ktmeng/mec huggingface dataset:
Topic: family

All children should be carefree and energetic, not loaded down with school already. That much pressure should not be put on children so young. With standardized testing comes a lot of pressure on students as well as teachers. Teachers put pressure on children because if the children do not succeed, then the school does not get appropriate funding. The result is that schools begin teaching so much to such small kids. In conclusion, this very thought out photo demonstrates the stress and pressure put on children because of standardized testing. The article associated with this photo is titled “Why Teachers Really Hate Standardized Testing” and while it may seem to focus on teachers, every argument falls back on the negative effect that standardized testing has on kids. This photo is so simple, and yet very thought out and the message is strong. No one should like seeing a child so stressed out in this photo, which will cause viewers to sympathize with the child, and want to do something to help him.
Topic: family

While many parents in New York don’t agree with State testing, these same parents are absolutely determined to have their children participate anyway. While I do admit that their reasons for wanting to keep their children taking the test are understandable, I cannot help but think that with the test as it is now-there are other more beneficial ways to help students learn to enjoy learning or how to learn more efficiently. The article makes aware that parents put a lot of effort and money into making sure their child studies for the test.
Topic: family

They buy books, enter their children into after school programs, and one parent quote, “was nervous about the exams and had made her son do three practice tests at home in the past month.” It’s clear that parents want their children to perform well. However, this seems to be a strain on the children. If the test itself already covers things that are not consistent with their school curriculum and, by many accounts, are poorly designed then all this does is cause stress on the child.
Topic: family

I don’t strictly agree with this last one, however, these are fair reasons for not wanting their children to opt out. If parents want their children to gain better time management skills or a love of learning, the material for this is already here without the state test. Many students struggle in high school, so instead of piling on more work parents should focus on helping their children deal with that. If they cannot actively participate in this themselves (due to work or other reasons), then they can send their children to workshops on time and stress management. When all is said and done, the test scores are only used for college applications. Whereas a workshop or program that teaches them anything from communication to time management can go on future resumes that will be seen by potential employers. In addition, many students will tell you that the more time they put into these tests the less they liked them. So this has the opposite reaction parents desire, which is a development of appreciating new information. There are many great mediums which teach new material in non-stressful ways, such a KhanAcademy.org or lectures provided by Great Courses.
Topic: family

There are better ways of providing your child with skills and knowledge, and none of them have to have anything to do with a test. In the end, this is the parent’s choice and they know their child best. Yet if they learned more about the other ways they could give their children recreational education it would benefit everyone. One day the test itself may be improved and thus become a method of furthering education, for now though, it is largely a stress-inducing process that does not give New York City parents the results they want in their children.
Topic: family

Today, Amy Aiello talked about Planned Parenthood She brought up how Planned Parenthood has been in the news a lot recently, Also, how there has been a lot of controversy about this business. In her speech she talked about what Planned Parenthood provides, facts about abortion, and also clarified some other misconceptions about Planned Parenthood Starting, Amy talked about what Planned Parenthood provides. They provide STD testing for anyone and also treatments They have contraception services which mostly include birth control for women.
Topic: family

Amy made a statement that most of these controversies are not new. They have just been brought up in the news recently and have caused many conflicts. Planned Parenthood has also been portrayed to be donating fetus‘ to science for money. Now, this is completely untrue. It is true that Planned Parenthood is sending fetus’ to science, but this is actually completely legal. What is untrue is that they are receiving payments for this. Planned Parenthood never has and never will, Amy gave many valid points about Planned Parenthood.
Topic: family

My observation of a child was done on a 4-year-old girl by the name of Sarah. I conducted the observation at the park near Sarah’s house with her mother keeping an eye on her. The park did not have any other children there so I observed Sarah as she played by herself. Her mom had also brought along her ball, During the years a child is attending kindergarten, there is an obvious addition of new motor skills that take place during that time when this happens, the child integrates these new skills with the ones they had to self-regulate to the new environments they are facing, This occurs due to physical development of the child.
Topic: family

As children become more steady on their feet, arms and upper body, it allows them to experience these new motor skills. When parts of the body work together so that the whole body moves smoothly and accomplishes a task, it is called coordination (Berk 2014). While I was observing Sarah play with her ball in the playground, she stretched out one of her legs so she could kick the hall, I also watched her run towards the ball every time it got further away from her after she kicked it.
Topic: family

224). In this case, Sarah was using the muscles in her legs to kick the ball as well as to run. I believe this allowed her to run faster through the use of her gross motor skills because the muscles in her legs were giving her a boost of physical strength. Another gross motor skill that Sarah was demonstrating while I was observing her was picking up the ball and throwing it to her mother. As she was about to throw the ball, her nonedominant shoulder (left), arm and legs faced her mother, the target. She then transferred the weight in one of her legs with a step, raised her elbow to shoulder level and threw the ball to her mother. This is exactly what Berk described in her book. “4- and S—year-olds use a smooth, flexible motion, involving the shoulders, torso, trunk, and legs, that makes the ball travel faster and farther”.
Topic: family

Sarah stood closer to her mother so that success of throwing the ball to her mother was guaranteed I believe that is the reason why she positioned herself the way she did, While Sarah was doing laborious activities such as running around and climbing the playing structures in the playground, the button on the sweater she was wearing accidentally unbuttoned. She looked down to her chest and noticed the unbutton and so she tried to button it up. She grabbed one side of the sweater with her left hand and grabbed the other side with her right hand, trying to “push” the two sides together. However, she was unable to put the button through the hole on her sweater. “Buttoning up takes fine motor skills and planning, which means thinking through the steps you need to take in the order you need to take them, and then you have to put the steps into practice,” I believe it was difficult for Sarah to complete the task because she couldn’t coordinate her hand with the button through those holes This is a display of poor fine motor skills of hand eye coordination: the ability to process information received from the eyes to control, guide, and direct the hands in the accomplishment of a given task.
Topic: family

Since Sarah is only 4 years old, her hand-eye coordination is still in her developmental stages hence why she was struggling to button up her sweater. Cognitive development refers to children‘s understanding of concepts and the ability to think and reason, Sarah went on top of one of the playing structures, pointed to it and then herself and yelled out “I‘m the queen of this castle and Mommy you are my guard” She looked around and told her mom to protect her from the bad guys. According to Piaget, “makeebelieve play, orjust “pretend” play, is an excellent example of the development of representation in early childhood” This make-believe play helps children develop language and reasoning skills. It also instills in the child’s mind the idea of autonomous thinking and problem solving, as well as helping improve their ability to focus on the activity that they are doing, According to Berk (2014), the child’s imaginative play will include even more elaborate make»believe scenarios, with extended storylines and character acting. In this scenario, Sarah pretended that she was the queen of the castle. She referred to the playing Structure as the castle and that the character who protects her is her mother, in other words the “guard.”
Topic: family

This demonstrates that Sarah is aware of her high level of knowledge in her cognitive abilities of logical reasoning because “make believe play improves that area of mental abilities” (Berk, 2014, pp.228). Pretend play allowed Sarah to express representing what was going on in her mind. She was able to use her mind to come up with the scenario of her being a queen, with knowing that she actually is not one but is just using her capabilities in her cognitive reasoning to play make»believer Social-emotional development of a child is the ability to understand the feelings of others and control their own feelings and behaviors. There was a siren from an ambulance that went off in which Sarah reacted to, She did so by covering her ears with her hands. Sarah also closed her eyes and waited to open them again only after the sound of the siren went away “By the age of 4, children verbalize a variety of strategies for adjusting their emotional arousal to a more comfortable level. This is known as emotional self-regulation”.
Topic: family

This was Sarah’s way of self—regulating to a sound she was not fond of and instead of crying, she kept her emotions in place I think Sarah did this because she had already been through this before and knew that the only way of making it better was to control her emotions However, while I was observing Sarah play, she fell trying to climb the monkey bars. She started to cry extremely loudly, looked up to her mother and ran to her. Her mother held onto her, patting her back and kissing the top of her head. As soon as she was in the arms of her mother, she stopped crying, wiped her tears away and then continued to play, This method is known as the “authoritative child rearing style” A style that is sensitive to the child’s needs This also infers, according to Erikson’s theory of basic trust (Berk 2014), that Sarah was raised through a warm, sensitive and reasonable expectation for impulse control. After that, her mother allowed her to go back to play when Sarah was ready to do so, indicating the emotional connection and trust the two have between each other. One new insight I gained from this observation assignment is that children have a lot of energy to do many activities throughout the day, They never seem to get tired no matter how many times or how long they are playing.
Topic: family

Sarah was playing for more than an hour but there was not a sign of fatigue on her face. This gave me something to think about when I decide to have children of my own in the future, Every child is different, but observing Sarah, who was a very energetic child, has allowed me to think about embracing the energy that my child might have without becoming overwhelmed and exhausted myself I do not want my child to lose their energy and enthusiasm for life as they grow up. If all I ever do is tell them to stop, be quiet, sit still, etc. then it might make them become a lazy childi Idon‘t want them to be out of control, of course, but being energetic doesn’t mean they’re bad, just a very active childi Discipline is obviously necessary and an important pan of parenting, but it’s never harm to a child or you if you let them play This assignment has made me think about all these things and I am glad that I did it because it has given me all this insight that I never thought I would receive when I began doing the assignment.
Topic: family

Have you always known, since you were a kid, what you wanted to do for the rest of your life? I remember being a seven»year—old girl and telling my mother, “I want to foster kids like Maw-Maw when I get older”, Not only is that still true, but I want to work more in depth with adoptions, foster care, and special needs children. My Maw-Maw isn‘t the only factor that lead me to want to work with adoptions and foster care I watched two special needs children adopted from overseas in nursery that stole my heart, My passion is to become a Social Worker and work with special needs kids‘ adoption nationally and internationally Valentine‘s Day, 2014, I remember going over to my Maw-Maw‘s house during a big snow storm I was only 15 at the time and went everywhere with my dad I remember walking up the snowy ramp on her porch to walk inside and the door was left open This was weird because she never leaves her door open, We walk through the living room, take a slight left to the kitchen and a right to get to the den and see my Maw-Maw sitting on her recliner with a pained look on her face, I ask her what’s wrong and she looks over at me says “Oh don’t worry, it’s just my Arthritis is acting up”.
Topic: family

I go downstairs to the music room, where I normally stayed at my Maw-Maw’s, and just played the piano for a few minutes. I remember practicing Almost Is Never Enough by Ariana Grandet After about thirty minutes or so I slowly and quietly make my way up the stairs so I can eavesdrop on their conversation “Have you completed your Will yet?”, “We’re going to go ahead and call hospice”, “We just don’t want you to be in any pain anymore”. I remember hearing all these little phrases and thinking to myself “Why are they going through all of this just because her arthritis is acting up? I didn‘t think it was anything that would kill you”.
Topic: family

I walked up the last few stairs and pretended to get a snack. Star Crunch. I would always steal about half a box from her house every time I went over there. I didn’t fully hear what my mother said next but I know it was about “making plans” so, I walked in and asked what plans they were making. “Come over here and sit down we have to talk”, my mother said sadly. I sat down on the couch between my parents, eating my Star Crunch, and faced my Maw-Maw. ”I have Pancreatic Cancer” my Maw—Maw said with a quiver in her voice. I remember feeling my heart breaking inside of my chest, my mind racing with thoughts of how I, a small 15-year-old girl, could save my Maw-Maw. “You can have chemo right?” with tears filling my eyes. Sitting in her recliner still looking like she’s in pain, “No nut-nut, it‘s stage four”. Nut-nut was our nickname for each other, it started when l was a little girl and because I was always a ditz. I got up so quickly I moved the couch a few inches. I ran over to her as fast as I could, granted it was only a few feet, and I hugged her as tight as 1 could with tears streaming down my face, Later that week hospice came and things started going downhill.
Topic: family

You know, it’s actually kind of Lraumatizing to watch someone you love die right in front of you. I would visit her every day when I got out of school, I would make my brother drive me there, With each visit her health would get worse and worse. Every Sunday we would go to church my dad would sadly tell me “Your Maw-Maw probably will not be with us much longer”. I tried so hard not to believe that, I kept telling my dad “She‘ll get better, don’t say that. It just takes time”. An old family friend of mine, someone who was like a cousin to me came over to visit her one day. She practically raised him. Here it was, an 18—year-old boy, sat down next to her bed and started bawling. That’s when I knew this wasn‘t going to end well. The last time I saw my Maw-Maw before she died was at nighttime, I told her I loved her, gave her a kiss on the forehead and she looked up and she said “Oh, an angel”.
Topic: family

March 23, 2014 my Maw-Maw passed away at 11:53pm. I was awoken by my father at 6 in the morning telling me my Maw-Maw was no longer with us. I knew that I had to do something to honor her and do something great with my life. August of that same year, I started volunteering in the Nursery at my church. I’ve always loved being in the nursery, I’ve actually always wanted to own a preschool and have baby-sitting jobs on the side. I wasn’t highly involved in the nursery until early 2015. I was doing my job, playing with the toddlers until the door opened up. I did what I normally did, threw my head up, smiled and let out a friend “HIE”. I looked down and saw these two adorable little kids waddle in the doort Both special needs, adopted from Bulgaria Caden, the boy, has down syndrome Avery, the girl, had dwarfism, They were both about the age of five years old but considering their condition, they were in the 2-year-old class. Avery didn’t stay in my class for long because she is super smart. After a few weeks she was moved up to pre-school class. Avery has one of those smiles that makes you smile.
Topic: family

My favorite thing about her, what made me fall in love with her so much, was every Lime she would see me she would run up to me and would ask me to play with her hair, Caden, also very smart, was in my class for a long time. He has the most outgoing personality and the most kindhearted spirit, Whenever he would see me, a big smile would pop up on his face and he couldn’t talk, but he tried his very best to say my name and run for a hug. He was very active, all the time, and so strong. He would always grab my hands and slowly climb his way up into my arms and wrap himself around my neck, I used to call him “My little monkey”. May of 2016 when Caden moved up to the pre-school class, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I really wanted to work with special needs adoptions, or special needs kids in general. After my acceptance into Radford University, I started looking at the majors that they offered. I saw Social Work and I immediately knew what I wanted to major in. It‘s not easy figuring out what you want to do in your life and more than likely there’s going to be a large sequence of events leading you to your decision.
Topic: family

From the beginning of time everyone has always had that one person in his life that he admires. Being a mom and raising six kids is not an easy thing to do, but somehow my mom has managed to accomplish this big task God has given her, These three characteristics that my mom possesses perfectly describe the way she lives today. My mom Shirley 7 known as Mamma Shirl by close friends — is the person I most admire because she is supportive, loving, and hard- working.
Topic: family

No matter what my mom has to do in any given day, she always makes sure that she is my biggest supporter at every school event, social event, or soccer game, She is always on the sidelines cheering me on at all of my soccer games She goes to all the parent teacher conferences and knows where I stand halfway through the quarter. She is always supporting me to do my best and excel in schoolt She serves on so many committees at Jesuit such as the mailings, the bazaar committee, and the gala committee, Most importantly, she is loving Everything she does towards me is out of an act of love.
Topic: family

The smallest things she does towards me all show me her love. Although she has never had a job after she got married, she is hard-working and always says she has her own job of raising six children and keeping the household straight. She is in charge of everything that goes on around my house and makes sure everything is always running smoothly, She schedules all hair, dentist, and doctors‘ appointments for us, She is constantly driving around town picking up kids and running errands. She washes and folds all my clothes and makes sure I have everything ready for the day. She makes sure every bill is paid on time, that there is dinner on the table every night, and most importantly that she has enough time at the end of the day to spend with her family. These three characteristics describe the way she lives life to the fullest, I cherish each and every single moment together because I know that one day she will not be there for me to fall back on, to depend on, or to love, At the end of the day, I really do look up to her and strive to fill in her shoes because she is my mom, and most importantly what I like to refer to her as: my best friend.
Topic: family

There are three words that melt my heart every time I hear them. This isn’t a phrase everyone hears often, but I am lucky to say I hear it multiple times a day, my mom, dad, and girlfriend do a great job of emphasizing there love for me. The phrase “I love you” seems simple to many; however to me it‘s a complex phrase. When my mom and dad say it I know they mean it because they are my parents and have always put me first and done whatever they could just to make me happy.
Topic: family

My girlfriend is a lot different from my parents though, she doesn‘t need to love me she just does. Love is not easy to do, but the people surrounding me do a very good job at loving me. When i was younger and less appreciative than 1 am today, my mom would say “I love you” and I didn‘t think it meant all that much, looking back I was very wrong Love is something that makes me realize its fine if I lose everything in my life as long as it isn’t those loved ones around me.
Topic: family

Her love is tough and strict and as I said when I was younger I didn’t like it, looking back I love how she loved me. Her being strict was bad at the time, looking back I appreciate her being strict because if she was a push over I think I very well could have gone down the wrong path She still to this day emphasizes her love for me, by calling me and telling me how proud she is of me, Without my mom and her love, I wouldn‘t be the kid I am today, My dad loves me just as equally as my mom does however he displays his love for me in a much different way My dad didn‘t do the “strict“ approacht Yes, he was certainly no push over; rather he was one of my best friends. My dad still to this day is the person I admire the most.
Topic: family

He raised a great family, has a great wife and works his butt off to make sure everyone in his family is happy. He does much more for his children than most fathers I know. When I was younger he would drive me and my friends everywhere no matter what his plans were he would put them aside and make me happy. He is the absolutely most unselfish man I have ever met. He led by example, by that I mean he didn’tjust say “Ben be good to everyone around you” he didn’t need to say that, he was just good to everyone he ever met, This taught me that I want to do this and still to this day I try to be good to everyone. When I am older I hope I can love like he does, and one day be half as good of a father as he is because he has taught me so much about life and love. My girlfriend loves me in a much different way than my parents, The first time I told her I loved her, she didn’t say it back and to be honest I wasn‘t sure how I felt. I was glad she didn‘t lie, yet seriously depressed she didn’t love me back I wondered if she ever would love me or ifI wasn‘t lovablet But weeks after I remember her grabbing my hand after a date to the ninety-nine restaurant, I remember her holding it tightly and I recall her looking me in the eyes saying, “I love you”, she said it stuttering.
Topic: family

I wasn’t sure how to react so I let go of her hand, grabbed her tightly and just hugged her I had never been so happy in my life I always knew I needed someone to love me besides my family but I never really thought anyone else ever would love me I remember tears running down my face, I was caught so off guard with these words, It was a moment I will never forget in my life. These three words are so simple to say, but everyone has a moment in their life of being told they are loved, and for me it was the most memorable moment in my life. Love doesn’t come easy, but it sure as hell is worth every bit of trouble to hear someone say those words to you and treat you amazing like my girlfriend does. Lao Tzu once said, “Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage”; to me I couldn’t agree any more with this quote, Being loved by my parents and girlfriend seem to complete me. I wake up every morning with a smile on my face simply because the people surrounding me have lots of love for me, Without the people surrounding me loving me I wouldn‘t be as strong as I am and my life would be completely different.
Topic: family

The most significant person in my life would have to be my mother She is a strong willed woman, who has managed to raise a charming. clever, and intelligent daughter. For 17 years she has provided the necessities, the luxuries and most of all. the love that a young woman needs and wants in her life. Being a single mother, stress got in the way of her happiness, so I decided to try to make my mother happy. I got straight As in school.
Topic: family

Even though I didnt understand why I received the punishments I got when I was growrng up, now | see that it was all for the good. I commend her on her hard work for 17 years raising me alone. She put my needs before hers and one I day would like to repay her. Because she was raismg me by herself, my mother was not able to get a college degree in business, which she always wanted. I would like to ultimately thank her by givmg her my college degree. Since she didnt have the chance to earn one I would like to, when the time comes, accept my degree in her name.
Topic: family

She stands 5 feet 2 inches tall. weighs 95 pounds, and has short, blonde hair and blue eyes. I see my older sister Amanda. Others see a model of perfection, Don‘t get me wrong, my sister and l are close and have been since birth. My mother has kept pictures of us ranging from the time we went Trick, or, Treating with each other to Amanda‘s graduation. For seventeen years, we‘ve shared every life experience imaginable, and we’ve dealt with the trials and tribulations that come with growing up.
Topic: family

But with each passing year, the little comments and remarks literally ate away at my identity. Comments like “You did good, but Amanda got a better grade” can easily destroy a child‘s self-esteem. As I became older, I started believing that I was not growing up as myself, but rather as the product of someone else. It almost made me happy to see older teachers leave and others take their place. Unfortunately, school made up only half of the problem. The other half occurred in the one place where it really should not but often did: at home.
Topic: family

What really personally offended me were the comparisons made by my parents after every straight A report card, MVP trophy, or picture in the newspaper, Seeing this. I tried my hardest to do well and earn the praise of my parents, but what frustrated me the most was that no matter how hard I tried, I always ended Lip on the short end of the stick. It took a lot of time and many tears finally to realize that I had wasted my time on such a trivial thought. Two years ago as Amanda filled out college applications, everything suddenly clicked. I realized that everything that happened to me was irrelevant and that, if anything, it can make me stronger rather than hinder my chances for success. Her departure for college gave me the opportunity to live up to my own standards instead of hers. I was fifteen years old l had just started my life. I could easily say that I WIII always resent my sister for everything she has put me through, but I won‘t. In a way, she toughened me up both intellectually and emotionally, What started out as a burden in my life ended up defining it.
Topic: family

I feel overwhelmed by all the information that I have been able to find out from Rahim. This is just too much for one day I feel like I know nothing about my own life. How i feel so foolish was never attentive enough in my childhood to notice everything that was happening right under my nose If only I paid more attention I could have seen all the signs that were so clear, I am very sad that all that I managed to feel for my own flesh and blood was jealousy.
Topic: family

1 cannot believe that he could stand all that humiliation because of me. How i feel so disappointed that Baba, the man who made me believe that he was honorable, was not the person I thought him to be, After so long I get to know that I had believed in the wrong things. It is so disenchanting to have all my childhood beliefs be shattered in just a single day. How stupid was i to let myself be fooled by all the things that he said.
Topic: family

I also feel so ashamed of myself, All the things that I have found out today make me realize just how similar I am to my father. I feel like a criminal. I am also a thiefjust like my fathert This feels very ironical considering how he taught me lessons on how to be righteous. I am saddened that I cannot have a chance to apologize to my friend and brother Hassan for what I did before I ran away from my problems. All I ever do is run, I am not even courageous enough to face my problems Baba is even better than I am because at least he did not abandon his illegitimate son even though he never had the courage to tell him the truth, I wish I could have gotten here sooner before the death of Hassan and Farzana because then I would have gotten a chance to apologize. I feel somehow responsible for the chain of events that took place in the life of Hassan, I really am the worst friend that anyone could ever have., How I feel ashamed that I kept a lot of secrets from Hassan. In fact, Baba and I are no different. Both of us are just liars. This makes me feel like a thief I also feel deep sorrow that Rahim who was a great influence in my childhood is now ill.
Topic: family

It is like I am losing almost every person who is important in my life How unhappy I am that life has not offered me a chance to rebuild all the relationships that I left back at home. Now I finally get to understand how kind and caring Hassan really was. In spite of everything I have done to offend him since we were children he still misses me and writes this letter for me. How I feel guilty that I was never a good enough friend to my brother. How i wish I could have come back earlierr I must redeem myself too I must travel to Kabul and help rescue the son of Hassan from the Orphanage he is being held. With Rahim Khan ill and his parents dead, I might just be the only person remaining who has the power to save her. I do not want to add any disappointments towards myself for not taking care of my responsibilities. How I feel overwhelmed by all the responsibilities that await me. I hope that I get the courage I need to carry out all that I am supposed to, I feel like I owe Hassan so much. Although this will not cater for all that I have done, I know it plays a big role in redeeming me. For once I choose to fulfill my responsibilities instead of running away like I am always doing. I of all people should know that it is never possible to bury the past as it will eventually find its way back to haunt you. I know this is going to be dangerous and difficult but Hassan also took a risk for me so I will be a man and do the same for him, Going back to Kabul will put my life and that of my family at risk but I am willing to take the risk I also am afraid to go back to Kabul because this is where all the childhood memories and the memories of the wrongs I have done are held.
Topic: family

I cannot begin to imagine how Sohrab has been suffering living in an orphanage without parents. I feel so apologetic for everything that has happened to Hassan and his family that I will do my best to finally deliver his son from all the suffering that he has been experiencing since the death of his parents I am afraid of the test of my loyalty and manhood that waits. Although sorrow fills my heart because my best friend died in the hands of the Taliban, I am happy that at least he never forgot that I existed. The fact that he wrote me a letter is reason enough for me to believe that he always thought about me [must do something to repay Hassan for being the person who cared the most about me. I hope that wherever Hassan is right now he will be able to forgive me for all that I have done to him At last I find something that can help me be good again. How happy I am to know that finally I have something to repay Hassan for being a good man. I must save Sohrab at all costs At least now I will not have to hold the guiltI feel inside of me because Sohrab’s rescue will be my redemption. I swear I will do everything I can to complete this task
Topic: family

Gangs are a violent reality that people have to deal with in today s society. What caused these gangs to form? Why do kids feel that being in a gang is acceptable as well as a good way to live? These are two questions that we ask ourselves everyday and although the Iongrrange answers can only be speculated upon, the shortrterm answer is much easier to find. On the surface. gangs are a direct result of human beings personal wants as well as peer pressure.
Topic: family

To determine how to effectively end gang violence we must first find out how these morals are brought on to the indiVidual. Unfortunately these can only be hypothesized. However. by looking at the way humans are influenced in society. I believe that there is good evrdence to point the blame at several institutions, These include the forces of the media. the government. theatre, drugs and our economic system. Gangs are caused by peer pressure and greed.
Topic: family

Children learn by watching and by seeing Violence on teleVision they think that it is acceptable in society, Many shows on television today are extremely violent and are often shown from a gang s perspective. Gore in teIeVision also takes a big part in influencing young minds. Young children View gory scenes and are fascinated by what they see but are unaware of the dangers that proceed. A young child does not see blood and Violence as a bad thing. Children raised With this type of show Violence are more susceptible to becoming Violent and thus turn to a gang for support. So as you can see. if television leads a child to believe that violence is the norm. this will manifest itself in the actions of the child. quite often in a gang situation.
Topic: family

This is especially the case When parents don I spend a lot of time with the children explaining what is right and What is wrong with what they are Viewrng, I personally believe that television violence has a greater impact on the child than the parents do. This is because once again children spend most of the day in front of the television. Once this Violent mentality is installed in children they become more prone to being pushed into a gang Situation by any problem at home or school. For instance, in poor families With many children or upper-middle class families where parents are always working, the child Will often feel deprived of love. Children of these families may often go to a gang out of boredom and to belong somewhere. As time passes a form of love and friendship develops between the gang and the child. It is then that the bond between the two is completed because the gang has effectively taken the place of the family. One of the great factors in joining a gang is protection. I personally feel that joining a gang Will bring on more danger than it saves you from. However, this is not the way that children see it. Reports show that in places such as the Bronx as well as Compton, children will no doubt be beaten and robbed if they do not join a gang. Of course, they can probably get the same treatment from rivals once in the gang.
Topic: family

The gang also prowdes money for these children who quite often need it to feed their families. So, as you can see gangs are a product of the environment that we. society. have created for ourselves. Some of these factors include: the media, greed. violence and other gangs. There seems to be no way to end the problem of gang without totally restructuring the modern economy and value system. Since the chance of this happening is minimal, we must learn to cope with gangs and try to keep their following to a minimum. Unfortunately there is no real organized force to help light gangs. What we need are more people to form organizations such as the Guardian Angels a gangrlike group that makes life very tough for gangs that are breaking the law.
Topic: family

I see my older sister Amanda. Others see a model of perfection, Don‘t get me wrong, my sister and l are close and have been since birth. My mother has kept pictures of us ranging from the time we went Trick , or , Treating with each other to Amanda‘s graduation. For seventeen years, we‘ve shared every life experience imaginable, and we’ve dealt with the trials and tribulations that come with growmg up. But in September, she left home to attend the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, leavrng me to face life alone.
Topic: family

Comments like “You did good, but Amanda got a better grade” can easily destroy a child‘s self-esteem. As I became older, I started believing that I was not growmg up as myself, but rather as the product of someone else. It almost made me happy to see older teachers leave and others take their place. Unfortunately, school made up only half of the problem. The other half occurred in the one place where it really should not but often did: at home. What really personally offended me were the comparisons made by my parents after every straightA report card, MVP trophy, or picture in the newspaper, Seeing this.
Topic: family

I tried my hardest to do well and earn the praise of my parents, but what frustrated me the most was that no matter how hard I tried, I always ended Lip on the short end of the stick. It took a lot of time and many tears finally to realize that I had wasted my time on such a trivral thought. Two years ago as Amanda filled out college applications, everything suddenly clicked. I realized that everything that happened to me was irrelevant and that, if anything, it can make me stron ger rather than hinder my chances for success. Her departure for college gifteen years oldl had just started my life. I could easily say that I WIII always resent my sister for everything she has put me through, but I won‘t. In away, she toughened me up both intellectually and emotionally, What started out as a burden in  my life ended up defining it,ave me the opportunity to live up to my own standards instead of hers.
Topic: family

My ultimate goal and dream is to have a world where children are valued and taught to honor themselves and each other, creating more productive and positive thinking adults. I have a strong desire to help others which I believe stems from my mother who is a case manager dealing with families who have suffered from the HIV/AIDS virus and the way she goes above and beyond the call of duty I’m determined to create an environment where self worth is the most important thing, not whether or not someone has the latest fashions but rather what‘s on the inside.
Topic: family

1 have personally had to deal with abandonment issues of my own which comes from the loss of my father at the age of eight and the complete lack of love and support from his family once he passed away I believe that some of the lesson within the program will assist me in overcoming some of my own issues. I currently work at a college for Allied Health and I have students come to me from time to time with family issues that have touch my heart and made just offer a hug and some advice.
Topic: family

Irecently had a student come to me who was dealing with domestic violence. Her husband who had attempted to commit suicide and once his attempt failed he then proceeded to beat on his wife in front of their young son and goddaughter. I couldn’t fathom being in her shoes. Physically I couldn’t do anything to her but I that words are one of the most powerful weapon we have, so I gave her what I could and that was advice. I advised her that since both she and her husband both refused to leave the house that she find someone she trusted to look after her son until she was able to do so, I informed her that one of the worst things a child can see is there parent being abused ( I know from experience) and that with him being a male that is the last thing he should witness so that when he becomes of age the cycle of abuse wouldn’t continue.
Topic: family

Our class community service project was something I am very happy I was a part of, I haven‘t had many opportunities to be around children in the environment that I hope to one day be working in I wasn’t completely sure what to expect or how the children would react to someone my age, so going into the project I defiantly had a different mindset then I did after the project, I’ve been around children of all ages, but only a few times have I been around children in the early stages of elementary school, at the actual school setting, Even though this project wasn‘t during school and in the classroom, I was still able to see how the children interacted with one another and their teachers, Prior to the project, I remembered when I was in elementary school and we had a little carnival just like the one we worked at, But of course I was in elementary school then and my view of the atmosphere and what was going then, was completely different then my view when we did this project Seeing how the children acted at this project helped me get a little idea of how children would act in the classroom.
Topic: family

I worked at the Bean Toss station where the children just had to simply make one out of five bean bags make it into a whole for a piece of candy To most it would seem like nothing, but to these children it was the end of the world if they didn’t make one in, This showed me that even the littlest most simple things interest and be in important to children of this age. This little bit of knowledge I think could be extremely helpful in the classroom setting with being able to make things interesting for this age group so they enjoy learning, I can remember my second grade teacher always turnng a lesson into a game.
Topic: family

Whoever got the most questions correct or could complete her worksheets correctly would getjust one starburst. This little incentive to doing our work and learning the material not only made us work hard to get the correct answers, but made the whole learning of the lesson fun and interesting. This to me is a great example of how this knowledge can be helpful in the classroom. After working at the carnival and spending time with the children, I realized that interaction with children is very important. Children in elementary school are very young and need much attention. I constantly had to remind the children that were playing the bean toss that even though they missed the first toss, they still had more chances to go. If I hadn‘t of said anything and interacted with them, they would have given up after the first try.
Topic: family

This automatic feeling of defeat could easily be present in the classroom setting without any interaction between the teacher and the studenti I feel like the more you interact with children, the more likely they are to succeed. Everyone, even adults, needs the constant reminder that they can do it. Children this young especially need this type of positive interaction so that they can learn early on that all you have to do is try your best and never give up. To me, keeping students encouraged with this kind of interaction is part of a good teachers’ job I am so glad I was able to participate in an experience with children like this. I feel it is important to have experience with children prior to entering the classroom as the teacher.
Topic: family

With experiences like these, it helps you get a better understanding of how the classroom should be with children this age. Being a teacher of children in the early childhood stages entitles more than just teaching them a lesson then testing them on it. But a teacher in the early childhood stages must also remember that these are the ages where children learn the most important things in life and need the most assistance. I was lucky enough to have teachers throughout my early childhood stages that taught me little things I need to know in life that I still use and remember to this day‘ It wasn’t because they forced me to learn these things that I remembered them, but because they taught me in ways that I understood and enjoyed. Going and visiting elementary schools and interacting with the children before beginning a teaching career is one of the most important things any future teacher could do,
Topic: family

My whole entire world changed, A life lesson was cultured. The day before started like any other normal day, I felt nervous, anxious, and excited all at the same time. I knew he would be here any day now; it was just a matter of when. I was almost done playing my 9 month long waiting game. After a nice long, warm shower, I dressed for two and went out to idealistic dinner with my fiance’, Andy. We talked about how our lives would be changing dramatically very soon.
Topic: family

I was surprised when I looked down and noticed that the hallway was soaked. “Andy,” I called from the hallway, “It’s time!“ I was so calm, and relaxed I knew right away that my water had broken. Always sincere, Andy immediately got out of bed, grabbed our packed bags, and went out to start the auto vehicle. At the hospital, all the calm evaporated. I had never felt so much agonyi You hear horror stories from other women, family and friends, who have gone through labor.
Topic: family

But nothing can prepare you for what it actually feels like. When one of the nurses passed out while I was getting my epidural, I barely even noticed because of the pain. It was then that I knew that my life was just about to begin again, It all began with a single high-pitched cry. Andrew Christopher Green»man arrived at approximately 6:32 pm. As they gently placed my newborn baby boy on my chest, a million thoughts ran through my mind.
Topic: family

There were so many similar emotions and feelings, Does he look more like me or his daddy? Who would he end up acting like? But one thought stayed with me: I knew my life would never be the same, and that now, from this moment forward, as a mother, I would always have new and never—ending responsibilities. 1 was so prepared so I thought, All of a sudden I felt scared, I didn’t know how soon my motherly traits would have kicked in, All of a sudden; it was a blink of an eye when my instincts were right beside me, I felt like something so special was involuntary guiding me through it all. I have changed countless diapers, given hundreds of baths, made thousands of bottles and gone to too many doctors’ appointments to count, I have watched baby teeth grow, comforted my child when he was sad or sick, laughed with my child every time he laughed, As he takes his baby steps, I have taken my own steps, that of a mother.