What Pulls Us Apart
copyright © 2008 Betsy L. Angert. BeThink.org
It was a cool Fall evening in South Florida. The breeze was gentle; the sunset glorious. As I approached the intersection where, each weekend I stand in support of peace and tranquility, I did as I do when at this crossroad. I placed my arm out the window. My digits were extended and formed the symbol associated with serenity. When I am in a vehicle, at the locale commonly considered the Peace Corner I work to preserve the intent of my Saturday mission. I strive to advance awareness for the notion, this nation remains at war. Soldiers are slaughtered far from the shores of home sweet home. Civilians, in their native country continue to lose their lives for a want of war. I crave global harmony and will work to restore some sense of civility worldwide. However, as I sat silently in contemplation cries of "Country First" startled me.
The divisiveness that has become pervasive during this political season smacked me in the face. Shaken, I turned to see where the words of contempt might have come from. There they stood, two young boys, perhaps eleven years of age stood on the sidewalk with homemade signs in hand. "McCain Palin" was painted on a poster. Smaller type, difficult to read from even a short distance, said more. I might pretend to portend what the words were meant to communicate. However, I rather not assume. I can only describe what was said and done as the seconds on the street turned into minutes.
As others had done when they passed me with my peaceful placard for oh so many years, I expressed my belief in a manner that might be visible to these youthful demonstrators. I reached for my Obama sign, which is neatly tucked between my windshield and the dashboard. I held the glossy rectangular navy blue sticker up, my arm stretched beyond the side of the automobile. The near Middle School age gents immediately saw my marker and exclaimed. "He is a Muslim!"
I calmly cried, "No, he is not. Barack Obama is a Christian." "However," I continued, even if he were as you seem to believe, why would that matter?" " Do you really wish to be intolerant of other religions?" "What of our rights as afforded by the United States Constitution?" Perhaps as one who taught Junior High School students for so long, an invitation to discuss seemed ideal to me. These young people, not familiar with me, and my love of open and reverent conversations were intent on repeating the rhetoric they likely heard in their homes.
I could not help but wonder would the words Communist, Socialist, or terrorist, pass through the lips of these lads. Might one boy or the other tell me as drivers had days ago when I stood on the corner in vigil for peace, "Barack Obama is Black"? My mind raced as I reflected upon the two chaps. I realized the issues important to them were those the elders they loved had discussed at length. Human as the young men were they knew what they knew. The adolescents were taught to think as the adults important in their lives did. We all do, at least initially.
I remembered a tale I frequently told pupils in the past. In my own life, I later understood, when I was young I was unaware of the infinite options and opportunities to think, say, do, and feel, in ways that were uncommon in my family. I could not imagine what was novel to me. If questioned I would defend my beliefs; however, unlike these preteens I did not dismiss a request for thoughtfulness. A want for greater wisdom was instilled in me from the first. I learned to desire discussions. Fury in my family seemed a futile emotion. It brought more wrath and offered little promise for peace.
However, my relatives did not raise these miniature men. Perhaps that explains why the pair of youthful McCain/Palin supporters began to rant and rage. They chided me for the size of my sign. The littler than full-grown lads laughed as they pointed to a banner firmly planted, permanently into the ground. Behind them was a monstrous sign, perhaps eight-feet wide and six feet high. The words McCain Palin stood strident for all passer-bys to see. On a background, so dark as to appear near black, the white letters screamed support for the Republican ticket.
The boys shrieked; "I cannot even see your sign." "It is so small," the two shouted. I did not react. The language the boys used morphed into a lexicon I will not utter, even when distressed. After moments when I avoided actual engagement; although I did not put my Obama sign down, I decided to speak again. "Love and peace," I proclaimed. I was quickly told there would be none of that. A slew of statements not to be repeated spewed from the mouths of babes. I was stunned, not by the venom but by the similarities and contrast.
While I waited for the light to turn green, I found myself lost in reveries.
As a child, also at the age of eleven or possibly twelve, I first began on my path as an activist, an advocate for people, regardless of race, color, creed, or religion. My civic maturity was intellectually realized through acceptance. I was taught not merely to tolerate others; I learned to embrace all. Amongst my lessons, diversity is as significantly wondrous as similarities. These were our family values. More importantly, the skill that was honed in my parents' home was listening.
My Mom and Dad helped me to understand that if I chose to hear what another believed, I could grow wiser. Together, communities are greater when the commonweal is the central concern. Fundamentally, my family believed, all individuals believe in love and goodness. "All men [and women, children too] are created equal.
Perhaps that is why, while in Middle School my family participated in a civil rights march. I was invited to join them. Years earlier, at the age of five, I became interested in politics. As my parents engaged in the most animated discussion I had ever witnessed, I learned of elections.
I grew aware of the emotional impact an economic issues and the impact these could have on a vote. Education, the environment, war, and peace all played a part in ballot decisions. At the kitchen table, as I sat and listened to the lively talk on topics that related to every aspect of life, I realized the power of everyday people. All Americans who vote shape our society. I also understood that those to little to cast a ballot had influence.
Mothers and fathers often jest, "My children learn what I never did." Proud papas revel in the knowledge a son or daughter shares. Modest Mamas marvel when their offspring offer informed opinions. In my youth, I may not have realized the words I uttered as a student enrolled in school were of interest to my Mom and Dad. What I saw and felt taught them. As I talked aloud, my parents learned. We chatted. The child was a mentor. Caregivers were counselors. Each gained and received a greater education from the other.
The difference between my experience and what I witnessed at the intersection was in my family, peace was promoted. A reciprocal reverence was advanced. A word such as "Muslim," a person's religion, was not considered a source for a slight.
I was not encouraged to slam or damn another being, not one who stood before me, or one who wished to serve the public. Indeed, behavior than might demean or dismiss another being was sincerely discouraged.
As a child, I was taught to believe competitive temperaments are counter productive. Characteristics that could be classified as cutthroat were considered childish, aggressive, and contrary to the traits that might create peace. Calmness was considered the pinnacle path. In my family, communication was thought to be the greatest travel, that is, next to thinking.
Even in election season, I learned at the knees of Mommy and Daddy; empathy is the best educator. I wondered. What had these young men experienced in their homes?
Would their mothers and fathers be pleased as they heard their brood proclaim prejudice statements from the pavement, "Barack Obama is a Muslim." Might the Moms or Dads of these chaps be indignant at the discordant idea of "Country First?" Would they rather the children cry in concord, "We, the people, are the change we can believe in." Likely not. Progeny are the products of parents.
If we teach the children to chastise, they will. Offspring trained to offend others do. Those tutored to act defensively often deliver dubious dictums. Fear fills the spirits of those who were not treated with abundant respect. Apprehension is frequently expressed as anger.
Concerned communication gives birth to calm and care. If we edify praise, as well as unity and peace, our offspring will practice kindheartedness. When mothers and fathers teach attentiveness and acceptance, the children will acquire comparable customs. Elders who choose to listen and learn from and with their progeny teach little ones to do the same.
Perchance what divides our country is not political parties, religious practices, color, or creed. What fractures America is the manner in which we parent our children.
Posted by Betsy L. Angert on October 20, 2008 at 09:00 PM in Adult Influence on Children, Americana, Children, Communities, Communities and Communication , Compassion, Conflict, Complex, Elections, Empathy and Evolution, Family, Functioning, Fables, Fear | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
The Lesson; All Beings Are a Beautiful Bundle of Love
copyright © 2008 Betsy L. Angert. BeThink.org
The day was delightful. The water was superb. The sun was full and bright. A few billowy, puffy clouds floated through the sky. They were white, cumulus, fluffy fellows, the type that excite many a child as they gaze into the heavens. In parks, on lawns, little ones were likely looking up and pointing. "Look," they might say, "It is a horse, a donkey, or perchance a unicorn." It was a day for whimsy. The children, playful in the pool, barely noticed the graceful shapes as they danced above their heads. Instead, they were focused on what they decided were June bugs.
Three young sweet girls stood in the warm water near their Daddy. All were calm, content, and serene. The sisters chatted easily. Father smiled. The youngest lass expressed her curiosity. As her sibling searched for bugs on the plastic rope line, the "baby" in the family asked of the insects. "Are they icky to touch," the cautious curly haired youngster inquired. The more confident elder sister said, "No! They are cute," she said. See." The "older" child showed the girl of fewer years.
A stranger, in the adjacent lane was preparing to swim. Becky was her name. She was much older than the children, and perhaps no wiser; nonetheless, she share her assessment of the beetle. Becky said of the six-legged lovelies, "They are life; all creatures are beautiful." With that thought, the father beamed, and the older lady plunged head first into the water filled cement reservoir.
Lap after lap and look after look the woman and children enjoyed the quiet of the day. The words the swimmer shared seemed to hang in the air. People came and went, throughout the afternoon, and splendor was all anyone saw.
Then, everything changed. The evolution from tranquil to trauma was slow; nonetheless, unexpected. Those in the recreation park were struck, as if by a bolt of lightening. However, unlike when a storm threatens, swimmers were not forced to leave the pool. The jolt evoked more silence. No one screamed, but the sole boy, victim to the method his Mom's adopted for instruction.
The young mother, a woman, perhaps, in her early thirties, was extremely pleasant in appearance, and it seemed her personality was equally delightful. She, Madison, entered the deck area with her small son in her arms. Skin, beautifully tanned, this well-dress lady strode to the lifeguard tower. The little guy, let us call him, Michael, was not as bronze in color, and was visibly agitated. Michael whimpered, even as his Mom held him close.
Becky, the swimmer who enjoyed the company of the little lasses and their Dad before she began her exercise had just finished the more strenuous part of her routine when the mother and child came into view. Becky, a teacher, enjoyed children, in or outside the classroom. She marveled at the openness of a mind not yet crushed by the weight of worry. The sincerity of a small one was a source of fascination for Becky. Children, early in life, were candid and joyous, at least most were, or appeared to be.
Little Michael, a lad, maybe three, or four, was not a cheerful child. He wore no glee on his face, although his features were cute as could be from what Becky was able to see. When the swimmer first noticed Madison and Michael, they were yards away. They approached the guard tower at the opposite end of the pool and spoke with Brianna, the young adult hired to protect the public in an emergency. Becky thought nothing of the interaction. She was relieved to have only her stretches left to complete. Becky moved the shallow end and commenced with another ritual.
Behind her, a metal chair scraped along the concrete. The sound startled her and she looked up at the area where people sat enjoying the sun. Had Becky waited just a moment she would have known Michael and Madison had moved closer to her. The cries filled the air. The sweet little boy shrieked, "I wanna go see Daddy." Michael howled; "No Mom!!!! No!" His face scrunched tightly, this little lovable fellow yelled, "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy! Please Mom! No!" Michael repeated the words, "I wanna go see Daddy!"
His mother chided him, gently. "We have to do this." Madison did not seem to believe she could quiet her son's fears. An expectation that the little guy might enjoy was void from her voice. The Mom simply worked feverishly, to accomplish the dreaded task. She prepared Michael for his dip in the water, and said, "Let's just get this over with."
Becky continued with her work out and wondered of the circumstances. Perchance, the mother and father were divorced or newly separated. Michael may have expressed the deep distress he felt for a family no longer united. Becky, the daughter of parents who parted understood how stressful such a situation might be. She was eight when . . . her reverie was interrupted.
Madison had abruptly carried Michael to the step at the shallow end of the pool. The Mom now wore a white shirt over her own bathing suit. Sweetly, she smiled and leaned forward. Madison said to Becky, "I do not wish to disturb you. I want to warn you; I am teaching my son to swim and he screams, loudly." As an experienced educator, Becky imagined it would be a mild and momentary shout. As one who swims daily and had for well over a decade, the teacher witnessed many a young child learn to paddle and breathe in water.
Indeed, at this very facility she has observed perhaps hundreds of child learn to master their strokes. The excellent swim teachers, parents and paid professionals, helped calm many a neophyte nerve. Often Becky watched with admiration as patient Moms, Dads, and lifeguards helped little ones wade through the water. It was as she shared with the girls earlier in the day, "They, people and insects, are life. All creatures are beautiful."
What Becky witnessed next was not beautiful; it was brutal! Madison held Michaels arms tightly. She forced him into the water. The Mom insisted the boy's head remain face down immersed until she pulled him up. Apparently, they had practiced this cycle before. Becky now understood why Michael cringed and cried out long before he was ever near the expansive liquid sea.
Initially, the trained instructor was paralyzed. Becky could not imagine that a mother might torment her child. The volume of Michaels screams increased. His little arms flailed. "Mom, No! Pleassssssssse!" The emotional agony he felt was palpable. Mom did not stop as he pleaded. The pain on his face did not move Madison to succumb. His words, his anguish, nothing stopped this mother on her quest. For Becky, what must have been a minute or less seemed like hours, years, decades. She thought of sweet obedient Michael. While he shed many a tear and shrieked when he could gasp for air, the little love did as he was told or required to do. He dropped his head into the pool on demand.
Off into the distance, in the parking lot, just outside the fence, Becky noticed a late model shiny black vehicle. The man at the wheel peered in. His car was not situated in a space meant for stopping. This fellow seemed interested in the antics of Madison and Michael. Becky mused; possibly the sound of suffering haunted him as it did her. She could not stand by a moment longer.
With an earnest concern, Becky expressed her empathy for the child. She inquired; "Is he frightened.." The mother responded, "He can swim." Becky queried aloud, had the mother sought other means for instruction. Perchance, if Michael were given the opportunity to slowly adjust to the water. If he were allowed to breathe easily as he slowly learned to stoke . . . Becky's words were cut off. Still somewhat genteel and reserved, Madison explained, "This is what his teacher taught me to do." "She is excellent. Everyone goes to her. They call her the swim Nazi."
The practiced swimmer, and professional educator, shared her own expertise. Becky told of a time when she worked with another teacher who was extremely punitive. This castigatory colleague was an award winner. Some children loved her, parents too. Students taught Becky what she had not known; if you are raised in a family where cruelty is common, you learn to believe that rough treatment is love. Violence is fondness when a family is familiar with vicious behavior.
Becky spoke of a man she loves. He was introduced to swimming in much the way Michael was guided. This man loathes his parents. As an adult, he says of himself, he is really messed up. For the man Becky cares for, trust is not an option. The lesson he learned at the hands of his mother, who taught him how to swim, just as Madison now advised Michael, is that people will hurt you.
In this very short and quick conversation Becky, recalled her own memories, and how she has vivid recollections of events in that occurred in her life when she was younger than Michael. Becky looked over at Michael's face. The torment was already etched into his skin. The screeches scarred him.
Madison listened, maybe. She was polite. The Mom never let go of her cherished son, Michael. The activity did not stop. Nor did the blood curdling screams. The echoes of pain continued to pierce the air, and break delicate decorum.
People within the recreation center while startled, they stood still or pretended to ignore what escaped no one. Only Becky articulated her concern. Madison expressed her interest; more so once she realized Becky is an educator. However, without a moment of hesitation, or a break from or for Michael, she offered a retort. "I will speak with the teacher." Becky again offered, the teacher does what she thinks is best. Perhaps, she, just as the pupils Becky spoke of, had parents who were as aggressive as she was.
Those who admire the techniques the Nazi swim teacher endorses may also be intimately acquainted with instruction through intimidation. "In my family no one yells," Becky said. Madison responded; the same was true in her life. She and her husband do not scream.
Michael continues to squeal. "Mom, Please, No!" He thrashes. He grabs for her mother. Michael reaches for Madison's shirt and slaps her body and face. The Mom had mentioned she wore the blouse just for this purpose. Michael grabbed at the swim instructor, just as prescribed, and when with her, Michael clawed for Madison's clothing.
His moves do not seem to suggest an intention to hurt the mother Michael loves. From appearances, the boy only hopes to find a source of solace. He wants to hold on to someone, anyone. His words seem to express a desire that his Mom will save him from her. The child cries out again and again. He flaps; he flounders. Little lovable Michael thrashes and struggles. Madison was not discouraged.
Still alert and attentive to her purpose, Madison proclaims, "The swim teacher has them trained within a week." Once more, she says, "Everyone goes to her." She may have sensed or seen Becky's alarm. Apprehensive, the mother said, "I will speak to my husband. He is in the car."
Becky realized the man who she had observed earlier might have studied the pair with an interest that could not be described. Possibly, what the father felt was beyond words. Becky knew that emotionally, this event tugged at her heartstrings. She wondered; did the Dad wait for he too could not endure the misery inflicted on his son. How could a mother be so cruel? How could anyone treat a child with such contempt? Why were words of compassion and caution not enough to stop the abuse? Was Becky alone in her anguish?
She exited the pool area, entered the locker room. Then she scrubbed herself in the shower. All the while Becky heard the howls and the hollers. This small sorrowful soul did not rant or rage against his Mom. He only called out for help. Each shout sliced the air and sent chills up Becky's spine. She could hardly contain her own tears.
Becky left the building and again approached Madison, whose energy and purpose had not waned. The worried woman spoke, "If I could I would like to inquire; would it not be better if Michael loved his lessons (and the person who teaches him)?" Did she share the latter thought? She was so troubled, she did not know what she said. Had she asked if it was necessary to master the skill in a week? Madison ignored Becky. She was done with this exchange. She said to Michael, "Just a few more minutes."
Defeated, Becky left the deck. She walked to the office where the guards stood in alert. The group discussed what left each of them distraught. A resigned Brianna verbalized her belief, "There is nothing we can do or say." Shocked to discover Becky spoke to the woman, Brianna began to ask of what was said. Then she realized Madison, with a drained and strained Michael in her arms, was near. She let out a sound that signaled the need for silence.
The mother and her madness quickly fled the premises. After a short discussion with the guards, Becky thanked them for listening to her fears and followed the path from the pool to the parking lot. Apparently, the couple and their child were settling into the coupe. The father glanced over as he saw Becky near the vehicle. Nothing was said. For Becky, there were no words.
She pondered. Was Becky the person now considered a predator? Had Madison grumbled to her husband as she shared details of the encounter? Exhausted and uncertain of the empathy she had supposed all beings had for others, Becky went to her car. She could not drive away, although she saw the family did. The lover of living beings, of children, could not fully understand what existed only for moments in her own life. She was haunted by the hurt she saw in Michael's face and heard in his calls.
Stunned and shaken Becky sat trembling for a very long time. She wailed; she wept. Had she just let a sweet child fend for himself in a world too awful to survive?
Hours passed and Becky imagines, in her life, Michael, and the impression he made on her would never move on. Sadly, she fears, what for her was but minutes, for Michael, will be life.
