Do you know what goes on in a kid's day?

      Have you ever noticed that no matter how hard you try your child is just the coolest or the uncoolest child in school? Do you ever notice symptoms of depression or your child saying cruel things about other very bluntly? Believe me, you are not alone.

     Many children have been taught that its okay to laugh and pick on someone else because of their skintone, what color hair they have, who their parents or siblings are, how they dress. All of this  i am mentioning probably sounds crazy to some people but to others this is normal. If you are an adult who says: ew, look at her dress, or omg did you see that person!? You should be ashamed of yourself especially if you choose to influence your children by doing so. Children learn from each move the supervisory adults around them make. So its no wonder why our children are so mean in the judgemental, stereotypical world we have today. Yes we are human, so yes we make mistakes, but being human we have a way of life that can be changed.

     With the recent shooting at a high school in Ohio everyone is on their toes about how its always that crazy kid, or that one that just didnt fit in.. maybe he wasnt so different as everyone made him out to be. Ever think to yourself if someone would have intervened something would have been different? Ever realize that its not always the suspects fault. Okay maybe he was too young to be around so many guns, but here in the south plenty of people are teaching thei 10 year old boys how to hunt. Some say he should have just ignored what others said, if youre an alcoholic and youre staring at a bottle of jack are you just going to ignore it? NO. If you have been told something all of your life and everywhere you go, it follows, you do one of two things. You start to believe it and think of yourself as low, ignorant, stupid, ugly etc., or you rebel and feel the need to eventually put the pressure, the agony, the pain and frustrations on those who did it to you. This could be the mind of the suspect, the kid your child is always making fun of, the girl who sits beside you in math you dont dare talk to. These are people who are here today but could be gone tomorrow just because you did not intervene. You have no right to point fingers to those miles away if you dont help those going through the same thing right here in your own hometown.

     By no means am i taking up for the suspects who have in the past done things that were wrong, but just think about it, what if? People always think its just kids, it happens its only high school or middle school...WAKE UP AND SMELL THE ROSES PEOPLE!

     These kids are tortured each and everyday. Some it just isnt school, its at home too. Its every where they go. If you truly truly believed that no one on this earth loved you, if everyone was out to get you, and everyone youve ever met was not just mean but awful to you, you would know where these kids stand. Its not a good feeling. Some recover and think ya know that was dumb of me to feel like that, others dont realize that until its too late or may never realize it. Teasing, bullying, gossiping, fighting, its all the same. Kind words are the only ones that have a positive effect on people. Teachers: instead of yelling at the kid who sits in the back and embarrasing him because hes crying, stop him after class, be sure he is okay, find out what is going on, tell him to talk to you. Class: Instead of laughing at him, go by the ultimate rule "If you have nothing nice to say, dont say anything at all," If you do notice and you want to ask, dont make a big scene just be sure he knows youre there if he needs you. Parents: If you notice destructive behavior intervene, find out if theres more to the darkness than rebellion against your rules, talk to your children, praise your children, and for goodness sakes LOVE THEM and tell them you love them. you gave them life, this is what you are here for. If you notice your child is the abuser, take action before its too late!

     All too many times there is always someone who says, i saw it, i noticed it was different this time, DO SOMETHING, be courageous. Its hard, but its worth it! It may be as simple as being friendly, or it may be as difficult as really getting deeply connected with the person. Anyone can say im okay, or im fine. Most of the time no one means it.



Educational System and its Contents.....I mean Students.

     Students learn from example of adults around them. We are shown throughout school and life that if  attention, enuthusiasm, praise is needed, then popularity is needed, hence joining a team. Peers and adults love, praise, and respect those that play on the football team, or basketball team or those who stand and practice cheer every afternoon. The teams don't even have to be good for the respect. The players just get it, why?  Because of a dumb label.
     The math team finally raises enough money to compete without the help of their school and wins gold. Little to no recognition. Schools provide little support to these types of teams, yet spend outrageous money for athletics.
    
     In Texas high school football seems to be a pretty big deal, and costs the the state a pretty penny. Texas along with other states reflects a growing taste for fancy scoreboard and video systems costing up to $750,000. Also more and more high school coaches are drawing better than $80,000 salaries with a select few hitting six figures, yet teachers pay is cut year to year or even month to month in some districts? What is really going on here? Teachers are fighting for their jobs. Some schools might be losing essential programs, yet Northside District from Texas athletic's budget last year was $11,104,937. Denton and Round Rock High Schools, found themselves finishing stadiums that cost more than $20 million per stadium in 2004. That doesn't matter right? Texas is alot of miles from here.
      A local story from Pendleton High a few years back: there were going to be cuts from school programs, supposedly affecting ALL programs equally. If this is true then why did the school cave when cheerleaders protested against poorer quality uniforms, yet the school could not afford anatomy textbooks and decided to place a technology assistant from the schools library as an anatomy teacher? Who I must include had been a teacher, but had also been out of a teaching classroom for almost twenty years. Why wasn't money budgeted more towards textbooks and  decent teacher rather than cheerleadering skirts?
    
