Conflict central in the lives of adolescents

This topic is an unfamiliar one to me, since I am not an adolescent anymore (thank God!). Being an adolescent in this day and age is so much harder than when I was growing up. To pick one conflict is impossible. And that is why I believe that that is the topic of my blog today.

Growing up in this part of the country is not easy for kids. The pressure from school, parents, and friends is unbelievable. I think this pressure starts at a very young age and only gets worse as the children get older. I saw this pressure in action when my children were still in elementary school. My daughter was playing on a soccer team and I first handedly witnessed the competition between the mothers of the girls on the team. Everyone was bragging about their car, their house, the construction on their house, etc. The girls were sized up by what the parents were 'complaining' about, and playdates were arranged by the mothers, and certain friendships encouraged, others discouraged. I was flabbergasted. My kids picked out their own friends and never once did they look at the external qualities of the lives of their friends, but rather at the internal qualities of their friends. Needless to say that, when children grow up with parents like that, they will start to look at the world in the same way their parents do.  This means that when they get older they are all striving to fit in to the 'perfect' world.  This causes them a lot of stress, because at this point they are trying to find who they are as people. And how can they find out who they are, when they always have to try to be what someone else wants them to be? If they do not fit the bill, they are on the outs, and often times  then get bullied, or start to suffer from mental health issues. It is sad to say that now, more than ever, suicide is on the rise and I believe it is because of all the pressures that are being put upon them.

The pressure to fit in does not only come from their friends, but also from their parents. As we can see from the beginning of my blog, these parents want their children to have the right friends, wear the right clothes, join the right clubs, get the best grades and then, finally, get into the best college. The stress on the young adults comes from their friends, from the school, and from the parents.  I am a firm believer that the change has to start at home.  Why do children have to be involved in so many extra curricular activities? The school days are very long. All day long kids are being told what to do, how to do it, be quiet, do this, do that, if you don't do this then.... etc. When the kids come home they need to be able to just chill. Do nothing. Nobody ever does nothing anymore. I used to lay down in the field on the farm of my aunt, which was situated right next to a railroad track. I loved to lay there in the summer, looking at the shapes of the clouds passing by. The tall grass would tickle the bottom of my bare feet and my face, the sound of the bugs buzzing overhead, and the sun on my face. Then, faintly, in the distance, I would hear the whistle of a train. It would get louder and louder, until it roared by the field. The sound of the clickety clack booming by, then getting softer and softer as the train kept going. It was great! I was ten at the time, and I still remember this now that I am 51. I was doing nothing. We should allow our children more time to do nothing. To be by themselves, find out who they are, what is important to them. They need to learn to be still, so they can listen to the voice inside of them, telling them who they are. And as parents we need to encourage this, not add more to their already full plates. Parents need to worry about what is good for their child, and less about how their child's activities and accomplishments reflect on them. Only when we listen to them will they be able to withstand the pressures of growing up.

Fictional Hero

Who was my fictional hero, you ask? I am assuming you are wondering about a fictional hero from a book, not a movie, since we are in a Child's Literature class, not a movie class. I thought long and hard, and the only 'hero' that I would say I loved was Obelix, the fat ("Who are you calling fat?") guy from Asterix and Obelix and here is why.

Obelix is a super sensitive guy and the things he loves the most in the world are wild boar, his little dog Idefix, and his best friend Asterix.  The things he does not like are Romans, and when people call him fat. He also does not like it when the druid gives the whole village a sip of his magic potion, that makes everyone invincible, and he skips Obelix. The druid does this because Obelix fell into the vat of magic potion when he was a baby and as a result already is invincible. His feelings easily get hurt.

Obelix is an easy going guy, and he can let most things slide. As long as he has his friends and his dog by his side, he is fine. He loves to dive into fights with the Romans, and he does so with gleeful gusto. Not because he wants to hurt them, but because he knows that at the end of the fight, which they always win, there will be a big party with lots of wild boar!

He is my hero because he is a gentle soul and he will always do right by his friends. He does not have a mean bone in his body and he looks at life in a pragmatic way. Asterix is always the leader in the stories, and he is the loyal side kick. He is my fictional hero!

Favorite Moment in History

From when I was very young I had a fascination with young girls who had visions of Holy Mary. I am not a religious person at all, but I am very spiritual.  In 'my' room at my grandparents' house there was a picture hanging over the bed of a little girl walking by a stream.  An angel was following her, and my grandmother always told me a story of a girl being saved by her guardian angel. To this day I am a firm believer in guardian angels.

One of the girls who had visions of angels was Jeanne D'Arc, Joan of Arc, and although I cannot say that her 'burning at the stake' is my favorite moment in history, the fact that she led an army, refused to bow down when she was accused of witch craft and stuck to her beliefs to the end, is.

Jeanne grew up as a peasant girl and the first time she had visions was when she was thirteen years old. It was a tumultuous time in France. The English and the French were vying for the throne. In her visions the angels told her to help the rightful King of France (a Frenchman) gain the throne. She went to the court and asked for an audience with the Charles, which was denied. She returned the next year and told Charles of a military maneuver that had just passed, which Charles only heard about a few days after Joan's visit. This is why Charles listened to Joan: he was convinced that she knew about this because of Divine intervention. Joan became a trusted person to Charles, and she fought for her country. God was on her side! This is what fascinates me about Joan. She was a peasant girl, who would rather stay home and spin wool at her mother's side, yet she takes up arms and fight because she believed that the angels told her to do so.  She had no military background, yet soldiers followed her in battle. She was an inspiration and a source of strength to many.

In the end, the English captured her and they put her on a mock trial. She remained true to her beliefs, even if it meant that she would be burnt at the stake. Would I be able to be that brave? To follow my beliefs so far that I would be able to lead armies into battles?  I do not think many people would have that courage. Or have the courage to die for their beliefs. She did.

Who Inspired Me?

The person I chose for this assignment is my grandmother, Oma. She was a dynamo, small, but feisty.  

When I was little I was closer to my grandfather than to my grandmother. My grandfather was a man of simple pleasures. He grew up on a farm and he loved to work in his garden. He was quiet, unassuming, and would go to the market every Friday morning on his bike, wearing his wooden shoes. He was easy to be with, and I would often go on long walks with him. We would visit the bears in the park, Pol and Max, feed the ducks, and walk along the fortified wall around Maastricht, while he would tell me stories about witches and the plague. I loved it! At night I would fall asleep next to him on the couch, watching tv, and he would carry me up to bed, where my grandmother would tuck me in, nice and tight. The heat was off during the night, so the sheets were cold, and I couldn't move because I was tucked in so tightly. However, in the morning, the sheets and blankets were just right, and my bed was like a nest, warm and toasty. I would wake up in the morning from the sounds of the doves. To this day, when I hear doves, the sound of them brings me back to this place, to the blue room.  My grandfather would carry me on his back down the stairs in the morning and we would have breakfast. Some how, my grandmother seemed invisible during these early years. She was always busy doing something, her heels making clicking sounds on the parquet floor. She had no time for stories or for walks. All this she considered 'nonsense'.  She needed to be productive. I did not get close to her until I was in my teens. I could relate to her more and started to be amazed by her actions.

My grandmother grew up in a business family, and her family set up my grandmother and grandfather in a store on the Market in Maastricht when they married.  The store sold shoes and slippers and they were doing well.  They had five children, one of whom died at a very early age. The reason I chose my grandmother was because of the way she handled herself during the second World War.  The Netherlands was invaded by the Germans and the Germans' Headquarter was at City Hall in Maastricht, across the street from my grandparents' store. Germans would come into the store to buy boots.  Instead of asking the Germans to pay for the boots with money on the spot, my grandmother asked them for butter, cheese, meats, etc, since everything was rationed at the time.  The Germans would go on leave to Denmark and, upon their return, would bring my grandmother the payment for the boots.  My grandmother's sister, who lived down the street from my grandmother, would hide Jews in her house. Her house was a temporary stop, before the people in hiding would be moved to a safer location.  My grandmother used the food the Germans brought back to bring to her sister's house to feed the 'onderduikers'. At one point a soldier never came back from his leave to pay for the boots.  My grandmother went to the Gestapo to complain.  My grandfather, in the meantime, was shaking in his own boots and he expected never to see his wife again. A few weeks later, a German army truck shrieked to a stop in front of the shop. My grandfather was alone in the shop and almost peed in his pants when a German soldier ordered him out of the shop. "Mitt kommen!" They walked to the truck, and the soldier asked my grandfather to identify a soldier sitting in the back of the truck. He asked my grandfather if that was the man who stole the boots.  My grandfather told him that he did not know, and that it was his wife who had sold the boots and he was ordered to get his wife. My grandmother was at her sister's house, because that was the day they would move a girl to another location. My grandmother was expected at Headquarters to identify the man.  As soon as my grandmother came home my grandfather told her while he was in tears, to go to the Gestapo Headquarters and identify the man who stole the boots. My grandmother went all by herself, a fact I think is so unbelievably brave! She entered the Headquarters and they asked her why she came. She told them that she was there to identify a man, at which the German replied: "Er is schon erschossen". They shot him already.  

My grandmother had nerves of steel, always did what had to be done, was welcoming, and had a wonderful sense of humor. Her house was always full of people. One day when I was staying with them, the doorbell rang and there were seven friends who had come for a visit. "Ernest", she called (this is my grandfather's name), "go get a few chickens out of the freezer, so I can make everyone some food." Nothing was ever too much for her. She had more energy than I had at the time, and she was always up for going places.  She was also the first person in Maastricht to go on a helicopter! My dad has a picture of her, standing near the helicopter, waving at the people, as if she was the queen! In the meantime, my grandfather was crying, because he thought she would crash.

She lived her life to the fullest and she is such an inspiration to me. Nothing was impossible and there was humor in everything!

6 word memoir

Laughter    Holland     immigration

Loss     family     rebirth

Common Core Standards

Understanding difficult texts

         Educators are up in arms about the implementation of the Common Core Standards, and the reason eludes me. From what I gather, the Common Core Standards are standards for what children should know at each grade level.  I do not see anything wrong with that. I agree with the fact that all students in the United States should adhere to nation wide standards.  However, what I do not agree with is that all students should be able to read the exact same texts and texts should be appropriate for all different cultures.  Not all students have the same background knowledge to be able to understand all texts.

For example, I was observing at an Early Childhood Development Center in Bridgeport, CT. The classroom in which I was a guest consisted of eight three year olds.  We were looking through a book about a farm.  I showed them a picture of a cow and asked them what animal this was.  No one knew.  If I visited a preschool in the next town over, Fairfield, CT, I can almost guarantee that all children would know what a cow looked like.  This difference in culture should be addressed in the Common Core.  As Jacqueline DeForge tells it: “All students should have the opportunity to see themselves reflected back, as well as to be exposed to cultures and experiences that may differ from their own, in the literature and nonfiction texts we study.” (DeForge, The Open Book) So far, most of the books that are recommended for the Common Core are about and written by white people. This is wrong. All cultures should be represented in the material we study with the students.  Students should be able to recognize themselves and their friends in what they read.  This would create more understanding for other cultures and would celebrate diversity.  Education is not only about being able to understand a difficult text, but more importantly about understanding each other.

Common Core Standard Strands compared

GRADES --à CCSS	K	2	3
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K-6, 2.6, 3.6	With prompting and support, name the author and illustrator of a story and define the role of each in telling the story.	Acknowledge differences in the points of view of characters, including by speaking in a different voice for each character when reading dialogue aloud.	Distinguish their own point of view from that of the narrator or those of the characters.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K-1, 2.1, 3.1	With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.	Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.	Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.4, 2.4, 3.4	Ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text.	Describe how words and phrases (e.g., regular beats, alliteration, rhymes, repeated lines) supply rhythm and meaning in a story, poem, or song.	Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, distinguishing literal from nonliteral language.

In Early Childhood Education there are no educational shifts, since these students are still learning how to read and interpret texts.  They are building knowledge through content rich non-fiction and informational text. In third grade the teacher starts to touch upon an educational shift, when the student has to find evidence from the text, which they previously did not have to do.

The shift occurs when the students are reading to learn, instead of learning to read. 

Original piece of poetry

Phoenix

Poetry is not for me

No lyrics about a bumblebee

Or shooting stars from way up high,

A gloomy, cloudy, gray-blue sky

Mine is the prose

Reality

The falling leaves from an autumn tree

Beauty around for all to see

We walk together, you and I

And discuss the happiness of days gone by

Blown and shattered on a whim

Unfixable, the light’s gone dim

On the winds our dreams were carried

Our emotions long since buried

Amidst the ruins of yesteryear

And the lakes of salty tears

Now laughter is once again our friend

And friendship the beginning, not the end.

What do I read and why?

These are a few of my favorite books

You know you’ve read a good book when you turn the last page and feel a little as if you have lost a friend.  –Paul Sweeney

            I love to read! It takes me to a different place, and gives me the opportunity to escape, even if it is just for a little while. 

But that is where the problem lies…it is never just for a ‘little’ while.  Once I get hooked on a book then all I want to do is read it! The characters become very real to me, and I feel like I am a fly on the wall, watching their lives. I can even read their thoughts! I know the characters intimately, I hang out with them daily.  The characters are with me, even when I am not reading the book.  As I am reading, I can’t wait to finish the book, yet I dread reading the last few pages, for that means I have to say goodbye to the characters, never to see them again.  I think this is why, when I was a child, I used to read series, for this meant that I did not have to say goodbye, for there was always the next volume!

Another one of my favorite things to read, since childhood, is comic strips. I know that I am too old to be reading them, but I really enjoy them. My two favorites are Asterix and Obelix and Zits. They are both very different from each other.

Asterix and Obelix is pure fiction. The characters are two lifelong friends

who live in a little village in France.  Obelix is the large man (but don’t tell him he is large, because he is very sensitive about this topic.  After all, he can’t help it that he fell in the magic potion pot when he was a baby!) Obelix’s constant companion is Idefix, his little dog. They are inseparable.  Asterix is small, but mighty, especially after he has had a big gulp of the magic potion, which makes him invincible.  Their mortal enemy is the Romans, and they love to fight them!  I like this comic because of the word choices the author uses, especially for the names of the Romans and the Gauls.  The people who live in the village are far from perfect, but they are perfect for each other.  They stick together through thick and thin and every book always end the same: a big dinner for the whole village, while the minstrel of the village is tied up and gagged, because he can’t carry a tune. This comic strip definitely makes me escape!

The other comic strip I love is Zits.

I do not read Zits to escape, but more to be able to find humor in every day situations while raising an adolescent boy.  I know many people have said this before, but I feel like the author has a camera set up in my house and that he is describing our situation!  Everything is so recognizable. I love it!

Then there is one more favorite book that I love to read and that is a cookbook.  I collect cookbooks, for I love to cook.  I have old cookbooks that

have been passed down to me from my grandmother.  Every time we go on vacation I like to take a local cookbook home with me. When we have friends over for dinner I spend hours looking through my cookbooks to see what I will prepare for them. My mother was a terrific cook and I think I have her love for good food from her.  Food brings people together and it gives me great pleasure to see my friends enjoying what I cooked for them!