A writer's Random ramblings
“Family unity and unification.” Whether this occurs in the country or at our borders for immigrants and refugees, we need to define what it means. Unity or unification always means “to make one” as in the sense of a group or other unit. For “family,” it can get dicey. Do we always mean two parents and their associated children? Could a family be an aunt or uncle bringing young ones back to a parent or elder sibling willing to help them until the age of majority? Are the ties always biological, or could an adopted “family member” or maybe a neighbor help a refugee escape to safety?
All of these questions need to be answered to be a truly human and humanitarian nation. Of course, we need to be able to find out as people enter if they bring related children. Others may bring kids they intend to abuse or enter into trafficking situations. They may be using the children to enter the nation, only to later abandon them to foster care or others. Many questions and intentions could be sussed out at the border with those old enough to talk about things. If the following tips cannot be used or proven, then begin proceedings to have children adopted and the people who bring them deported. To have the best chance of getting children to talk, find a worker who resembles them and speaks their language. Friendly people who fit this bill work best. Have these workers ask, in the children’s native language, who accompanied them across the border and how they know the person. If someone gives no answer, have a DNA test to prove any common heritage. Also, have bilingual, caring medical professionals at the border. They need to certify the child’s health status and be sure he or she does not bring disease. Bring in English teachers and social workers or American youth trained in the language to help translate. The teachers and social workers can also prepare the communities that receive the refugee children to accept them by holding classes on the language and culture. In cases where no link is found, find a relative in the area or put the child into foster care until one is located. Treat these cases as we would any other Department of Human Services cases. Prove that they have found a reliable relative with no intent to harm the child or that the foster family has been thoroughly vetted for safety. Only work with those who can communicate with the youngster and get him or her into educational settings. In either case, put the child in a bilingual, multicultural area so they can fit in and feel at home while learning about the new land.
0 Comments
As the seasons change, does your skin follow suit? Maybe sunburn sets in as summer befalls. Perhaps the skin dries out or flares up in an itchy mess. What simple, inexpensive things can one person do to fight back? Does the suffering skin need a prescription, or can its owner do something while waiting to visit the doctor? Fortunately, yes, a sufferer of burned, dry, or itchy skin can try 3 very simple tricks to to soothe those troubles. First, for burns, whether sun or cooking, try aloe vera gel. One can harvest this from a living plant in the house. Simply break off a leaf and squeeze the gel-like contents right onto the wound. This gives the most natural method for fixing burns. Those lacking the “green thumb” to grow a plant can also purchase medically-approved gels at drug, grocery, or superstores or online. It comes in many forms, some combined with other ingredients. If you’re not allergic, menthol additive can help cool the burn when applied soon after it happens. Some companies color the gel to gain attention, while some leave it clear. Those with sensitive skin, such as myself, need to use the clear varieties to avoid reactions. Second, locate a soap made with antioxidants. These also come in many forms, but be sure to find one including Vitamin E. This soothes and hydrates the skin for best results. Others add in Vitamins A and/or C to help restore elasticity to the skin and fight aging signs. Soaps come both scented and unscented, but cranberry and related scents invigorate you while washing. To relax at the end of a day, try a lavender or chamomile based scent, if you’re not allergic to those. Whether scented or not, these soaps also enjoy wide availability, in all kinds of stores and online from brands such as Dove and Dial as well as many generics. All showered and ready to rock? Not so fast - it’s time to apply lotion. Look for those with “butter” ingredients (cocoa, shea, etc) and/or non-colloidal oatmeal. In my history with atopic dermatitis, cocoa butter lotion and oatmeal lotion do the best. The cocoa butter does smell a bit like cookies baking, but soothes the itch well. Although this scent occurs naturally in cocoa butter, other scents, like soothing lavender and chamomile, are sometimes added. Others do not add any scent, opting for the illusion of purity. Brands do not necessarily matter, although everyone from Aveeno and Neutrogena to the store brands in various outlets offer many varieties. Thus, although not curative, these three methods often offer relief for crazy skin. Whether burned, dry, or itchy, simple mass-market products exist to help. Washing with the aforementioned soaps and using the lotions and gels generally do the trick for many people. These ways to help oneself also save money in the long run, a great bonus. https://amzn.to/2MKpvCU Recently, my husband and I celebrated 20 years of marriage. The Special Occasion Club I joined through the website of Bulls and Bears, a favorite downtown Hagerstown location, helped. Simply submitting my e-mail address, birthday, husband’s birthday, and anniversary dates allowed the team there to send along useful coupons. Once there, we each ordered a summer style beer with undertones of citrus peel. One would think this to be a beer to only drink on its own, but as our meal progressed, we found food to complement it.