      Dont get me wrong, I along with many others realize that students need programs to interact and acheive things other than good grades and yes sports do count for something, but should they really count for everything? Sports and activities improve development, social skills, and health for students, but these are not reasons to push academics to the sidelines.
   
      How far is that field goal going to get the school jock? He may have a great arm, he could be a very great guy, and that arm could get him into college, but so could a perfect GPA. What happens if he becomes injured and can no longer play? What if by the accidental influence of coaches, parents, and even fans the pressure of school and football is just too much? What if this player made the decision that football has become more important than his grades? He loses everything, he unfortunately finds himself with no education, job, or trade. Did you know in men’s basketball, there is only a .03% chance of a pro career. This means that of the all the male, high school senior basketball players in the US, only 44 will be drafted to play in the NBA after college, and only 32 women (.02%) out of just over 127,000 female, high school senior players will eventually be drafted. In football the odds are slightly better, with .08% or 250 of all high school senior football players will be drafted.

     Students learn from the adults around them. Go to a high school Monday morning and listen to the announcements they provide for their students everyday. I can almost guarentee if there was a game the previous Friday it will most likely take 75% of the announcement space up, while there may be a 30 second announcement that also covers the weekend, a student entered a science fair and took home a gold metal. Where do you assume the importance of this announcement?
    
     And no, every school is not the same, but every school has the capability to alter the values of its students' lives. Every school has the capability to look good on the local news through the scoreboard, or know the lifelong lessons taught by caring teachers will follow their students for the rest of their lives. There is so much time, effort, and money put into extra curricular activities and not enough being put into academics. Its great that your kid can dunk a basketball from a ball court away, and its great that your daughter is so athletic and in shape but should you push your child to think that is all that matters? In 15 years when your daughter is looking for an accountant job the fact that she can scream loud and do backflips and strenuous positions in the air is not going to help her very much, remember that when you're placing your child in tumbling before you think about preschool. Extra-curricular, being outside the usual job, profession, or curriculum, by no means should they be cut but thats what sports are, extra.

Til my next soapbox: Signed DiligentDaisy

Being a girl is hard, especially these day. Ever think of how difficult things can get? A girl is just like any other person though. We're all ridiculed, were all discriminated against at least once in our life, were all stereotyped by someone whether youre the average girl pumping gas or the latest model or movie star on the cover of a magazine. Were judged on our looks, our hair, our body, our eating habits, our clothes, our makeup, our cars, our parents, our friends, our significant others, the truth is theres not much that girls especially dont judge each other about, but its not just a girl eat girl world. Today it is an entire world that eats a girl alive. No not literally but everywhere we look there is someone telling young girls to grown women how they SHOULD be, how they SHOULD look, but there are so many opposing and contridicting thoughts that run through our minds each day. The truth is whether its the teenage pop star sleeping with every guy in hollywood, or the drunken actor crawling out of bars and clubs or the perfect hair, perfect skin, perfect figure, perfect voice, perfect everything that you're not. Its just the way things have become. If you're not perfect, you do not belong. That is the message thrown around by almost: every movie, every tv show, every ad, every modeling agent, every magazine cover, every cd cover, every everything. These hits on a girls self esteem hurt. They come from everyone around, and though it is not said or maybe not even slightly conveyed its hinted whether intentionally or not. Girls from everywhere should know and should be told each and every day that she is beautiful, she is perfect, she is incredible, and she should know that surgery, makeup, pretty clothes may make her feel okay in a moment but surgery can go wrong, what if it rains really hard and you forgot your umbrella?, clothes will someday tear and deteriorate but real love, self love and confidence will not fade. You can tell alot by looking at a girl and talking with her. Today make your day worth it. Dont waste it by judging others, maybe it isnt a young girl, maybe its a 90 year old lady, or maybe its the homeless man on main street, maybe its the single mom that waitresses at your routine lunch break cafe, maybe its your mom, daughter, son, father, sister, brother. Let them know how much they are cared for. Let them know that even though millions of people see just another person, you see them as a unique, beautiful, wonderful gift to this earth and no matter what, nothing will make them as wonderful as you already see them. And if you dont look at people this way, if you think one person in this world doesnt matter, have a heart and look in the mirror, how many people do you think look straight past the self centered body youre looking at? Make people notice you not because your shoes are 7 different neon colors, or because your boobs are hanging out, or your skirt is so short you cant bend over, not because youre crying over a broken perfect nail, but because you arent perfect and you never will be but youre okay with that. Make people say wow, thats a great person, thats a great attitude, that is an understanding person, she is amazing. Its so difficult for everyone in this world, make a difference everyday in someones life even if its just a smile, helping someone find their way, helping them pick up something they dropped, anything really. It may seem like nothing but it could be big. It could change a mood, it could change the day, it could change a life, and sometimes maybe even save a life. You never know who you are judging or putting down, so just dont do it today. Resist the erge and just say hello, how are you? and say it with a smile, they are contagious ya know :)

'til my next soapbox: Signed DiligentDaisy