Like Alex P. Kellogg’s CNN article states, despite having Obama in the White House and the social/economic progress of minorities, inequality still exists and racial hierarchy persists.  Many universities are stressing that “white studies” are necessary to teach because white privilege is very much ingrained in our society.  It is easy for some people to think that discrimination is a thing of the past and easier for others to blame inequalities on minorities themselves.

            I think in our class’s case, “white studies” are very important.  The majority of our class is white and the majority of the students we are working with are from minority backgrounds.  In order to connect with our IHAD dreamers, we have to understand what situations and experiences they come from and, more importantly, we have to know what privilege we come from and how it has affected our lives and beliefs.  I will readily admit that I have a very privileged life and that my parents have supported everything I have ever wanted to do.  A lot of kids don’t have the opportunities that I have had and I need to remember that when I work with IHAD’s dreamers.


http://inamerica.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/30/has-whiteness-studies-run-its-course-at-colleges/?hpt=hp_c2

          Our Honors class is mainly focused around the I Have a Dream project (IHAD) in Asheville and studying ways to help children succeed and become motivated in working for their future.  For children, no matter what background they come from, making good grades because of studying and hard work always boosts their confidence and excites them for their future.  However, sometimes these children don’t live in the most productive environment and outside influences can distract them from doing well in school.  Fortunately, programs, like IHAD, take an active role in providing a structured environment for these children and challenging them to do well in school.  Good work like this should put a smile on anybody’s face.

          In searching for inspiration that would help me with my class presentation, I stumbled upon the documentary “Gotta Dance.”   The movie’s description immediately caught my attention: senior citizens doing hip hop dance?!  I began to procrastinate in my quest to find material and started to watch the documentary.  Watching alone, I found myself mortified and embarrassed by the grandmas and the one grandpa who were auditioning for the senior dance team of the New Jersey Nets (NBA).  Their movements were jerky, hesitant, and uncoordinated.  I cringed at the awkwardness.  But they were all smiling and enjoying themselves!  The seniors appeared confident in their dancing ability.  The documentary allows us to meet the seniors and learn a little bit about them and their interests.  The seniors learn their dance routines from the professional Net dancers’ coach and we get to see them successfully perform at three games. Even though they have different backgrounds and worked in different professions, they all still feel young and express their desire to keep moving and dancing. 

            Wow.  Old people thinking they’re young?  Old people having cool hobbies and wanting to find new ones?  I’m not against senior citizens and their quest for fun, but it is something that I’ve never given much thought about.  In our class, we focus on children and making a difference in their lives, but we don’t ever think about our senior citizens and making the aging process easier and more enjoyable.  We tend to not think about older generations and their lives.  They can’t work or move like they could.  What could be going on in their lives of any importance?  I don’t think we’re so heartless to think these things, but we definitely don’t bother ourselves to think about it at all. 

   Our class talked about helping people live dignified lives and I think that not only should we be focused on helping the youth, but also on improving the lives of senior citizens.  We all wrinkle and our joints go bad, but that doesn’t mean we stop living or feeling or desiring.  “Gotta Dance” really proved this.  Watching the senior citizens dance and listening to how they incorporated their experience into their lives was truly beautiful.  One woman, Betsy (whose dance alter ego is Betty), teaches kindergarten and after her dance team experience, she returns to class and uses hip hop music and rhymes to get her students moving and learning.  This is a prime example of how the old can still connect to the young and how senior citizen programs are invaluable.  I am proud to say that UNC-Asheville’s campus is home to the North Carolina Center for Creative Retirement, which allows senior citizens to continue education and learn new things, even though they no longer work. 

            Not only do many seniors need social and activity programs, they also need comprehensive health care that covers all their needs.  Of course, when most people think of health care for seniors they think of medication copay coverage and access to good doctors.  This is important, but oftentimes people don’t know about the psychiatric care that many seniors need.  My mother, a psychiatrist, currently works on a geriatric ward for one of our state psychiatric hospitals.  I often wondered why anyone would want to work with senile, demented old people because it seems so depressing.  When I asked my mother how she could handle it, she replied that it wasn’t upsetting because aging happens to everyone and the rewards of giving someone a purpose later on in life far outweigh anything that could be sad.  (Currently, some of the recreation staff at the hospital are trying to get Wii consoles and Wii Fit to keep patients active and happy.)

