowa.

We wrap up the series by having a discussion with a number of caregivers in our state about the challenges of care giving and their hopes for the future.

In the final segment of this week's "Being in Iowa," we meet some Christians who go by a couple of names. We know them as Friends or as Quakers. There are also two branches of this religion in Iowa, representing two distinct approaches to worship.

The Hindu Temple south of Madrid is an eye-catching structure with plaster images of animals and deities carved all over the outside surfaces. It’s where 500 families pray to the God they call Brahman, which they say is found in everything.

It’s impossible to put an exact number on how many people in the state describe themselves as atheist or agnostic. Many of them prefer to stay quiet about it. Iowa Public Radio correspondent Rob Dillard asked several Iowans who do not believe in a supernatural power about where they stand in a society that generally thinks religion is a good thing.

Iowa Public Radio is looking at how different groups of Iowans connect with God. Today, we examine the beliefs held within a 500-year old religion established in the Punjab region of northwest India and northeast Pakistan. In Punjabi it’s pronounced Sikhism (SICK-ism). Over the years, it’s been Anglicized to Sikhism (SEEK-ism). The practitioners at a Temple in West Des Moines pronounced it both ways

With a devout Mormon running for president, pundits have labeled this period “the Mormon moment.” But polls indicate half the American public admits to knowing very little or nothing about the religion. Rob met with some practicing Mormons in Iowa City to understand more about their faith.

Nearly every transplant to Iowa from Southeast Asia who we’ve met this week has been in the state for a number of years. Iowa has a long history of welcoming them. That’s partially why refugees from that corner of the world continue to arrive. The latest are from the country now known as Myanmar. But it’s almost impossible to lump these new arrivals into a single group of refugees.

In part four of our series “Being Southeast Asian in Iowa.”  we explore what it takes to integrate into a place where the people speak a different language and practice different customs. Is it possible to maintain the traditions from back home and embrace the American way of doing things?

A few years after former Governor Robert Ray found a home in Iowa for the Tai Dam refugees of Laos, he did the same thing for another group who was seeking sanctuary. These were the “boat people”, most of them from Vietnam, who risked everything on the high seas to escape communism.

The number of Southeast Asians in Iowa received a boost almost 40 years ago, when about 1,200 refugees who were fleeing the Communist takeover of Laos and Vietnam were allowed to resettle here. Their saga of escape from war and persecution is part of a bigger story about a compassionate governor and a state’s citizens, who opened their hearts to a batch of new residents.

Today, Iowa Public Radio concludes its week-long series “Being Learning Disabled in Iowa.” Over the past four days, correspondent Rob Dillard has been looking into the difficulties people with specific learning disabilities have while moving through the lower grades, into high school and on to college. Now, Rob tells us about the adjustments these people must continue to make throughout their lifetimes in order to function with a disorder that never completely disappears.

Iowa Public Radio is presenting Part Four in its week-long series “Being Learning Disabled in Iowa.” Yesterday we heard about the challenges faced by young students when it first becomes apparent they are having difficulties learning to read and write. Today, reporter Rob Dillard explores the struggles they may encounter in higher education, and the accommodations some colleges are making.

It’s estimated between six and seven percent of Iowa’s K-through-12 students have specific learning disabilities. This minority of kids are often separated from their classmates, and labeled as different. In part three of our series, we look at how this impacts the psyche of these students.

Being in Iowa is funded in part by Bankers Trust, The Principal Financial Group Foundation and Alliant Energy.

A variety of teaching approaches are employed to help people who have trouble reading, writing or comprehending. Some of the pioneering research in the field took place at the University of Iowa.

Being in Iowa is funded in part by Bankers Trust, The Principal Financial Group Foundation and Alliant Energy.

It’s estimated as many as one in five Americans experience some form of specific learning disability. Identifying who these people are, however, is not a precise science.

It took years before Jefferson-Scranton High School senior Mary Larson and her parents figured out why she couldn’t read. She depended on her father to read her grade school textbooks out loud. By fifth grade, she still showed no signs of grasping the meaning of written words.

“I went to Iowa City hospital and they had a professional test me, I had to do some reading tests, comprehension.”

All this week, we’ve been hearing what it’s like “Being Home Schooled in Iowa.”  Our reports from IPR’s Rob Dillard have highlighted the reasons why parents choose to home school their children, assistance programs for home school students, and the transition from home schooling to college.  Join host Ben Kieffer as we discuss what it means to be home schooled in Iowa.

More students on Iowa’s campuses are entering a traditional classroom for the first time after being taught primarily by their parents. How smoothly do they make that move? What do professors see in students who were home schooled? And how do admission offices evaluate applicants who have never been given a letter grade? Reporter Rob Dillard went looking for answers to these questions.

Today, we continue our week-long series “Being Home Schooled in Iowa.” As we heard in yesterday’s segment, a significant number of parents who decide to home school do so to follow their religious convictions. But Iowa Public Radio’s Rob Dillard has discovered there are many reasons families choose to keep their children out of public and private schools.

More than a third of families who home school nationwide do it for religious purposes. That’s by far the Number One reason for keeping kids out of public or private schools. These parents say they want to be in charge of building the moral character of their children, and not leave it to teachers or peer groups. Reporter Rob Dillard looks into the significance of faith in home education.

Iowa Public Radio returns today to its ongoing series, “Being in Iowa.” This week, reporter Rob Dillard asks what does it mean to be home schooled in the state? He begins our series by examining the law that applies to home schools.

Iowa Public Radio returns today to its ongoing series, “Being in Iowa.” This week, reporter Rob Dillard asks what does it mean to be home schooled in the state? He begins our series by examining the law that applies to home schools.

All this week we've been hearing what it's like to come out to family and friends, or deal with bullying as part of "Being Gay in Iowa." Host Ben Kieffer talks with four Iowans who share their experiences with these issues and more... from running for political office as an openly gay candidate, to being put in the spotlight as part of the battle over same sex marriage.  Guests include Nate Monson, Executive Director of Iowa Safe Schools; Sharon Malheiro, Chair of One Iowa; Kate Varnum, plaintiff in Varnum v.

On this Martin Luther King, Jr. Day we listen back to a program from September of last year. As part of IPR's Being in Iowa series, we examine the African-American experience in Iowa. Ben's guest's are Waterloo East High School Principal Dr. Willy Barney, counselor Shannon Harrington and Des Moines University Medical Director Dr. Carolyn Beverly.