Oh, Teenagers.

"Good judgement is learned, but you can't learn it if you don't have the necessary hardware" Yurgelun-Todd. This article was very interesting to me. I find this quote to be so true as well. Most of the time teens are expected to make logical, adult like decisions, but the bottom line is that they are incapable of doing so. This really plays into last week for me as well and the topic of being an involved parent. Teenage children need the guidance and discipline just as much, if not more, than young children. Not only do they lack the decision making skills needed to make good choices, they also have hormones running a muck! I remember being all over the place emotionally as a teen and I am not looking forward to helping my daughter navigate through that tumultuous time.

Gender Roles

I have always had mixed feelings on letting my daughter watch Disney movies because of the gender roles portrayed. The plot of the movie is usually a princess that ends up in trouble, a man that helps her out of that trouble, and then the impending marriage. The video on YouTube that showcased these ideas was a great idea. I think it is easy to fall into the trap that I did when it comes to these movies. When she was younger I didn't see if having very much impact on her, but you don't when you're in the middle of it, do you? Now that she is five I am seeing that it has too much influence on her. I am not only talking about Disney movies, but any of the children's movie that showcase that same mentality. After watching one of those movies I hear comments from her like "Why aren't you married?", "My hair is ugly.", or "I want to wear this super short skirt and your boots because it's pretty.". Needless to say, I have minimized her exposure to these types of movies and shows. I have had countless discussions with her regarding what should be considered "pretty" and how unrealistic the roles she sees in these movies are. I like the idea of her being exposed to some of these stereotypes so it opens the door for us to discuss why they aren't appropriate and why she doesn't have to be any of those things to be a beautiful and wonderful person.

The Migrant Child

The Migrant Child is a wonderful and heartbreaking article. We live in a state with one of the highest rates of migrant workers and I have never even heard of the Migrant Head Start program. Pearleane Reese says “There’s not a lot of value placed on what we do. Our programs are often unseen. Nobody knows we’re out there, tucked away in farm labor camps.” This is obviously true in my case. To hear even a very small portion of what these children face and overcome on a daily basis is tragic. It is also paired with a deeper sense of family loyalty than I will probably ever understand. The fact that this program exists is so wonderful to me. The resources, education, and support that they provide to these families and their children should not go unnoticed. These teachers and families are working together to give these children a chance at a life other than being a migrant worker. I am interested in what the statistics would look like if research was done to show how many migrant children grew up to become something other than a migrant worker, based on attendance in this program. As more and more crops are tended by large machines, the rate of work for migrant workers is destined to decline more and more. This program allows us to support these children through education to give them employment options other than a brutally manual, declining field. I hope that the awareness of this program continues to increase until they can acquire the funding and staff they need to successfully accomplish they’re goal of changing the lives of these children and their families

Differences

While reading Deborah Blum's article 'What's the difference between boys and girls?’ I honestly didn't learn anything new. The article emphasizes that girls and boys are different on very basic levels. I believe I am not wrong when I say, "really?” The article states "Human males are likely to produce seven to 10 times more testosterone, for example, than females." This, to me, is a pretty well known fact. I feel it focuses only on very easily interpreted ideas and research. The fact that boys produce more testosterone than girls is great, in ‘typical’ or average child. What about the children that have extenuating physical characteristics that prohibit the production of testosterone or increase the production of estrogen? What about the children that have perfectly normal levels of both and don’t fit into these categories correctly? I feel this article is general to say the least, so instead I will talk about my daughter and some of her tendencies. My rant will be general as well, but then again I am not the one writing articles for the general public.
My daughter cracks me up because she goes through these phases where she hops from wanting to be a boy to wanting to be a girl. She will be in her room one day playing with Barbie’s and making them have discussions to solve a problem (probably due to a boy-I’m not looking forward to ten years from now). The next thing I know, she has put on black pants, a black shirt, and comes flipping into the kitchen to ‘beat me up’ because she is a ninja. When she was two years old she would go through week long phases of wanting me to call her a name that she deemed ‘boyish’, but she would play all of the same games, none being gender specific, all of the time. She is five now and has a very clear understanding of who she is and it has nothing to do with whether her toys or blue, pink, or explosive. I know it is my responsibility to give her every opportunity to experience both sides of gender and let her decide where she wants be. Our culture emphasizes so heavily what boys should do and what girls should do. Sometimes, I just want to yell, “Just let them play!”.  

Reflection Week 2

I would have to say that nature vs. nurture is one of the most intriguing topics to me. I wonder all of the time how much of myself is due to my genes or my environment. Would I be the same no matter where or how I grew up? Could I have been the same person had I had slightly different genes, but the same experiences? As the article and the chapter readings have taught us, there is no way to be absolutely sure where our traits come from. I do feel with a good understanding of what someone has been through and knowing their family history, you can have a pretty good idea (on a general level) of what about them is due to genetics and what is due to their environment. A positive note that I like to focus on is that no matter what your genes say, your environment can counter act a lot of that. It comes back to the idea that you may not be able to pick your parents, but you get to pick your friends!