            As we continue working with the kids at IHAD, which will be a very rewarding experience, I will have to keep in mind that they aren’t the only generation that needs programs and groups and that just because you don’t see senior citizens out at the club or holding huge house parties, they still want to have fun and want to socialize.

http://ncccr.unca.edu/

The Nets' senior dance team from "Gotta Dance"

Some youthful seniors, clearly enjoying themselves

           

             Since our class is about service learning and giving back to the community, I figured I would write about my previous experience of volunteering at one of our state psychiatric hospitals.  In the summer before my senior year of high school, I signed up for the Junior Volunteer Program at John Umstead Hospital (now Central Regional Hospital.)  I was really nervous before I started working with patients (Would they be able to communicate? Would they be really crazy?)  I soon realized that the patients were like anyone else and all they wanted to do was get better and do something with their lives.  I worked with the hospital’s art therapy program (doing art with patients and the therapist) and in the work/pay program (patients were assigned work and could save and spend their earned money.)  This experience had a huge impact on me and influenced my decision to go into health care, specifically state health care. 

            Health care is the subject of every political debate nowadays and for good reason.  I personally think that health care should be available for every human being and that it plays a major role in human dignity.  For many people, state hospitals and government programs are the only places where they can receive any kind of care.   For example, mobile dental units and free dental care events are the only options for some families to get their teeth cleaned and inspected (my grandfather was a dentist and he would get patients who would superglue their broken teeth together because they didn’t have health insurance.)  This is such an issue!  I don’t know why more people aren’t outraged at the lack of coverage throughout the States!  We’re one of the world’s most developed countries and we can’t even care for all of our citizens.

          Today was my first day of volunteering at I Have A Dream.  Thankfully, I didn’t get lost again and I arrived effortlessly on time.  Driving through the Pisgah View Apartments, you can instantly tell that it is lower income.  Paint is peeling off of siding and unit numbers are either missing or barely hanging on.  Unlike fancier neighborhoods, the Pisgah view neighborhood is located almost on the freeway and tucked away from downtown.  Because of economic struggle and perhaps other prejudices, it is easy to see that dreamers need the program because their guardians might be busy with more immediate issues other than worrying about the long-term benefits of a complete education.  I only tutored three kids today and I absolutely respect educators’ and understand the difficulties of their jobs.  It was difficult trying to motivate the children to stay interested and focused.  It was especially difficult trying to explain the importance of practice and careful work (ex-writing out math problems instead of using a calculator and not making careless mistakes.)  Luckily, the kids were super sweet and I enjoyed helping them out.  I can definitely say that I appreciate my parents’ help and motivation all throughout my life (especially that one cruel 9-hour drive back from Kentucky when they made me practice fractions the entire time) and I’m so lucky that I had parents that cared and could afford to give me everything I needed.  If I used twitter I might do “#forevergrateful.” 

        So, inspired by the direction we learned from our last class, I want to blog about the importance of programs like I Have A Dream in the lives of children who come from low-income families and marginalized groups.

The I Have A Dream (IHAD) program chooses motivated children from such backgrounds and follows them through middle and high school (sometimes elementary school, too) with the promise of financial support for college if they do well and graduate.  IHAD provides a daily structured environment for its “dreamers” (participants) where they can complete homework and have supervised recreational time.  I think this is phenomenal because all children crave structure and, often times, the dreamers come from unstructured homes where they don’t get the motivation and guidance they need.  The importance of programs like IHAD is magnified by Jonathan Kozol’s information in his book The Shame of the Nation and in David Guggenheim’s movie Waiting for “Superman.” 

Children from marginalized groups become disenfranchised as soon as they reach elementary school.  One of the primary reasons why is how school districts are drawn.  More often than not, children from poorer neighborhoods get funneled into one, less funded public school, while children from more wealthier areas get funneled into another, well equipped one.  David Guggenheim calls these poorer public schools “dropout factories” and the chances that a disenfranchised student will actually graduate from such a school greatly diminish with each grade.  Not only is district an issue, but also some public schools require an entrance exam to even be considered for enrollment.  These entrance exams can cost up to $200 and those parents unable to pay send their children to underfunded schools and the “dropout factory” process begins.  The dreamers of IHAD, many of who live in the Pisgah View Apartments, find themselves in this situation—the same situation that their parents were in.  Without IHAD and similar programs intervention, this social situation is perpetuated for generations to come. 

It is absolutely crucial to get students excited about learning at the earliest possible stage and to provide them with a positive learning experience.  Without motivation and people pushing them to do well, students fall behind and get pushed through the school system until they give up and settle for the idea of “going nowhere.” It has been proven time and time again that encouragement and long-term support almost guarantee a child’s completion of high school and acceptance into college.  This is something I think many adults (parents, teachers, school policy makers) need to know and understand in order to truly make a difference in a child’s quality of education.

     In the movie Examined Life, philosophers discuss the meaning of everyday life.  For me, Peter Singer's   interview struck a chord.  Singer discusses the ethical responsibility that everyone has to others and the consciousness everyone should have (ex. not buying a $24,000 watch and donating that money to charity).  As we discussed in class, the purpose of our Honors 479 class is to better ourselves and promote dignified relationships with others.  If I am to be completely honest with myself, I would say I'm a selfish, young adult who is still a little immature when it comes to being aware of other people's needs and feelings.  However, deep down, there is a desire to give back and eventually be comfortable enough to be selfless.  Sometimes, I'm troubled by the fact that I need a little incentive or obligation to volunteer or that I need reminding to apologize for a wrong-doing.  I hope with time and more introspection I can get past this and be more aware of the effects of my actions.