I tested the Hageroni, a dish named for our town. This grown-up macaroni and cheese came in a perfectly sized bowl for a lunch portion. It boasted a creamy cheddar sauce over the noodles. The chef also mixes in crab, Old Bay seasoning, and ham before baking the dish. This makes it more adult, although sophisticated youngsters would also enjoy it. My only suggestion to the team for improving the dish would be to include a piece of bread for dipping in the extra sauce at the bottom of the bowl. SInce this was not included, my husband graciously shared his French fries to help me sop up the great cheese sauce. My husband ate the fish and chips option. This came with a tangy house cole slaw featuring more purple vegetables than carrots or greens. As the cole slaw did not appear too tangy or too sweet, as many tend to be, it complemented everything we ate very well. His fish came in large portions of beer battered whitefish including Old Bay, which added an extra depth of flavor. The fish was fried very well, where it came to the table just done enough to flake apart the way people expect. The chips, as the British call them, appear as regular thickness fries, just the right size for dipping in sauces of any kind. For dessert, we shared a Lemon Bar. Even this selection matched out beer extremely well. The bar itself was just the right size to share after lunch portions of entree food. While many lemon bars appear too tart or too sweet to the palate, this was neither. It also featured just the right amount of powdered sugar and whipped cream to provide a festive end to our lunch. For these reasons, we recommend Bulls and Bears, a stock market themed restaurant. Find it in the heart of Hagerstown, Maryland’s Arts and Entertainment District at 38 South Potomac Street. You can reach it easily from the parking deck to the rear of the building. The wide ranging menu features everything from the aforementioned dishes to sandwiches, soups, and many other regional delights. To check the menu or join the Special Occasion Club, visit them online at http://www.bullsandbears.biz. Social studies exists as a department at many secondary schools, sometimes even in elementary schools. What exactly does this mean as the name? What do the courses teach, and how can we make them better and more relevant? Many who have graduated equate this set of studies with history, perhaps also psychology, sociology, and economics. After all, these disciplines and other social topics impact humanity around the world. How can we help our students study these items and apply them to life more fully for a better understanding of the world?
We need to begin the lessons with our elementary school children. Those as young as Kindergarten can benefit from answering certain questions. Teachers can ask them their names, where they come from, and other simple ideas about them and their families. As the discussion proceeds around the room, kids meet each other and see how they are similar and different. Teachers can also ask children their opinions of a piece of art or music. After this, discuss what the creator meant to tell the world and how the students’ ideas may differ. As the children progress through the years, they can learn to see how societies and their cultures change over time. This will eventually lead them into other social studies such as psychology, the study of the individual, and sociology to learn about people as groups. In middle school, we can expand on these ideas and see how they impact human history. Religion and its relationship to culture can begin at this age. Only religion’s impacts upon art, music, and literature need full study. The interplay among these crucial parts of society shows how humanity creates its beliefs in various parts of the world. Religion and philosophy only need introductory study in middle school with their relevant cultures so the students can decide whether to study those in more depth at a later time. During these years, psychology and sociology can also integrate science by showing the effects of early sexual activity or doing drugs. The stigmas of unintended consequences to the behaviors come across better in terms of social beliefs and norms than any other way. Economics can be brought in at this level to show students how math and social studies combine every day in which people purchase goods and services. Following from this, students need some leeway in deciding what interests them for high school and beyond. Students who choose, within reason, their own courses, typically do better than those forced into a set curriculum. A course integrating the culture and politics of a given time frame in the student’s nation could cover that history requirement. Then, expand it out to the world with the same idea - explore a period through the lens of its cultural, religious, philosophical, and other contributions to the world and the impact upon current society. After that, allow the student to decide upon a course in psychology, sociology, or more government or history, depending upon his or her interests and goals. This way, the high school courses could be more in-depth and preparatory for the way many college courses are taught. At all levels, guest speakers and the use of travel documentaries can enhance these studies. High schools could hold a forum style discussion among the various sets of students as a capstone each year to learn from each other. They could even present their findings to younger students. In these ways, students and teachers alike can come together to learn about our world in relevant ways. This could easily inspire the students’ curiosity and keep them learning for life as their interests evolve and grow. Over the last 2 weeks, I took some time off from writing. No, burnout did not set in, but the family had a busy period. Dance, music, and school events for two children combined to make quite a period. In the midst of much driving around, I practiced some photographic and videographic skills in recording the various events for my daughters’ posterity.
The first week encompassed several rehearsals and a ballet recital for the younger one. Her dance school, Ballet and All That Jazz here in Hagerstown, Maryland teaches dance for youngsters ages 3-18. Ranelle Flurie, the director, and her staff cover classical ballet, tap, jazz, hip-hop, and modern classes and auditioned groups. They have affordable rates for the classes, with each family being counted as one student for billing purposes. Each year, the school puts on 3 recitals, with the dance teams and graduating dancers using the morning and afternoon recitals as warm-ups for their features in the evening performance. This keeps the Maryland Theatre from being too inundated with families watching the various levels of dancers, a smart idea. The youngest ones perform at 10:00 AM, elementary age dancers at 2:00 PM, and the advanced ballerinas and anyone from middle school up at 7:00 PM. The dancers also have beautiful costumes each year after learning the technique behind their style of dance for the first half of the year and the routine for recital from January through May. Teen dancers also have the opportunity, which many take, to assist with younger classes. Concerts at North Hagerstown High School kept the week of May 21 filled with music. First up a show involving the Band and Orchestra class programs gave the community nearly 2 hours of music. The Concert Orchestra opened the show, impressively playing Queen’s “Bohemain Rhapsody,” a setting I had never before heard. After their portion, the Honors Sinfonia Orchestra took the stage, first by themselves for several pieces, then a combined one with the Wind Ensemble. Concert Band, followed by Wind Ensemble, each played music from movie franchises to wind up the night. In each of these cases, the Concert class comprises first-year students at the school and those seeking their fine arts graduation credit or a schedule-filler. Honors Sinfonia and Wind Ensemble contain those advanced instrumentalists chosen by the teachers and play more difficult music than the Concert groups, pieces often thought by the community as corresponding to professional-level groups. At all levels, the young musicians play their works with dedication and skill not often seen in this age bracket. Later that week, North High’s Jazz Band teamed up with that of feeder school Northern Middle to host a more intimate coffeehouse style event. Visitors found much of the auditorium at the high school roped off with caution tape. We all sat near the stage, a treat for many of us who generally sit toward the back at larger events. Both groups, the middle school and combined Jazz Band led by the middle school’s teacher, and the high school’s, led by their drummer, presented music seemingly far beyond what many would expect any students to play. The presentations came off as very professional given the ages of the participants. This setting gave many students the opportunity to play in a group on instruments other than what they play in band classes. My daughter, who began the musical life on alto saxophone and recently added bass clarinet to her concert repertoire, played baritone sax for this concert. Some of her friends played guitars rather than the clarinets she says they play for class, and one young gentleman showed his chops at piano instead of the bassoon he plays in concert. I found myself very impressed at the number of students able to play so proficiently on more than one instrument for separate purposes, since these students attend the regular district high school, not the arts academy in our area. I only wish we could have had printed programs for this concert to remember the list of music better. Every school and associated community can support the arts. After all, the students thereof deserve the opportunity to let others see what they can do. In concerts and recitals, our local youth performers do just that. While not all of them go into arts professions, many will. School and community groups such as those outlined above, while they do take time and money on the families’ parts, give our students the chance they need to explore the arts and how those subjects intersect with other areas of life. Many studies bear out the idea that arts study brings out intelligence in those who undertake it, so let’s keep the arts accessible for the kids’ sakes! |
AuthorStuff about me: Archives
June 2020
Categories |