Becky had mentioned to Madison, or hoped she had, the effect of trauma. To this day, the older educator recounts the stresses that transformed her being. The lessons, what her Mom, Dad, and mentors did supposedly for her benefit, if not facilitated fondly, harmed her deeply. Cognizant that children absorb all they encounter and are affected by every exchange, Becky contemplates the drama Michael endured.
In a desire to calm her self, Becky, an educator who loves to learn, sought answers. She had so many questions, so many concerns. As a teacher, never labeled a dictatorial tyrant, she had much trepidation. What had Madison taught Michael? Was he expected to sink or swim? As she read, her angst increased. What would become of Michael?
How Do You Recognize a Patient (or Person) with Trauma if it is Not Always Obvious?
Different people respond differently to traumatic events. Some people will carry it around in ways that everybody can see that they've been impacted. But most people actually will go through a traumatic experience and won't have any easily visible or obvious manifestation of that. The problems may emerge many months or sometimes even years after the original event. So it's very important for people who are trying to understand trauma to become aware of the various ways in which traumatic symptoms can manifest, the various ways in which trauma can be carried forward by children and adults, and the pervasive impact that trauma has independent of the way someone is observed to perform.How Do Relationships Affect the Way the Brain Develops?
Human beings are at our core, relational creatures. We are designed to live, work, play, and grow in groups. The very nature of humanity arises from relationships. You learn language, you learn social language, you learn appropriate emotional regulation, and essentially everything that's important about life as a human being you learn in context of relationships. And the very substance of a successful individual is bathed in a whole host of relationships with people in that person's life . . .
Can You Continue with the Relationships and How it Affects the Brain
When you look at someone, when you hear someone, when you have a conversation, when you make a joke with somebody, when you touch someone, every single one of those physical interactions are translated into patterned neuronal activity that go into the brain of both people in that interaction and result in positive changes. These physical changes influence our immune system and they influence the autonomic nervous system that controls your heart and your lungs and your gut. Literally, when people have a wealth of relationships, where relationships are present in high quantities and they're of good quality, these individuals are actually physically healthier, they're emotionally healthier, they're more cognitively enriched, and they actually reach their potential to be humane in ways that are impossible without relationships.It's a very interesting thing that people don't really appreciate this very much, but that there's no better biological interaction that you can have than a relationship.
Yes, all beings are but a beautiful bundle of love. Yet, rarely do humans honor that veracity. So few people understand the depth of each interaction. Too frequently, individuals do what was done to them, or what they think they can. Societal standards, customs, traditions, the lessons taught by authoritarian teachers shape them. People learn. Yet, they may not have studied the ultimate lesson. We are each a lovely and fragile beings. We grow well when hearts, minds, bodies, and souls are tenderly touched.
"Michael, I am soooooooo sorry," Becky mused. What of the relationship she had with Michael, or for that matter, with all beings. What affect did her actions or inactions have. Becky though of how all that occurred developed, and how Michael might grow. "If only I had done more, been more, were a better teacher to your Mom, or had offered to help you learn to swim." Becky, heart heavy with regret promised herself, if she were to meet this family again, she would . . . in truth, she did not know what she could or would do. She only hoped that someone would tell her. How does one swim in a world where too many forget, all beings are but a bundle of love.
Sources and Suffering . . .
Posted by Betsy L. Angert on July 6, 2008 at 09:00 AM in "Take me as I am!", Abuse, Adult Influence on Children, Aggression, Approval or Love, Art of Loving, Have or Be, Change the World [Within], Children, Desire to Learn, Dreams Live and Die , Education, Emotional Decisions, Emotional Intelligence, Empathy and Evolution, Family, Functioning, Fables, Life, A Forward Motion, Looking at Life, Nature or Nurture, Quality of Life, Teach The Children | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Homage to Lawrence King. Teach Tolerance To Adults and Children
copyright © 2008 Betsy L. Angert. BeThink.org
It was February 14, 2008, Valentine's Day. Love was in the air. However, the expressions of appreciation offered were mournful. Doctors informed the family and his friends, Lawrence King, 15, was removed from life support. Two days earlier, young Larry was in the computer lab at E. O. Green Junior High in Oxnard, California. He sat with 24 other students when Brandon McInerney walked into the room with a gun. The armed classmate, fourteen-years of age, approached Lawrence with intent. Brandon aimed his weapon, pulled the trigger, and shot Lawrence in the head. Without hesitation, the shooter ran from the building. Circumstances led observers and police officers to conclude the act was intentional, calculated, and a conscious choice. Brandon committed what is commonly defined as a "hate crime."
Students were locked in classrooms. Grief and disbelief filled the air. Adults tried to calm the children. Teens tried to cope. Peers were befuddled. Pupils sought information and shared what they knew. After the event, fingers flew across cellular telephone keypads. Text messages were sent and received from schoolroom to schoolroom. The words were, "Brandon McInerney did the deed." 'Not Brandon McInerney, No way.'
"Brandon wouldn't do this," eighth-grader Jessica Lee remembers thinking. "He's a good kid. It can't be Brandon."But some at the Oxnard junior high school had seen Larry, 15, teased by students in the weeks before the shooting for being gay and wearing high-heeled boots and makeup. Some witnessed confrontations between Larry and Brandon, with Larry teasing Brandon and saying he liked him.
Family members and friends described Larry as a sweet, artistic boy who loved to sing and didn't understand why people reacted negatively to him.
Brandon, 14, a tall, athletic eighth-grader, was described by friends and acquaintances as a mellow, focused kid, but one who wouldn't back down in a confrontation.
Brandon had learned his lessons well. He learned to feel deeply. Indifference was not part of his repertoire, intolerance was. Perhaps from within the womb, he began his education. Those who in an act of love came together to give birth to Brandon, apparently knew nothing more than volatile loathing. Perchance, Brandon's mother, Kendra and his father, William were raised to love or hate, but not tolerate.
We can be certain that baby Brandon did as all infants do after birth, he absorbed all the messages that surrounded him. . Education is not an isolated entity. Knowledge is not gained only in a classroom. Our first school is called home. Structured lessons may inform us; however, these are never internalized as deeply as the wisdom we acquire at the knees of our Mom and Dad. Parents have a profound influence on a child. Those we love most have the power to teach us more. Definitely, the occurrence taught Brandon what to do when he felt troubled.
Kendra McInerney, Brandon's mother, claimed a night of partying in 1993 ended in a fight and William shooting her in the elbow, breaking it in several places, according to court records. Still, they married later that year, and Brandon was born in January 1994.The fighting didn't stop, and sometimes it was witnessed by Brandon and his two older half-brothers, according to court records. In 2000, William pleaded no contest to a domestic battery charge against Kendra. He was sentenced to 10 days in jail and ordered to attend domestic violence classes. The couple separated in August 2000.
Love, or familiarity can breed contempt. Even when someone no longer shares a physical space with the person that causes him or her distress that individual remains intimately connected in the heart. Parting is not a sweet sorrow. Indeed, it is often the source of more pain. Indifference is rarely evident once an emotional bond is formed.
For Kendra and William McInerney, separation did nothing to alleviate the angst they felt or expressed. , Nor, did living apart make life more livable for the children. Drinking, drugs, and violence were daily transgressions in Brandon's life. The stories are stark. Yet, fortunately, it appeared Brandon survived. Indeed, some would say he thrived.
Through all the family turmoil, Brandon got involved in activities outside the home, including martial arts and lifeguard training. He seemed to want something more than just the status quo of Silver Strand, Crave said."He didn't want to be involved in that whole thing," Crave said, gesturing at friends drinking a few beers nearby after getting off work.
Brandon joined the Young Marines — the Marine Corps' equivalent of a JROTC program — several years ago and became a leader in the group, which disbanded last summer.
"Brandon was a young man that I would never have figured something like this would happen to," said Mel Otte, his commanding officer.
Otte said he never witnessed Brandon showing a short temper and that he would have been kicked out of the group if he had bullied other kids.
"He was an outstanding young man," Otte said. "What happened since I left, I have no idea."
What occurred did not take place in a instant. The image of restraint did not transcend an earlier reality. Change did not come on in a flash. Often calm is a facade for the chaos that lay beneath the surface of a boy [girl, woman, or man] who battles emotional upheavals. What was real for Brandon is true for each of us. We learn and live what we believe is customary.
Even those of us who "know better," or are exposed to impressive amounts of information, organized to challenge unhealthy conventions, do as we have seen done, or was done to us. Some escape the affects of sensory overload for a time. Few abandon family traditions until long they have repeatedly fallen from grace. Only an individual forced to face his or her "demons" day in and day out thinks to learn new habits.
We all love easily. We loathe with less effort. What we do not do well is authentically accept others. Few beings bother to have compassion, to learn from those who look, think, feel, or act differently. Without empathy, everyone is a possible enemy.
Hate, or fear, of what we do not understand, motivates many a mind to react aggressively. Apprehension and anxiety are not logical. None of our emotions are. Nevertheless, all too often humans, prideful of an intellectual capacity, are galvanized by feelings. We are threatened by what we feel terrorizes us.
For Brandon it was a boy who thought him fine. For adults it may be a secret admirer, or an individual who has authority over us. The neighbor who was unkind could seem a danger. Mature men or women may believe the man in the automobile in front of them is a menace. Even a small girl, on the corner, with her fingers out-stretched in a sign of peace could seem a hazard if our habit is to adopt an angry stance when we feel annoyed.
People are familiar with what deeply disturbs them. They know all too well how to demonstrate love and hate. Indifference is doable, as long as an n individual does not see or hear those outside their sphere. Benevolence, perhaps that is the reaction, the action we do not learn from birth.
We all crave a connection. Humans have needs. Individuals long to be included, intimately involved; we wish to feel as though we have the right and power to make decisions for ourselves. Men, women, and children are not indifferent. Hence the dilemma.
When it seems we are unable to manage our world, humans freak. Each of us responds differently, understandably. Intellectually, people may recognize they cannot control the universe. However, when stressed, we discover the habits we hold dear remain intact. Our reactions are not innate, just well studied. Brandon McInerney was not a bad boy. He is a human being. He reacted as he had learned to do. Barely fourteen years of age, Brandon expressed his deep disdain for a situation and someone he could not control.
Chaos abounds. Nonetheless, we try. Too often, we fail. A senseless murder, and what assassination is not absurd, illustrates what occurs when someone does not feel fulfilled and knows not what to do. People in physical or psychological pain lash out in the ways they know how.
Brandon McInerney was baffled, no terrified, by the actions of another boy. Lawrence did not cause bodily harm to his peer. He did no verbal damage, at least not intentionally. Paradoxically, when Larry spoke of Brandon, he articulated his sincere admiration. That is what bothered the young boy Brandon. Love, especially when expressed unconventionally, caused Brandon's heart and mind to break. The young lad, now passed, Larry, did not bully Brandon or his buddies. Indeed, the other boys hassled Lawrence prior to his final day.
In recent weeks, the victim, Lawrence King, 15, had said publicly that he was gay, classmates said, enduring harassment from a group of schoolmates, including the 14-year-old boy charged in his death.
McInerney, now in custody, refuses to speak of what motivated him. His lawyer offers the fourteen year old is too young to fully understand his actions. Perhaps all people are too immature to rationalize the unreasonable, revulsion, repulsion, and feelings of repugnance.
What is hate? Certainly, it is an emotion, as inexplicable as fondness. Each can be voiced to the extreme. Neither is inconsequential. Perhaps, when humans feel adoration or antipathy they lose all perspective. The chemistry we feel when we connect intensely is uncontrollable. If only people could capture the energy and place it in a bottle before they pop.
Assemblyman Mike Eng (Democrat, Monterey Park), chairman of the Assembly Select Committee on Hate Crimes, said we would, with a bit of money directed towards teaching diversity, be able to stop crimes against people based on race, religion, ethnicity, or sexual orientation.
"My bill is focusing on [hate crime] prevention," Eng said after a news conference at his El Monte district office. "We already have bills on the books about proper punishment; mine will focus on dealing with hatred in a school setting."Eng hopes to create a pilot program by allocating up to $150,000 to establish a diversity and sensitivity curriculum at a few school districts. The pilot program would serve as a model to be used to develop lesson plans statewide.
Others in the community believe the proposed program only serves to comfort parents and Principals, adults, and not adolescents. Countless argue that similar programs such as D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education), D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education), are ineffective. These simplistic strategies always were nothing more than slogans used to appease anxious adults. Although these agendas survive, they do not strengthen the will or the character of the young persons they serve. At times, instruction is as indifference. If you do not know what to do, or say about an open wound, look for an easy answer. Apply salve, and walk away. Most of us truly believe the sore will eventually heal by itself.
Here's a news flash: "Just Say No" is not an effective anti-drug message. And neither are Barney-style self-esteem mantras . . .DARE, which is taught by friendly policemen in 75 percent of the nation's school districts, has been plagued by image problems from the beginning, when it first latched on to Nancy Reagan's relentlessly sunny and perversely simplistic "Just say No" campaign. The program's goals include teaching kids creative ways to say "no" to drugs, while simultaneously bolstering their self-esteem (which DARE founders insist is related to lower rates of drug use). . . .
According to an article published in the August 1999 issue of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, DARE not only did not affect teenagers' rate of experimentation with drugs, but may also have actually lowered their self-esteem. . . .
The findings were grim: 20-year-olds who'd had DARE classes were no less likely to have smoked marijuana or cigarettes, drunk alcohol, used "illicit" drugs like cocaine or heroin, or caved in to peer pressure than kids who'd never been exposed to DARE. But that wasn't all. "Surprisingly," the article states, "DARE status in the sixth grade was negatively related to self-esteem at age 20, indicating that individuals who were exposed to DARE in the sixth grade had lower levels of self-esteem 10 years later." Another study, performed at the University of Illinois, suggests some high school seniors who'd been in DARE classes were more likely to use drugs than their non-DARE peers.
Still, Americans, intent on straightforward solutions, quick fixes, and immediate gratification, forget that life is not so simple. The family teaches children from birth. The lessons we learn in our youngest years are internalized deeply. In infancy, each day we encounter our mother, father, or guardian, the people we need most, and most want to love us. As toddlers, we are intimately involved with our caregivers, even if they do not seem to care for us. When we are children, the only choice that we have, the only option that gives us a sense of control, is to cling to those who help us survive. Moms and Dads are our first and best, teachers, if only because they are there in whatever capacity.
However, sadly, for some of us, such as Brandon McInerney our mentors did not teach us well. Schools try to suffice. Teachers with ten, twenty forty to a class try to create a relationship with each student. As educators teach Math, Science, Reading, and English, they work to provide a sense of self-worth to each and every young scholar. For a few hours, five days a week, a troubled youngster can call his or her classroom home.
For young people such as Larry, school may have been a place to blossom, somewhere where he felt safe, or for both the boys an educational institution may have been the place where lessons begun at birth were reinforced. Each was teased, bullied, and verbally battered. Each had friends. However, they may not have felt they achieved an authentic intimate connection with anyone. Even acquaintances can say . . .
“He had a character that was bubbly,” Marissa said. “We would just laugh together. He would smile, then I would smile, and then we couldn’t stop.”
An ally in life does more than smile or laugh. Larry King may have felt he had few real supporters, in a school he attended for only months. How close can two people be when they see each other only for hours and then each returns to their own abode. One may return to the place they consider "Home Sweet Home," the other may reside in an institution, far from those who are "supposed" to love him.
For several months before to the shooting, Larry had been living at Casa Pacifica, a residential center for troubled youths in Camarillo.
Lawrence's parents are alive and well, as are his four siblings, a younger brother, two older brothers, and an older sister. While the family spoke lovingly of the dearly departed, they dared not speak of why the lad no longer lived with them. Many children today are placed in treatment agencies. The numbers are staggering. The reasons are astounding. Yet, when people know not how to love well, and are not indifferent, they do what they may hate to do.
The number of children placed in residential treatment centers (or RTCs) (1) is growing exponentially.(2) These modern-day orphanages now house more than 50,000 children nationwide.(3) Children are packed off to RTCs, often sent by officials they have never met, who have probably never spoken to their parents, teachers or social workers.(4) Once placed, these kids may have no meaningful contact with their families or friends for up to two years.(5) And, despite many documented cases of neglect and physical and sexual abuse, monitoring is inadequate to ensure that children are safe, healthy and receiving proper services in RTCs.(6) By funneling children with mental illnesses into the RTC system, states fail—at enormous cost—to provide more effective community-based mental health services.(7)RTC placements are often inappropriate.
RTCs are among the most restrictive mental health services and, as such, should be reserved for children whose dangerous behavior cannot be controlled except in a secure setting.(8) Too often, however, child-serving bureaucracies hastily place children in RTCs because they have not made more appropriate community-based services available.(9) Parents who are desperate to meet their kids’ needs often turn to RTCs because they lack viable alternatives.(10)To make placement decisions, families in crisis and overburdened social workers rely on the institutions’ glossy flyers and professional websites with testimonials of saved children.(11) But all RTCs are not alike.(12) Local, state and national exposés and litigation “regarding the quality of care in residential treatment centers have shown that some programs promise high-quality treatment but deliver low-quality custodial care.”(13) As a result, parents and state officials play a dangerous game of Russian roulette as they decide where to place children, because little public information is available about the RTCs, which are under-regulated and under-supervised.
Yet, parents and community services agencies take those who are perhaps most vulnerable, our young and troubled teens, and place them in Residential Treatment Centers not able to provide minimal care. When we, as a culture consider other options, and other means for childcare, we cannot but think of poor Brandon and how he suffered at the hands of his mother and father. We are reminded that Brandon, the tormented shooter, lived in a location he called home. We might wonder; which situation was better, worse, or can we even compare the traumas each child in this story suffered.
Brandon and Larry are not anomalies. They are not alone. Children throughout our country are taught to express love in a violent manner. The little ones watch adults they admire model cruelty. The young are trained to demonstrate their contempt similarly. Sadistic reactive behaviors rule in our society. Listen to people ruthlessly scream in the marketplace. Consider the abundance of "hate crimes" in America. Turn on the television. Tune into the radio. Read the "literature." Hostile conduct is commended and condoned.
For too many of our offspring, aggression in their daily existence is the norm. They hear it in their homes; see their parent bludgeon each other. As toddlers, tots, children, or teens our youth feel the bruises on their back, and remember the bones broken by those they love most. Ponder the statistics.
During FFY 2005, an estimated 899,000 children in the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico were determined to be victims of abuse or neglect.
- Children in the age group of birth to 3 years had the highest rate of victimization at 16.5 per 1,000 children of the same age group in the national population;
- More than one-half of the victims were 7 years old or younger (54.5%)
- More than one-half of the child victims were girls (50.7%) and 47.3 percent were boys; and
- Approximately one-half of all victims were White (49.7%); one-quarter (23.1%) were African-American; and 17.4 percent were Hispanic.
Gender preference did not determine maltreatment when infants and the very young among were involved. Specific biases are learned as we "mature." While many wish to focus on Larry's identification with the gay community as reason for such a horrific reaction, the cause for Brandon's response goes far deeper. Scorn is rarely selective. Disparagement is an equal opportunity employer.
Abusive behaviors are rooted in our personal history. We cannot dismiss the fact that as a society, our past performances towards those we disdain are deplorable. As a culture, emotional beings that we are, we embrace love and hate, and ignore indifference.
We must ask ourselves, what are we doing to our offspring from the day they enter this world, and why. Answers offered after the fact, solutions that do not address the broader question will not stop the violence we see in schools. Nor will it quash the mayhem or reduce the murders we see on our streets. Hate crimes are born at home. Mothers and fathers motivate much that occurs. Moms and Dads often do what was done to them.
Children 'learn violence from parents'Children who witness domestic violence are at an increased risk of having abusive relationships as adults, researchers have found.
Being abused as a child and having behavioural problems also increases the risk of being violent as adults. Receiving excessive punishment is another risk factor. US researchers from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and the New York State Psychiatric Institute followed 540 children for 20 years from 1975 . . .
If a pattern of violent behaviour towards a partner has been established, it is difficult to change say the researchers. . . .
If a child was hit by their parents, they were much more likely to see violence as a way of resolving problems as adults, the researchers found.
But seeing violence perpetuated between parents was found the be the greatest risk factor for being the victim of a violent partner as an adult.
Both men and women who witnessed domestic violence were likely to grow up to abuse their partners . . .
"This acceptance of coercive, power-based norms as ways of regulating conflict may have direct implications for young adults' means of conflict resolution with partners, independent of a disruptive behaviour disorder."
For too many of our young persons a forceful hand, a furious face, and a vicious voice are identified with those they are most fond of. Children are confused. In too many lives, love does not come easily. Little ones do not know what authentic affection looks like. As "mature" beings, some people seek the wisdom they did not acquire in their family homes. They wish to learn of what could not have been fully integrated in a school curriculum. Grown-up persons harmed by habits that debilitate a mind, body, heart, and soul know to their core, habits die hard. Adult classes meant to teach as Assemblyman Eng proposed exist at West Virginia University an older person can study How To Communicate Love. Learners are instructed, "Love comes from within." Students are advised to appreciate themselves.
Learning to love yourself will help create your personal appearance of love. If you do not know how to love yourself, you will not be able to love others. Loving yourself also means that you have a loving attitude in your actions and responses toward others; that you look for opportunities to help rather than be helped; that you communicate a loving appreciation of others with “thank you” and “please” as part of your vocabulary; that you forgive others and do not hold a grudge; and that you help people in need without thought of reward or recognition.
However, ultimately pupils are reminded of what Lawrence and Brandon have helped us realize.
How we communicate love to others is learned; we are not born with the ability to communicate love.
Nor are we born with the ability to hate. Each of us, every man, woman, and child is well-trained. If we are to truly end the violence that exists in schools, we must eliminate the hostility in our homes. Assemblyman Eng, perhaps a program in parenting, one instituted in every community throughout the globe might be more effective than any instruction in a school. If we are to truly teach forbearance to our progeny we must acknowledge parents, adults in every avenue are our life teachers. Let us not speak of how best to teach the children tolerance. We, their elders must learn how to love first. Perhaps, if the elders begin to appreciate each other without brutality, next Valentine's Day Cupid will not shoot arrow. He will bestow gentle kisses on each of us.
Sources, Societal Scars, Scabs . . .
Posted by Betsy L. Angert on February 28, 2008 at 11:00 AM in "Take me as I am!", Abuse, Adult Influence on Children, Aggression, Approval or Love, Communities and Communication , Compassion, Conflict, Complex, Emotional Intelligence, Family, Functioning, Fables, Fear, Human Nature, Humans, Self-Destructive, Life, A Forward Motion, Light. Darkness., Looking at Life, Nature or Nurture, Quality of Life, School Days, School Shootings, School Violence, Society, Teach The Children, Tributes, Verbal Combat, Violence, When Will I Be Right? | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
A Climate of Fear Permeates; Morton High School Students Protest
Climate of Fear
copyright © 2007 Betsy L. Angert. BeThink.org
It was a quiet day in America; yet, the feeling of fear was palpable. Oceans away, in Baghdad, the air was filled with the smell of napalm. Frightened, as the young contemplated their future, seventy some courageous and committed students filed into the Morton West High School cafeteria in Berwyn, Illinois. Trepidation for their lives, and the lives of friends, family, and those innocent Iraqi citizens they never met prompted these pupils to take action. The young and eligible enlistees protested the war in Iraq.
Years earlier, dissent against this unjust battle was unthinkable. The Twin Towers fell. The Pentagon was hit. Other buildings were threatened and the nation panicked. America could not comprehend there might be blood shed on the tranquil shores of their homeland. Citizens were willing to do anything to ensure no more lives would be lost in the land of their birth. If it meant countrymen must sacrifice their freedoms, so be it. Immediately, Congress was called into session. Bills were passed and liberties lost. America was attacked; and thus, we were at war.
Theories were bantered about. Osama Bin Laden, the enemy behind the assault, was in Afghanistan. Terrorists were within our country. Saddam Hussein had Weapons of Mass Destruction. The thousands killed on September 11, 2001 were just the beginning. Certainly, we must know as a continent, North America is no longer safe. Air travel has opened all borders. Trains, boats, and planes were no longer means of transport. These are potential missiles.
Acquiescent, the American public believed they were not safe. Yet, fearful as the people were they knew this country must come together and show its strength. At ground zero a crowd stood and chanted, "USA, USA!" The Commander-In-Chief took the bull by the horn or the bullhorn and calmed the throng. He said . . .
"I can hear you. The rest of the world hears you. And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon,"
It was then that the former friendly fellow, the man that had failed in most all of his business ventures, the son of a President whose success was said to be tied to his name, appeared decisive. The President, placed into the Oval Office by the Supreme Court, not by the people, became the protector. From the moment Bush stood on the mound of rumble and raised his voice, Americans followed his lead.
George W. Bush led his Secretary of State astray. Colin Powell addressed the United Nations with what Bush and Vice President Cheney knew was not "solid" intelligence. The Commander prompted his Cabinet to lie to Congress. The President's pal and Attorney General told a nation the Rules of the Geneva Convention are quaint. Our leader authorized torture. He trolled telephones. President Bush took us to the airport and asked us to take our shoes off. He read our library records and convinced us there was reason to forfeit our rights. The President of the United States played on our fears and we accepted his truths. Americans became apathetic and perhaps pathetic.
However, just as in years past, when an unpopular war was sold to the American public, when a threat [then communism, now terrorism] loomed large in the minds of those told to fear the youth responded, Morton High School's young scholars decided they must speak out. They entered the dining hall, a nook in the cranny of a huge building, a place where pupils often feel, or felt able to break from bureaucracy. For students, the canteen is considered a safety zone. Every high school has one, a place where pupils can relax, chat, gather, and forget the fears that flank them in the halls, and stalls of academia.
Yet, on this day, November first, All Saints Day, and a national day of peace, the lunchroom furnished no refuge. Apprehensive Administrators swooped down on the young scholars as they exercised their democratic right to free speech. Frightened school officials did just as a petrified President had done. Under the guise of informed authority, the Superintendent and Principal imposed retaliatory measures.
As is often true in a climate of fear, the terrified meet the terrified, and the trouble begins. When filled with fear a person in a powerful position does not wish to show his or her weakness. Thus, they adopt a punitive posture to appear in control; George W. Bush, Superintendent Ben Nowakowski , you decide.
The Berwyn School District bureaucrats selectively singled two-dozen students for expulsion. [Might these individuals be as those sent to Guantanamo Bay Prison, or off to Egypt, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and other countries with poor human rights records, for interrogation.] Morton West, Morton High School District 201 Superintendent Nowakowski told parents, pupils involved in the protest that are seventeen years or older would also face police charges. [Ah, those of a certain age may be as the persons of Middle Eastern descent. People in power think it just to profile agitators.] High achievers, athletes, and those whose parent are well connected were exempt from the more severe penalties. [Frequent fliers, white businessmen, and little old ladies . . .perhaps these persons are above reproach.] Indeed, school officials telephoned many prominent Moms and Dads and warned them. Take your child home. Be sure your son or daughter returns to class. Cease or dismiss.
The injustice was obvious; even mothers and fathers were distressed. Parents questioned School Board members and Administrators. They asked, what have we as a people become when we suppress speech, suspend dialogue, and arrest those that assemble, and petition the government for a redress of grievances. Perhaps, after all these years of war and Weapons of Mass Destruction that never were, the adults realize they too must question authority.
Parents and students say that penalties were too harsh -- and unfairly dispensed -- for some of those involved in the protest. More than a dozen parents at the meeting in the Morton East auditorium told the board that students who play varsity athletics or have a high grade point average were given less stringent penalties.Maniotis said her daughter Barbara, a junior at the high school, participated in the protest but was given a 5-day suspension and does not face expulsion because she is an honor student with a 4.5 GPA. Other students received 10-day suspensions with the possibility of expulsion.
"She did the same thing they did," Maniotis said. "This entire incident is outrageous. The school missed out on a wonderful teachable moment. Instead, they cracked down on them right away and turned it into a punitive situation."
Parents have said they want their children reinstated and the penalties removed from their records.
However, the Board and the Superintendent chose to exert its power. The community gathered thousands of signatures in support of the students. Parents, neighbors, concerned citizens met with authorities and stated, the punishment for protestors is too harsh. Those in power argued the point. School authorities might have said, "We do not torture." Waterboarding, while repugnant, is just in "real life" situations.
School officials also sent a letter to the parents of all the school’s students calling the protest “gross disobedience” and reminding parents that any disruption to the educational process could lead to expulsion.
Disobedience and dissention must be deterred. There can be no distractions. Our mission is clear. If we are to accomplish our goal, all threats must be eliminated. Presidents and Principals, Secretary's of State and Defense and Superintendents remind us, we have reasons to fear. This is the "age of terror."
Americans know by now, as we accept our telephones are tapped, any time we question authority we are in insubordination. Countrymen chuckle on reflection as they ponder, I almost got sent to Guantanamo. We are anxious regardless of what is real, for in truth, reality is perception. As long as we perceive a threat, there is one, and those in power will act in accordance. Innocents will be sent to [Guantanamo Bay] prison without due process.
Morton High school Principal, Mister Lucas was fretful despite of what occurred or did not. The protesters, pupils were extremely peaceful. They did as they were told to do. Law enforcement officers observed all went well. Nevertheless, fear flourished amongst Administrators.
[S]everal students said the protesters, whose numbers had dwindled to about 25, obeyed the administration’s request to move from a high-traffic area in the cafeteria to a less-crowded hall near the principal’s office. There, they intertwined arms, sang along to an acoustic guitar and talked about how the war was affecting the world, said Matt Heffernan, a junior who took part.“We agreed to move to another side of the building,” Matt said. “We also made a deal that if we moved there, there would be no disciplinary action taken upon us.”
Matt said the group had been told that the most severe punishment would be a Saturday detention for cutting class that day.
Police officers were on the scene, and Berwyn’s police chief, William Kushner, said no arrests were made. “It was all very peaceful and orderly,” he said.
But at the end of the school day, Matt said, Dr. Nowakowski gave the remaining protesters disciplinary notices stating that they had engaged in mob action, that they were suspended for 10 days and that they faced expulsion.
The sense of being actively involved in the community and in the civic process is weighty and can be woeful. As a Morton High School student stated; upon reflection he had "feelings of confidence — of a job well done." However, faced with expulsion he also embraced anxiety "and fright, because my whole educational future is at risk.”
Education for American students is at risk whether they protest the war or not. As the battles in the Middle East intensify, our youngest citizens watch expectantly. Currently, they are not forced to take up arms; yet, the cost of an advanced degree, the expense of living on your own, salaries, or more accurately, practically speaking, minimum wages threaten the security of a young mind. Military recruiters know this, as does the Administration, local and Federal. Armed Forces representatives maximize on the fear and the White House blesses such actions.
The practice began just after America surrendered itself to permanent apprehension. The Twin Towers fell and so too did the Bill of Rights. The Constitution was set aside in favor of the Patriot Act. The Commander-In-Chief of the United States, George W. Bush proposed we leave no child behind. In the spirit of bipartisanship, Mister Bush garnered support for a initiative that would change the lives of young Americans forever. The "Education" President signed the measure and a new military force was born.
Sharon Shea-Keneally, principal of Mount Anthony Union High School in Bennington, Vermont, was shocked when she received a letter in May from military recruiters demanding a list of all her students, including names, addresses, and phone numbers. The school invites recruiters to participate in career days and job fairs, but like most school districts, it keeps student information strictly confidential. "We don't give out a list of names of our kids to anybody," says Shea-Keneally, "not to colleges, churches, employers -- nobody."But when Shea-Keneally insisted on an explanation, she was in for an even bigger surprise: The recruiters cited the No Child Left Behind Act, President Bush's sweeping new education law passed earlier this year. There, buried deep within the law's 670 pages, is a provision requiring public secondary schools to provide military recruiters not only with access to facilities, but also with contact information for every student -- or face a cutoff of all federal aid.
"I was very surprised the requirement was attached to an education law," says Shea-Keneally. "I did not see the link."
The military complained this year that up to 15 percent of the nation's high schools are "problem schools" for recruiters. In 1999, the Pentagon says, recruiters were denied access to schools on 19,228 occasions. Rep. David Vitter, a Republican from Louisiana who sponsored the new recruitment requirement, says such schools "demonstrated an anti-military attitude that I thought was offensive."
Slights or the restricted right of entry seemed odious to pro-war Congressman Vitter, a man too young to have fought in a foreign battle. Attitudes such as his may helped build a system of recruitment that expanded our military defense. Prior to the initiative that allowed military representatives to sell their schpeel to High School students interest and investment in America's youth was not equally distributed. Nor is it now. The difference is, under current law, military recruiters can more easily find men and women willing to enlist. With thanks to No Child Left Behind the armed forces can focus on those most in need. That is best. After all, the affluent have opportunities that ensure economic and academic success. The rich are less likely to enlist.
[I]t appears that the affluent are not encouraging their children and peers to join the war effort on the battlefield.The writer of the Post-Gazette article, Jack Kelly, explored this question in his story that ran on Aug. 11. Kelly wrote of a Marine recruiter, Staff Sgt. Jason Rivera, who went to an affluent suburb outside of Pittsburgh to follow up with a young man who had expressed interest in enlisting. He pulled up to a house with American flags displayed in the yard. The mother came to the door in an American flag T-shirt and openly declared her support for the troops.
But she made it clear that her support only went so far.
"Military service isn't for our son," she told Rivera. "It isn't for our kind of people."
The kinds of people that are targeted are poor or lower Middle Class. Plebeian families will sacrifice their progeny disproportionately. Morton West High School in Berwyn, is nestled in a working-class suburb just west of Chicago. Soldiers dressed in uniform, don sparkly metals, and wear shined shoes as they stroll the halls of this blue-collar neighborhood school campus. They smile and sweet-talk eager teens. Recruiters befriend students and promise them a bright future if they enlist. In part, this helped to provide perspective for the pupils and prompted the protest.
Disabled Gulf War veteran Cesar Ruvalcaba, dressed in his military uniform, chose to lash out at military recruiters allowed to roam the halls of the school."Shame on the administrators who think receiving military money from recruiters is more important than the education of their students," he told the board. "I am 100 percent disabled, and I learned the hard way that education, not carrying a machine gun, is the key to success. It's those people who are pro-war who would never drop everything and go fight for the red, white, and blue. These kids should receive extra credit for speaking up, not expulsion."
Morton High School students are not alone. After years of subjection, some schools are fighting back. Administrators have decisively stood up for their students. Principals refuse to be part of the Bush regime or relegate academics to expulsion. Principals ask whether funds from No Child Left Behind provisions are worth the cost, the lost of freedom.
Rift over recruiting at public high schools
A Seattle high school bars military solicitation, touching off debate over Iraq war and free speech.
By Dean Paton
The Christian Science Monitor
May 18, 2005Seattle - While most Parent Teacher Student Association meetings might center on finding funding for better math books or the best way to chaperon a school dance, a recent meeting here at Garfield High School grappled with something much larger - the war in Iraq.
The school is perhaps one of the first in the nation to debate and vote against military recruiting on high school campuses - a topic already simmering at the college level . . .
High schools are struggling with a similar issue as the No Child Left Behind Act requires that schools receiving federal funding must release the names of its students to recruiters. Some feel that's an invasion of privacy prompted by a war effort that has largely divided the American public. Others say barring recruiters is an infringement of free speech - and a snub to the military, particularly in a time of war.
Garfield High School took a decisive step last week with a vote of 25 to 5 to adopt a resolution that says "public schools are not a place for military recruiters."
All this comes as recruiters struggle to meet enlistment goals.
Perchance, Americans no longer wish to live a life in fear. Our countrymen finally decided to vote for change. However, it did not come. Now the children take up the cause. Perhaps they will be more successful. With the support of their parents, the impossible may be probable. Indeed, it is, slightly.
Last evening, the Superintendent of Berwyn Schools released a statement. [On the same day some troops are slated to return home to American shores, not because the President heard the people say exit Iraq, but because, physically, they could no longer remain in battle] suspended students could and would return to class. School records will not reflect, peaceful rebellions as a dishonorable reason for discharge. Although Administrative faces are saved, it is important to consider that this is a step. We may move closer to educational experiences and further from a culture of fear. One can hope.
I offer the link for your perusal. Please read the Superintendent's proclamation. Please share your thoughts, quietly. Remember class is in session. Recruiters may still be listening and the Bush regime remains in office.
As you, dear reader, breathe deeply and ponder the protestors' plight, might I submit, alls is not well; nor did this situation truly end well. Granted, the students will be reinstated. Those that wish to pursue a military career will, and those that do not, will not. However, there is more to this story. Power plays; those that instill fear, fear not. Even when we think the Authorities care; they are concerned, and will no longer abuse, use or manipulate, we discover they continue to do as they have done.
Eight million veterans got their education thanks to the World War II GI Bill, which covered tuition, fees, and books, and gave veterans a living stipend while they were in school. A 1988 Congressional study proved that every dollar spent on educational benefits under the original GI Bill added seven dollars to the national economy in terms of productivity, consumer spending and tax revenue.Unfortunately, the current educational benefits offered to veterans are far lower than the original GI Bill. In fact, they cover only 60-70% of the average cost of four years at a public college or university, or less than two years at a typical private college. Our veterans deserve better.
A new GI [Government Issue] Bill is being crafted in Congress. However, Americans have reason to think this too shall not pass. If we the voters learn from the Morton High School students and state what we think, perhaps, veterans will have the chance they were promised . . . that is if they live to return home.
Let s fear no more. Americans cannot sit silent. If you wish to communicate to your Congress Person, please do. The time is now.
Help Veterans Continue their Education.
Sources of Fear; Culture of Care. . .
Thursday, January 6, 2005; Page A01
Posted by Betsy L. Angert on November 15, 2007 at 01:00 PM in 'Regime Change' , Activism, Adult Influence on Children, Afghanistan, American Patriotism, Americana, Bush 43 Administration, CIA Prisons, Civil Disobedience, Civil Rights, Congress and Bush, Current Affairs, Domestic Security, Education or War, Emotional Decisions, Exit Iraq Now, Fear, Inequality in America, International Security, Iraq War, Lies, Military Missions, National Security, No Child Left Behind, Patriot Act, Peace Movement, Politics, Question Everything, Saddam Hussein, Teach The Children, The Patriot Act , War and Peace, War is in the Wind, Wars Bush Commanded, “When is Enough, Enough?” | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
No Child Left Behind Leaves Children Behind
HEY YOU - help leave no child behind, really!
copyright © 2007 Betsy L. Angert. BeThink.org
A parent profoundly effected by property taxes and academic programs that teach to tests, decided to speak about a societal dilemma that has long haunted Americans. A mother or father enlisted the help of their very bright son. He or she enrolled the child in the political process and submitted a question for state and national politicians. Perhaps, only a youngster can truly speak to the issues that effect our future. Perchance, the sweet face of child can melt hearts hardened by budgets, years of chasing the almighty dollar, and no sense [cents?] Leonard Hornbach says to Presidential hopefuls and the Governor of Florida, Hey you, help leave no child behind, really!
In 1991, scholar, Jonathan Kozal spoke of the paradox in Savage Inequalities. Kozal pointed to the enigma that permeated our culture then, and does so today, perhaps to a greater degree. No Child Left Behind rather than elevate the discussion, deepened the divide. Citizens do not wish to dole out dollars to support their communities. In this civilized age, cash flow is tight. Poor Americans and even the affluent, are less able or willing to fund schools, libraries, and other public services, although they work harder today than their parents and grandparents might have in years past. Costs are high. Quality is low and steadily declines as American citizens refuse to finance public schools.
Students and the services provided to them are squeezed out. As we squash the schools, we smother the life spirit inborn of our young. The poorest among us suffer more than those whose parents ultimately place them in a private school. More than a decade ago, the situation in schools was dire. Jonathan Kozol documented.
In Illinois, as elsewhere in America, local funds for education raised from property taxes are supplemented by state contributions and by federal funds, although the federal contribution is extremely small, constituting only 6 percent of total school expenditures. State contributions represent approximately half of local school expenditures in the United States; although intended to make up for local wealth disparities, they have seldom been sufficient to achieve this goal. Total yearly spending-local funds combined with state assistance and the small amount that comes from Washington-ranges today in Illinois from $2,100 on a child in the poorest district to above $10,000 in the richest. The system, writes John Coons, a professor of law at Berkeley University, "bears the appearance of calculated unfairness. "Today, the dropout rate is off the charts. As No Child Left Behind caters to those that calculate cash flow, as we attend to facts and figures whilst we forget the children, New Figures Show High Dropout Rate. According to the Washington Post, Federal Officials Say Problem Is Worst For Urban Schools, Minority Males. Indeed, reluctantly, Federal officials admit many dropouts are not even included in the records.There is a belief advanced today, and in some cases by conservative black authors, that poor children and particularly black children should not be allowed to hear too much about these matters. If they learn how much less they are getting than rich children, we are told, this knowledge may induce them to regard themselves as "victims," and such "victim-thinking," it is argued, may then undermine their capability to profit from whatever opportunities may actually exist. But this is a matter of psychology-or strategy-and not reality. The matter, in any case, is academic since most adolescents in the poorest neighborhoods learn very soon that they are getting less than children in the wealthier school districts. They see suburban schools on television and they see them when they travel for athletic competitions. It is a waste of time to worry whether we should tell them something they could tell to us. About injustice, most poor children in America cannot be fooled.
Children, of course, don't understand at first that they are being cheated. They come to school with a degree of faith and optimism, and they often seem to thrive during the first few years. It is sometimes not until the third grade that their teachers start to see the warning signs of failure. By the fourth grade, many children see it too.
"These kids are aware of their failures," says a fourth grade teacher in Chicago. "Some of them act like the game's already over."
By fifth or sixth grade, many children demonstrate their loss of faith by staying out of school. The director of a social service agency in Chicago's Humboldt Park estimates that 10 percent of the 12- and 13-year-old children that he sees are out of school for all but one or two days every two weeks. The route from truancy to full-fledged dropout status is direct and swift. Reverend Charles Kyle, a professor at Loyola University, believes that 10 percent of students in Chicago drop out prior to their high school years, usually after seventh or eighth grade-an estimate that I have also heard from several teachers. This would put the city's actual dropout rate, the Chicago Tribune estimates, at "close to 60 per cent."
The statistics paint a dire portrait: Seventy percent of students nationwide earned diplomas in four years as of 2003, the latest data available nationally, a much lower rate than that reported by the vast majority of school systems. According to the database, Washington area graduation rates ranged from 94 percent in Loudoun and Falls Church to a low of 59 percent in the District, with most other systems falling in the 60s, 70s, and low 80s.The First Lady, Laura Bush, a former teacher herself, and a concerned citizen helped to unveil an online database. In her introduction, she included a promise from the government that the index would provide parents across much of the nation, 'the first accurate appraisal of how many students graduate from high school on time in each school system.'Education Secretary Margaret Spellings said the data show that half of the nation's dropouts come from a small group of largely urban "dropout factories," high schools "where graduation is a 50-50 shot or worse." She scolded state and local education officials for masking the problem by publishing inflated graduation rates based on bad math.
"We are finally moving from a state of denial to a state of acknowledgment," she said, speaking in Washington at a summit titled America's Silent Epidemic. "It's hard to believe such a pervasive problem has remained in the shadows for so long."
Most states, including Virginia, Maryland, and the District, continue to report graduation rates by a method that, while accepted by the federal government, has been rejected by much of the academic community and was roundly criticized yesterday by federal officials. They estimate the graduation rate based on the number of students known to have dropped out. The problem is, few public high schools track every student who drops out.
"In some states," Spellings said, "a student is counted as a dropout only if he registers as a dropout. That's unlikely."
The publication of the new national database, compiled by the trade journal Education Week, signals a sweeping change in how graduates are counted. The site tabulates graduation data for school systems based on simple attrition, tracking the dwindling size of a high school class from the fall of freshman year to graduation day.However, as we assess the numbers we must acknowledge that schools are not able to educate, motivate, or inspire our children. We are barely able to meet with our young persons. Too often children do not attend classes. If their bodies are placed in a seat, their minds may still be miles and miles away. If school is boring, and teachers teach only to the test, children will seek knowledge in other venues.Bush, in a lunchtime speech, urged the nation's parents to consult the database and "find out if your community has a dropout problem."
As a culture, we know this. Yet, characteristically, we do nothing to change this. In fact, we have increased the dullness factor. We focus on tests and forfeit instruction. We evaluate the physical exit of students during the juvenile years.
The summit marks a growing national sense that high schools are facing a dropout crisis. The extent of the problem -- only two students in three graduate with their class -- has been clear for years within the education community but not among members of the general public, who, according to surveys, believe that nearly 90 percent of students graduate from high school.Speakers stressed that dropout rates are particularly high among black and Hispanic students, especially males.
Prince George's County schools reported a 90 percent graduation rate for 2003. The new database shows a graduation rate of 67 percent for that system. More than half of the dropouts, it shows, never make it to the 10th grade.
The physical presence of pupils in a classroom may lessen in high school. However, mentally, children often turn away, fall from grace in kindergarten.
How Bush education law has changed our schools
By Greg Toppo,
USA Today
January 8, 2007The walls are speaking these days at Stanton Elementary School in Philadelphia, and they're talking about test scores.
Post-It notes with children's names tell the story of how, in just five years, a federal law with a funny name has changed school for everyone. "We spend most of our days talking about or looking at data," principal Barbara Adderley says.
Test scores run her week.
She meets with kindergarten teachers on Monday, first-grade teachers on Tuesday and so on. The meetings begin with a look at each teacher's "assessment wall," filled with color-coded Post-Its representing each pupil and whether he or she is making steady progress in basic skills. Once students master a skill, the Post-Its move up the wall.
"If they don't move, then we have to talk about what's happening," Adderley says.
What's driving the talk? President Bush's landmark education law, dubbed No Child Left Behind.
A cornerstone of Bush's domestic agenda and one of his few truly bipartisan successes, it took what was once a fairly low-key funding vehicle (it was known as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act before Bush borrowed the catchy name from the Children's Defense Fund) and turned it into a vast — and contentious — book of federal mandates.
The rules, the regulations further exacerbate the dilemma in America. Emotionally, intellectually, students separate themselves from school in the elementary years. We do not speak of this often; nor do we wish to notice. However, if we reflect on our own education, we know this to be true.
When we address the dropout rate of adolescents, as though this is the sole source of societal ills, or if we think the crisis occurs in the schools transpires in teen years, then we miss much. We have waited too long. There is ample reason the young disconnect. Adults are disengaged. They teach the children well.
In this nation, in Florida, as in all other regions, schools are strapped. The public does not wish to spend the time or money to correct a curriculum that might easily be changed. The population wants proof their hard earned greenbacks will see profits, even if the asset in nothing more than a piece of paper, a diploma that affirms, my child graduated.
Thus, policymakers work to establish standards in an attempt to prove the meager investments in education are well spent. Legislators present plans. Laws are passed in hopes of ensuring No Child Is Left Behind. Administrators implement these flawed programs. Ultimately, children suffer, as do the parents as they experience dreams deferred.
Does it dry up
Like a raisin in the sun?
~ Langston Hughes
When I was a child, I dreamt of greatness. Adults often asked, what do you want to be when you grow up? I imagined myself engaged in meaningful missions. I longed to be a scholar, an academic, and a learned professor. I envisioned I would gather knowledge and share the wisdom. I trusted as I taught, I would learn. Even in my earliest years, I accepted life is an ever-expansive evolution. I never imagined that I would enroll in school only to memorize the mechanics. Sadly, in school, dreams are frequently deferred.
Once enrolled in a formal educational setting, I discovered erudition differed from my expectation. As a toddler, I was encouraged to be curious and creative. My questions were answered. People in my life thought my inquisitive mind was magnificent. My desire to discover was embraced. As I aged, this did not change. Mom and Dad delighted as we traveled down the path of knowledge together. Then there was school.
In educational institutions, authentic thought was discouraged. Test taking was promoted; the significance of an exam far exceeded the importance of a pupil. Nonetheless, I did not lose hope. My dream did not die. In my heart, inspired by my parents, and a teacher or two I continued to believe.
I studied on. Often, I wondered whether my work was in vein.
I yearned to inspire those that want to learn. I welcomed the wisdom of students. I understand that those I teach, teach me more. Yet, as the years went by, and the schools became more strident, as students spoke of how they struggle to succeed as defined by standards, I realized I could not; nor could others ever fully validate the invisible process of learning through test scores.
I recognized the anguish in children's expressions. I felt my own angst. The young knew, as do I. Rote is ridiculous. Mechanical memorization and scores on a test do not reap success.
Each day as I entered a classroom I saw smart students wince at the prospect of another meaningless exam. I observed the average pupil pass with little enthusiasm. I understood to my core the curriculum, as mandated by politicians, did little to interest, inspire, or invite scholarship.
I wondered, as does little Leonard, how often and why do we leave our children behind?
George W. Bush devised a program with a stated intent. America must close the achievement gap and Leave No Child Behind. Yet, the chasm expands and many children cannot succeed as they might. Perchance we must consider the dynamics that cause such failures.
In Leonard Hornbach's home state of Florida, citizens are outraged. Property taxes are too high. An older population does not wish to fund the schools. Playground fences are filled with billboards. Businesses supplement education budgets. An economy that serves the needs of tourist has but a modest concern for children.
Thus, the Governor, Charlie Crist calms fears by advocating property tax cuts. He does, as Americans do. He seeks facts to support their every decision and forgets that we cannot decide what is best if we only assess the dollars and cents. While it is true, financial ventures require greater scrutiny. Figures and formulas must be offered. Data must demonstrate there is a need to spend the big bucks. We can and will measure. However, the acquisition of knowledge cannot be calculated as other commodities might be. The slow and random process of learning is not mechanical. It is personal.
As Leonard's parents pose . . .
Kids can't vote, but you better believe they care and their futures are riding on the 2008 election . . . From the mouth of babes comes wisdom.For the upcoming presidential debate, this youngster demands answers from the potential Presidential candidates as well as you, the viewers who vote! Should we continue to accept just getting by and meeting the minimum standards in public education or demand more for ALL children?
Leave the ridiculous test taking curriculum behind and demand we move on to higher education! Your vote counts so deeply consider the educational plans of the 2008 presidential candidates as all our futures are really at stake. At what cost has No Child Left Behind unconstitutionally continued in America?
If society cannot gauge scholarly success, that does not mean there is none. The invisible quality known as knowledge will not be visible on a given date, and available in a particular moment, so that we, the elders might assess it on the day school administrators test.
Americans, we cannot think it wise to etch test scores in stone. A school or a student population survives or dies based on the results of a single examination.
Might we consider, too often adults, particularly those who are childless, or whose offspring have grown, do not wish to invest in our future. Children are a costly expense. Many think the community cannot and should not bear the educational burden. Families ought to furnish what their children need.
People frequently forget, our neighbors are our family. We share space. What effects one will effect us all. "Our" progeny when not prepared to thrive, flounder.
Young people who drop out of high school are unlikely to have the minimum skills and credentials necessary to function in today's increasingly complex society and technological workplace. The completion of high school is required for accessing post-secondary education and is a minimum requirement for most jobs. High school dropouts are more likely than high school completers to be unemployed.Crime increases when curiosity and creativity decrease. Schools, or more accurately students, do not survive when taxes and tests design the curriculum.Additionally, a high school diploma leads to higher income and occupational status. Interestingly, however, many youth who drop out of high school eventually earn a diploma or a GED. One study found that 63 percent of students who dropped out had earned a diploma or GED within eight years of the year they should have originally graduated.
Studies have found that young adults with low education and skill levels are more likely to live in poverty and to receive government assistance. High school dropouts are likely to stay on public assistance longer than those with at least a high school degree. Further, high school dropouts are more likely to become involved in crime.
Statistics do not demonstrate success. A pupil may pass a test after days of rigorous memorization. However, an hour after an examination, material that was not considered relevant fades from the mind.
Perchance we must teach the children, not merely test them. Let us not leave active minds behind.
Sources, Students, the Sadness . .
North Lawndale and the South Side of Chicago. By Jonathan Kozol
Washington Post. Thursday, May 10, 2007; A06
Washington Post. Thursday, May 10, 2007; A06
Posted by Betsy L. Angert on September 10, 2007 at 03:00 PM in Adult Influence on Children, Children, Education, Education or Economics, Emotional Intelligence, No Child Left Behind, School Days | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Students, Schools, Society; When We Pass, We Fail the Whole
Please view Visual and Musical Ode: Whole Child Education
copyright © 2007 Betsy L. Angert. BeThink.org
Educators today learn more than they teach. However, often the lessons are as is the curriculum, limited in scope. A Math instructor tells his tale, and again the sum of the parts do not express the "whole". At the High School of Arts and Technology in Manhattan, instructor Austin Lampros received a lesson he never expected, poor, underperforming students can slide through the system more easily than a well-educated diligent instructor might. Indeed, the circumstances of pupils are perceived as special; mentors are incidental. This realization struck Mister Lampros as strange, or as the New York Times reported, A Teacher Grows Disillusioned After a ‘Fail’ Becomes a ‘Pass.’ Ultimately, this much esteemed Math guru left his position at the High School of Arts and Technology in Manhattan after a "disastrous year"
Lampros, like many educators are unwilling to work in New York City Schools. However, contrary to conventional wisdom, at least in this incident, the neighborhood did not drive the dedicated instructor away. Administrators did. Mister Lampros demonstrated that he cared. He showed an active concern for the young people under his tutelage. Austin Lampros maintained scrupulous logs. Grades, attendance, tardiness were all noted in detail.
This former University professor holds a Master's degrees in both statistics and math education. Lampros has won awards for his teaching at the college level. However, while at the High School of Arts and Technology his every action was questioned. The decisions of an absent student took precedence.
That student, Indira Fernandez, had missed dozens of class sessions, and failed to turn in numerous homework assignments, according to Mr. Lampros’s meticulous records, which he provided to The New York Times. She had not even shown up to take the final exam. She did, however, attend the senior prom.This same administrator admonished the academic. Perhaps, in an attempt to set aside the truer concerns, graduation rates must remain high. Copious notes documenting student performance were disregarded. The information contained in a doctor's note was purposely distorted. Professional opinions were declared irrelevant. What survives is this explanation.Through the intercession of Ms. Geiger, the school’s Principal, Miss Fernandez was permitted to retake the final after receiving two days of personal tutoring from another math teacher. Even though her score of 66 still left her with a failing grade for the course as a whole by Mr. Lampros’s calculations, Ms. Geiger gave the student a passing mark, which allowed her to graduate.
Colleagues of his from the school — a counselor, a programmer, several fellow teachers — corroborated key elements of his version of events. They also describe a principal worried that the 2006 graduation rate of 72.5 percent would fall closer to 50 or 60 percent unless teachers came up with ways to pass more students.
You may recall in April 2006, the New York City School District lured "experienced" educators into the area. The District initiated a program in hopes of attracting highly qualified math or science teachers into the inner city schools. Prospects would receive a home grant, a down payment on an abode. New York City schools were in crisis, and are taking action.
