Childhood Obesity
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wSIvplOStA&feature=related

If I Ran the Zoo

In “If I ran the Zoo”, John Leo writes about his school as if it were a zoo and he was the manager. He speaks about all the things he would change if he were the one in charge. Among these things are changes in the curriculum, changes in the required courses, no weird stories, no fun classes, etc. I agree to a certain point that some things like weird stories and keeping remedial classes. However, some of the fun classes he says he would cut out as well as the classes that end in “studies”. Although they aren’t always the most fun, I agree with the university in that these classes are essential for a person to get a basic understanding of every study the college has to offer and that it also gives a broad understanding of the world around us. That is why I wouldn’t cut as many things as John Leo says he would cut.

Blog Post for February 27

The “Paying it Forward” concept is a great concept created by a courageous boy. I think that the idea behind it is a good one with good intentions. Most people aren’t really concerned with helping others out but mostly concerned with their own interests. That’s not to say that most people aren’t good hearted but there are many examples of how people predominately look out for their own interests first. For example, when going to the store, one is likely to choose the shortest line, because it is most convenient for themselves, however it isn’t very convenient for others. That’s not to say it is wrong to stand in the shortest line but the point is that people look out for their interests. I think people are more likely to help others when an opportunity presents itself. It is harder to look for ways to help others when they aren’t in front of you. I think the “Paying it Forward” concept helps people to go looking for those “hidden” opportunities to help other people out. I can definitely relate to it being harder to find opportunities to help when it is not obvious and this is why I like this “Paying it Forward” concept. I think that whether it works or not depends on one’s definition of success applied to this concept. If one’s definition is that the recipient of the help has to benefit from the help then it obviously isn’t always successful, however if success is on the part of the giver, then yes I believe this concept is successful. By that I mean that I would define success for this concept as the giver learning how to go out of his or her way to help someone else. One time I had a chance to “Pay it Forward” by trying to help my mom feel less stressed by doing things around the house so that she could come home to a clean home. This made me feel happy to see her reaction and also improved our relationship.

Alcoholics Anonymous in Orange County

http://www.oc-aa.org/

Essay #1

Many cultures have different opinions about how people should parent and what makes a good parent. Because there are so many opinions on how to parent it is often difficult to assess whether someone is a good parent or not however, so many social workers are asked to draw this conclusion frequently as it is a part of their everyday career. In The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls recalls her childhood growing up and uncovers her unique experiences and childhood in growing up in the household of Rex and Rose Mary Walls. On one occasion Jeannette is approached by a social worker that has come to assess her living conditions. Jeannette asks him to come back at a later time but he never returns. This mistake made by the social worker caused the children of Rex and Rose Mary Walls to continue to live in unfit living conditions, as they were incapable of caring for their children’s basic needs. Although the Walls were a close-knit family due to Rex and Rose Mary’s positive support in affection and independency, they lacked in a number of other factors that are essential to parenting a healthy child both physically and mentally.

            Rex Walls is affectionate with his kids by making their lives adventurous. Because kids like to be imaginative, they really enjoyed all the stories he made up about being chased by the FBI and having to lead secretive lives. He is also really creative with his gifts. The kids really liked it when he told them they could each choose a star as a present for Christmas one year. Both he and Rose Mary also taught their children how to be independent. They taught their kids all kinds of survival skills and how to use the bare minimum and still survive (pg. 21). They also didn’t believe in being very strict or overly worried about their kids. Jeannette explained,

                        Lori, Brian and I, and even Maureen could go pretty much anywhere and do just                            about anything we wanted. Mom believed that children shouldn’t be burdened                           with a lot of rules and restrictions. Dad whipped us with his belt, but never out of                                     anger, and only if we back-talked or disobeyed a direct order, which was rare. The                         only rule was that we had to come home when the streetlights went on. “And use                                   your common sense,” Mom said. She felt it was good for kids to do what they                               wanted because they learned a lot from their mistakes. Mom was not one of those                                     fussy mothers who got upset when you came home dirty or played in the mud or                               fell and cut yourself. (pg. 59).

It would be fair to speculate that Mr. Walls made those adventure stories to cover up his crimes of not paying his dues and leaving town, and also that the kids learned how to be independent because Mrs. Walls was too focused on her painting career to take care of her own children.

            There are also several other reasons to believe the kids would be better off in a different home. Rex and Rose Mary Walls weren’t very concerned about their kids’ safety. At the beginning of the book, Jeannette recalls a time when she was four and fell out of the car while her dad was driving. It took him a while to figure out she had fallen out before he returned for her. As he returned he wasn’t very apologetic, and he only pulled the pebbles out of her cheeks and dusted her off. Also at the very beginning of the book Jeannette explains her first memory as being on fire because her parents had let her cook hot dogs for herself and her dress caught on fire as she leaned over the stove. A final example was when Jeannette was being bullied by four Mexican girls from school. As she came home with scraped knees and elbows and a bloody lip, her dad asked what happened and after she said she beat up some girls he replied with “that’s my girl!” and moved on (63).  Brian knew what was up and looked after his sister the next day and fought in her defense. If a young child like Brian could understand what was really going on with Jeannette, their parents should have really understood.

            Secondly the Walls didn’t provide their kids a healthy environment. Because neither of them worked steady jobs, the kids had little to nothing to eat and would be unclean from not showering. At one point in the story Jeannette tells of how she and Lori ate margarine because they were hungry. Their mother got mad at them for not saving it. When explaining to her mom why she ate the margarine, she explains,

                        Mom wasn’t making any sense to me. I wondered if she had been looking forward                         to eating the margarine herself. And that made me wonder if she was the one                           who’d stolen the can of corn the night before, which got me a little mad, “It was t                          he only thing to eat in the whole house,” I said. Raising my voice, I added, “I was                               hungry.”(69).

Throughout the book Jeannette talks about all the times that she and her siblings were hungry and would try to steal food from friends or dig it out of a trashcan, “ we kids usually kept our hunger to ourselves but we were always thinking about food and how to get our hands on it,” Jeannette explains (68). Not only were they hungry but they also lived among bugs like ants and roaches. They also didn’t bathe very often. Rose Mary taught them how to clean themselves using just one cup of water (21). This, as mentioned earlier, was a result of the parents not providing for their children by keeping a steady source of income. Although Rex was always looking for and getting work, he would often loose his job and not pay bills and as a result, do the “skedaddle”. Rose Mary was so uninterested in getting a job that her children had to pull her out of bed in the morning and make her go to work. They also did most of her work for her by grading all of her students’ papers for her and organizing all of her things. She needed to stop being lazy and self-centered and take care of her children.

            Finally, Rex and Rose Mary Walls weren’t very good models of a healthy relationship. They would always make up after a fight and I believed they really loved each other; however, Rex was very violent with Rose Mary. Rex once almost hit Rose Mary with their car with the kids in the backseat. Rose Mary was pregnant at the time. She was running away from the car as Rex was yelling profanities at her. Jeannette recalls being frightened that her father was going to “smush” her mother with the car. As usual, the next day Rose Mary and Rex had made up. Whenever Rex Walls got drunk, he began to act very violently and Rose Mary was sometimes an object of that violence. In “What Makes a Good Parent”, Robert Epstein explains “children do not like conflict, especially when it involves the two people in the world they love the most” (48). The relationship the Walls children observed was not a good example as their relationships were affected. Jeannette as an adult married and divorced her first husband and later remarried. If she had a better example of what a marriage relationship looked like, she might have made different decisions regarding her relationships.

            Overall the Walls children were deprived both physically and psychologically. Therefore they would have benefited by been removed from their home and placed in another. Although there are pros and cons to foster care, the pros would outweigh the cons because of the amount of suffering that the children went through. The probability of them being placed in a home that better provides for their needs more than this one is very likely. Thankfully the children had each other and survived, although Maureen, psychologically suffered. It would have been in her best interest to be put in a different home. Although they might have been separated from each other, they might have less to cope with now in their adult life.

Works Cited

Epstein, Robert. "What Makes a Good Parent?" Scientific American Mind 21.5 (2010): 46-51.      Print.

Walls, Jeannette. The Glass Castle: A Memoir. New York: Scribner, 2005. Print.

Rex Walls would rate the following on the parent’s top ten parenting skills: Love and affection -8, Stress management -3, Relationship skills -5, Autonomy and independence – 9, Education and learning – 9, Behavior Management -2, Health -0, Religion -0, Safety -1. Rex Walls’ strongest qualities include his love and affection toward his kids and also his teaching of autonomy and independence. We see his love and affection for his kids as he tries to think of the most thoughtful gifts for them, for example when he told each one of them that they could pick out a star to keep. Another example would be when he attempted to stop drinking because Jeannette asked him to. Because he loved her and wanted her to be happy, he tried really hard to quit. He also teaches his kids independence by allowing them to almost fully take care of themselves in their early childhood. We see this throughout the book as we see the kids try to find food for themselves, cook for themselves, like when Jeannette caught on fire, and basically take care of themselves. We also see him being supportive. For example, when Jeannette got her journalism job, her father was very excited for her and wanted to help.

Rex’s poorer qualities include Life Skills and Safety. As a man I believe that it was Rex’s responsibility to provide for his family and it was obvious that he didn’t as the kids grew up living in total poverty, often living with worn, unfit clothes and uncertain of where their next meal would come from. Secondly I believe it was his duty to make sure his kids were safe, which I don’t believe he spent the time to ensure their safety. For example when the girls at school were bullying Jeannette it was her brother that defended her, not her father.

Rose Mary on the other hand would rate on the parent’s top ten parent skills as follows: Love and affection – 2, Stress Management – 8, Relationship Skills – 9, Autonomy and independence – 3, Education and learning -3, Life Skills -0, Behavior Management -3, Health -2, Religion -8, Safety -2. Rose Mary’s strongest qualities include stress management and relationship skills. Rose Mary helped her kids learn stress management by enjoying an activity she was passionate about: painting. This art form is a very relaxing stress relieving activity especially when it is one’s passion. Through this she taught her kids to pursue what they enjoy doing. Secondly she showed them good relationship skills by remaining faithful to her husband despite the circumstances.

Rose Mary’s poorer qualities include health, love and affection. Rose Mary never made sure that her children took baths and were bathed on a daily basis. Also she was never very affectionate toward her children as she was consumed in pursuing her own career as an artist.

When choosing between comfortable living conditions or an intellectual environment, its hard to live a balanced life without both. However if I had to choose one I think I would choose an intellectual environment because that way you have the intelligence to be able to get somewhere in your life and do something useful with it. There are plenty of people who live comfortably and get everything handed to them yet don't know how to take care of themselves or how to make wise decisions. Therefore, although it would be tough to live uncomfortably I think it would be better than not knowing how to take care of yourself and living hopelessly and lazily on the couch all day.

Adults can do whatever they want when they are relieved of their responsibilities. For example, when having kids you commit yourself to a number of years devoted to your kids. I don't think you are prevented from doing anything for yourself but your priority is your kids. Adults can do as they please as long as all responsibilities are taken care of. This of course applies to every person though responsibilities tend to be greater and more important as a person gets older.