ktmeng/mec huggingface dataset:
Topic: family

Stephen’s paternal line can be traced seven generations back. The first person in his family to come to the United States was Aquila Chase who was born in England in 1620. He migrated to the United States during the puritan movement. His wife Anne Wheeler was born in Salisbury, England in 1621. Anne and her family came to the United States on the “Mary and John” in 1634. Anne married Aquila Chase in Hampton by 1644. Aquila Chase was one of the first settlers in Hampton which is where he and Anne got married in 1644. While living in the Hamptons Aquila received many land grants and had more opportunity compared to others who came to the new world as indentured servants. (wiki tree) After several generations living on the east coast the Chase family moved to the west.
Topic: family

“The high tide of migration into Oregon and Washington came after the turn of the century, after the effects of the depression of the nineties had worn off (Bergmann 121). Washington state had the third highest number of Norwegian-born people where the majority of them lived in the cities instead or the country. The Moe and Chase families became urban dwellers living in Seattle, strengthening the majority of city dwellers. Stephen, came to the Puget Sound area from Maine, where he was already growing in the fish industry. Once settled here “he founded the Whiz Fish Company, the Quality Seafood Packing Company, both of Seattle, and the Everett Fish Company of that city. He had many friends among the Pacific Northwest seafaring men, with whom he had been associated continuously until his illness [ten days ago]. Mr.Chase is said never to have lost a day’s work in his many years of activity” (seattle times obituary). Not only did he start his own fish packing companies but he was also instrumental in the start of his son-in-laws Fish Company. In 1913, Christian Moe opened his own company called Superior Fish. Most of the family stayed in the fish industry, with Christian’s brothers Ole and Maynard even working part time in the family run business. Uncle Martin didn’t go down the path of fish packing but he did start his own business, French Laundry. Living in the Seattle area the four Moe brothers started their own families, My great grandfather, also Christian Moe, was born in 1916 and my grandma was later born in 1942.
Topic: family

My grandpa on my mom’s side of the family, John Macdonald was born in 1936 to John Macdonald and His father, born in 1911, was one of eleven kids. They grew up very poor in a small farming community in Minnesota. He later moved to Spokane where he started working the lowest jobs possible in a trucking company. He did not have a lot of opportunity when he first moved but he started to work his way up and eventually became the owner of Pacific Highway Transport, a trucking company. When he retired he sold his company and it became Garrett Freightliner. He started out with nothing and retired a very wealthy man, raising his children in Seattle which is where my grandparents met through mutual friends.
Topic: family

My grandmother, Carole (Moe) Macdonald, was born in 1942, six years after my grandpa. Although she was young when her grandfather Christian died she remembers him and stories told about the early life of our Norwegian family. “Grandfather never felt un-American or felt that he had lost his Norwegian past.Coming to the United States he assimilated to the surrounding culture while still maintaining his Norwegian heritage.” Before permanently moving to Washington Christian and his family spent time living in Wisconsin where they adapted to becoming American at the same time as being Norwegian. There are more than 4.5 million Norwegian Americans, according to the most recent U.S. census; most live in the Upper Midwest Norwegian Americans are currently the 10th-largest European ancestry group in the United States. (Wikepedia). America is home to many immigrants, the most important to me is my father.
Topic: family

My father, John Turral was born and raised in England. His mother, Marie Turral was an artist and architect born in Johannesburg, South Africa. She met my grandpa when she was eighteen years old while visiting wounded soldiers that had been transferred to South Africa during World War II. My grandparents were married in England in 1958 and my dad was born in 1960. Unfortunately, my grandfather, John Turral, died from his wounds he received as a Major for the Royal Artillery during World War II. My granny never remarried, she raised my dad by herself.
Topic: family

After my father graduated college he worked as a safari guide in Africa where he met my mother, then Laurie Macdonald. My mom was born in Everett, Washington in 1967 and grew up in Marysville with her two brothers, Andrew and John Macdonald. My mom graduated from high school in 1885 and later graduated college from the University of Washington getting a bachelor’s degree in political science. Following her college graduation my mom travelled to Africa where she met my dad on one of his safaris.
Topic: family

My parents were married in 1995. Weddings are always a lot of work but my parents was even more stressful than most. For my father to travel to the United States and marry my mom the legal way he had to have a K-1 visa also known as the finance visa. After filing the correct paperwork with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services and getting approved for the visa your case is then sent to the United States Embassy in your fiances country. My father’s visa was sent to the U.S. embassy in London but the paperwork sat on someone’s desk for the longest time. It took so long for the papers to be processed that my parents had to postpone their wedding date. My dad had to have a medical examination by an approved doctor where they took his blood as well as a chest x ray. Washington state Senator, Thomas Gordon expedited my father’s visa so that it was processed in time for my parents to have their wedding on their already postponed date.
Topic: family

My dad legally lived in the United States with a green card for the first 15 years. When my father was renewing his green card it was lost in the mail and it was going to cost him another $350 to have a new one sent. Instead of doing that he decided to become a citizen. My father studied for the citizenship test and after passing it paid $600 to become a citizen. A ceremony was held for my father and many other immigrants from all over to the world, they were all proud citizens of the United States of America. When explaining the ceremony
Topic: family

Even before my dad had become a naturalized citizen he still felt like he belonged in the United States. He will always be British but that doesn’t mean he can’t be American too. My father says that he has felt that being from the United Kingdom has been an advantage to him over here. He owns his own company, Marysville Equipment Rental, where he rents heavy machinery. Customers often take interest in his accent and he feels that is something that sets him apart from other rental companies. People are more likely to remember you if you have a special feature like my father has.
Topic: family

Growing up I have seen my father work hard and achieve many goals. “I have never felt disadvantaged about being an immigrant. I might not be able to run for the president but that’s okay! There’s so many freedoms and rights that I have which is the same as the freedom and rights you have from being born here,” he said to me. Immigrants may have the same liberties legally as other native born people but that doesn’t mean they always get the same respect. My father, as well as the rest of my family that immigrated to the United States has been lucky to have been able to fit in so well. Being white immigrants helped my family to blend in better, they may have sounded different than everyone else but they looked the same.
Topic: family

Looking up to a person is different for everyone, for me, it is my mom. My mother is strong and independent. A person who many people look up to including me. Someone who has the biggest heart in the world. Even when something is dragging her down. It took me so long to spend time with my mom. Like any teenager, I was rude and uncaring about her and how she felt. Never spending any actual time with her. Moms are amazing and no one should ever throw that away.
Topic: family

One of the first memories I can remember of my mom was her singing our song to me every night before I was going to bed. While traveling through each state I remember us singing this one special song over and over. It calmed me down and relaxed us both. I always find my mom giving to those in need. Either it is giving money to the homeless or it is helping someone in need with a warm bed and a meal. She is always finding new ways to keep busy and show me how big her heart is.
Topic: family

I have seen my mom struggle as she battled to pay bills, raise a family, and get a new job and get more jobs after we moved to Iowa. She has constantly told me to do what I think is right and has held that to her and has supported all of my decisions. She tries so hard to make my sister, two brothers, and me tough. I look at her with the hopes that I will be just as amazing, outspoken, and strong as she is to this day. She has shown me the most important things in life. I would have never made it to where I am now without her.
Topic: family

I asked my mom what one thing she was will always remember? and she told me this- “To love something so much that it puts pain on you, is the pain worth the love you get back from it.” When I heard this for the first time last week I was in shock. I never thought that hard about it till now. Leaving all of our family behind was very hard for both of us but was the pain of not being able to grow and be who we are worth it?
Topic: family

When it comes to thinking about a place in my childhood that I find of importance, it is not a place, but a person that comes to mind. This person in my mother. I mean no disrespect to my family they are important too, but the love I have for my mother goes beyond them. My mom is my everything, from when I was a child, until now, and until forever. Since I was a little girl she has been everything I could have ever asked for.
Topic: family

I began distancing myself dad and finding security in my mom. I can’t describe the feeling I felt when he was gone, be it wistfulness or vexation, but I found relief in crawling into her bed when he was gone. I felt safe with her, like she could protect me from anything. Throughout the years I became very close to my mom, anything she did, I wanted to do it. She became my safety net, she became my everything.
Topic: family

My mom was, and will always be, my best friend, my everything, my rock. Most little girl’s best friends were their beloved stuffed animal, or the girl they sat next to in their homeroom class, but not me. Needless to say I was not as close with my mom as I am now but I looked up to her. I could talk to her about anything and everything. When I was in second grade I was diagnosed with severe dyslexia, and as a result, got bullied. Kids were vicious animals who were infatuated with calling me stupid, retarded and making fun of my inability to write and put together simple sentences. I would come home and find comfort in crying in my mother’s lap while she played with my hair as I discussed the events. While I was too weak to speak up for myself, my mother was not. She was strong-willed, she stood up and advocated for me when I myself did not know how to.
Topic: family

My mom is still the place I find myself feeling most safe. As I said before she is my everything, from when I was a child, until now, and until forever. I do not need her to take care of me as much as I did when I was younger, but I know that if I need her, she has my back. I still go to her when I am in need of comfort and safety and she is still my rock. My mom has taught me a lot about life and to me that is something I find of importance.
Topic: family

(Shen, Wang & Shen, 2009). It is believed to reduce negative emotions. One study indicated Lai et al. (2008) indicated that students listening to slow music before the examinations tend to attempt the examination with less anxiety in comparison to the students who do not listen to any slow song. This study majorly focused on slow music as a key to reducing to anxiety. He conducted experiments with thirty-eight students and divided them into two different groups.
Topic: family

The students within the music group listened to a slow piece of music then received a test, while the scholars within the silent group took a test without taking note of any music beforehand. The results showed that the anxiety of the experimental group was less than that of the control group, implying that slow music helps reduce anxiety. However, another study (Dosseville, 2012) suggested that serious music can also have a positive effect on children. For this number of undergraduate students were asked to listen to the music before the examination while others were asked not to listen to any song.
Topic: family

The result proved music is really essential in positively affecting the students at a small age. . The experimental group students listened to serious music during a lecture, while the control group listened to the lecture without music. The results indicated that the performance of the experimental group was significantly higher than of the control group, indicating that serious music can have a positive influence on learning performance. One more study de Groot (2006) founded that classical music can also be related to better performance when it comes to learning vocabulary. found that more learning occurred within the music condition (classical music) than within the silent condition when students were learning language vocabulary. Apart from learning vocabulary, reading comprehensions also take a lot of time and sometimes they are confusing too because of the long length. At school, a student also learns to develop reasoning skills and it is also believed that music can develop reasoning skills and help the students to execute them whenever necessary. There are many studies proving that music can help students in developing better learning skills. However, it is important to know if music also help students changing their behaviour and how students can emotionally connect them.
Topic: family

The findings indicate that training may enhance the developmental trajectory for musical skills through normal maturation and plasticity in auditory and motor regions of the brain of the child. Longitudinal studies amongst children show that one to three years of music lessons in childhood may improve synchronization and pitch discrimination which are related to changes in the underlying neural substrates. Some more studies shown that exposure to a particular piece of music before birth had long-lasting effects, as the babies seemed to prefer listening to that music before birth had long-lasting effects, as the babies seemed to prefer listening to that music up to 15 months after birth. There are some simple tests as well to check the understanding of children related to music. For Children’s melody discrimination task children listen to two melodies of equal duration separated by 1.2-second silence, and then indicate whether the second melody is the same or different.
Topic: family

Pop music is also frequently heard by children today, although this tends to be not the children’s own choice. Mothers often put music on, especially the radio, to accompany everyday routines like mealtimes and driving. Older siblings are also influential, in some families, in determining the music choices. Other musical styles such as classical music or folk music are very rare in children’s lives, and would not typically be chosen by them. Taking an example of the relatively rare occasions when children might listen to classical music is at school nurseries. Many play calming classical music after mealtimes to help children wind down to rest. This hasn’t changed much in the last 30 years – many of the children’s parents would have had similar musical experiences – but it is only a small part of children’s musical lives today. In today’s contemporary world many new singers are coming up such as from Punjabi industry a new singer is coming up his name is Shubhdeep singh Sidhu better known as Sidhu Moosewala. He is a young singer and more and more youngsters and children are becoming fan of him. Moreover, not only Punjabis Americans, Canadians and all people across the world are becoming fan of him. Children see him as their inspiration because his lyrics are based on reality of life that’s why he is becoming so much popular. Such singers are influencing children and some children are so much influenced by these singers that want to become like them and they start following them and sometimes this following may be proved as fatal. Because, children stop listening to their parents and behave like the singer.
Topic: family

My mother was there to grab me even before I fell to the ground riding my huffy marvel spider-man bicycle at just 3 years old. Her eyes always full of concern; constantly accusing what going to happen next. The mother who always has time to listen to me when I have to express my feelings. A mother is a mother no matter if they stay at home or if they are working. Years ago, a woman’s job in society was to simply just take care of family needs and day to day responsibilities.
Topic: family

My family wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for all the sacrifices that my mom made. There are such a large number of incredible qualities I cherish and respect about my mother, that it would be unimaginable and out of line to write about one. Being active, optimistic and generous are all some great personality traits, which my mother maintains, but most importantly the sacrifices and that pure heart of hers is what brought me and my family where we are now. The sacrifices my mother made for me is something that will always have a mansion in my heart.
Topic: family

All the sacrifices she made is like drinking water. My mother sacrificed her future for my future and that is what had the greatest impact in my life. My mom was going to Highline Community College to get her degree to become a registered nurse. She had to pay out of pocket every quarter, which means that she worked and went to college at the same time. When it was her second year at Highline, I was going into my sophomore year of high school. I asked my mom if I could get my license this year, and the answer was, “Yes! My beautiful son”. I jumped around like a toad in a thunderstorm and kissed her until her forehead turned red. Keep in mind, she had to pay her classes for fall quarter, but she still gave me the opportunity to be able to get my license.
Topic: family

On September 28, 2016 is when I enrolled in a driving institution that costs $500. Within a month, I got my license but had no car, which meant I had to use my brother’s car to go anywhere I wanted to go. I didn’t want to bother my mom and ask her for a car since she just paid $500 to get my license. I decided to ask my older brother if he could loan be some money to buy a car, “Ok… just pay me back in 10 years,” he said laughing. A couple months went by and Christmas time was around the corner. I said to myself, this is the time. Therefore, every time my mother asked me what I wanted for Christmas I said a car. I know she couldn’t afford to buy me a car at that moment, but I always believed in miracles. The look on my mother’s face knowing that her son wants a car, but she can’t afford it was dispiriting. For this reason, I went up to her and said, “don’t worry I don’t need a car now, I could buy it when I start working”, but moms will always be moms and she knew me too well to figure out when I was lying.
Topic: family

Then, I realized she started working more hours, working 50 hours a week and still going to college. I knew something was up, but I didn’t know how to ask her. A couple of months later, came March it was spring break. I got a call at 11 AM and it was my mom telling me to come outside. I dressed up and went out there like a dog running after the hare and there was my silver 2003 Toyota Camry. It wasn’t something crazy like a BMW or Mercedes but given the circumstances, it felt like a Rolls Royce to me. When I asked my mom how she got it, she said, “I started working more hours, and I am not going to go to college this quarter. So, I decided to buy my exquisite son something special”. This meant something to me. I will never forget this day and I will do anything and more to reimburse that moment. My mom’s heart is at its most flawless when giving. I saw my mom contribute and pay for vehicle notes and helping the people that are underprivileged by buying them basic needs like water, food, and blankets whenever she could.
Topic: family

My mom is charitable which implies that regardless of whether she has cash, she will in any case deal with an approach to help an individual at a lower level than her. This is the thing that moves me the most about my mom. The most powerful phrase that she always tells me is that regardless of how poor or low you think you are, there is dependably someone lower than you. That quote is imaginarily inked on my body and it will forever be a piece of my life. In conclusion, my mom drives our family by continually putting others needs before her own. Her consistent persistence is uprightness that an incredible mother must-have. Everybody on the planet has a different opinion on who the perfect mother is. They come in numerous shapes, sizes, qualities, and convictions. For me, a perfect mother will put a hundred percent into shielding you from evil. They will remain determined to give you the security of wellbeing; and will impart to you the learning required for survival. A hero just needs to be someone who cares for your happiness and loves you for being yourself and that person is my mother.
Topic: family

My grandfather had a dream that he would one day become a polyglot, a master of multiple languages. Another thing that I admire about him is that when it comes to his dreams, he puts in the greatest amount of effort to ensure that it can become his reality. Although English is not his native language, he speaks it fluently at a very high level, almost without an accent. Besides Arabic and English, my grandfather could speak French, Spanish, Chinese, and German. Since he was able to speak many languages, he was able to acquaint and make friends with people from all over the world while studying abroad. Due to his language skills, he was able to add great value to his work. This speaks in favor of qualities such as determination, discipline, and a hard-work ethic.
Topic: family

My grandfather is someone who you can say is selfless due to how he always puts others before himself. My grandfather tries to help out family, friends, and complete strangers before he helps himself – even if it ends up hurting him in the end. With the addition of his great sense of responsibility, my grandfather is extremely reliable and can always be counted on. Due to such traits, I find that many people, be it, relatives or strangers, take advantage of my grandfather in order to satisfy their needs. Using his inability to refuse favors and his capabilities, my grandfather is found more often than not, helping others with their goals rather than his own.
Topic: family

My grandfather is not a well-known person. He is neither a celebrity nor someone who has made a great contribution to modern science. He has not decided the fate of a country or written an award-winning novel. If you were ever to see my grandfather on the streets, you probably would never think he was someone with great intelligence or immense capabilities. However, if you knew him like I did then you would admire him as well. Although he is not here to guide me through life and tell me about the experiences he has had, the light he lit up in my world will never go dim.
Topic: family

As also shown in The Impact of Divorce on Young Children and Adolescents by Carl E. Pickhart, divorce introduces a massive change into the life of a boy or girl no matter what the age. Witnessing loss of love between parents, having parents break their marriage commitment, adjusting to going back and forth between two different households, and the daily absence of one parent while living with the other, all create a challenging new family circumstance in which to live.
Topic: family

In this era one of the more sobering realities of life is divorce (USA Today). Marriages end over a host of issues, including infidelity, stress, money troubles, and personal changes by one or both partners over the course of a marriage. Divorce can be an emotionally wrenching experience and can fracture families. For many children, divorce leaves scars that never heal. About forty percent to fifty percent of married couples in the United States divorce, according to the American Psychological Association. The divorce rate among those who remarry is even higher.
Topic: family

(Masci) report he states, almost half of all-American children must cope, at some point in their lives, with the disintegration of their parents’ marriage. A controversial new study he found by psychiatrist Judith Wallerstein contends that the children of divorce are much more likely to be troubled as adults and that couples with kids need to try harder to remain married. But critics describe the study as unscientific and argue that bad marriages often end up doing more harm than good to the whole family. Child-advocacy experts also disagree over the impact of custody arrangements. Some favor joint physical custody because they say it allows both parents to remain involved in their children’s lives. But others say that forcing a child to live in two homes is disruptive and makes an already difficult situation worse.
Topic: family

Research shows, divorce can be a wrenching experience for children(Jost and Robinson). New studies suggest the painful effects of their parents’ breakup can stay with children for years. Many will not do well in school or jobs, and some will fail in their own marriages later on. The studies have intensified the debate over the “no-fault divorce” laws that made it easier for couples to dissolve their marriages. Some experts say the new findings on the effects of divorce on children are exaggerated, and no one expects a substantial movement away from liberalized divorce laws. But some therapists are urging couples in distress to try harder to resolve their problems rather than get a divorce. And there is broad agreement that children of divorce need greater support—financial, social and psychological—to avoid becoming innocent victims of their parents’ breakup.
Topic: family

According to Coping socialization in middle childhood: Tests of maternal and paternal influences , in sum, social learning theory suggest that children’s coping may be strongly influenced by what their parents do to cope. Stated in the article, parent’s may influence their children’s coping choices by modeling how they handle their own stressful situations that arise. Based on social learning literature, we would expect overt parental coping behaviors to be modeled most readily. In a study of sixty-one children and adolescents with Sickle Cell Disease, there was a significant negative correlation between children’s expression of emotion when coping with SCD-related pain and mothers’ use of social support coping and emotion-focused engagement. Research shows, a number of studies have linked the family environment to children’s coping strategies. In a study with sixty school-age children and their mothers found that maternal support was associated with children’s use of a greater variety of coping strategies with everyday problems, and with greater use of avoidant strategies.
Topic: family

Parent’s as role models’ effect on children is shown in Parents are Powerful Role Models for Children by Karen Stephens. She is the director of the Illinois State University childcare center and she’s an instructor in child development. For nine years Stephens wrote a weekly parenting column in her local newspaper. She has authored early care and education books and is a frequent contributor to Exchange. As in Stephens article, children, in general, do tend to grow up to be a lot like their parents. Social scientists and genetic researchers have identified many cycles that loop from one generation to the next. Children who live in homes where parents smoke are more likely to become smokers. Parents who abuse drugs or alcohol are more likely to find their children someday do the same. Adults who were abused as children may indeed hurt their own children. And that’s not all. Parents with a low self-esteem raise children with the same affliction. Stephens states, Parent’s play a major role on how our children turn out. An if you just look around your communities you will see that happening everywhere.
Topic: family

Parental divorce affects children’s physical health and longevity (Physical Health). Those who experience parental divorce or separation are more likely to have health problems. Often in spite of maternal remarriage, such as a significant increase in injury rates, an increased risk of asthma, and increased risk of asthma-related emergencies.Children whose parents divorce are also more likely to contract cancer of the upper aerodigestive tract, the esophagus, anus, pancreas, lungs, and cervix. Researchers Kari Hemminki and Bowang Chen state, “The results show that offspring of divorced parents have increased cancer risks at tobacco-related, alcohol-related and sex-related sites.” A Swedish study showed that young men with divorced parents had a slightly heightened risk of hospitalization and significantly increased risk of mortality.
Topic: family

Upon the divorce of their parents, children experience a wide range of emotional reactions, including sadness, anger, loneliness, depression which frequently lasts into later phases of life, heightened anxiety, worry, lower life satisfaction, lower self-esteem and self-confidence, fear, yearning, rejection, conflicting loyalties, and a sense of fault for their parents’ problems (Mental Health). An analysis by David Popenoe of the National Survey of Children found that divorce was associated with a higher incidence of several mental health problems in children: depression; withdrawal from friends and family; aggressive, impulsive, or hyperactive behavior; and either behaving disruptively or withdrawing from participation in the classroom. Parental divorce may also contribute to the development of mood disorders, bipolar I disorder, dysthymia (mild chronic depression), depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Divorce is related to increased depression and anxiety for both boys and girls of all ages. However, boys find parental divorce more emotionally disturbing than girls do, and boys with divorced parents tended to be more depressed than those from two-parent families regardless of the psychological adjustment, level of conflict, or quality of parenting manifested by their parents. Psychological problems are less severe for those whose pre-divorce families were high-conflict families. According to Paul Amato of the Department of Sociology at Pennsylvania State University, child and adult well-being may actually improve after the end of an extremely conflicted marriage.
Topic: family

Research shows through, The Impact of Divorce on Young Children and Adolescents by Carl E Pickhardt, how divorce introduces a massive change into the life of a boy or girl no matter what the age. Witnessing loss of love between parents, having parents break their marriage commitment, adjusting to going back and forth between two different households, and the daily absence of one parent while living with the other, all create a challenging new family circumstance in which to live. In the personal history of the boy or girl, parental divorce is a watershed event. Life that follows is significantly changed from how life was before. He says, somewhat different responses to this painful turn of events occur if the boy or girl is still in childhood or has entered adolescence. Basically, divorce tends to intensify the child’s dependence and it tends to accelerate the adolescent’s independence; it often elicits a more regressive response in the child and a more aggressive response in the adolescent. Consider why this variation may be so.
Topic: family

(Pickhardt) states, the child’s world is a dependent one, closely connected to parents who are favored companions, heavily reliant on parental care, with family the major locus of one’s social life. The adolescent world is a more independent one, more separated and distant from parents, more self-sufficient, where friends have become favored companions, and where the major locus of one’s social life now extends outside of family into a larger world of life experience. For the young child, divorce shakes trust in dependency on parents who now behave in an extremely undependable way. They surgically divide the family unit into two different households between which the child must learn to transit back and forth, for a while creating unfamiliarity, instability, and insecurity, never being able to be with one parent without having to be apart from the other.
Topic: family

As in his article, convincing a young child of the permanence of divorce can be hard when his intense longing fantasizes that somehow, some way, mom and dad will be living back together again someday. He relies on wishful thinking to help allay the pain of loss, holding onto hope for a parental reunion much longer than does the adolescent who is quicker to accept the finality of this unwelcome family change. Thus parents who put in a joint presence at special family celebrations and holiday events to recreate family closeness for the child only feed the child’s fantasy and delay his adjustment. The dependent child’s short term reaction to divorce can be an anxious one. So much is different, new, unpredictable, and unknown that life becomes filled with scary questions? ‘What is going to happen to next?’ ‘Who will take care of me?’ ‘If my parents can lose for each other, can they lose love for me?’ ‘With one parent moving out, what if I lose the other too?’ Answering such worry questions with worst fears, the child’s response can be regressive.
Topic: family

(Pickhardt) states, the child wants to feel more connected in a family situation where a major disconnection has occurred. Regression to earlier dependency can partly be an effort to elicit parental concern, bringing them close when divorce has pulled each of them further away – the resident parent now busier and more preoccupied, the absent parent simply less available because of being less around. The more independent-minded adolescent tends to deal more aggressively to divorce, often reacting in a mad, rebellious way, more resolved to disregard family discipline and take care of himself since parents have failed to keep commitments to family that were originally made. Where the child may have tried to get parents back, the adolescent may try to get back at parents. Where the child felt grief, the adolescence has a grievance. ‘If they can’t be trusted to stay together and take care of the family, then I need to start relying more on myself.’ ‘If they can break their marriage and put themselves first, then I can put myself first too.’ ‘If they don’t mind hurting me, then I can I don’t mind hurting them.’ Now the adolescent can act aggressively to take control of his life by behaving even more distantly and defiantly, more determined to live his life his way, more dedicated to his self-interest than before. He feels increasingly autonomous in a family situation that feels disconnected. He now feels more impelled and entitled to act on his own.
Topic: family

As study after study has shown divorce does influence children. Doesn’t matter if it is a boy or girl divorce has a massive change on their life. For many children, divorce leaves scars that never heal. Life that follows is significantly changed from how life was before. So much is different, new, unpredictable, and unknown for not just the children but the whole family. How much does a parents’ divorce really effect their children? It truly can take a toll on the kids, but it can also affect the entire family.
Topic: family

Papert (1980) studied on ‘Children, computer and powerful idea’. He understood the importance of digital media and how it could be used to enable children to learn better within a constructivist learning environment. He believed that in order for children to assemble and modify their ideas, the traditional tools such as pencils, copies and texts were inadequate. He felt that computers were the appropriate tool to enable the learner to take control of the learning process. He found that a complementary relationship exists between technology and constructivism, the implementation of each one benefiting the other.
Topic: family

El-Hindi (1998) conducted study on ‘Constructivist teaching with Internet’. He assumed that learning through the Internet is very compatible with constructivism. Constructivism assumes that learners are active and curious and the process of knowledge construction on the Internet is in keeping with these paradigms. The Internet is a powerful resource to support learners’ natural curiosity. The Internet rethinks the idea of the teacher as the sole source of knowledge, by providing a vast world of information. He found that by using the Internet, teachers can focus less on being the center of learning and allow for more discoveries on the part of the student. Instead of being passive recipients listening to their teachers, students can devise their own ways of gathering information. Effective use of the Internet can help teachers move toward facilitating constructivist learning environments.
Topic: family