New York city will offer housing subsidies of up to $14,600 to entice new math, science and special education teachers to work in the city's most challenging schools, in one of the most aggressive housing incentive programs in the nation to address a chronic shortage of qualified educators in these specialties.While the program may have succeeded, ultimately, as often occurs new hires do not stay. The system is flawed. No matter what the initial inducement, educators will not violate their own basic values. Mister Lampros, who may not have been among those recruited through this program, who may have been led to a New York City School merely because he was dedicated to do as he believed best stated;To be eligible for the subsidies, teachers must have at least two years' experience. City officials said they hoped the program, to be announced by the city Education Department today, would immediately lead to the hiring of an extra 100 teachers for September and, with other recruitment efforts, ultimately help fill as many as 600 positions now held by teachers without the proper credentials.
“It’s almost as if you stick to your morals and your ethics, you’ll end up without a job,” Mr. Lampros said in an interview. “I don’t think every school is like that. But in my case, it was.”Austin Lampros elected to resign. He returned to his home state, Michigan. Sadly, this aspect of the story may be typical. Many teachers leave the classroom in the first five years. Even those eager to educate the young lose their enthusiasm when official procedures become more important than the true value of people, pupils, or instructors.
Half of Teachers Quit in 5 Years
Working Conditions, Low Salaries Cited
By Lisa Lambert
Reuters.
Tuesday, May 9, 2006; Page A07According to a new study from the National Education Association, a teachers union, half of new U.S. teachers are likely to quit within the first five years because of poor working conditions and low salaries.
Jentis, now a stay-at-home mother of three, says that she could not make enough money teaching in Manhattan to pay for her student loans and that dealing with the school bureaucracy was too difficult.
"The kids were wonderful to be with, but the stress of everything that went with it and the low pay did not make it hard to leave," she said. "It's sad because you see a lot of the teachers that are young and gung-ho are ready to leave."
Mister Lampros may be among many; much anecdotal evidence that shows his story is common. He is also a rare one. What is odd is that this teacher was willing to speak out. Even in this situation, many of the participants were reluctant, or refused to speak on the record.
Ms. [Anne] Geiger, [Principal] declined to be interviewed for this column and said that federal law forbade her to speak about a specific student’s performance. But in a written reply to questions, she characterized her actions as part of a “standard procedure” of “encouraging teachers to support students’ efforts to achieve academic success.”The mother of the errant young woman did speak. Ignoring that her daughter was forced to repeat her senior year in High School, and dismissing that the girl was absent more than two-thirds of the days in her first semester and one third of the time in the second term. Samantha Fernandez defended her daughter. Mom did not mention that Indira failed 11 of 14 tests and quizzes; nor did she discuss that less than half of the required assignments were turned in. What this doting mother did say was . . .
Samantha Fernandez, Indira’s mother, spoke on her behalf. “My daughter earned everything she got,” she said. Of Mr. Lampros, she said, “He needs to grow up and be a man.”In response, in a telephone interview, Mister Lampros shared his recollection of a comment Missus Fernandez offered while in conference with the educator. The distressed mother stated it was important that Indira graduate this year; she could not afford to pay if her daughter were to attend another senior prom in another senior year.
Perhaps, that is an important part of this story. New York educators and Administrators are not alone. They must face societal standards of acceptability. The White House is scrutinizing dropout rates, pupil performance; parents do as well. Numbers are vital statistics. However, more is made of appearances than actuality. As long as all looks fine, it is, or so we are told.
Yet, since the advent of No Child Left Behind data is used to authenticate learning and the quality of instruction. Examination scores tell us our children are knowledgeable. The same figures establish whether a teacher's work is up to par. However, this is not necessarily the case.
12-State Study Finds Falloff in Testing Gains After NCLB
By Scott J. Cech
July 31, 2007
Education WeekSince the enactment of the No Child Left Behind law, test-score improvement among 4th graders in 12 states has fallen off in reading and slowed in math, according to a new study.
The paper also cites National Assessment of Educational Progress scores reflecting a virtual halt to progress in closing racial achievement gaps in reading since the federal law was signed in 2002.
The research, which draws on data from both state tests and the federally administered NAEP, is sure to add fuel to the heated debate over the controversial law as Congress prepares to take up its reauthorization.
“Over the past four years, ‘No Child’ proponents have made very strong claims that this reform is raising student achievement,” said lead author Bruce Fuller, a professor of education and public policy at the University of California, Berkeley, and the director of the Policy Analysis for California Education research center based at Berkeley and Stanford University. “In fact, after NCLB, earlier progress made by the states actually petered out.”
As we read this report and the various interpretations, we realize there were problems with our educational system before this program was initiated. As harmful as teaching to the tests might be, this practice may only be different in the destruction it causes. Critics claim, I include myself among these, No Child Left Behind policies force educators to identify all pupils as though they are the same. The uniqueness of a child is dismissed.
Self-esteem programs honor a child's distinctiveness. However, these strategies do not promote a need for personal accomplishment before praised is bestowed. Children are labeled special, merely because they exist. After reading about Indira Fernandez and the Administrators at the High School of Arts and Technology in Manhattan, many might muse that is the problem. Research might bear this out.
Currently, experts and pedagogical professionals think the promotion of programs that advocate self-assurance above actions may be severely flawed. Studies note, for decades, baby-boomer parents worked to provide their progeny with a sense of worth. Post World War II Moms and Dads felt as though their parents did not acknowledge their inner value as they might have. To ensure that their children would not suffer as they had boomers bestowed much praise on their offspring. A young person need not do anything special to before they were defined as such.
Study finds students narcissistic.
Says trend among college youths can harm society
By David Crary,
Associated Press
February 27, 2007New York - Today's college students are more narcissistic and self-centered than their predecessors, according to a comprehensive new study by five psychologists who worry that the trend could be harmful to personal relationships and American society.
"We need to stop endlessly repeating, 'You're special,' and having children repeat that back," said Jean Twenge, the study's lead author and a professor at San Diego State University. "Kids are self-centered enough already."
Twenge and her colleagues, in findings to be presented at a workshop today in San Diego on the generation gap, examined the responses of 16,475 college students nationwide who completed an evaluation called the Narcissistic Personality Inventory between 1982 and 2006.
The standardized inventory asks for responses to such statements as, "If I ruled the world, it would be a better place," "I think I am a special person," and "I can live my life any way I want to."
The researchers describe their study as the largest ever of its type and say students' inventory scores have risen steadily since the test was introduced in 1982. By 2006, they said, two-thirds of the students had above-average scores, 30 percent more than in 1982.
Narcissism can have benefits, said study co author W. Keith Campbell of the University of Georgia, suggesting it could be useful in meeting new people "or auditioning on 'American Idol.' "
"Unfortunately, narcissism can also have very negative consequences for society, including the breakdown of close relationships with others," he said.
The study asserts that narcissists "are more likely to have romantic relationships that are short-lived, at risk for infidelity, lack emotional warmth, and to exhibit game-playing, dishonesty, and over-controlling and violent behaviors."
Twenge, the author of "Generation Me: Why Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled -- and More Miserable Than Ever Before," said narcissists tend to lack empathy, react aggressively to criticism, and favor self-promotion over helping others.
The researchers traced the phenomenon back to what they called the "self-esteem movement" that emerged in the 1980s, asserting that the effort to build self-confidence had gone too far.
As an example, Twenge cited a song commonly sung to the tune of "Frère Jacques" in preschool: "I am special, I am special. Look at me."
"Current technology fuels the increase in narcissism," Twenge said. "By its very name, MySpace encourages attention-seeking, as does YouTube."
Some analysts have commended today's young people for increased commitment to volunteer work. But Twenge viewed even this phenomenon skeptically, noting that many high schools require community service and many youths feel pressure to list such activities on college applications.
Campbell said the narcissism upsurge seemed so pronounced that he was unsure if there were obvious remedies.
"Permissiveness seems to be a component," he said. "A potential antidote would be more authoritative parenting. Less indulgence might be called for."
However, for me personally narcissism is not a problem. The appearance of what is characterized as I egotism is perhaps the effect of much that thrives in Americas educational system.
Teaching to tests rather than students is problematic. Requiring rote memorization does not help build relationships. Pupils engaged in projects that seem separate from their lives are torn in pieces, as are educators that are discouraged. If a curriculum does not evoke interest, curious, critical thought, and creativity students, and teachers, suffer. Empathy for self and others is taught. A learner must experience, feel it, if they are to understand it.
I theorize today's youth, if anything, do not feel exceptional; yet they are told they are.
We honor our children with awards for attendance. We grant them great grades if they memorize facts, figures, and formulas. If pupils recite rote rules, they are rewarded. If a child can recall and regurgitate on command, accolades are ample. A child knows these are not great accomplishments. However, it seems elders expect little more. I postulate pupils expect more of themselves; however, they are given few opportunities to genuinely perform.
Individuals are infinitely extraordinary from the day of conception. Nonetheless, they receive empty praise. They may learn to rely on this; we all hunger for appreciation. However, I have faith that our youth know these tributes are given without merit. Perhaps, therein lies the problem. We require our youth to do tasks. We demonstrate our approval for these. Yet, we do not teach our offspring to "be." Parents, teachers, and Principals do not help provide our youth with a sense of purpose.
A person is more profound than what they do. When we as individuals impact the live of another, we understand our value. When we are part of the whole, we recognize our worth. My eighty-nine year young cousin Alexander, when asked of what helps him know to his core he is special, shared many stories. Each narrative focused on his relationship to others. Alexander said, when he passes, he wants people to feel as though he "tried." Possibly, the path is more important than the destination.
Alexander succeeds by demonstrating his care. Alexander's success cannot be calculated in numbers; it is apparent in who he is.
Perchance that is the lesson we must teach. When community service is done for a grade, or is a mandated call, then little is accomplished. Students do not feel deeply fulfilled. They accept that they completed the requirement. Obligations differ from altruism. self-sacrifice interestingly enough is its own reward.
Current programs promote compulsory compassion. However, in truth, authentic charitable acts cannot be authorized or mandated. Random acts of kindness are not prerequisites for college.
If today's youth appear narcissistic might it be because we have advanced the idea of achievement. We etch grades in stone. What we "do" is part of our permanent record. Who we are often goes unnoticed, particularly in schools.
Self-esteem, respect for oneself comes from within. No teacher or educational plan can give this to us. Please ponder; evaluate your own experiences. We are all our own worst critics. If I, as a student am able to memorize a formula long enough to take a test, I still may not think myself wise or wonderful. It matters not that I am identified as "special." It may seem as though I act as if nothing matters but me, however, possibly, the opposite is true.
In discussions with those younger than I, frequently I find children, teens, young adults want to feel more whole. They long to be part of a community, to embrace their education fully. Adults express a similar desire. However, opportunities in a world of standardize tests, norms and means are few.
I observe there is a 'disconnect', a strong sense of isolation that creates what we witness.
Students do not feel connected to educators that attempt to fill their heads with facts. Teachers do not think themselves allied with Administrators that supplant priorities. Principals rarely perceive a personal need to educate the children. Agendas must be attended to. Parents often state they have no time to involve themselves, or they do not fully understand of what goes on in the schools. Each places the onus on the other.
If Indira Fernandez did not perform, might we ask why? What happens in her home, her head, or her heart is significant. A student is not a tabla rosa anxiously awaiting the delivery of rote recitations. Nor is an educator an automaton meant to distribute data or monitor the movements of those enrolled in their class. Principals, if they are to be effective must do more than push papers, pass, or fail a pupil.
In life, we each must have a purpose that is larger than ourselves. However, current curriculum does not advance a students' awareness for this.
Perhaps, it is time we expand our horizons. Math is not the only subject; nor is science the one topic that nurtures a mind. Reading, writing, and 'rithmetic cannot fully connect a child to themselves or their community. Granted, each of these components is crucial. However, teaching these alone will not help improve a child as a whole.
Perhaps the issue is not whether Indira passed or failed. Nor is it helpful to blame the instructor, the Principal, or statisticians for what occurs. Might we posit the system society embraces is flawed. As long as we consider our children empty vessels to fill, we negate the fact that they are more than what they do. They may be special as individuals; however, if they do not express themselves in a manner that adds meaning to their lives they will not feel exceptional.
If we continue to educate children with little care for who they are, if we ignore what motivates them, and if we praise them while not providing them with a sense of purpose, then we, as a culture fail. Let us introduce a concept into our curriculum that is now void. The whole must reflect the sum of the parts.
Education, Esteem, Self, Success, and Sources . . .
Posted by Betsy L. Angert on August 2, 2007 at 03:18 PM in Adult Influence on Children, Education, Emotional Intelligence, New York City Schools, No Child Left Behind, School Days | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Overweight Children - Adults Face Widespread Stigma and Strain
copyright © 2007 Betsy L. Angert. BeThink.org
In America and the European Union Overweight Kids Face [a] Widespread Stigma. Only days ago, I contemplated this truth. As I watched a family shop, I was struck. She was young, perhaps ten years old. She was very heavy. I wondered how could one little girl carry so much weight on such a small frame.
The lass was sweet, quite petite, although clearly troubled. She had been shopping with her Mom, her grandmother, and her younger brother. From appearances, it seemed this family was in Target gathering wares for Grandmamma. They did not give the impression of being poor; nor did they look to be wealthy. They were average folks; they could have been you or me.
This family did not dress well. Their clothes were clean, just not stylish. Were this group more fashion conscious pants, shirts, and shoes would have been color-coordinated. Patterns might have blended in a manner that was more appealing. However, I guess they were comfortable in casual apparel. After all, making purchases in a discount department store does not require a person to dress with finesse. Simply covering your body is sufficient for such a chore.
The family of four entered the checkout line. I was standing behind them. Their exchanges were pleasant. The children each chose to purchase an item for themselves. Grandmother and Mom paid for their goods, as did the boy. Then the young woman did her transaction. The cashier rang up the sale. Dollars passed from one hand to another. There was change. The school age girl went to place her pennies, nickels, quarters, and dimes into her tiny purse. A single nickel fell to the ground. The coin made a sound as it plunked to the floor. The girl heard the noise and saw the shiny nickel.
She looked at the currency longingly. Then, this lass turned and glanced at her family. They were walking away. Her brother, mother, and grandmother had not noticed what occurred. The group was not far and yet, not near to the girl. It would only take a moment to pick up the coin and move towards the others. Pensively, the female child considered the nickel. She looked down and then up and down again. Finally, she fled in haste, leaving the lonely coin behind. She never bothered to pick it up, although she did think too.
It did not seem to me that this little lady thought a five-cent piece was not worth much. From appearances, or perhaps I am projecting, recalling my own struggle with excessive weight, her greater concern was the effort involved in bending over to retrieve a small piece of anything. I remember the days, and not too fondly. My heart went out to this child. There, but for the grace of G-d, go I.
I am reminded of the time when I was obese, not pleasing plump, chubby, or fat; I was corpulent. I grew into a size that was twice that of normal quickly. I did not consume gross quantities of food. The portions on my plate, or in hand were not large. It was actually quite startling to see the weight pile on. Pound after pound was added to my body mass. There was no index to guide me. Indeed, I was eating less than I had for years before this gain.
However, my weight gain was not an anomaly. For me, fighting with my body mass was normal. My family was substantial mentally and physically. Many of my relatives are big people, not tall, just wide. The little girl and I seem to share a family shaping, or might I say out of shape. Her mother and Grandmother were large. Her brother was not as rotund; however, he seemed to be ready to tip the scale.
In my family, some were fit. My Grandpop walked for miles, each and every day. He was active and agile; a few relatives are. However, it seems on average, the propensity toward plump was prominent in my world. The younger generations in my own family might have mirrored their elders, or perhaps more accurately did as their parents had. This is true in most families, even the thin ones. However, patterns change. In recent years, Americans are shorter and more stout. For generations, Americans were taller than those in other nations; however, this is changing.
[H]eight has been stagnating in the US for a decade, and Americans are now shorter on average than many Europeans, including not only the very tall Dutch and Scandinavians, but even the citizens of the former East Germany, see John Komlos and Marieluise Baur (2004).This is troubling for many reasons. Not only is our health and life expectancy effected, so too is our income. For years, Economists told us tall persons earn more money than the diminutive do. An inch can increase your net worth by at least a thousand dollars per year. However, recent research reveals the height you achieve in adulthood may not determine your income. Stature may not be the key to financial success.While Americans are not expanding upwards, they continue to expand outwards, and the average American, like the average Briton, is now heavier than the weight that would minimize mortality risk given average height.
Tall men who were short in high school earn like short men, while short men who were tall in high school earn like tall men.If, during our younger years we do not think we are worthy, excellent, brilliant, or outstanding than likely we will not believe we are the best later in life. Often, we trust we are admirable when others act as if we are.That pretty much rules out discrimination. It's hard to imagine how or why employers could discriminate in favor of past height. If tall adolescents—even those who stop growing prematurely—grow up to be highly paid workers, it's got to be because they've got some other trait that employers value. [Nicola Persico, Andy Postlewaite, and Dan Silverman of the University of Pennsylvania] believe that trait is self-esteem. Tall high-school kids learn to think of themselves as leaders, and that habit of thought persists even when the kids stop growing.
For the fatter child, the need for approval weighs on their minds. Much embarrassment is felt, and experienced early on.
Overweight children are stigmatized by their peers as early as age 3 and even face bias from their parents and teachers, giving them a quality of life comparable to people with cancer, a new analysis concludes.At the age of two, nearly three, I recall sitting in the den with a ballpoint pen in hand. I drew lines on my thighs designating exactly where I wanted the excess meat removed. I do not recall being ridiculed at home; nor do I remember peers speaking of my weight.
I did attend summer camp at that age. At two and one half years, I was the youngest camper. Perhaps, being four years younger than all other campers had an effect on me. Indeed, I was left out of much. The counselors were not willing to teach me to swim. My bunkmates did not wish to include me in games. Being a person that loathes and avoids competition, and always did, I had no desire to participate. I was somewhat sedentary.
Possibly the situation demanded it. I could not go off and play on my own. I needed to stay with the group. Yet, I was separate. I sat still for hours while my bunkmates engaged in recreational activities. My situation, although different, mirrors much of what occurs today.
Lack of exercise is a major factor in the growing problem of obesity, both for children and adults, according to Dennis Styne, a UC Davis Medical Center pediatric endocrinologist who is a recognized authority on issues of childhood obesity. "Obesity has become a serious health risk in America, and it is reaching epidemic proportions, even in the pediatric population," Styne says. "Close to 25 percent of America's children and adolescents are now considered overweight, and the numbers are increasing."I developed habits that hurt my already hurting heart. The children ran, jumped, laughed, and enjoyed each other's company. I could not join in. They thought me too young. At an early age, my less active life took its toll. The pounds piled on. Later, as the years passed, I was just lethargic.
They say obese children are victim to teasing, rejection, bullying, and other types of abuse because of their weight. I was fortunate, I did not experience much, if any of this in my youth. However, when I reached the age of sixteen, and added a few more pounds, a phrase was used by a loved one to describe me, "butterball." To this day, every year from Thanksgiving to Easter when the company with the same name advertises their turkeys, I cringe.
"The stigmatization directed at obese children by their peers, parents, educators and others is pervasive and often unrelenting," researchers with Yale University and the University of Hawaii at Manatoa wrote in the July issue of Psychological Bulletin.Research determined the heavier child exposed to such pressure is two to three times more likely to report suicidal thoughts. Frequently, the young and hefty suffer from other health issues. High blood pressure and eating disorders are not uncommon. Yikes, there I am. I was anorexic, then bulimic. My eating was out of order.The paper was based on a review of all research on youth weight bias over the past 40 years, said lead author Rebecca M. Puhl of Yale's Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity.
I have long been certain that my bingeing and purging was not related to my weight. Indeed, doing as I did, did not help me maintain a stable mass. The process stressed my body and my mind. Anorexia and bulimia are burdensome. They are as obesity in many ways. There is great shame associated with starving oneself. Over-eating and puking do not leave one feeling proud. People judge those that do not appear perfect or act in a manner that pleases others. We all criticize ourselves.
"The quality of life for kids who are obese is comparable to the quality of life of kids who have cancer," Puhl said, citing one study. "These kids are facing stigma from everywhere they look in society, whether it's media, school or at home."In a time when children are growing fatter, we can no longer avoid an issue that is pervasive. We must consider that they way people treat us when we are young has an effect throughout our lives. Height and weight evoke a response. That reaction stays with us. At a time when childhood obesity overwhelms the planet, we must consider the effect of this epidemic.Even with a growing percentage of overweight people, the stigma shows no signs of subsiding, according to Puhl. She said television and other media continue to reinforce negative stereotypes.
"This is a form of bias that is very socially acceptable," Puhl said. "It is rarely challenged; it's often ignored."
By 2010, almost 50 percent of children in North America and 38 percent of children in the European Union will be overweight, the researchers said.At times, we as a society must shield children from those that love them most, us. Sadly, parents, teachers, and friends do not realize how they hurt a fragile heart and soul. Teasing is thought to be just in fun. Expecting less of a fat child is considered realistic. Reacting to personal guilt for not caring for a child as you thought best, in a moment, might seem reasonable. However, the harm we do is immeasurable. Children internalize their pain.While programs to prevent childhood obesity are growing, more efforts are needed to protect overweight children from abuse, Puhl said.
A growing body of research shows that parents and educators are also biased against heavy children. In a 1999 study of 115 middle and high school teachers, 20 percent said they believed obese people are untidy, less likely to succeed and more emotional.Fat children are distinct. They stand out in a crowd. Actually, in their own mind they are often larger than life. I know I was. I was so surprised years later when I saw photographs of myself as a camper. I was not obese then. I only thought I was. For me, it was as Lynn McAfee stated, "You hear it so often; it becomes the truth." Even if the words were heard only in my head, they were repeated routinely. The belief that I was fat became my reality. In my teens I grew into the person I long thought I was. I became obese."Perhaps the most surprising source of weight stigma toward youths is parents," the report says.
Several studies showed that overweight girls got less college financial support from their parents than average weight girls. Other studies showed teasing by parents was common.
"It is possible that parents may take out their frustration, anger and guilt on their overweight child by adopting stigmatizing attitudes and behavior, such as making critical and negative comments toward their child," the authors wrote, suggesting further research is needed.
Lynn McAfee, 58, of Stowe, Pa., said that as an overweight child she faced troubles on all fronts.
"It was constantly impressed upon me that I wasn't going to get anywhere in the world if I was fat," McAfee said. "You hear it so often, it becomes the truth."
Her mother, who also was overweight, offered to buy her a mink coat when she was 8 to try to get her to lose weight even though her family was poor.
"I felt I was letting everybody down," she said.
Other children would try to run her down on bikes to see if she would bounce. She had a hard time getting on teams in the playground.
"Teachers did not stand up for me when I was teased," McAfee said.
A study in 2003 found that obese children had much lower quality of life scores on issues such as health, emotional and social well-being, and school functioning.
"An alarming finding of this research was that obese children had (quality of life) scores comparable with those of children with cancer," the researchers reported.
Sylvia Rimm, author of "Rescuing the Emotional Lives of Overweight Children," said her surveys of more than 5,000 middle school children reached similar conclusions.
"The overweight children felt less intelligent," Rimm said. "They felt less popular. They struggled from early on. They feel they are a different species."
Anyone that has ever struggled with their weight knows, trying to take off a few pounds can be a challenge. Eliminating the weight of years of mistreatment takes more effort than most can imagine.
Heavy children are insulted, ignored, rejected, and ultimately resent themselves. They misuse food. The weighty wonders may not appear malnourished; however, they are. The obese do not eat well.
[P]oor nutrition remains an impediment to health in much of the world today, Much less obvious is the idea that nutritional deficits are an important part of the health story in the rich world today. Yet there is a good deal of evidence, even—and in some cases particularly—in populations whose most obvious nutrition-related problem is obesity and over nutrition.Such mass consumption does not serve our children well. Nor do our eating patterns benefit us as we age.
"Obesity rates are increasing fastest among children, and they will carry obesity-related health risks throughout their lives," Ludwig says. "An adult who gains a pound or 2 a year through middle age will be at increased risk. But that is much less dire than the overweight 4- to 6-year-old who gets diabetes at age 14 or 16 and has a heart attack before age 30."Sadly, some of those that were heavy as children are already adults. Older persons, for the most part, do as they did in their childhood. Even if individuals lose the "baby fat," the feelings and ill effects associated with obesity often linger. Lifestyle, habits, health problems are more difficult and daunting than poundage. There are infinite influences on our body and mind. The marketplace matters.Ludwig -- director of the obesity program at Children's Hospital, Boston -- says the childhood obesity epidemic has three phases. The first came in the last decade, when child obesity became common but the public health effects weren't yet felt. Phase two is right now, as we begin to see serious complications such as type 2 diabetes in very young people. Phase three, Ludwig predicts, is coming soon.
"But we still have a little time before these children become young adults with diabetes and start to have heart attacks, stroke, kidney failure, and increased mortality," he says. "It is a massive tsunami headed for the United States. One can know it is coming. But if we wait until we see the ocean level rising over the shore, it will be too late to take action."
The advent of processed foods altered the physique and psyche. Motor vehicles and machines have an effect, A commuter and computer culture counts. The number of calories we consume and do not burn off as earlier generations did effects our overall well-being. There is ample cause for concern.
Today, we stunt our growth upward and expand our girth outward. Perhaps, we need to advance our awareness for what motivates us. Why do we torment the portly? How easy it is to ridicule and judge. Frequently, the tall, the thin, those that appear healthy blame the obviously wounded one. These saintly souls think obesity is a choice. People are not born fat. Perchance that is, in part, true.Poor nutrition and lack of physical activity are responsible for an estimated 300,000 to 600,000 preventable deaths each year.
An estimated one third of all cancers are attributable to poor nutrition, physical inactivity, and being overweight.
It was once thought diabetes or the tendency for this illness was inherited; however, there is ample to reason to believe that is not always true. Might we imagine that nothing occurs in isolation. If we are to cure what ails us, we must be open to options that are not easily observed.
Might we assess why those that gain so easily gravitate to food. I believe for too long we have presumed the answers are simple. It is often claimed obesity runs in families. The genes prime the pump. Numerous researchers prefer placing the blame on parents. Habits are learned. Mothers and fathers are our primary teachers. Schools receive their fair share of culpability. Surely if educational institutions supplied more nutritious fodder children would not eat as they do. Restaurants, food manufacturers all can claim an ounce of responsibility.
We too bear a burden; each of us decides what we will eat and enjoy. We believe we can easily forego exercise. We all are as the little girl. Bending down to pick up the nickel is not a simple task. Our mind may wish to do what we think wise; yet our body says we cannot. The two work in unison.
I believe, too often we do not honor the mind body connection. Possibly, we all are vulnerable to whatever affliction inhabits our bodies. In recent years, we are realizing that many ailments, once thought to be the result of natural causes are related to diet. What we eat has power; it effects the brain and bulk. Might we consider victuals feed us in ways we rarely explore.
To learn how to work with your appetite center, you must first understand it. It's time for you and your brain to become better acquainted.Perchance, we might empathize with the chunky little lass. She is you and me. Might we consider that our culture provides us with foodfare that harms us. Society teaches us habits that hurt us. Some lessons are learned subliminally. Others are fashioned at the dinner table. Possibly, we all would be wise to teach and treat the children well. If we do not attend to the biological, physiological, intellectual, and emotional needs of our progeny, they will suffer as will we all. If one man, woman, or child is diminished, we all are. Little girl, may I help you reach for more than a nickel.As soon as you bite into any food, sensory stimulation of nerve endings on the tongue leads to the release of a number of chemicals, including opioids, into the bloodstream. You release more opioids -- the body's natural versions of drugs like morphine -- when you consume foods high in sugar and fat, creating a powerful, neurochemical drive to overeat those foods.
These opioids and other chemicals enter the bloodstream and carry their messages to the hypothalamus, which sends out yet another set of chemicals to regulate appetite. The more flavors your taste buds register, the more stimulated the hypothalamus becomes, releasing the hunger-promoting hormone neuropeptide Y. When you taste a lot of flavors at once, the brain releases a lot of neuropeptide Y.
Meanwhile, in response to the smell and taste of food, your stomach produces the hormone ghrelin, which also stimulates appetite. It continues to produce this hormone until you eat enough food to literally fill your stomach and stretch the stomach wall. Farther down the line, in your intestines, levels of several hormones rise to varying degrees -- depending on the nature of your meal -- either inducing more hunger or turning off hunger..
The thick of it . . .
Thursday, July 12, 2007; 3:54 AM
Posted by Betsy L. Angert on July 13, 2007 at 01:44 PM in "Take me as I am!", Adult Influence on Children, Calories. Cells., Childhood Obesity, Diabetes, Eating Disorders or Habits, Food Folly, Habits, Health, Nature or Nurture, Nutrition, Quality of Life, Teach The Children, Weight, When Will I Be Right? | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Boys Will Be Boys; Write, Reclaim Their Voices
Jacques Derrida - Fear of Writing
© copyright 2007 Betsy L. Angert
I have not read the book; thus, any recommendation would be based on very little knowledge. Nevertheless, upon seeing the title and a short review of the text, the book, Boy Writers, Reclaiming Their Voices, I was reminded of an important topic; boys have been denied their right to be heard. As men, they do not speak freely. As I looked at the title, I pondered what I think is a serious problem. I was intrigued by the prospect of promoting a method of teaching that honors and motivates boys to speak, to share their voice in the writing.
I have not read the book; thus, any recommendation would be based on very little knowledge. Nevertheless, upon seeing the title and a short review of the text, the book, Boy Writers, Reclaiming Their Voices, I was reminded of an important topic; boys have been denied their right to be heard. As men, they do not speak freely. As I looked at the title, I pondered what I think is a serious problem. I was intrigued by the prospect of promoting a method of teaching that honors and motivates boys to speak, to share their voice in the writing.
As an author, as a Language Arts instructor, as a person that truly believes we have done a disservice to our young boys, I decided to dive into the material offered online and read of this tome. I was interested in what I might discover. I am well aware, that in America, we have forced boys to disconnect from their feelings. As toddlers males are trained to be tough. They are told to be self-sufficient. Even baby boys hear the words, "Stand up and take it like a man." In other words, do not share your feelings. Act as though you do not have them.
Parents do not chatter endlessly about anything and everything with their male offspring. Nor do they make and maintain eye contact with boys in the same way they might with girls. This latter truth surprised me. I had not thought about it until I read the research. After acquiring this knowledge, I assessed myself. I noticed that I did look deeply into the eyes of females, even those I was not emotionally close to. Yet, when I spoke with males that I had a deep connection with, I frequently looked away.
Fathers, male role models are less available for their sons. They are often off, doing as tradition dictates; they are providing for their families. When Dads and lads are together they rarely speak of the deeper dynamics. If is safer to stay on the surface or go play ball. Too often boys are miserable; yet they appear content. There are expectations, conventions, and there is so little fulfillment .
We might wonder why are many young men dropping out of high school. What is the reason fewer lads enter college. Has today's American culture created a gender gap? It seem obvious to me, it has. Might we consider the data, while remembering statistics are not static. Cultural environments evolve. Our choices can and do make a difference.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics boys drop out or are expelled from school in higher numbers than girls. And male students are three times more likely to be enrolled in special education programs.Some say many males believe they need not be scholars; money can be made elsewhere, easily. However, this is not necessarily true. Moreover, the almighty dollar does not always bring happiness. What brings the greatest joy is passion. Sadly, few boys feel they have any; they certainly are not finding it in school. Boys are dropping out of high school en masse.
Female students graduate high school at a higher rate than male students. Nationally, 72 percent of female students graduated, compared with 65 percent of male students.Some think this is a sign of progress. Years ago, women were not pursuing their potential. Programs were established to help young girls succeed. Young women were encouraged to speak up, to participate, and achieve. The numbers show they have. Thus, some conclude there is nothing to worry about.
Yet, perhaps there is. What occurs in the lower grades continues to have an effect as adolescents become young adults.
There are more men than women ages 18-24 in the USA — 15 million vs. 14.2 million, according to a Census Bureau estimate last year. But nationally, the male/female ratio on campus today is 43/57, a reversal from the late 1960s and well beyond the nearly even splits of the mid-1970.Although we see the differences between men and women, boys, and girls and conclude we must address these, throughout society there are restrictions. Many are self-imposed, others are mandated by government.
Federal laws pose additional challenges. Under No Child Left Behind, for example, schools must track data by race and gender, which helps educators pinpoint vulnerable populations.While this may be true, there is power in day-to-day interactions. What occurs in the classrooms and in our homes can and does have a profound effect on the outcome. Educators and the community influence the lives of boys and men. Any of us can inspire or inhibit the active minds and vibrant hearts of boys. We must be open to who boys [and girls] are as people, as individuals, and ignore the stereotypes.Yet, because of potential conflicts with federal laws created to ensure gender and racial equity, educators "can't target resources to where they see the need," says Deborah Wilds of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which finances college scholarships for underrepresented kids. "You know that the kids least likely to graduate are a particular gender or ethnic background, but then you have to walk a fine line in how you serve them."
Author Christina Hoff Sommers attributes the drop [out rates and low enrollment in college] to early stereotyping of boys as "too aggressive" and "non-academic." In her book, The War Against Boys, Sommers writes that many boys don't receive enough social support and mentoring to become straight-A students and therefore become disinterested in higher education.Perhaps, this is true. Social support affects our attitudes. Girls are often trained to please. The praise of Mommy and Daddy can be infinitely rewarding. Boys are typically raised to be independent. They are thought successful when they are self-made, strong-minded, steadfast, and stoic. Stimulation for a strapping man often is said to come from within. Young men do not have permission to be effected by their environment. We all know, or have heard, "Boys do not cry."
In truth, they do; however, the tears are suppressed. Action or reactive behaviors supplant intellectual energy for many of our lads. Aggression, or depression, often replaces an academic interest. This coupled with the fact that curriculums are frequently dry, does not serve our male students well.
Young learners barely perceive the relevance. It is difficult for children to conceive of being engaged in their learning. Boys, and girls alike, struggle to connect to the lessons presented in their classrooms. At times, the only motivator is a grade or what their parents will give them if they receive an "A" on their report card.
If we as educators wish to truly teach, we must meet our students where they live. While many may reside on Main Street or on Maple Drive, just adjacent to the campus, each student dwells in a world that is uniquely their own. Imagine if we treated each boy [and girl] as a distinctive being, if we provided him with opportunities to express their inner most feelings truly and fully, if we let our male [and female] pupils teach us how to best facilitate their growth.
Instruction begins when you, the teacher,
learn from the learner; put yourself in his place so that you may understand
. . . what he learns and the way he understands it.
~ Soren Kierkegaard
Author Ralph Fletcher apparently envisions such possibilities, and addresses the uniqueness of each life in his book. The writer wants to help us help each young man. He presents his philosophies and practices inBoy Writers, Reclaiming Their Voices. As I peruse the contents, I see much in this material that speaks to me.
In Chapter 17, Boys and Writing: Persnickety Questions, I read the author's response to "What do you do when a kid crosses the line in his writing and goes too far?" I marveled for Mister Fletcher offered displeasure with the concept of crossing the line that mirrors my own. Life is not so simple and often lines are subjective. Fletcher acknowledges that at times, there must be a discussion of content; nevertheless, we must consider the person and circumstances. Most importantly, we must consider the manner in which we communicate. Every action is a cause and there will be an effect. Educators must be cognizant of how deeply we effect our lads.
Years ago, I read an amazingly insightful tome, Real Boys, by William Pollack Ph.D. My reflecting on the research Pollack presented helped me to realize that often, even when I thought I was connecting to a boy, I was disengaging. Much of what our culture teaches us is acted out unconsciously. If we are to be good teachers we must consider the lack of noise, as well as what is said, how it is stated, and why.
"While it may seem as if we live in a man's world," reports Pollack, "we do not live in a boy's world." Many boys today are struggling either silently, with low self-esteem and feelings of loneliness and isolation, or publicly, by acting out feelings of emotional and social disconnection through anger and acts of violence against themselves or their friends and families. While academic performance and self-esteem are low, the rates of suicide and depression are on the rise. As the recent tragedies in Jonesboro, Arkansas, and Edinboro, Pennsylvania demonstrated, boys today are in crisis--on a national scale.As I review the musings of Ralph Fletcher, in Boy Writers, I am reminded of the "silent crisis" boys suffer. Too many boys present a face of strength; yet, they are not. Young men fear being exposed, publicly or privately. Schools can be a war zone. Teacher conferences might feel like hand to hand combat. Lads often feel isolated, insecure, are melancholy, miserable, and confused although they may appear tough, cheerful, and confident.
Pollack challenges conventional expectations about manhood and masculinity that encourage parents to treat boys as little men, raising them through a toughening process that drives their true emotions underground.Perchance Fletcher does the same. Boys need an outlet for expression. One would hope that they could articulate what they think and feel in words, through writing. Young men need not write from the instructor's point of view. They have their own.
The object of teaching a child is to enable him to get along without a teacher.
~ Elbert Hubbard [American Author, Editor and Printer, (1856-1915)]
Two teachers, Mary Lee and Franki, think and write about their lives as readers. On their blog, A Year of Reading. Franki presents an interview with her friend Ralph Fletcher, author of Boy Writers. The discussion reveals much.
A Year of Reading: What is the big message that you want readers to leave with in Boy Writers?Possibly, we as educators must realize that each child, boy or girl, teaches us the best way to teach them. We must pay attention in class.Ralph Fletcher: Many of our writing classrooms are not meeting the needs of boys. They are not inviting, stimulating places for boy writers. We don't welcome the strengths, passions, and quirks of boy writers. No wonder test data show that boy writers perform far below girls. If we don't do a better job of engaging boys and pulling them into our writing community, well, we're going to lose them. We already are. Test results nationwide show boys performing far below girls on writing tests.
A Year of Reading: As the dad of 4 boys, how do you hope that classrooms will change to meet the needs of boys?
Ralph Fletcher: It's probably too late for my sons. Joseph, my youngest, is in 8th grade. But there are other Josephs coming up. This book is for them.
There is a scene in the movie "Big" where the toy company executives explain a new toy to the character played by Tom Hanks and he frowns: "Well, that's not fun!" Boy writers feel something similar. They quickly learn the limits of the school writing game. Can't write fantasy. Can't write comics. Can't write stories with any fighting, hitting, weapons, farting, war. Can't draw illustrations. That's not fun! No wonder so many boys turn off from writing and see it as a "girl thing." I'm proposing what may seem like a radical idea: Each one of us should look at our writing classrooms from a boy's perspective and honestly ask ourselves: Does this environment engage boys? If not, let's make some changes. In Boy Writers I suggest many ways we need to alter our classrooms.
My friend Don Murray says "Do the writing only you can do." I'd like to see writing classrooms where teachers don't merely tolerate but encourage boys to do the kind of writing only boys can do. I'd like to see boys allowed to write stories along the lines of Jack Gantos' books and the Captain Underpants series, to name a few. Boys' pieces would include war, humor, adventure, danger, sarcasm, and satire.
A Year of Reading: Do you see the same patterns in boys' reading?
Ralph Fletcher: Well, I'm not a reading specialist but there are strong parallels between reading and writing. Writers like Jeff Wilhelm have pointed out that boys are drawn to texts we may not value: comics, video game guides, etc. It bothers me that my son Joseph would rather watch TV than read. Yet, this morning before the bus came, he sat reading his Lacrosse magazine. Reading is reading, right?
Sadly, I think we often give kids more choice in reading than we do in writing. Many teachers allow students to choose their books but give them very little choice as to what to write about. If we believe young readers need to choose books that interest them, shouldn't the same thing be true for young writers?
A Year of Reading: What role do teachers play in helping boys become writers?
Ralph Fletcher: It's huge! Every day we give kids explicit and implicit messages about themselves as writers. The boys may not show it but they are listening. They want our acceptance and approval. We haven't talked much about praise, but I think it may be more important than we imagined.
As a parent, I used to take my 3 or 4 year olds to Chuck E. Cheese's. Did I like those places? No! I find them loud and frantic. The canned music is obnoxious. The food is pretty bad. But my boys wanted to go. Did I judge them, or criticize them for wanting to go to Chunk E. Cheese's? No, I took my kids there because I know that little kids honestly and sincerely like the Chuck E. Cheese environment. It engages them. It's a place tailor-made for their raucous energy. They feel at home when they're at Chuck E. Cheese's. In a similar way, we shouldn't judge boy writers negatively for their zany choice of topic, their earthy humor or violence. This is who they are. This is where they live.
Ultimately every teacher plays the role of host of the classroom. Will boys feel welcome, or unwelcome, at the party? If they don't feel welcome, they won't write. It's up to us.
We must recall the purpose of a teacher is not to read or recite to his or her pupils. It is not to impart impertinent information. The system need not dictate the directive. A bureaucrat does not know our students. Students, particularly boys flee when they feel they are not understood or able to express themselves. There is no bliss to follow.
Educators must again facilitate individual growth, before it is too late. Fletcher acknowledges it may be too late for his sons. It was likely too late for him. Sadly, men for generations suffer in silence before they teach themselves what they did not learn at home or in school, to express themselves with words. Oh were we to teach our boys [our girls] to be expressive when they were young.
Learning is something students do, NOT something done to students.
~ Alfie Kohn [Writer, Speaker on Human Behavior, Education, and Parenting]
Please refer to these references for more thought-provoking discussion . . .
Posted by Betsy L. Angert on May 4, 2007 at 11:00 PM in "Take me as I am!", Adult Influence on Children, Americana, Art of Loving, Have or Be, Desire to Learn, Education, Emotional Intelligence, Isolation. Insulation. , Looking at Life, Nature or Nurture, School Days, Why I Write | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Ed Week. 'Math Anxiety' Confuses the Equation for Students
© copyright 2007 Betsy L. Angert
Education Week is discussing "Math Anxiety." The American Association for the Advancement of Science is about to embark on their annual endeavor, assessing Math and Science in the schools. A seminar is planned and educators are looking forward to the analysis. A precursor to the meeting evokes this discussion, 'Why might people, pupils have anxiety about Mathematics." I know why. I lived with this angst for decades.
Social scientists thought the reason for such stress was a simple one. I loathe that notion. For me, nothing is "just that simple!" I believe life is complex. Learning is an intricate process, more so than any of us might imagine. The individual nuances that comprise our unique being cloud an already complicated reality. Each step involved in erudition expands our horizons. Every aspect of a problem is part of a broader evolution. The whole is far greater than the sum of the parts.
When we consider a triangle, we might recall the rote formula we all memorized as children. The angles added together will equal 180 degrees. Well, while this is true when mathematicians calculate in a two dimensional world, the globe on which we live is three-dimensional, some think it is four.
Math, more so than any other subject, can release stressors in the brain. The source of these can be felt in the heart and the soul. When studying arithmetic there is an accepted belief; answers are correct or they are wrong. Few professors focus on the more important process, why does a formula work. What does each calculation mean; how might one measure define the whole or a part? How and why are the recommended actions relevant?
Pupils rarely comprehend the underlying principles. Therefore, students do not understand the elements. Hence, they are left feeling as though they cannot succeed. Many will not. Learners do not have, what for them is the necessary information. Sadly, with all the recently imposed curriculum constraints, scholars are not afforded the luxury of learning in a manner that might meet their needs. Facts and formulas are imposed; thus, the trauma.
When we cannot conceive that we will achieve, we will not. What we do in one academic discipline affects our performance in other areas. Researchers are now realizing that they must address "Math Anxiety." Pupils are the priority; life principles influence learning in a profound way. Just as the experts are now noticing a struggle with Math can change a life. It altered mine greatly.
I was once an A+ Mathematics student. I excelled in Algebra. I began studying when I was very young, before preschool. Math was my pleasure and then, a teacher turned my love into panic. "Arithmetic Angst" set in.
'Math Anxiety' Confuses the Equation for StudentsPlease allow me to share more of my own story. I went to a small high school. Eight hundred students attended classes school-wide. Pupils were tracked according to their skills. I was placed in the upper-level classes.
Researchers delve into causes and implications of fear of the subject.
By Sean Cavanagh
Coverage of education research is supported in part by a grant from the Spencer Foundation.
Vol. 26, Issue 24, Page 12Stellar athletes, successful entrepreneurs, and motivational speakers like to say that pressure makes diamonds. The higher the stakes and the harder the circumstances, the thinking goes, the more likely we are to overcome our fears and doubts and produce results.
If only it were that simple in mathematics.
In recent years, researchers and educators have delved further into the topic of “math anxiety,” or the ways in which students’ lack of confidence in that subject undermines their academic performance. Today, the issue is receiving renewed attention from academic scholars and others, who believe that developing a better understanding of the causes and implications of math anxiety is a key to improving achievement for many students.
Emotional and cognitive factors in learning, including math anxiety, were scheduled to be explored at a seminar in San Francisco this weekend at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The AAAS, which is based in Washington, is an international professional association of scientists.
“It’s easy for people to hear of this and dismiss it. They hear of it and say, ‘Why is this a problem?’ ” said Mark H. Ashcraft, a professor of cognitive psychology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, who was slated to speak on the topic at the AAAS gathering.
“It affects people’s academic performance,” he said of such anxiety. “It affects people’s career choice. It’s not just an attitude or feeling that can be ignored.”
When he first began examining the impact of anxiety on math performance, Mr. Ashcraft assumed that students’ unease or nervousness amounted to “an attitude,” as he recalls it, rather than a phobia with a direct link to the brain’s processes. “I was wrong,” he says now.
A number of researchers, including Mr. Ashcraft, say there is evidence that anxiety disrupts student performance in math by wreaking havoc with “working memory.” Such capacity is a type of short-term memory individuals use to retain a limited amount of information while working on a task—and block out distractions and irrelevant information. Anxiety can sap students’ working memory during tests, but in other problem-solving situations, too.
In the Spring and Fall of my first year, on our final exam, I received the only A+. Each test consisted of twenty word problems. Oh, how I loved these. My instructor insisted, all work must be displayed. A correct answer without work was awarded no credit. He wanted to ensure that we understood the process and why it works. A right or wrong answer meant little to this marvelous Math master.
Then it happened. I was enrolled into Miss Zs class the following year. I had no trouble with complex conceptual concepts in the past. Yet, I had many struggles with this teacher personally. While I acknowledge . . .
'Conceptual Barriers'This was not my situation. The paradox of incompatible psyches was. Miss Z was a woman that saw the world as black or white, right or wrong. When she "explained" a problem she went through the steps one by one, never expressing the thought behind the process. A proof was a proof. This mathematician went from point A to B without clarification. For her, it was "Just that simple." If only she elucidated the concepts. I might have been enlightened. Oh, how I long for Mister K, the colossal connoisseur of Math Meaning.
Some evidence also suggests that anxiety is more of a factor in math than in other subjects.While students who are anxious about math sometimes are equally apprehensive about other subjects, that anxiety does not undermine their performance in areas such as verbal skill to the same extent it does in math, Mr. Ashcraft and others say. And while the public may be inclined to see anxiety as simply a byproduct of a student not understanding a math concept or topic, researchers believe students’ self-doubts can in fact be a prime cause of those struggles.
Students feel more anxiety in math partly because they are dealing with so many concepts and procedures that are foreign to them, said Robert S. Siegler, a professor of cognitive psychology at Carnegie Mellon University, in Pittsburgh, who has examined children’s thinking abilities in math and science. Once students realize they do not grasp a math concept, the internal pressure grows.
“Math entails certain conceptual barriers that lead people to read the same passage over and over again and not understand it,” Mr. Siegler said. By contrast, in reading a history lesson, students are likely to recognize vocabulary, themes, and ideas, even if they do not understand all the implications of a particular passage.
“You don’t feel like you totally didn’t understand it, and you’re just floundering,” he said.
My parents tried to have me moved to another classroom. Perhaps another teacher could help me. However, when attending a small school there are few options and less leeway than there might have been elsewhere. My High School as a whole was magnificent. The educators exemplary. There was only the one, the instructor that changed my life. I had no desire to leave what was beneficial to me. A better Math education might be found; however, at what cost. My family and I chose this institution, for overall, it was the best.
Still, with each passing day greater anxiety set in. I frequently sought assistance from Miss Z. On every occasion, I left in tears. Clearly, she did not care to explain in a manner that might assist me. Her words were curt; they cut like a knife. I, on the other hand, did care. I expressed my extreme concern. I had an aptitude for abstract concepts throughout my life and knew to my core I could, I would understand if only. . . .
What I did comprehend was I was lost, lost in my longing for knowledge and a devoted, understanding instructor! Confusion became my constant companion.
In his research, Mr. Ashcraft has found that anxiety tends to have the most powerful impact on students when they are working on certain types of math problems—typically those with larger numbers, or those requiring multiple steps.Interestingly, these conceptual challenges were never concerns of mine. I longed to use my capacity for carrying, borrowing, and long division. I pride myself on my amazing memory. However, when I feel my spirit is suffocated, when I feel certain that success in a given situation is not likely I freeze. Miss Z never expressed any confidence in my skills. I imagine that she saw my papers and placed an "F" at the top without even reviewing my attempts. Although, admittedly, I cannot be certain. Still, I relate.Individuals with high levels of math anxiety tend to rush through problems, making them prone to errors, the UNLV researcher has concluded. Those math-anxious students also have far more difficulty on problems that require processes such as “carrying” numbers than on questions where such steps are not necessary.
In a 2001 study, published by Mr. Ashcraft and Elizabeth P. Kirk, now a postdoctoral fellow at the Georgia Institute of Technology, the researchers concluded that math-anxious students struggle on problems involving carrying, borrowing, and long division. Those processes require a lot of working memory, they concluded, a function that is easily disrupted among students prone to math anxiety.
“[A]nxious individuals devote attention to their intrusive thoughts and worries, rather than the task at hand,” Mr. Ashcraft explained in a 2002 paper discussing that study. “In the case of math anxiety, such thoughts probably involve preoccupation with one’s dislike or fear of math, one’s low self-confidence. [P]aying attention to these intrusive thoughts acts like a secondary task, distracting attention from the math task.”
'Choking Under Pressure'Oh yes, these strategies will work. If I fear failing, I struggle to breathe when taking a test. If my heart pounds faster when I am timed, then immerse me in all that breeds misery for me. These theories make sense in some convoluted universe.
Others have sought to better identify which students are most prone to the effects of anxiety in math. Sian L. Beilock, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Chicago, found that students who had high amounts of working-memory capacity were, in fact, most susceptible to seeing their performance fall in math, on more complicated problems.Ms. Beilock and Thomas H. Carr, a professor of psychology at Michigan State University, in East Lansing, summarized their findings in a 2005 paper published by the American Psychological Society, titled “When High-Powered People Fail: Working Memory and ‘Choking Under Pressure’ in Math.”
Students with a good amount of working memory rely on “really intensive strategies” to solve math problems, such as keeping track of numbers in their heads as they move from step to step, Ms. Beilock explained in an interview. That approach serves them well on relatively simple math problems, but not more complicated ones, she said.
In higher-pressure situations, such as timed tests, or where researchers put students under additional stress, those high-memory students fare more poorly. Performance pressure sucks the working-memory that has served them so well previously. By contrast, individuals with relatively little working-memory capacity do not seem to suffer as much, Ms. Beilock said.
The idea that students with a lot of working memory—who tend to be better students—fare more poorly under pressure is counterintuitive, Ms. Beilock acknowledged. And it has implications for evaluating student performance through tests, she said.
“Testing is hitting people who would normally perform the best, the hardest,” she said. Because of the impact of pressure on exam performance, she said, “it’s dangerous to [make] conclusions about ability from the test.” Performance pressure among top students, she added, could be pulling them down on tests.
Still, research has shown that students can learn to overcome anxiety, Ms. Beilock said. One strategy simply involves practice with math problems, which can make it easier to retrieve answers from memory. Another is to train students to become more accustomed to working under pressure by having them take timed practice tests, for example.
Although there has been little definitive research on what makes math anxiety worse, some scholars have suggested that math teachers or parents can ratchet up the anxiety of students by placing unrealistically high demands on them, or by showing annoyance when concepts aren’t quickly mastered, while providing little academic support. Mr. Ashcraft also points out that math anxiety is somewhat higher among women than men.Exactly!!!!!!!! The external and internal pressures placed on a student cause great suffering. These are far more volatile than any conceptual barrier, at least they were and are for me.
Sheila M. Ford, a former elementary math resource teacher and principal in Washington, believes anxiety is just as likely to affect students in other subjects. But she also believes students’ uneasiness in math tends to rise faster if they sense that a teacher does not have mastery of the material.At times, the teacher may have knowledge and is prepared to facilitate growth; however, sometimes educators forget that the way in which they communicate, verbally, and nonverbally matters. Teachers that are rushed, overwhelmed with paperwork, insensitive to individual student needs can harm a pupil. It is true, if a child fails in one discipline they are likely to falter in another, perhaps every academic study. Their sense of themselves is also reduced.“It goes back to teacher preparation and knowledge of the subject matter,” said Ms. Ford, a former member of the governing board that sets policy for the National Assessment of Educational Progress. “If the teacher’s uncomfortable with the curriculum, it will be noticeable to the students.”
An instructor has more power than they might recognize or accept. Individuals are fragile and if we lump them into one frame and forget how easily effected they are then we have not done as we aspired to do.
"Math Anxiety" is not mere folly. It involves more than a momentary stress or a single subject. If we are to serve our students well, we must evaluate a larger equation. It is not only what goes on in a classroom, or on a piece of paper; the entire process must be questioned and thought through.
As a Math anxious student, I never forgot this scenario. The repercussions benefited me when I later became a teacher. I understand the importance of patience. I comprehend that any given student might be brilliant behind what appears to be a bumbling façade. I acknowledge that if I as an instructor am not presenting material in a manner that meets the pupils needs I must find an alternative. All of this was solidified in my mind years later.
I was substitute teaching in a High School Math class. These students were also tracked. I found myself in a precarious situation, teaching upper level Advanced Placement students in a very affluent, well-educated District. I confessed my sins to the class, telling them that as much as I once loved Math and expected to study it in college, after my own High School experience, I left Mathematics, Geometry, Calculus, and Trigonometry behind. I asked them to assist me; they would have to instruct each other. I requested volunteers. Knowledgeable students came to the board and explain problems as they offered solutions. They went through each equation step-by-step. I was dumbfounded. The progression was so clear; the steps made perfect sense. My gosh, I could do this work. If only all those years were not wasted.
I thanked the students for teaching me in a manner that met my needs. They were clear, patient, willing to answer questions, and most importantly, they did not judge me. Although I admitted to my shortcomings, these lovelies did not define me as incompetent. These empathetic souls actually understood my anxiety. Perhaps, that was the greatest treasure.
Posted by Betsy L. Angert on February 19, 2007 at 11:58 PM in Adult Influence on Children, Desire to Learn, Discussion, Dreams Live and Die , Education, Emotional Intelligence, Fear, Love of Learning, School Days, Students Minds Stopped, Success. Failure., Teach The Children | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Are Stepparents Real Parents? Are Biological Parents Best?
© copyright 2007 Betsy L. Angert
More than a month ago, I began writing this treatise. The significance of stepparents and adopted parents was on my mind. Gerald R. Ford had passed and there was ample discussion of his heritage. Gerald Rudolff Ford Senior did not father his son in a biological sense. Still, the elder Ford was Daddy. Jerry Ford spoke of his father often and how significant he was in the his life. The elder Ford raised his son as any parent would, even though he was actually a stepparent. Ford, the President was not adopted until he in his twenties. At that age, an adoption was perhaps a gesture; after all Jerry Ford was legally an adult. Gerald R. Ford Junior wanted to honor his father or the man that, young Jerry truly felt was Daddy.
I too was fathered by a man not my biological match. For years, this gentle human choose to relate to me as if I was his own offspring. Legally, we had no connection. Let us call him "Adam," was my stepparent. Yet, this soft-spoken man was my Dad. Long before I could, with permission from the government, call him Daddy he nurtured my heart, mind, and spirit. I too am adopted; my adoption was long in coming. For years my biological father, perchance, we can title him Michael, refused to give his permission. In some states, possibly all, this is necessary. As I listened to President Ford's history, I thought of how it mirrored my own.
My natural father, Michael was extremely wealthy and aloof, as was President Ford's. My birth father could be abrasive, though fortunately not abusive as our President's father was. Perhaps that is why my biological parents were together for more years than the President's were. Still, there are parallels that I think important.
Leslie Lynch King, the biological father of our former President, beat his wife, Dorothy Ayer Gardner, two weeks after the baby's birth. The baby, the man we now know as Jerry, was named Leslie Lynch King Junior. However, life changed after the assault. Dorothy moved in with family and ultimately, years after her divorce from Mister King met a mild manner paint salesman, Gerald Rudolff Ford. The two married. Mister Ford and Dorothy Ford changed the name of their two-year-old toddler. Young Leslie became Gerald Rudolff Ford Junior. The lad was not officially adopted; still, he was Mister Ford's son in every way that mattered.
The Ford family lived a solid and stable life.
Ford grew up in a middle class family. He was a healthy, industrious youth who helped out with the chores."Indifference" was not a term the President used to define Gerald R. Ford Senior; nor is it the word I would choose to define my Dad Adam. However when speaking of Michael, my natural father the utterance, "indifference" seems most apt!When he was 12 or 13, Ford's parents told him he was adopted. He first met his biological father when he was 17 and would see him only one other time. Young Ford was bitter about his wealthy father's indifference toward him. He called their first meeting the most traumatic experience of his youth.
President Gerald R. Ford, often proudly mused, he was a Ford, not a Lincoln. Just as a Ford automobile is considered a car for common people, Gerald Ford thought himself average. The former President was as his Dad, average, a workingman. He was everyman. Leslie Lynch King Senior, Ford's birth father was as a Lincoln vehicle, luxury defined him. Lavishness did not describe young Jerry. He was his "[step]father's" son!
Gerald Rudolff Ford Junior felt as I do, the man I call Daddy may not have been part of the birthing process. Nevertheless, he was there for me, he was with me always. My Dad lives large in my heart and in my mind. Most of my habits are his. I am Daddy's little girl!
Many adopted or stepchildren feel as strong bond with a parent that is not a blood relative. People that do share Deoxyribonucleic acid [DNA] are often disconnected. Yet, the courts do not necessarily honor such truths, a stepparent can be a real father or mother. The bias towards gay couples may have helped to cloud the issue.
Are Stepparents Real Parents?The two split; bad feelings ruled what was no longer a family roost. You may relate as I do. My biological parents appeared to be picture perfect. We had a gorgeous, very large home, in an upper Middle Class suburb. For my eldest sister's twelfth birthday, an extension was built onto the house so that she might have a private entrance. Life looked good; many thought our family was great. Oh, the stories I might tell.
By Po Bronson
Time Magazine
Wednesday, May. 17, 2006This week the Supreme Court let stand a ruling, that ultimately could affect as many as one-third of all Americans — anyone in a stepfamily. But you'll probably never realize it from any news reports on the ruling.
The case comes out of Washington State. Sue Carvin and Page Britain were lesbians living together since 1989. Their baby, L., was born in 1995, using an at-home artificial insemination kit and some sperm donated from their gay friend. Page Britain carried L. and gave birth, but Sue Carvin became the stay-at-home mom while Page worked to support the family. Their child called Sue "Mama" and Page "Mommy."
For several years, they were a model of lesbian co-parenting.
I recall the day that my Mom walked out. My natural parents had been together for twenty years and ten days. One might think that after two decades plus, after sharing a bed, babies, and billions of memories together, a couple would know for certain that they are right for each other. Considering the two dated extensively prior to matrimony, one might believe that they thought their togetherness was a treasure, one to keep eternally.
Yet, my experience said that this was not true. The day was April 14. It was a Sunday. On most every day of rest we, as a family went out to dine at a local eatery, Litton's, in Philadelphia. The restaurant is no longer there. Eventually the business folded, just as the marriage did. Perchance, my parents were modeling dissolution.
Might that be the destiny for many? After watching a relationship sever, we have a frame of reference. We know how do end an association. I apologize for the digression. I was merely thinking aloud.
I return to the telling. That particular evening was an odd one. The air was ominous. Every moment was unusual. I did not know why. My father actually spoke to me. That alone was somewhat strange or strained. He said we were going to "Lin Ton's" as though dinner would be a Chinese dining experience. I always ordered fried shrimp, on this occasion, I asked for what I usually loathe, "Chicken in the basket." My elder sisters ate that meal regularly and I thought I might try it.
A conversation ensued after we requested our food. It revolved around cleaning bedrooms, maids, money, and obliquely values. My Mom concluded we, her husband, and by extension, her children had none. We were spoiled, stained by materialism, and motivated by money. My Mom got up from the table and walked out. She returned days later, and initiated divorce proceeding.
I was eight years of age at the time and thankfully not connected to Michael, my natural father. I was perhaps less influenced by Michael's love of money, for my biological father never wanted my birth. He had hired someone else to raise me. Fortunately, a very "real" woman did look after me for many years.
When I was still quite young, the man that would eventually become my Dad entered my life. I was five. At the time. My Mom returned to college, realizing that she wanted and needed to create a life for herself. She has a brilliant mind and thought it best she use it! "Daddy" was a classmate of hers. They were in a study group together. The academics often met in our home.
There was no romance between them before my natural parent's split. It was not even a thought, that all came much later. Nevertheless, the man in my life, the man I bonded with was an outsider, not a member of my family.
My story may not be similar to your own; however, I trust that many, according to statistics, at least a third of you are intimately familiar with stepfamilies.
Consider that for every 1,000 couples with children in the United States, only two of those couples are same-sex-oriented. Meanwhile, thanks to the huge number of second marriages, a third of all Americans are part of a stepfamily. The question "Are they real parents?" applies not just to gays and lesbians — it applies to every stepfamily. That's what the kids are testing when they angrily scream, "You're not my real mommy!" And when the biological mother hears that her son has been spanked by his stepmother, she wonders, "She can't do that, can she?"Step-parenting may have been difficult for my "Dad;" it was more so for me. Times were tough or just different, perchance, confusing. The man that felt like Daddy, was Daddy, legally could not be called my father.While we closely monitor how gay rights are granted and taken away, we pay almost no attention to the fact that stepparents are in the same legal limbo. Despite being ubiquitous, step-relationships are rarely recognized by the law. In most states, stepparents are considered "legal strangers" even if they have cared for and supported a stepchild for years. They have almost no official responsibility and barely any rights.
What kind of rights are they deprived of? Some are remarkably banal. For instance, a stepparent can't sign a child's school report card or field-trip permission form. Others are significant. A stepfather can't include his stepdaughter on his family health insurance plan, for example. And she can't inherit from him when he dies.
In the last few years, state family courts have tried to accommodate the stepparents and stepchildren who appear before them, without granting so much that it subtracts rights from a biological parent. In Colorado, a stepparent can now sign the form that allows a minor to apply for a driver's license. And in Oregon, a stepparent can petition the courts for visitation of former stepchildren, if that marriage has ended. In Arkansas, it's even theoretically possible now for a stepparent to win custody over a biological parent. But in each state, it's a different story, and many states are still in denial.
So, a stepmother can take a month off work to care for her sick stepson, thanks to the federal law on Family Leave. But if she has to take her stepson to the emergency room, state law might prevent her from authorizing medical treatment. And if her son ends up dying due to hospital negligence, she can't sue.
My Mom refused child support and alimony though she was granted each. She believed Michael's money was tainted. She wanted none of it. We were extremely poor. Welfare came to us, stating we qualified and needed to apply. My parents refused. We grew our own vegetables. My Mom baked our bread. The details are endless; however, they may distract. Thus, I will leave those for another anecdote.
The truer challenge for me was carrying a surname that I felt no connection to. I wanted to legally be as I was in life, Daddy's little girl. I called my Mom's second husband Daddy. He was the only actual father I ever felt I had. He taught me everything, how to build a house, clean my room, ride a bike, reading, writing, 'rithmetic, telephone manners, and best of all how to engage with people. Prior to Daddy entering into my life, I was the exemplary loner. I was totally self-sufficient and felt little need for personal exchanges. I never trusted whether closeness would end. The woman that raised me for five and a half years was fired. I was listening on another telephone line when my father delivered the news to my caretaker.
In Kentucky, a stepchild could use the stepfather's surname in school. I did. However, this inexplicably hurt my natural father. A man that never cared for me, felt carrying on his name was meaningful. I visited him on my tenth birthday. He ranted and rage. He yelled at me. Prior to this event, I had not witnessed screaming directly, certainly, no one had ever hollered at me. I was frightened. The man that was supposed to be a loving father, on one of the rare occasions I ever saw him was shrieking. His shouts were meant for me.
I, thought this meeting was quite traumatic! A man that never acted as my father wanted me to bear his name. Why? The man that was my Daddy had no rights in reference to me. Again, Why, or more accurately, why not?
The legal field is sitting on a huge time bomb. One-third of Americans are just one unfortunate circumstance away from ending up in court demanding their rights — where they will be told that those relationships aren't real, and don't count.Typically, stepparents are thought to be cruel and wicked. As children, we learn this lesson well. Perchance we come to expect this; stepparents must be sinister. They are often under suspicion. You may recall Cinderella was treated with disdain by her stepmother. Her stepsisters ridiculed her and required the fair maiden to be at their beck and call. Newspaper articles support this postulate. While admittedly the research did not assess the quality of relationships or the feelings found within stepfamilies, this report concludes that a biological parent will take better care of a child than a stepparent might.The U.S. Supreme Court has never been pressed to rule whether a stepparent is a real parent, and if so, under what conditions. But when it declined to review Britain v. Carvin, Washington State's test for "de facto," parents instantly became a model for other states to replicate. Through a case everyone thought was about gay rights, stepfamilies just opened the door to the recognition they truly deserve.
Differences Found in Care With StepmothersI agree, a paid caregiver may not have the same bond, or at least the biological parents may not allow it. Even if they do, I suspect my story solidifies what often happens. The employee does not feel they have the right, legally, or emotionally, to stay connected and in touch with the young child they raised.
By Tamar Lewin
New York Times
August 17, 2000Children raised in families with stepmothers are likely to have less health care, less education and less money spent on their food than children raised by their biological mothers, three studies by a Princeton economist have found.
The studies examined the care and resources that parents said they gave to children and did not assess the quality of the relationships or the parents' feelings and motives.
But experts said that while the findings did not establish the image of the wicked stepmother as true, they supported the conclusion that, for complex reasons, stepmothers do invest less in children than biological mothers do, with fathers, to a large extent, leaving to women the responsibility for the family's welfare.
''Being raised by the biological mother gives children a lot of protection,'' said the chief researcher on the studies, Anne Case, a professor of economics at Princeton. ''It's a very big thing to ask someone to care for children instead of the birth mother, who, as the sociobiologists tell us, invests so heavily in carrying the child, nursing the child.''
The studies took their data from two of the broadest, most respected surveys of Americans' households, income, spending, and health habits. While those surveys were not created to analyze stepfamilies, their information is detailed enough to allow comparisons between different kinds of families.Did the survey consider the legal restrictions on a stepparent authorizing health care for a minor child? Might they have looked at the finances? Even when a parent re-marries, it often takes time before the new union is as financially sound as the previous blending was.Among children over a year old, living with both biological parents, the health study found that 61 percent have had a medical checkup within the last year. But among those living with a stepmother and birth father, that number dropped to 46 percent -- and of those whose biological mother was dead, only 35 percent had seen a doctor.
My natural parents were exceptionally wealthy. When my Mom married my "Daddy," Adam, he was a student. He belatedly received his Bacheloriate degree and was going on to pursue post-graduate studies. It was years before we were stable. My biological father had great wealth, in part, because professionally his standards were such he had no qualms; stepping on or over others was his way. He was attentive when assessing his assets; however, children were to be seen and not heard. At least that is the experience of his last child, me, you know the unwanted one.
Of the children living with their biological parents, 74 percent wear seat belts almost all the time, compared with 63 percent of those living with a stepfather and biological mother and 52 percent of those living with a biological father and stepmother.Daddy, the man that truly raised me and adopted me, refused to start the engine unless and until we were all buckled into our car seats. He maintained the car with infinite care. His passengers were his prize. He had always wanted the loving family he helped to create.
Families with a stepmother reported overall household food spending that was about 5 percent lower for each stepchild than in families in which both biological parents were present, the food study found.You may recall, my newer family did not have the money to spend on food. Although we spent less, the quality of our fare was far superior. My Mom is a gourmet cook. When with the biological paternal person, going out, entertaining, was what passed for normal. Rarely were we children part of these hedonistic pleasures. Potpies were my friend. Television dinners as they were once called were frequent. Now processed food is considered healthy.
With Daddy [Adam] in our lives, we ate together. We shared all our meals. My mom grew the vegetables and baked the breads and desserts. Later, Daddy took up fishing. We watched our pennies, for we had few. Still, each evening we dined from a different country. Mommy put up a monthly calendar. She filled in each date. My mom never wrote the specifics for the meal, she only penned the country of origin for the entrée. We ate well. I learned to try what I would have rejected in my earlier life.
In families in which women care for both their stepchildren and biological children, the biological child, on average, went to college for a year, while the average stepchild did not go to college.Oh my gosh; the paternal pretense of a parent in my life thought that girls, only need to attend college to receive an M.R. S. degree. Daddy is a scholar. Daily, he and I would read the paper and review what was read. He would ask me questions, ensuring my comprehension. We would discuss how the news was relevant to our lives. He, my Mom, and I looked up any issue relating to the article. Gaining wisdom was our entertainment. It was not costly, although it was infinitely valuable!Children reared by a stepfather also have lower educational achievement than those reared by both biological parents, although, as in most other measures, the negative effect is only about half as much as with stepmothers.
Prof. Frank Furstenberg, a sociologist of the family at the University of Pennsylvania, said that he did not question the findings and believed that the studies raised important questions, but he noted that stepfamilies vary widely.Perhaps, the learned Professor might benefit from what I learned. Mommy and Daddy encouraged me to "Question everything!" In truth, it is still a family theme.
For example, women who take on a 2-year-old child step into a role very different from that of women who care for a 12-year-old stepchild, and for all stepmothers the relationships evolve as the family becomes better established.This may be very true. My sisters were much older than I and had a very different experience of our blood father. They were not ready to open their arms to Daddy and rejected much of what was to come.''I don't think most stepmothers are evil,'' Professor Furstenberg said. ''If they're less involved, if they take a step back, it may be for the most noble motives, to give the parent more room, to decrease the tension. They may be relying on the child's father when perhaps their trust is unwarranted.''
I often see among friends, the stepparent may want to be a part; yet, the natural parent presumes the children will not understand. The stepfamilies do not often blend, as much as they live together, if that.
With more than half the nation's children living apart from at least one biological parent by the time they reach 18, the functioning of stepfamilies has become increasingly important. Most stepfamilies involve stepfathers, rather than stepmothers, and compared with families in which a single mother is rearing a child alone, the presence of the stepfather and his income help raise the family's standard of living.My own experience suggest two parents are the preferred; however, if one or both are not truly loving, caring, sharing, involved and connected, then what comes is chaos. Children, no matter what the age need to know that someone, preferably a parent figure is there for them in thick and thin. Humans are social animals. We need each other. We are expressive or not; whatever we are, we do not perform well or feel well if we do not feel safe, secure, and sane.Still, previous research has shown that children who did not live with both of their parents had bleaker futures: among other things, they were more likely to drop out of school, become delinquents or engage in early sexual activity and drug abuse than children raised by both parents.
Parents guide us. They facilitate our growth. They protect our hearts and nurture our minds. We need them; actually, they need us too. Love is a necessary. It breeds happiness, joy, and it is the avenue for inspiration, imagination, and innovation. If we are struggling to survive, we do not have time or the means to thrive. Fortunately, even social scientists are beginning to realize this.
But while those outcomes are well known, there has been almost no research on the care, attention and resources such children receive -- and therefore, no way to know whether the damaging effects reflect poor parenting, family instability, lack of money or other factors.Yet, as the article goes on, excuses are made, energies are diverted, and enigmas are voiced.
Many stepmothers are quick to acknowledge that being a stepparent is complicated, particularly when they take on older children and that it is unrealistic to imagine that the new bonds will be the same as those between a biological parent and child.Unrealistic, I think not. We create what we believe. If we expect to be rejected, we will be. If we believe that the children are his, or hers, we will never treat them as ours. Sadly, I contend so much of the chaos we experience we create. When we do not legally give stepparents the right to authentically attend to a child's needs, why would they believe they are able.
I think we must truly evaluate our legal system and family structures. If people wed only to have companionship, if they do not work as a unit to create comfort for their shared children, then stepparents will always be separate from the equation. The sum of the parts, Mom plus Dad plus Children, step or otherwise, is best when it is greater than the whole.
Step through the looking glass and find your world turned inside out. Step Parenting references . . .
Posted by Betsy L. Angert on February 13, 2007 at 08:55 PM in "Take me as I am!", Adult Influence on Children, American Dream, American Family, Americana, Approval or Love, Art of Loving, Have or Be, Change the World [Within], Communities, Communities and Communication , Dreams Live and Die , Effects of Divorce, Effects of Poverty , Emotional Decisions, Emotional Intelligence, Empathy and Evolution, Evolution [Emotional, Physical, Spiritual], Family, Functioning, Fables, Life, A Forward Motion, Looking at Life, Looking for Love, Nature or Nurture, Profound , Quality of Life, Question Everything, Society, Think Travels | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack
