week 6

Reading chapter 16, was kind of like a little refresher course for me. Working in mostly skilled nursing facilities I have had a chance to care for people from all walks of life. In my opinion caring for hospice patients is the most rewarding and I actually enjoy it. People often ask me how I could possibly enjoy caring for those that are dying. I have had a few people close to me pass away, I know exactly how I would want them cared for in the same situation. I feel that anyone that is on their "death bed" deserves the best care possible. As sad as it can be being by someone's side and seeing their loved ones in pain I am glad to do anything I can to help. I find it interesting how differently people deal with death, whether it be a loved one or themselves. I have seen people with no emotion whatsoever and I have seen people become rude and hostile with everyone in their path. Everyone has their own grieving process. This chapter reminded me that anything can happen to anyone at any given moment and loved ones need to be cherished.  

week 5

                This weeks article "As Good as it Gets" was interesting, comparing the Netherlands with the US and talking about major differences involving taxes, benefits, retirement, and health care. It was  looking at different ways of doing things.
             I believe that Americans are greedy. I think that everyone wants a piece of the pie and are always thinking about how they can improve THEMSELVES, THEIR homes, and THEIR families. It doesn’t make them bad people but that’s just how our country works, it is how we are influenced. Americans don’t want the government to tax us and take money out of our checks to go towards taking care of other people. It seems wrong to take their hard earned money away from them. Welfare for example is state money given to assist people. Lots of people disagree with this concept it seems absurd to them welfare recipients are not drug tested while the American tax payer is drug tested in order to work and earn money, that is later taken out of their pay check. There are also people in America that would like to be more like the Netherlands and have high taxes so that when they retire or they are hurt they don’t have to pay so much money for healthcare. Me being one of them. People with access to affordable healthcare will actually use it. Over the years I have opted out of insurance for the simple fact it is too expensive. I refuse to be seen unless I am positive something is wrong with me. It is very common for people to neglect signs and symptoms of illness in fear of debt, oftentimes diseases or sickness is ignored too long and becomes severe and even fatal in many cases.
           With having said that the article also informs us of how the different countries look at responsiveness. In the US people want something in return immediately. People like to SEE change quickly, they want results. Everything is high paced and high stressed with the hustle and bustle of life you need immediate care it has become what is expected.

After watching the “Tough Guise” video I realized just how much masculinity and the “tough guy” appearance is pushed on boys and men of all ages. I have a teenage son and all around him are images, advertisements, and everyday situations that are encouraging him to strive to be tough, strong, and manly. I have no problem with my son being into hunting, fishing, and sports, I want him to be an athletic hard working man when he grows up but like with everything there has to be a balance.

 To me what sets apart “the bad guys” and the “good guys” is respect. Respect for themselves, respect for women, respect for your elders, ect. The problem is that most young men start out with lots of respect then see in the media or in a lot of music the blatant disrespect for women. A good man is going to love, care for, and respect a woman. He’s not going to be out “pimpin his hoes” or “getting money” but these are the type of images that the media is sending to children. And of course you can’t control every move your kid makes so you have to hope that you did your job raising them to respect others and to stay true to themselves. Unfortunately a lot of parents just assume that their kids are making the right choices when in reality their brains are absorbing this masculinity and naturally put on this “tough guy” front as a surviving mechanism just like what was said in the video. Ultimately to survive we have to find a mate and reproduce and men are getting it in their heads the more masculine and violent they are the more attractive they are and this is where we have to start educating and encourage them that violence is not only unattractive but can get them into a lot of trouble.

 To conclude I think the best way to break the cycle of violence and this “tough guy” image is to educate our kids when they are young and to have the confidence knowing that even if my son is watching these violent images on TV or hearing about them in a song it doesn’t mean he is going to be an aggressive, violent person because he knows better. It’s important for me to know that when he grows up he will instill the same characteristics into his son. It’s really just a matter of everyone addressing the issue because let’s be honest there’s nothing we can do to change media it’s been the same for years and it will continue to be the way it is.

week 3

After watching the “Tough Guise” video I realized just how much masculinity and the “tough guy” appearance is pushed on boys and men of all ages. I have a teenage son and all around him are images, advertisements, and everyday situations that are encouraging him to strive to be tough, strong, and manly. I have no problem with my son being into hunting, fishing, and sports, I want him to be an athletic hard working man when he grows up but like with everything there has to be a balance.