Krysa (1998) in his study ‘Factors affecting the adoption and use of computer technology in schools’ stated that computer training should not be limited to teachers who teach computer but all teachers should train computer and its usage. The need for computer training is explained by the fact that most of the presently recruited teachers received little or no training in their formal education concerning use of computers in teaching. It could also be a reflection of the need to update teachers’ knowledge in the world of fast moving technology of communication. Training all teachers on the educational use of computers gains special importance when considering integrating the computer into regular curriculum. Teachers need to know how to use computers first before they can integrate them in the curriculum. This could make ICT innovation simple to adopt and implement as the innovation becomes compatible with the current objectives of the users. He points to professional development and training as a solution to successful ICT implementation. He also reported that successful implementation of computers can only occur if administrators offer teachers support and leadership. In addition to administrators developing a philosophy to guide the implementation of computer technology, they can support the technological professional development of teachers by establishing flexible schedules so that teachers can practice what they have learned (or to continue their learning); encouraging and facilitating team teaching and peer coaching allowing teachers to visit each other’s classrooms to observe computer technology integration; and scheduling regular meetings among teachers using technology to plan and evaluate instruction.
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Charp (2000) noted that educational researchers find a positive connection between the integration of ICT and the successful curricula outcomes when ICT is properly deployed. Hasselbring et al. (2000) in his study ‘Technology to support teacher development’ had shown that improving the quality of an education system depends upon teachers’ training and development. He argues that teachers should be trained to view ICT as a resource and to use technology in classroom activities, whilst earlier added that education authorities are responsible for teacher training.
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Cuban (2001) investigated study on ‘High access and low use of technologies in high schools’. He found that teachers who used computers in their classrooms largely continued their customary practice, a very few fundamental changes in the dominant mode of teacher-centered instruction have occurred occasional to serious use of computers in their classes had marginal or no impact on routine teaching practices. In other words, most teachers had adapted an innovation to fit their customary practices, not to revolutionize them. He noted that the overwhelming majority of teachers employed the technology to sustain existing patterns of teaching rather than to innovate. In interviews with 21 teachers he found that 13 said that their teaching had indeed changed because of their use of information technologies. Changes include planning more efficiently, communicating with colleagues and parents far more via the Internet, securing education materials from the Internet, having an additional tool in their customary set of teaching practice, and seeing students’ access to information as a phenomenal enhancement to their teaching. Of the 13 teachers who said that their teaching had changed, only four said that they had modified their daily practices in major ways: organized their class differently, lectured less, relied more on securing information from sources other than the textbook, gave students more independence, and acted more like a coach than a performer on stage.
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As I observed from the related literature from various scholars and past researchers collected from secondary sources i.e. textbooks, magazines, internet and journals, it shows that to a large extent ICT implementation in developing countries is still minimal. As regards to cost of ICT training materials, most studies indicate that to a large extent, costs were very high and thus affecting ICT implementation in institutions of higher learning as supported by Makau for Kenya, and Mumatz in Tanzania. Other scholars were concerned with ICT implementation in primary and secondary schools i.e. Makau for Nigeria, Munyantware for Uganda, thus leaving a gap for institutions of higher learning which this study intended to close. For the case of skills development in ICT and administrative support, most scholars and past studies suggested that to a large extent these two variables positively affected ICT implementation.
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Few scholars like Mooij and Smeets in Holland were of the view that possessing ICT skills does not warrant use of computers in teaching. By analyzing and synthesizing the different ways of classifying and categorizing ICT usage in the classrooms, the literature informs a repertoire of using ICT in teaching and learning. Children who exposed to school ICT programmes learned better than children not exposed. Whenever teachers used follow up activities, student’s attitudes toward ICT 52 programmes were found are higher.
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With the recent burst in technology use across various demographics including children, it is expected that various aspects of the users’ lives will be affected. Accordingly, policy discourse has largely focused on ensuring that children are protected from harmful content, violence, and exploitation as they utilize this technology. The current gaps in knowledge regarding online lives of children, particularly in relation to the impact of technology on their social emotional development, cognition and learning, has made it difficult to come up with proactive policies in addressing the aforementioned risks while making the most out of technology.
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There are three major categories of risks that children are exposed to while in online environments. These are content, conduct and contact. Content risks are those that face children upon exposure to inappropriate and unwelcoming content. This content may take the form of violent images, pornographic material, sexual materials, racist advertising, discriminatory advertising, and hate-speech. It may also involve websites that advocate for dangerous and unhealthy habits such as anorexia, self-harm and suicide. On the other hand, conduct risks refers to situations where children act in a manner that contributes to dangerous contact or content. This may take the form of creating or writing hateful material, posting or distributing sexual content and inciting racism or discrimination. Finally, contact risks are those that face children when they are involved in dangerous communication. For instance, a child may be involved in communication with an adult who seeks to solicit sexual favors or inappropriate contact. This may also take the form of radicalizing or persuading children to take part in dangerous or unhealthy behaviors.
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Other harms that children are exposed to in online environments are restricted to the use of technological devices/gadgets, principal of which is attention deficit. ADHD is a mental problem characterized by challenges in paying attention, difficulty in controlling dangerous behavior, and excess activity. This may happen in children, leaving them unable to focus and rendering them restless; changes in behavior that may result in problems both at home and at school. Similarly, children may develop anxiety owing to the kind of information they are exposed to in the online environment. Essentially, their reaction to current or future events may leave them anxious to the point that they develop nervousness, fear, and aggression, particularly when they cannot get online. This feeling then disappears as soon as the devices are given back. Finally, children may also be exposed to depression, a mental illness that also negatively impacts their behavior. In fact, Kardefelt-Winther notes that there is indeed some positive connection between the amount of time that children spend on technology and their delinquency as well as depression. He notes that this connection is especially noticeable whereby the children spend at least six hours of a day on the screen. Even though he understandably contends that this may not be effective for the youth, most of whom have the resilience for screen consumption surpassing six hours, the same cannot be expected to apply to children below the age of 13.
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Furthermore, even though research indicates that video games may be an appropriate alternative to traditional play for children in terms of enhancing cognition and dealing with social challenges, the benefits seem to diminish or completely disappear when children indulge beyond a particular threshold. In fact, Kardefelt-Winther observes that negative effects begin to show when children spend more than half a day playing video games. Similarly, the use of social media is a common phenomenon among children in this digital era. Spending a long time on social media platforms has also been associated with negative outcomes in terms of mental health, particularly because the profiles used in these platforms are generally meant to present the user in a positive way. Accordingly, the platforms influence children’s perception about their lives or about other people. This may in turn cause feelings of inadequacy, resentment, or envy which are not good for children’s mental health development.
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Uncontrolled usage of technology and certain websites has also been known to affect the capacity of children to create and maintain social relationships, something that is critical for their overall development and future success. There are two major hypotheses that have been explored in an attempt to develop an understanding of the negative effects that unmetered use of technology may have on children. These include displacement and social compensation hypotheses. Essentially, the former suggests that social interaction through online platforms reduces face-to-face interactions, which in turn reduce social capital and friendships. Patrikakou agrees with this school of thought, noting that: