Men Raising Kids!!!!!! I take my hat off to you Ladies

It is hard to raise kids period as a man it seems harder because alot of men don't have the multi tasking skills of a woman, some may disagree but its proven. This is not a down play on men just my opinion as a man raising kids. Its a rewarding job but in doing, running a business, and school and being a husband it can get very taxing. I was talking to a few people who say they don't want kids because there freedom will be lost, i said to them it is a sacrifice that some parents make and to be honest i still have a life and have freedom . Some people are a little selfish and don't know what they are missing, but back to the point I take my hat off to women who have been doing this since the beginning of time, most men will never know the true sacrifices that you make in raising kids and maintaining a house. I understand now what it is and will never take these things for granted again. How many of you know what it's like?


By Devin Barnes

School of the Hard Knocks

     In today's society education is a very important key that makes one successful in life no matter what. So, I could say that since education is so important ,which i really do believe, all of the Philadelphia public school district kids shouldn't be complaining about how terrible their school is and what it looks like and they should just be happy that they are receiving an education. Well.... that would never be something that I feel is acceptable to say. I have to agree with the young urban community that these schools around in the area look more like prisons than a place of education. Ok so in the media we do hear about violence in urban schools and people talking about there is no helping these kids because they don't appreciate anything even if a school has even been rebuilt.  To me how the urban city "jail school house" looks is going to have a big impact on how the kids act. I feel as though motivation and support is always necessary in any child's life if it causes them to want to go to school, but that motivation can get thrown out the window once you step in front of a place that is supposed to better my future and the first thing I see is barbed wire an gates on all the windows. Maybe all the bad the media portrays about public schools is an outcry from the students that something needs to change. It's not only the students that are frustrated but also the parents and teachers of the community. We shouldn't ignore the people who at the end of the day who has control of some of our futures. I am sick of hearing the whole story line of  "I made it out of nothing into something". Don't get me wrong I am proud of child or adult that has made something out of their education even if they had a horrible school system. What would really make me proud is when it becomes more common for people to say I made it out of something to something even better.

By, Idella Logan

What Messages We Send

 By Macy Kee-Jarmon

     Raising children in  the society we live in is difficult at best. We try to teach our children to be kind and caring their fellow man. We punish and reward them to teach them that every action has consequences and repercussions. We teach them about social norms like covering their mouth when they cough or sneeze, excusing them selves when they pass gas. Then after all that we turn around and give them video games that teach them violent acts.

     We as parents spend so much time trying to teach our children to do the right thing and be productive members of society. They are given examples of positive things they should be doing, then we turn around and give them a game that teaches them to rob and steal.

     Yes these games are for entertainment and designated for a mature audience but who knows the age range of who plays the games, they are only monitored when purchased. Do these games teach that there are consequences? Sometimes they do show that there are consequences, but there not realistic how could they be it's a video game! Video games of the past like Super Mario Brothers, Dig Dug, and Donkey Kong were about entertainment and strategies. Video games of today like Grand Theft Auto, Call Of Duty, and Saints Row teach our children violent acts. So often we want our children to mimic the lessons they've learned, so why aren't we more concerned with the negative images they see?

Education

By: Irina Pavlava

Education is purposeful process or experience thorough which society has formative effect on minds, characters, or physical ability of each individual. In its technical sense, society deliberately transmits its accumulated knowledge, skills, and values from one generation to another.

It is impossible to become successful person without having a decent education. Education is not only a learning at school, college or university, and a process that "comes on one's heels" of man all his life from birth to old age. For example, it is impossible to become a good teacher, only to acquire knowledge in a prestigious college. In addition to pedagogical education a teacher must constantly upgrade his or her knowledge and skills for many years on the job. This suggests that the process of education must be sustained for long time.

System of formal education in almost of all countries consists of preschool, primary (or elementary), secondary and post-secondary (or higher) education.  Each of the periods of education system gives to person a specific knowledge, skills and life experience. Many countries take huge attention to primary and secondary education. Governments pour huge fund into these types of education system, but on preschool education, I think, they don’t pay enough attention.

My point is that preschool education is more important for person. Because during these early years (from birth to 5 years), a human being is capable of absorbing more information at a time than they will ever be able to again. The environment of the young child influences the development of cognitive skills and emotional skills due to the rapid brain growth that occurs in the early years. Studies have shown that high quality preschools have a short and long term effect in improving the outcomes of a child, especially a disadvantaged child.

The parents are the first teacher for infant, and then the relatives, preschool teachers come to help parents in education of the child. Our life depends of how much attention, skills and knowledge we received in early childhood period. If parents, preschool teachers give more knowledge and more attention to the child, then he or she would adapt easier to the school, then a college, and make more friends during the person's life. 

I have remarked only an education base, its first step- preschool education because I think that this section of education is deprived of government attention. Government should take into account this cost in the countries’ budgeting and allocating money for cost item like education. 

What do you think?

Education is very important value for our society, and his fundamental place is in the early childhood. Then, during a lifetime, a person can improve or not it, depending of him/her self.

Mass Media

By Junly Chroy

Socialization [soh-shuh-luh-zey-shuhn]- the process of learning the norms of your social position.

Mass media is one of our first encounters of society. This part of socialization influences children through shows, cartoons and most importantly commercials. Socialization that comes through the form of media interpretive the children’s behaviors such as characters, images and words. Media as an agent of socialization acts upon our children but supposedly only strives to entertain. Today in society children spend more time in front of the TV rather interacting with friends and family. Media is full of powerful and seductive messages ultimately influencing values When a parent tells their children to do something and in return receives a negative outburst is it because the media contradicts what their parent's are attempting to teach their children? The power of media remains strong. Everything that is important is weakening.
 

Mass Media includes:

• Television
• Radio
• Movies
• Music
• Books, magazines,etc
• Internet

  
My Opinion

When children observe messages some will behave differently but most likely they will be confused. This sends a bad message to our children. Plus it is very sad because it is made in the U.S.A.
 

The a cartoon show Ni Hao Kai-Lan is watched by my niece regularly. It is a very cute, innocent and colorful show but I have experienced my niece picking up bad habits from the cartoon show. For example, my neice has learned how to throw tantrums and cry according to the main character in the cartoon. My sister and I were initially lost to where she was picking up this behavior until one day when we noticed similarities in the tantrum thrown by my niece and the character from the cartoon.  My niece has adapted the behaviors of Ni Hao Kai- Lan when she gets frustrated. Since then, my niece was forbidden from watching the show and as a result her behavior has improved.

Sponge bob is another children’s show but ironically it has a lot of sexual references.

 


Tom and Jerry too much violence.

Media is a very complex medium of dissimulating information. It has the potential to do good but also means that it can also can cause harm. In the case of my niece and her tantrums, it illustrates the tacitly we as adults must exercise when we expose kids to what might we may consider to be seemingly harmless programming. We as adults have to be careful of what we let our children watch in the media.

Violent Video Games and Child Aggression

By: David Newsome

Over the years video games have become more and more violent. As a result there have been many discussions concerning what playing these games is doing to the minds of our youth. Certainly many of these violent games are not to be sold to children under a certain age. Consequently a wide range of young children still find it easy to access these games. Indeed studies have shown that playing these games does alter the behavior of children not just in the U.S. but around the world.

Video games such as the Call of Duty and Grand Theft auto Series (both pictured below) are popular among children around the world.

(The games pictured above clearly state on the covers that they are for video gamers ages 17 and above however thousands of children under that age find it easy to access these games.)

A study involving three groups a children was conducted. The first group consisted of 181 Japanese students ranging from ages 12-15. The second group involved 1,050 Japanese students ranging from age 13-18 and the third group involved 364 U.S. children ranging from ages 9-12. Researches monitored what games the children played and how much time they spent playing them. After playing these games students monitored there own behavior in addition to being monitored by there peers and teachers. Indeed it was discovered that students with more exposure to violent video games had become more aggressive than those with less exposure. Children exposed to more violent video games tend to get into more fights and are more likely to react violently in certain situations. As a result many researchers see this as a predictor of future behavior problems. 

Dr. Huesmann, director of the Research Center of Group Dynamics at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research in Ann Arbor has been studying violence in the media and behavior for over 30 years. He came to the conclusion that the most obvious result of exposure to violence is imitation. For example, children that are exposed to violence in the media may develop the mindset that the world around them is hostile and that violence is an acceptable way of dealing with it. Furthermore Huesmann states that children can become desensitized to violence. In other words too much exposure to violence can lead to a lower emotional impact on an individual. In addition Huesmann asserted "Once you're emotionally numb to violence, it's much easier to engage in violence." However, there are some who disagree with Huesmann's viewpoint, I am sure they all agree that video game violence and child aggression are closely related.

(The video below shows a guy explaining his point of view on the topic)

All in all children who played violent video games were found to be more aggressive. There are indeed many children who play these games without being effected by the violence. However, that does not take away from the children that are. Indeed overtime new information will develop involving this topic.

(For more detailed information on the study described in the paragraphs above click the link below)

http://articles.cnn.com/2008-11-03/health/healthmag.violent.video.kids_1_violent-video-video-games-game-genres?_s=PM:HEALTH

Suicide Among the Youth

By: Brittanie DeShields

For my organic post I have decided to do it on teen suicide. This has always been something that has bothered me very much. Many people don't understand what these people go through especially if they have never been in this situation. When a person comes to anyone about being suicidal it is their way of asking for help because they trust that person will not judge them. They also don't realize IT IS OKAY TO ASK FOR HELP!!... I wish some would realize this sooner than later.

According to the American Association of Suicidology:

• Each year, there are approximately 10 youth suicides for every 100,000 youth.
• Each day, there are approximately 12 youth suicides.
• Every 2 hours and 11 minutes, a person under the age of 25 completes suicide.
• In 2005, 270 children ages 10 to 14 completed suicide in the U.S.

Most teens have so many things going on in their lives and so much pressure put on them that many people don't realize when they are not okay. They feel as if they have no other choice but to agree to doing everything to please others but they aren't focusing on themselves. If they are being bullied at school, having problems at home, failing school, a victim of abuse, anything that triggers them to not feel worthy will leave them feeling completely helpless. These are all things that lead to depression which plays a large role in suicide. This is when they need help the most!

http://www.suicidology.org/c/document_library/get_file?folderId=232&name=DLFE-24.pdf

The above link has many more statistics and other useful information. I hope we can all just find a way to help save someones life if they come to any of us looking for help.

Culture and Socialization

By: Jessica Diaz

Culture is a way of life that humans develop and pass on from generation to generation. Socialization is the way in which we develop through interactions with others, and how to relate to other people in society. Culture and socialization can play a big part in a child’s attitude and behavior. Children watch the way that people around them behave and interact with one another and these actions influence the way that they will behave as they grow up.

Children learn from adults around them about what's right and wrong. Being a good role model is important, even if you don't have kids.  Children model their parents all the time on their thoughts, beliefs and behaviors. Their personalities are shaped by their experiences and if they experience negativity, it will affect them in some way.  

Always be aware of the choices you make, and how you conduct yourself because children learn by watching and repeating everything. The point is to be careful what you show your children because they will imitate what you do and even what you say. The only way to create a better world is to teach our children about our mistakes to prevent them from happening. Children are our future and we can start to make this world a better place by teaching our children to appreciate others and ourselves.

Gender Roles

By: Jessica Diaz

What is male? What is female? This answer depends on the gender roles you were exposed to as a child.  Gender roles are behaviors and attitudes expected of males and females by society.  As a child gender roles come from a variety of social influences our lives. Gender roles are influenced mostly at home, media, and school.

This video shows kids being interviewed on gender role expectations and gender role stereotypes.

One influence comes from our parents and how they treat the boy and girl differently. Girls are treated more gentle then boys. Boys are expected to be more active and rough when playing then girls. Girls look at their mothers for examples on how they dress and act. Children look at their parents and see the mother cooking, cleaning and taking care of the kids. A father will work and come home with the family income. Parents go out and also by clothing for their children and is always seen that boys wear blue and girls wear pink.

Another influence on gender roles comes from the toys children play with. Parents would give their little girl a doll and a boy gets a toy truck. Giving theses kind of gifts gives off an early expectation on what kind of roles they play. The kinds of toys that little girls receive give messages about feminine traits like dress up and make up. The kinds of toys that little boys receive give messages about masculinity for example cars and building blocks. Even their bedrooms are specific colors.

Television also influences their choice of toys. Children see remote controlled vehicles being advertised by a little boy playing. Girls see advertisement of dolls being played with by little girls. The sexual stereotypes they give off on television and media are also influencing gender roles.

Gender roles are influenced at a young age and the children are repeating what they observed by their parents and media. This video shows that society determines what it means to be a male or female. Gender is taught to you through parents, school and media. The kids are only 4 in this video and they already have stereotypes on how males and females should be looked at by society. If you want children to change their aspect of gender roles you have to show them by being role models in their life.