Would Changes to the School Year Help Parents?

In the September issue of Northern Connection magazine, I started the conversation by looking at the up-coming school year. Several parents I know wish that the school year would go all year. They argue that historically, students had summers off because they needed to help with the family farm. But now, the U.S. keeps falling behind the other countries that do go to school all year long.

Of course, as a student I loved my summer vacations and as I got older, I really enjoyed working to earn my own pocket money. I also think if I didn't get a break, I would have burned-out from studying somewhere along the way.

Plus, nowadays there are so many great summer programs and extracurricular opportunities for students during the summer that truly enhance not only their education, but each of them as an individual. Providing opportunities to mature, learn about the world outside of their day-to-day school life.

But as always, what do you think? Please leave comments below, email me at NorthCon@consolidated.net or send me a “Letter to the Editor” at P.O Box 722 Wexford, PA 15090-0722 attn: Marianne Reid Anderson.

Do We Appreciate What We Have?

 

In the August issue of Northern Connection magazine, I started the conversation about some of the things we as Americans can take for granted such as fully stocked shelves in grocery stores. I told the story of some refugees from Bosnia that were completely amazed at our supermarkets. How much we have – and how much we waste.

Whenever I turn on the TV anymore (which is starting to be very rare) I am hit with so much violence and hatred. I distinctly remember in elementary school, the teachers having us sing over and over again “All we are saying is give peace a chance.” What happened to that dream? Where did it go?

I do know that violence begets violence and so I worry and dread - where is all this violence going to end? Other countries envy how good we have it and how much we have. It is why they hate us and why terrorists attack us. Isn’t this enough of a problem? Whenever we as Americans attack each other, it delights our enemies. We are playing right into their hands. Christ, Gandhi, Martin Luther King, all said peaceful protest is the way to change. How many times do we need to be told this?

But as always, what do you think? Please leave comments below, email me at NorthCon@consolidated.net or send me a “Letter to the Editor” at P.O Box 722 Wexford, PA 15090-0722 attn: Marianne Reid Anderson.

Where Does the Buck Stop?

In this month's issue of Northern Connection magazine, I shared an unpleasant conversation I experienced. Fundamentally, a professional interaction had become very unprofessional when a certain person refused to take responsibility. I wanted to fix the situation. She wanted to play the blame-game. SO it got me wondering, where does the buck stop?

The phrase the "The Buck Stops Here" became popular when Harry S. Truman had the sign placed on his desk in the oval office. Of course the back of the sign read, "I'm from Missouri" aka the "Show Me" state or "prove it," - which is one of my favorite sentiments.

Of course, mistakes do happen and I believe how we handle recovery from those mistakes it what separates us. For example, on the extremely rare occasion when I miss a fact-check, the magazine issues a "correction" in the next issue. Not exactly a happy circumstance but at least between the convention in the industry and the power of social media, I can disseminate the correct information very quickly. The NY Times has an entire page of their website devoted to corrections. They apparently realize the importance of owning-up to one's mistakes and not try to cover it up or blame others.

In the movie Apollo 13, about the difficulties surrounding that particular space launch. When the first disaster strikes, two of the astronauts start arguing on who was to blame and the commander Jim Lovell, played by Tom Hanks, yells at them and  says, "All right, we're not doing this, gentlemen. We are *not* going to do this. We're not going to go bouncing off the walls for ten minutes, 'cause we're just going to end up back here with the same problems! Try to figure out how to stay alive!"

I absolutely love that scene. Of course, my experience was nothing so life or death by any means but it really shows the importance of staying grounded and giving up the hope of a better past.

As good friend of mine always says about difficulties, "It is what it is, let's move on."

But what do you think? You can enter your comments below or feel free to email me at NorthCon@consolidated.net or send me a “Letter to the Editor” at P.O Box 722 Wexford, PA 15090-0722 attn: Marianne Reid Anderson.

Is There Still a Taboo over Mental Illness?

It has come to my attention, that there have been a series of suicides in our community. Many committed by and effecting our high school students. It has also come to my attention, that in some of these cases, grief counselors and other support structures are not in place to help students cope. Coping with stress, peer pressure, bullying and the loss of their fellow students can lead to intense feeling of hopelessness and despair.

So, in this month’s Starting theConversation, I wanted to know your thoughts on mental illness, suicide and if you know any resources for our community, to please share them so we can help create awareness.

In Pine Richland school district, a petition was started regarding the ongoing suicide issue.  Go to http://www.petitionbuzz.com/petitions/suicide-prevention-in-pine-richland-school-district to learn more and to find out the answers to these questions in your own school district.

Specifically:

-Does the district have a suicide prevention program, a suicide prevention coordinator, and what policies and procedures are currently in place to prevent suicide? (i.e., are staff members trained to identify children at risk for suicide, are there specially trained staff members that students know they can turn to when they are concerned for themselves or for someone else, when a student is identified at risk what are the next steps?)

-When a bullying incident occurs what is the procedure and how is it specifically handled? The current policy does not outline the consequences for bullying, (i.e., where should incidents be reported, are they documented, when are parents contacted, when are attempts made to resolve the issues, are the school psychologists involved, how do we effectively increase a positive, accepting school climate?)

Anyone, anywhere can go through a dark time and require help developing coping skills or medication to stop a chemical imbalance.

In Starting the Conversation, I mention the book “Am I Going to be Okay?” by Debra Whittam. If you are interested in Debra Whittam’s book, visit www.debrawhittam.com to purchase your own copy of the book, as well as, Amazon.com and bookstores nationwide. Also she will be having a book event for a ‘Meet and Greet the Author at Mars Coffee Brew House in Mars, PA on Saturday, June 4 from 9:30am until 1pm.

If you or someone you love needs help, it is perfectly alright to reach out. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 24 hours a day/ 7 days a week. Call 1-800-273-TALK (8255), or visit http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ to click to chat.

 

But, as always, what do you think? Enter comments below or email me at NorthCon@consolidated.net or send me a “Letter to the Editor” at P.O Box 722 Wexford, PA 15090-0722 attn: Marianne Reid Anderson.

Social Media: Friend or Foe?

What is your opinion of Social Media? We ‘Started the Conversation’ on social media in this month’s edition of Northern Connection magazine. There is no doubt that it is here to stay but how do you teach children and teens to not talk, text, chat, or meet strangers? One rule we have is that everyone can only post past events. For example, “We went on vacation…”, “I went to the mall…”, and so forth, so no one knows the house was empty.

Another rule we have is the golden rule of, “if you can’t say anything nice, then don’t say anything at all”, which is very difficult when so many people feel so comfortable in being rude on social media and write nasty things that they would never say in a face-to-face conversation. Leading to having to resist the temptation to retaliate and “turn the other cheek” instead.

Also in the article, we mention, if you are mean out in cyberspace, you can be in jeopardy of being criminal, according to new laws and adaptations to existing laws against harassment and stalking. So be aware that if someone is cruel to you or your child online, you and your child have rights! Check out http://www.ncsl.org/research/telecommunications-and-information-technology/cyberstalking-and-cyberharassment-laws.aspx, to learn more.

In doing research for this article and blog, three great teens that I happen to know informed me that since all the parents are on Facebook and Twitter, they have started hanging out in other sites, such as:

www.Instagram.com – more photo and video intensive than Facebook and Twitter, it streamlines getting impromptu pictures without as much text and then it is easy to share out the pictures or videos that you want to Facebook.

www.Pinterest.com – this site really helps you organize any content that you have found on the web so you can come back to it and relocate it in a snap – it is infinitely more efficient than just saving out “favorites” in your web browser.

www.Snapchat.com – similar to Instagram, it came with the promise of photos only lasting 30 minutes and then they’ll auto-delete. Unfortunately, this is NOT entirely true and people have been hurt because if a so-called friend sees it during that 30 minutes and downloads it, then they can share it out to Facebook or wherever they want and you have no control over it.

www.Spotify.com – this is the ultimate in managing your music via playlists. You can upload your own playlists but you can also access all the other playlists that have been uploaded to find various kinds of music and genres and people can access your list, as well.

www.Tumblr.com – an “edgy” version of Facebook – this has become a big favorite among teens.

www.Vine.com – recently purchased by Facebook, Vine is similar to Instagram but with more of a focus on short videos.

www.YikYakApp.com – similar to Facebook and Pinterest but it is a public bulletin board that is based on your location – so you see the posts of people physically near you and they can see your posts. Supposedly streamlining what you see, relevant to your area. (Personally, I think this is a bit close for comfort – but is that me?)

If you want more statistics on people using the Internet for social media, check-out: http://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheets/social-networking-fact-sheet/

As always, we are very interested in your comments and opinions, so let’s continue the conversation and please enter your thoughts in the comment section below, Is Social Media Friend or Foe? (Also, don’t forget to subscribe to this blog, “like” us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/northernconnection and follow us on Twitter at @NConnectionMag https://twitter.com/NConnectionMag  and look for more Northern Connection in social media outlets.

Advice on Helicopter Parenting?

 

In this month’s issue of Northern Connection magazine, I started the conversation by wondering how on Earth, parents manage in this day and age when there are dangers around every corner – even via the computer, SMART Phone, “Live” gaming on a child’s game console – everywhere! How do you do it? How do you know who to trust?

On the computers and devices, you can set parental controls and install software such as Net Nanny http://www.netnanny.com/, but even those require diligent surveillance. A friend of my husband recently had to punish his middle-schooler by taking away all his electronics because his son re-configured his computer to get around all the precautions. (The friend confessed that it was tough, because on the inside, he was actually proud and impressed that his son was that tech-savvy).

And then, as I mentioned in the article, how do you know when to step back? So many college students have a very difficult freshman year because of a lack of self-reliance.

What do you think? Any recommendations, suggestions, additional concerns or frustrations that you would like to share? As always, I am eager to hear from you!