     I will confess that although I read a lot of news articles, I don't consider myself well-informed on many issues.  One such issue is Western relations with the Middle East.  I know basic things, but I lack knowledge on complexities.  Recently, another Iranian nuclear scientist was assassinated in Tehran and Iran is blaming Israel and the U.S.  I know the United States is never completely innocent in any matter, but I feel that Israel is directly involved since they have vehemently expressed no sympathy.  Iran directly threatens Israel, so I understand why Israel would be hateful.  I also understand why the Israeli state needs to exist.  However, the crimes against humanity that keep being committed are atrocious.  I don't care how awful a person is, assassination is sneaky and leaves no opportunity for justice.
     While reading a few articles on this recent assassination, I came across Time's "60 Years of Israel" photo essay.  It shows people immigrating to Israel, violent conflict, and reconciliation between enemies.  A photographer has a lot of power when they capture an image and these images say a lot about cultures in constant struggle.  I think it is impossible to find a single solution to the violence between Western and Middle Eastern countries, but a great improvement could be an end to covert action and increased communication (lead official egos aside).

http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1730968_1564855,00.html
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2104372,00.html

A Jordanian soldier handing a cup of tea to an Israeli soldier.  A break in fighting.

The hand of an Egyptian soldier.  The Six Day War.

     In high school, I volunteered at John Umstead Hospital (one of the state's psychiatric hospitals in Butner, NC) and I saw firsthand how medication and various forms of therapy helped patients improve and lead healthier, happier lives.  Because of this experience and as the daughter of a psychiatrist, I'm a firm believer in the benefits of psychiatric medication.  However, I don't believe that medication should always be the first or permanent solution to a behavioral problem, as it has been in the increasing trend in ADD/ADHD treatment.
    General pediatricians and some lazy psychiatrists have been "fixing" the problem of ADD/ADHD  with only medication and haven't been addressing the route causes of ADD/ADHD behaviors.  Many teachers also impress on parents that their child should be tested for the disorders if the child is making poor grades or behaving badly in class.  This bothers me because many adults just assume a child's problems come from a chemical imbalance and they don't care to look into environmental influences.  For instance, poor stability in a child's home can contribute to ADD/ADHD symptoms.  Lack of sleep, lack of parental discipline, and lack of exercise can lead to a child's restlessness and distraction.  These are problems that can be solved by routine changes or therapy.  I don't think prescribing ADD/ADHD medicine to a child who doesn't necessarily need it is detrimental to their overall health, but I do think it ends up hindering long-term progress and improvement.  Medicine can really make a great improvement in behavior, but it can only go so far without therapy.  Therefore, I think professionals, especially elementary school teachers, should be better trained in how to address and correct behavioral problems (outbursts, talking, excessive movement).  Children are full of energy and only need the proper outlet for it and good structure.

http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2011/10/05/calming-your-childs-adhd-symptoms/

      In my free time, I tend to visit news websites (CNN, NPR, local) and read everything I can about what's happening around the world.  Usually, I'm shocked by the horrible things people do to each other, but today I read an article on NPR's website about the changing definitions of being middle age.

     The article states that the idea of being "middle aged" wasn't written about until the very late 1800s.  Many might find this weird (and the article doesn't even mention this possibility), but I wasn't shocked since the average life expectancy wasn't always high and medical care hadn't made huge strides.  Regardless, the idea of a "middle age" has morphed over the years.

    Patricia Cohen, the author of In Our Prime, writes that the baby boomer generation had a huge impact on the definition.  Because baby boomers grew up in the 60s and were told "not to believe anyone over the age of 30," when they reached their own middle age they realized it wasn't so bad and they didn't feel so old.  Life could still be fun past their 20s!  This mentality also helped improve the social quality of women's lives since by the 1970s, birth rate was falling and women were caring for fewer children.  They had more time to focus on themselves and pursue their interests (something that was unheard of before and Cohen describes this as a "real flowering"for women).  Today, I think middle age is somewhere between late 50s, early 60s, which is interesting to me because, way back in the day, you were lucky to make it 50.
    Maybe Cohen's book addresses improving health care as a reason for the birth of the middle age concept, but I was surprised the article didn't mention it.  I also wonder where the "mid-life crisis" comes into play in this whole argument since I'm currently having my "quarter-life crisis," worrying about my future and where I'll end up in the world.  This article also makes me question the meaning of youth in our society and how it has influenced how we age.

   

http://www.npr.org/2012/01/15/145118783/in-our-prime-what-it-means-to-be-middle-aged