 To me what sets apart “the bad guys” and the “good guys” is respect. Respect for themselves, respect for women, respect for your elders, ect. The problem is that most young men start out with lots of respect then see in the media or in a lot of music the blatant disrespect for women. A good man is going to love, care for, and respect a woman. He’s not going to be out “pimpin his hoes” or “getting money” but these are the type of images that the media is sending to children. And of course you can’t control every move your kid makes so you have to hope that you did your job raising them to respect others and to stay true to themselves. Unfortunately a lot of parents just assume that their kids are making the right choices when in reality their brains are absorbing this masculinity and naturally put on this “tough guy” front as a surviving mechanism just like what was said in the video. Ultimately to survive we have to find a mate and reproduce and men are getting it in their heads the more masculine and violent they are the more attractive they are and this is where we have to start educating and encourage them that violence is not only unattractive but can get them into a lot of trouble.

 To conclude I think the best way to break the cycle of violence and this “tough guy” image is to educate our kids when they are young and to have the confidence knowing that even if my son is watching these violent images on TV or hearing about them in a song it doesn’t mean he is going to be an aggressive, violent person because he knows better. It’s important for me to know that when he grows up he will instill the same characteristics into his son. It’s really just a matter of everyone addressing the issue because let’s be honest there’s nothing we can do to change media it’s been the same for years and it will continue to be the way it is.

week 1

While reading the article identity dance one page stood out to me the most. In bold letters it reads "Genetics couldn't explain why some people bounce back from terrible trauma that shatters others, or why some people are ruthlessly ambitious and others laid back." I was drawn to theses words because I have been wondering the same thing for quite some time. Someone very close to me suffered a traumatic childhood filled with physical and mental abuse. I find it interesting that siblings that grew up in the same family sharing equally traumatic  experiences can have such different outcomes. It seems they all are still affected by thier past but a few more severely than others.  Sharing the same genes one would think all involved would be genetically and mentally equipped to handle situations similarly, but unfortunately that is not the case.
        Everyone is set up a specific way genetically to react and deal with life's ups and downs? This is one thing I would like to learn more about while taking this course. According to this article people that have a the short transporter gene are more likely to become depressed after experiencing a series of  stressful events. Statistics have proven fourty-three percent of people who carried the short gene who experienced four or more tumultuous events became clinically depressed. Those with the short gene that did not have stressful events became depressed at the average rate of the general population.   While those with the long gene that were subject to four or more traumatic events have a seventeen percent chance of depression.  One theory says that genes have "switches" that can be turned on and of like a light switch. If that is the case, then wouldn't the number of people with depression be dwindling?

week 2

While reading the article " What's the difference between boys and girls?" I instantly thought of my teenage son. Though I didn't allow him to play with toy guns until he was four of five, he automatically knew what to do with them and always followed the rules. Now that he is older he is the same boy with a collection of BB guns and a thirst for hunting and fishing competitively. my son being the competitive child he is, I learned could be from higher levels of testosterone. Which also explains the way he is when it comes to playing sports, in your face ruthless and out for a win at any cost. My daughter on the other hand, does enjoy playing with BB guns but loves her stuffed huskies. My daughter being a tom-boy wears nothing but basketball shorts and hoodies and loves to get dirty. I wonder if maybe she has higher levels of testosterone caused by the adrenal gland?  "Both the Berkeley study and a more recent federal daycare study find a different pattern in girls; they're emotionally sturdier". I find that to be true. I find my daughter to be less sensitive than my son though he tries to not show it. I learned that they're healthy development seems most harmed by being restricted and its confinement that brings down IQ in girls.

Something that piqued my curiosity while reading this article, is what about the testosterone levels in homosexuals?  If a gay/ Trans-gender men prefer to dress as a woman, does that mean they have lower testosterone than the average male or the "pink gene" as quoted by a British journalist.  Same goes for lesbians, do they have more testosterone than the average woman or do the majority suffer from congenital adrenal hyperplasia? If I had unlimited funds to do more research, I would like to research more on this particular topic.

Week 9

                This weeks article "As Good as it Gets" was interesting, comparing the Netherlands with the US and talking about major differences involving taxes, benefits, retirement, and health care. It was  looking at different ways of doing things.

             I believe that Americans are greedy. I think that everyone wants a piece of the pie and are always thinking about how they can improve THEMSELVES, THEIR homes, and THEIR families. It doesn’t make them bad people but that’s just how our country works, it is how we are influenced. Americans don’t want the government to tax us and take money out of our checks to go towards taking care of other people. It seems wrong to take their hard earned money away from them. Welfare for example is state money given to assist people. Lots of people disagree with this concept it seems absurd to them welfare recipients are not drug tested while the American tax payer is drug tested in order to work and earn money, that is later taken out of their pay check. There are also people in America that would like to be more like the Netherlands and have high taxes so that when they retire or they are hurt they don’t have to pay so much money for heathcare. Me being one of them.  With having said that the article also informs us of how the different countries look at responsiveness. In the US people want something in return immediately. People like to SEE change quickly, they want results. Everything is high paced and high stressed with the hussle and bussle of life you need immediate care it has become what is expected.

Week 4

I was curious about the article, “Is There Love after a Baby”. Being divorced with two kids I could see just how the candle burns out over the years. However there are different views on the subject. Some couples think having a baby will solve all their problems but studies have shown that men and women are more likely to be depressed after having a kid.

Having a kid is a huge responsibility and you are pretty much surrendering your body for 9 months. You will be eating for two, you will be tired constantly, you will be tired constantly… and that’s just the pregnancy. Having a kid is stressful even in the best situations so it’s really a hard thing to go through if your relationship is on the rocks.

 I believe the biggest thing to have in mind is to make sacrifices for each other. If both parents are giving things up for the good of their family and showing they want things to work you’re in good shape. Attitude is everything and you also have to do things to remind each other of love.

Week 7

After reading the article “Should You Stay Together for the Kids”, I was shocked to see such different opinions coming from professional psychologists that have been in the field for many years. I was completely taken back when I read a quote from Wallerstein, “Children don't need their parents to like each other. They don't even need them to be especially civil. They need them to stay together, for better or worse.” This is a load of crap. I believe the worst thing you can put your kids through is to force them to grow up in a home with an unhealthy relationship between their parents. They grow up with a dysfunctional idea in their head about how their future relationships should be.

 I have two kids and have been divorced. My husband and I were together for 9 years and married for 6. We tried to work on things, we tried to fix things, but people change and after 9 years I realized the man I married was not the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I wanted to be happy. And the biggest thing was I wanted my kids to be happy, it’s not their fault their dad and me couldn’t get along and they didn’t need to see me being treated like crap or make assumptions about either me or their dad based on things they heard us say when we were mad at each other.  My son is now 15 and my daughter is 12, I love my kids and I would sacrifice anything for them but I honestly think they are happy. I know a divorce and/or custody battle is a lot to drag kids through but one day they will realize it was better to grow up with happy parents that weren’t together, than to be in a home where their parents are constantly fighting.

I strongly agree with Anne Watson’s view on the subject. “She opposes tightening divorce laws out of fear that the truly miserable-- battered wives, the spouses of alcoholics--will lose a crucial escape route. But restless couples who merely need their space, in her opinion, had better think twice and think hard.” "If people are divorcing just because of choices they want to make, I think it's pretty tough on the kids," Watson says. "Just because you're going to feel better, will they?" The day I took my wedding vows I never thought in a million years I would be getting a divorce. Marriage is a serious step and I knew that’s what I wanted to do, but sometimes things don’t always go as planned and people grow apart. I’m glad there is the option of divorce because without it I know I wouldn’t be as happy as I am today.

Week 6

Reading the article “Teens before their Time”, I made a lot of connections to what is going on today. They mention how girls are looking older than they actually are. I think it really comes to parenting and what you let your kids do. Girls now are coming into high school with long straight hair, tan skin, white teeth, and are dieting. These are freshman, 14 and 15 year olds that look like they’re in college. Well obviously the senior boys are going after them and giving them all the attention, other girls see this and strive to fit in or are depressed because they can’t fit into that mold.

 It sounds silly but parents need to watch how much time their kids are spending on their appearance. And girls should absolutely not be in a tanning bed and whitening their teeth at the age of 15. After letting them wear tight jeans they’re going to be wearing short shorts, low cut shirts, lots of makeup ect, and it’s just not necessary at that age. Obviously as they grow up and mature they can start making their own decisions about what they wear and how they look but as a parent it’s your job to guide them in the right direction and teach them to have respect for themselves.

 Another problem is that when guys are seeing younger girls that look older they are making advances on them and getting asked out by a senior guy as a freshman girl is pretty much the best thing that could happen. They aren’t thinking period let alone thinking about making the right decisions. I think this is a cause of a high teen pregnancy rate and girls are being exposed to STD’s. It’s a vicious cycle and I think the only way to break it is to educate girls and discipline them to know that it’s okay to look like you’re 15 and that there is a lot more to life than just looking pretty.

Week 5

 

 

week 4

Growing up with ADHD, Andreas story really hit home for me. My mom never believed in medicating her children. I ended up dropping out of school in the eighth grade because I had such a hard time.  I have wondered numerous times if either of my kids will be ADHD. I cant imagine how hard it would be to make a decision to medicate or not. I do believe a brain that is not fully grown can be damaged by unnecessary medications. As mentioned in this article children ages five to nineteen have at least a 7.5% chance of being diagnosed with ADHD And "Children often get their drugs not from a specialist in psychiatry and psychopharmacology  but from and M.D. with the power of a prescription pad."  So who is doing the diagnosing for this 7.5% of children?  In my experience with some doctors, if they have no clue about what is wrong chances are they will give it a guess. For example: when my daughter was eight or so her eye was bothering her. Instead of monitoring her myself my mom nagged me to go to the E.R. After hours of waiting the doc looked in her perfect little eye for five seconds. He then wrote a script for pink eye medication and said it looks the pre stages of it. Skeptical of his diagnoses I tuck the paper away and never pulled it out again and nothing ever happened to her eye. He had no idea what he was talking about. So when I am handed a prescription for certain medications I wait it out awhile before taking them.  I think that our society has diagnoses and medication for everything now a days and its abuse. According to a study by Julie Zito,  a professor at Maryland school of pharmacy the use of antidepressants by children, tripled from 1987 to 1996 and  continues to go up. After reading this article I would really like to learn more about the process of diagnosing children and teens with mental disorders. If I had an unlimited amount of money for a study I would choose to look into misdiagnosing and how often t really happens.

Week 2

While reading the article " What's the difference between boys and girls?" I instantly thought of my teenage son. Though I didn't allow him to play with toy guns until he was four of five, he automatically knew what to do with them and always followed the rules. Now that he is older he is the same boy with a collection of BB guns and a thirst for hunting and fishing competitively. my son being the competitive child he is, I learned could be from higher levels of testosterone. Which also explains the way he is when it comes to playing sports, in your face ruthless and out for a win at any cost. My daughter on the other hand, does enjoy playing with BB guns but loves her stuffed huskies. My daughter being a tom-boy wears nothing but basketball shorts and hoodies and loves to get dirty. I wonder if maybe she has higher levels of testosterone caused by the adrenal gland?  "Both the Berkeley study and a more recent federal daycare study find a different pattern in girls; they're emotionally sturdier". I find that to be true. I find my daughter to be less sensitive than my son though he tries to not show it. I learned that they're healthy development seems most harmed by being restricted and its confinement that brings down IQ in girls.

Something that piqued my curiosity while reading this article, is what about the testosterone levels in homosexuals?  If a gay/ Trans-gender men prefer to dress as a woman, does that mean they have lower testosterone than the average male or the "pink gene" as quoted by a British journalist.  Same goes for lesbians, do they have more testosterone than the average woman or do the majority suffer from congenital adrenal hyperplasia? If I had unlimited funds to do more research, I would like to research more on this particular topic.

Week 2

        In this chapter I especially enjoyed reading about paths from genes to behaviors. I feel that I can relate to this since I have watched my children's development over the last fourteen years. I have always tried my hardest to treat and discipline my children the same to be fair. After reading this chapter I am more confident in the fact that I rarely succeed in the fairness department. Raising two totally different children, I find it very hard to react the same way to any given situation. I do agree with this chapter that each child is an individual and needs to be treated differently (within  reason) for personal development. For example: my son is a highly motivated critical thinker and excels in math just like his dad. I expect more out of him becase over the years he has proven his skills to me. My daughter on the other hand is just like me, math doesn't come as easy. So I give her a bit more leniency and time to learn without consequence.
           This chapter also states that children who are outgoing and smart will receive more positive attention from teachers. But the children who are more withdrawn may not get the same attention and could be easily overlooked. This doesn't make sense to me. Shouldn't it be the other way around? With this knowledge and all the steps taken to better the school system, withdrawn children should be encouraged to participate not overlooked. I would like to learn more about this topic. I think it could help prepare me for the remainder of my kids school years.
          
         
        

Week 1

       While reading the article identity dance, one page stood out to me the most. In bold letters it reads "Genetics couldn't explain why some people bounce back from terrible trauma that shatters others, or why some people are ruthlessly ambitious and others laid back." I was drawn to theses words because I have been wondering the same thing for quite some time. Someone very close to me suffered a traumatic childhood filled with physical and mental abuse. I find it interesting that siblings that grew up in the same family sharing equally traumatic  experiences can have such different outcomes. It seems they all are still affected by thier past but a few more severely than others.  Sharing the same genes one would think all involved would be genetically and mentally equipped to handle situations similarly, but unfortunately that is not the case.
        Everyone is set up a specific way genetically to react and deal with life's ups and downs? This is one thing I would like to learn more about while taking this course. According to this article people that have a the short transporter gene are more likely to become depressed after experiencing a series of  stressful events. Statistics have proven fourty-three percent of people who carried the short gene who experienced four or more tumultuous events became clinically depressed. Those with the short gene that did not have stressful events became depressed at the average rate of the general population.   While those with the long gene that were subject to four or more traumatic events have a seventeen percent chance of depression.  One theory says that genes have "switches" that can be turned on and of like a light switch. If that is the case, then wouldn't the number of people with depression be dwindling?