When it comes to children solders, you hear stories about it on the news or in classrooms or in articles, but it never really effects you because you rarely see the faces of the children or hear their stories. The two movies that we have watched have really opened my eyes to this world that few know or even really care about. You see these children who every night seek refuge because they are afraid of being taken and forced into this world that they should have no part in. With a quick background to the movie are three men who are interested in making movies and documentaries. While on the hunt to make a documentary they come across the battles and civil wars or Uganda and decide to risk their lives to tell a story. They proceed to Uganda to find thousands of children who seek refuage in areas to hide from the rebel forces.
What I first would like to talk about is how these kids are treated and brought up in this town. Their living conditions are horrible and how these children are constantly afraid. First I want to bring up their living conditions. They are jam-packed into tiny rooms that are full to the brimb and barly have enough room for these children to stretch out. In some areas there are bugs that infest the area and is soaking wet from the constant rain storms. With that these children are valuable to being raped, sickness and malnutrition. Second thing is how these kids live in fear. Fear that one day this horrible man will come into this refuage and take them to the brush. Once in the brush they will be tortured and live in constant fear from being beaten and other horrible things. It surprised me in the video that one of the main kids they interviewed, named Jacob, escaped from this rebel camp and would rather die than live in fear and go back. This boy had been thru so much constantly looking over his shoulder thinging the rebels were going to find him. Having to hide all day and sleep in a refuage camp just so he would feel safe, and lastly watching his brother die for them trying to escape. It saddens me that he is not the only young kid in Uganda that will experience this.
I have expressed this before and every video we watch has some mention of play in it or loosly associated with it. These children have grown up around violence so much that it effects their way of life. The rebel children who are kidnapped are withheld from play and as a result they are brainwashed and don’t have a childhood. In the movie they showed a clip of when they reclaimed a child who had been in the rebel army and had been brainwashed, when he was asked to draw or play, all he knew was killing. He would draw pictures of guns, death etc. When him and other chirlden who escaped would attempt to play they would play violent tag games or tend to be more aggressive towards the other children who they were playing with. These kids had their rights as a child stripped away from them causing them difficulties in rejoining their lives as children. They lived in fear and most the times live in hidings from these people. These kids will have a difficult time rejoining society because of the horrors they have seen and not being able to interact with other children. I feel that with the help of the community and through play this children will slowly be able to regain their childhood and go on to live a healthy life.
These stories and movies we have seen is a real eye opener on how these monsters are using children for their own personal gain. These selfish people are using these kids and stripping them of their constructional rights that they are given as children for what? So that this guy can be the leader of Uganda? So this guy can feel that he has some power so he uses these kids to express it? Why does he do these sick things to these innocent children. And not only does he do effect the children in his army, but all the kids in the surrounding towns. These children live in fear and are unable to have a normal childhood. And what are we doing to stop this horrible man? From the looks of it not much. Sure the UN has set up peace talks, struck a few deals, but nothing else. This guy is single handily terrorizing a whole country and no one is doing anything about it. Our politicians are to worried about oil and oil prices to step in a possibly save lives of thousands of children and adults. Sure I don’t want to be paying five dollars a gallon at a gas station, especially since I drive a truck, but these children are more important that any gas price. I have a set future with plans that I know I can and will achieve, and I feel that those kids sould have the same benefits as I do. So we need to stand up as a nation and help protect these kids at all cost and find a way to take out this man and others like him all around the world so these kids can have a future other then death, distruction and fear.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
week 13 sex trade/slavery
Human and child slavery is still a huge problem not only in the United States, but all around the world. Most people thought that the slave trade was over following the civil war and in following years all nations adopting some sort of non slavery agreement, but they were wrong. There is still a high volume of slavery in the world, even more then when slavery was acceptable in the early colonist days. The number of human slaves as stated in the video was estimated at 27 million people. That almost doubles then the amount of slaves back in the civil war time. What I found to be horrible but a possible reason it is higher in today’s world is the amount that they cost. The movie states that an average cost for a human slave in the colonial days was about 40,000 dollars in today’s money. The movie also describes that an average slave today is sold at 100 dollars. So because the price is so much cheaper these people don’t care how they are being used. They will use this child or person to its breaking point and when they are all used up just throw them away. With the colonist days the movie described that “they used the slaves as an investment.” Sure they did beat the slaves and do horrible things to them, but because they were so expensive they wanted to get more out of them then what slave owners today would get. It just sickens me that people today can have a price when every human life is priceless.
The next thing that sickens me is how these children are sold or tricked into slavery. The first girl in the film stated that her father turned her over to this female, because she promised him that she would give her a better life and education. So in efforts to get his daughter a better life she is given to her, but as a result he was tricked. Because he was tricked his daughter was now being used as an unpaid slave and forced to clean multiple houses. Another story was a Vietnamese girl who was told about a better life in Cambodia and that this lady will take her on a trip there but couldn’t tell anyone. Once she got to Cambodia the ladies mood changed and became violent. She was then sold into the sex trade against her will and couldn’t return home. The final story was a young 13 year old female who was sold by her aunt for money into the sex trade. She was in it for a while, but escaped and now is living at a safe home. These people both family and these people who take advantage of these kids are sick. You are taking an innocent child and forcing them to do things they are not meant to do at that young age. You are robbing them of not only their innocents but their childhood. These people need to be stopped and receive the worst types of punishment imaginable.
Another thing that stuck as a reason for all this sex trade is poverty. These people who live in a poverty stricken area or unable to barely feed themselves and others feel like they have no choice. Others are sold into this life by the family because they are tricked into thinking they are helping their child. They are told that they will get an education, or they will be doing other work such as waitressing or other types of work. Poverty is the reason a lot of these kids are put in the places they are today. If it wasn’t because of poverty these parents wouldn’t need or feel the need to sell their kids for their own personal gain or being tricked that they will be receiving a better life. I don’t think poverty is the only factor in the sex trade, but I do feel it is a major part.
These people who do these horrible things to children deserve no consideration when it comes to punishment and they need to have the book thrown at them. And the people who actually engage in sexual acts with these children need to thrown in jail for the remainder of their lives. They are manipulating and robbing these poor children of their childhood. To conclude I really think that we need to take a step back and look at the worlds poverty. Parents wouldn’t be selling their kids if the were able to support themselves and their family. They wouldn’t try to be seeking better lives for their children and in return be lied to if they were able to provide that life for them. One of the things in the video stated that it would cost around 30 billion dollars to end or almost eliminate slavery, but yet no one wants to pay it. These kids are being tortured and used for horrible acts and according to exports there is a solution it just cost money. Yet no government wants to fork the money over to end this rain or terror for these kids. Instead they would rather fund a war that shouldn’t have happened in the first place, or fund a health care system that is flawed and wont work. People are robbing these kids of their childhood and everyone is just sitting back and letting it happen. We need to stand up and be the voices for the children who cant speak in the first place.
Sources:
Modern Slavery: Captive Servants and Child Prostitution. Films Media Group, 2008. Films On Demand. Web. 11 April 2011. < http://digital.films.com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/PortalPlaylists.aspx?aid=1850&xtid=41369 >.
The next thing that sickens me is how these children are sold or tricked into slavery. The first girl in the film stated that her father turned her over to this female, because she promised him that she would give her a better life and education. So in efforts to get his daughter a better life she is given to her, but as a result he was tricked. Because he was tricked his daughter was now being used as an unpaid slave and forced to clean multiple houses. Another story was a Vietnamese girl who was told about a better life in Cambodia and that this lady will take her on a trip there but couldn’t tell anyone. Once she got to Cambodia the ladies mood changed and became violent. She was then sold into the sex trade against her will and couldn’t return home. The final story was a young 13 year old female who was sold by her aunt for money into the sex trade. She was in it for a while, but escaped and now is living at a safe home. These people both family and these people who take advantage of these kids are sick. You are taking an innocent child and forcing them to do things they are not meant to do at that young age. You are robbing them of not only their innocents but their childhood. These people need to be stopped and receive the worst types of punishment imaginable.
Another thing that stuck as a reason for all this sex trade is poverty. These people who live in a poverty stricken area or unable to barely feed themselves and others feel like they have no choice. Others are sold into this life by the family because they are tricked into thinking they are helping their child. They are told that they will get an education, or they will be doing other work such as waitressing or other types of work. Poverty is the reason a lot of these kids are put in the places they are today. If it wasn’t because of poverty these parents wouldn’t need or feel the need to sell their kids for their own personal gain or being tricked that they will be receiving a better life. I don’t think poverty is the only factor in the sex trade, but I do feel it is a major part.
These people who do these horrible things to children deserve no consideration when it comes to punishment and they need to have the book thrown at them. And the people who actually engage in sexual acts with these children need to thrown in jail for the remainder of their lives. They are manipulating and robbing these poor children of their childhood. To conclude I really think that we need to take a step back and look at the worlds poverty. Parents wouldn’t be selling their kids if the were able to support themselves and their family. They wouldn’t try to be seeking better lives for their children and in return be lied to if they were able to provide that life for them. One of the things in the video stated that it would cost around 30 billion dollars to end or almost eliminate slavery, but yet no one wants to pay it. These kids are being tortured and used for horrible acts and according to exports there is a solution it just cost money. Yet no government wants to fork the money over to end this rain or terror for these kids. Instead they would rather fund a war that shouldn’t have happened in the first place, or fund a health care system that is flawed and wont work. People are robbing these kids of their childhood and everyone is just sitting back and letting it happen. We need to stand up and be the voices for the children who cant speak in the first place.
Sources:
Modern Slavery: Captive Servants and Child Prostitution. Films Media Group, 2008. Films On Demand. Web. 11 April 2011. < http://digital.films.com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/PortalPlaylists.aspx?aid=1850&xtid=41369 >.
Monday, April 11, 2011
week #12 child labor
Can you remember what things you were doing between the ages 6 and 14? I know I can. I was out running around with friends, playing sports and chasing girls. Not having a care in the world because I know my parents were able and in a set place to take care of me. I knew my dad had a good job so I was able to get the latest haircuts, newest cloths, great food and the newest toys. Work never came into my mind because I thought it was my parent’s job to work and mine was to go to school and get an education. Now imagine the complete opposite, that your parent’s barley made enough money to pay the bills. The only way you have a chance to eat that night is you, at the age of ten, have to go out into the work force and work. You work under strict supervision that if you screw up, not only is your pay duct, you risk verbal and physical abuse. You work in dangerous jobs where you could die before your 12th birthday because of the risks of working in dangerous pesticides and just all around dangerous working environments. And it doesn’t matter rain or shine, sick or healthy, if you don’t show up to work the boss will arrive and threaten you or your family till you do. These situations exist even in today’s world, where in other countries school and play are sometimes luxuries to these kids.
One of the key points that I have gathered by both this week and previous weeks, and that is the child’s right to play and have a proper education. From what it seems like to me is both the child labor laws and the child’s bill of rights, were created to help make sure these kids accomplished these things. I hate to beat a dead horse, but I can’t stress how much play is important to a child’s growing and development. Just with the simple act of playing cant not only develop a kids self confidence, but their other skills such as sharing, communication skills etc. One of the females in the video tells us her daily routine, which includes cleaning dishes and sweeping the house, work for almost 12 hours and return home to make food and go to bed. Under no time does she have to play or interact with people her own age. I feel that this could cause major issues in the future in her development.
Another thing that stuck me interesting was the fact many of these kids don’t receive a proper education. One of the boys in the film stated his dad pulled him from school because he felt like he didn’t learn anything so he forced him to work. Later he returned to school, but I feel why a lot of these kids don’t go to college is because of their parents. Their parents force them to work because they themselves didn’t go to school and as a result the cycle of poverty and child labor continues. Without school these kids are not able to help better themselves and maybe try and get a better job with their education.
Just like in the film about India Arizona state laws and U.S. laws prohibit kids from doing hazardous jobs that could cause them physical harm. Unfortunately, in India the difference is that that law doesn’t apply to jobs in agriculture and other jobs. As a result during the filming of the movie the mediator stated around three kids died due to the pesticides they were using in the crop fields. I don’t feel things like these should be tolerated. Just because a family is hard up for money and because of the demand of child labor, no child should have died for the crops they were spraying. Those kids were young and had their full lives ahead of them. Also who in their right mind would give a twelve year old a pesticide sprayer and let them spray their field? It’s just not right. Also in Arizona and in the United States, kids can not work more than a certain number of hours, plus can’t work past 9:30 p.m. on a school day and 11 p.m. on a non school day. This gives the children the chance to have time to play and not interfere with their school schedules. While in India kids under the age of 16 were saying that they work 10 to 14 hours a day.
This just shows how important child labor laws are. Without child labor laws children risk not becoming educated, having time to play and help prevent hazards in their lives. I saw how these families live in places without strict labor laws and how these kids are treated. They are getting their lives stripped away from them because of the fact their childhood rights are being taken away. I feel if these kids attended classes and gain an education that they will help turn their country around by bringing better jobs and better pay to their land.
APA Reference:
Meehan, Ruth (director). "India: Working to End Child Labor" 2004. Online video clip. Arizona Universities Library Consortium. FMG Video On Demand. Peadar King (Executive Producer)Accessed on 20 July 2010. http://digital.films.com/play/VBRGKP
Roggero, P., Mangiaterra, V., Bustreo, F., & Rosati, F. (2007). The health impact of child labor in developing countries: Evidence from cross-country data. American Journal of Public Health, 97(2), 271-5.
One of the key points that I have gathered by both this week and previous weeks, and that is the child’s right to play and have a proper education. From what it seems like to me is both the child labor laws and the child’s bill of rights, were created to help make sure these kids accomplished these things. I hate to beat a dead horse, but I can’t stress how much play is important to a child’s growing and development. Just with the simple act of playing cant not only develop a kids self confidence, but their other skills such as sharing, communication skills etc. One of the females in the video tells us her daily routine, which includes cleaning dishes and sweeping the house, work for almost 12 hours and return home to make food and go to bed. Under no time does she have to play or interact with people her own age. I feel that this could cause major issues in the future in her development.
Another thing that stuck me interesting was the fact many of these kids don’t receive a proper education. One of the boys in the film stated his dad pulled him from school because he felt like he didn’t learn anything so he forced him to work. Later he returned to school, but I feel why a lot of these kids don’t go to college is because of their parents. Their parents force them to work because they themselves didn’t go to school and as a result the cycle of poverty and child labor continues. Without school these kids are not able to help better themselves and maybe try and get a better job with their education.
Just like in the film about India Arizona state laws and U.S. laws prohibit kids from doing hazardous jobs that could cause them physical harm. Unfortunately, in India the difference is that that law doesn’t apply to jobs in agriculture and other jobs. As a result during the filming of the movie the mediator stated around three kids died due to the pesticides they were using in the crop fields. I don’t feel things like these should be tolerated. Just because a family is hard up for money and because of the demand of child labor, no child should have died for the crops they were spraying. Those kids were young and had their full lives ahead of them. Also who in their right mind would give a twelve year old a pesticide sprayer and let them spray their field? It’s just not right. Also in Arizona and in the United States, kids can not work more than a certain number of hours, plus can’t work past 9:30 p.m. on a school day and 11 p.m. on a non school day. This gives the children the chance to have time to play and not interfere with their school schedules. While in India kids under the age of 16 were saying that they work 10 to 14 hours a day.
This just shows how important child labor laws are. Without child labor laws children risk not becoming educated, having time to play and help prevent hazards in their lives. I saw how these families live in places without strict labor laws and how these kids are treated. They are getting their lives stripped away from them because of the fact their childhood rights are being taken away. I feel if these kids attended classes and gain an education that they will help turn their country around by bringing better jobs and better pay to their land.
APA Reference:
Meehan, Ruth (director). "India: Working to End Child Labor" 2004. Online video clip. Arizona Universities Library Consortium. FMG Video On Demand. Peadar King (Executive Producer)Accessed on 20 July 2010. http://digital.films.com/play/VBRGKP
Roggero, P., Mangiaterra, V., Bustreo, F., & Rosati, F. (2007). The health impact of child labor in developing countries: Evidence from cross-country data. American Journal of Public Health, 97(2), 271-5.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Week #11 Child Rights
Children whether you believe so or not, are greatly important to the success of any country in the world. Before the start of this class I have always knew that children in other parts of the world don’t live with the luxuries I do, but I never realized in certain situations how bad it is and was. Luckily with this chapter I see that many efforts since World War II has changed kid’s lives today. In the video it described how children were used and sold as sex slaves and how they were also used as solders in the armed forces. They were also used in to work alongside their parents in hazardous jobs that even adults wouldn’t do in United States. But when they passed the Human bill of rights they had a section that was based sully on kid’s rights. Another thing I found interesting in the video is how the bill gave the kids the right to play. From what I remember in the first weeks of this class is the importance of play in a kid’s life. With play it helps develop the kids self esteem and make them more sociable. I just found that interesting that they made that a right, meaning that they know the importance of play to kids and how they recognize how its important to their development.
Another factor that I saw was how the infant mortality rate is down One of the articles described how in 1990 over 12.5 million infiants have died and now since 2009 that number has dropped to less than 9 million. Even though that number is still high, it is great to see a steady decline in the amount of deaths. A lot of this was because on the convention on child rights was placed into effect since 1990. Today all but 2 countries have accepted this Convention and have abided by the rules set place. This provided kids with proper shots and immunizations to help prevent sickness. Giving proper prenatal vitamins to mothers, proper vaccines and so on. This has helped make sure our children are not only born healthy but remain healthy so they can go on to live a good life.
What I had talked about previous is the child’s right not to work in a hazardous conditions and the fact that they are not to be sexually abused or prostituted. These two things fall under Article 32 and 34 in the Convection. According to this video in the past it wasn’t uncommon for the parents of kids to sell their kids into the sex trade or send their kids to work in dangerous fields just so the family can make money. Under these laws the children who are sold for prostitution are sent home and reunited with their families and the children cannot work in these hazardous conditions anymore. Personally I find it quite upsetting that these laws had to be made in the first place. I feel that way because they are children and don’t know any better. I understand that the parents are in a tough situation trying to make ends meet but why you would risk your child, your own flesh and blood is beyond me.
I felt this section to be very moving and uplifting. I’m happy that there are steps to help enrich the children’s minds and body to help them succeed in life. With the movement of free schools and healthcare for these children is a great start. To help make sure these children will not be forced into situations they don’t want to be in and are able to play and live in a hazard free environment is a good feeling. Don’t get me wrong there is still a ton of work to be done, but I feel we are moving in the right step to help make sure every kid has the childhood they deserve.
Works Citied
United Nations Children's Fund. (Producer). (2009, April 4, 2011). The state of the world's children: special edition. Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/rightsite/sowc/
United Nations Children's Fund. (2009). State of the World's Children: Celebrating 20 Years of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. New York: UNICEF
Timeline of young people's rights in the United States. (2009, May 17). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 17:57, May 19, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Timeline_of_young_people%27s_rights_in_the_United_States&oldid=290549375
Another factor that I saw was how the infant mortality rate is down One of the articles described how in 1990 over 12.5 million infiants have died and now since 2009 that number has dropped to less than 9 million. Even though that number is still high, it is great to see a steady decline in the amount of deaths. A lot of this was because on the convention on child rights was placed into effect since 1990. Today all but 2 countries have accepted this Convention and have abided by the rules set place. This provided kids with proper shots and immunizations to help prevent sickness. Giving proper prenatal vitamins to mothers, proper vaccines and so on. This has helped make sure our children are not only born healthy but remain healthy so they can go on to live a good life.
What I had talked about previous is the child’s right not to work in a hazardous conditions and the fact that they are not to be sexually abused or prostituted. These two things fall under Article 32 and 34 in the Convection. According to this video in the past it wasn’t uncommon for the parents of kids to sell their kids into the sex trade or send their kids to work in dangerous fields just so the family can make money. Under these laws the children who are sold for prostitution are sent home and reunited with their families and the children cannot work in these hazardous conditions anymore. Personally I find it quite upsetting that these laws had to be made in the first place. I feel that way because they are children and don’t know any better. I understand that the parents are in a tough situation trying to make ends meet but why you would risk your child, your own flesh and blood is beyond me.
I felt this section to be very moving and uplifting. I’m happy that there are steps to help enrich the children’s minds and body to help them succeed in life. With the movement of free schools and healthcare for these children is a great start. To help make sure these children will not be forced into situations they don’t want to be in and are able to play and live in a hazard free environment is a good feeling. Don’t get me wrong there is still a ton of work to be done, but I feel we are moving in the right step to help make sure every kid has the childhood they deserve.
Works Citied
United Nations Children's Fund. (Producer). (2009, April 4, 2011). The state of the world's children: special edition. Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/rightsite/sowc/
United Nations Children's Fund. (2009). State of the World's Children: Celebrating 20 Years of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. New York: UNICEF
Timeline of young people's rights in the United States. (2009, May 17). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 17:57, May 19, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Timeline_of_young_people%27s_rights_in_the_United_States&oldid=290549375
Monday, March 21, 2011
Poverty and Schooling in the U.S. and Internationally
I’ve taken a few justice classes in the past where we examine poverty and homelessness and even as a college student I had no idea what it was really all about. All I thought about was homeless people and people who were living on the streets, never did I really think people who worked a full time job or owned a house could be in poverty. When I was younger I would see the people working at Walmart or Target and I thought, hey they have a job they must be doing good, and as I come to find out that’s not always the case. I’ve learned myself that even though I have a full time job, a house and a car I’m not too far away from being classified as living in poverty.
What I have taken away from all of these videos and stories is education. In the video, Born with a Wooden Spoon: Welcome to Poverty U.S.A., most the people on the video are talking about how it’s hard to get a job because you now need a college degree. One of the older men said that to get a job now he has to fill out a slip (job application) but, because he can’t read or write he can’t fill it out. Another example of education from the other film Through a Child's Eyes: Views of Global Poverty, most of the interviewed parents express how they want their kids to go to school and gain an better life then the ones they have now. This just shows how education is important to people and how they see themselves on progressing in the world.
What I did seem to find interesting is how the kids acted in Through a Child's Eyes: Views of Global Poverty, out of all the kids they interviewed only one kid was ashamed of how they were living. For the most part they all seemed happy or didn’t complain about their lifestyle. It just kind of interested me because I grew up in a rich area of Scottsdale Arizona before I moved away and all the rich kids would complain all the time. They would complain that they never had enough, parents forced them to do chores etc. Maybe it’s just the culture but that was something I noticed. I also noticed a strong connection to family. In the film Born with a Wooden Spoon: Welcome to Poverty U.S.A., one of the young adults they interviewed was working in a factory and making a decent living but dropped everything to help out his family. Now he’s unemployed and living at home but he seemed happy to help his parents out because he stated “it’s his only family and parents he’s got.” Even in the other video just the watching the kids help their parents with the chores so it will lessen the burden on the parents just shows me the respect these kids have for their parents.
The only difference I saw between the people in poverty around the world compared to the people in the United States is how the money would be used. As stated in the video Born with a Wooden Spoon: Welcome to Poverty U.S.A., When people in poverty get money they would typically spend it on entertainment instead of getting out of debt or pay the bills. While Through a Child's Eyes: Views of Global Poverty when asked what would they do if they had money minus one girl, most wanted the essentials to live, such as food, water, clothing, electricity, shelter etc.
In today’s economic state the risk of people falling under the poverty line is becoming more and more of a reality. One of the few key factors is education. The job market is becoming more and more competitive as more and more jobs are becoming scarce. It’s slowly becoming a necessity to get your college degree just to work as a cashier at the local supermarket. Unfortunately, with the rising cost in education and the fact teachers salaries are being cut due to budget cuts, people are being left behind causing them to fall into poverty and forgotten about. Programs need to be enstated to help people who want to learn and better themselves to go to college and help break out of the life of poverty. These lids need to be taught that they can be what they want to be and not just that they are always going to be poor.
What I have taken away from all of these videos and stories is education. In the video, Born with a Wooden Spoon: Welcome to Poverty U.S.A., most the people on the video are talking about how it’s hard to get a job because you now need a college degree. One of the older men said that to get a job now he has to fill out a slip (job application) but, because he can’t read or write he can’t fill it out. Another example of education from the other film Through a Child's Eyes: Views of Global Poverty, most of the interviewed parents express how they want their kids to go to school and gain an better life then the ones they have now. This just shows how education is important to people and how they see themselves on progressing in the world.
What I did seem to find interesting is how the kids acted in Through a Child's Eyes: Views of Global Poverty, out of all the kids they interviewed only one kid was ashamed of how they were living. For the most part they all seemed happy or didn’t complain about their lifestyle. It just kind of interested me because I grew up in a rich area of Scottsdale Arizona before I moved away and all the rich kids would complain all the time. They would complain that they never had enough, parents forced them to do chores etc. Maybe it’s just the culture but that was something I noticed. I also noticed a strong connection to family. In the film Born with a Wooden Spoon: Welcome to Poverty U.S.A., one of the young adults they interviewed was working in a factory and making a decent living but dropped everything to help out his family. Now he’s unemployed and living at home but he seemed happy to help his parents out because he stated “it’s his only family and parents he’s got.” Even in the other video just the watching the kids help their parents with the chores so it will lessen the burden on the parents just shows me the respect these kids have for their parents.
The only difference I saw between the people in poverty around the world compared to the people in the United States is how the money would be used. As stated in the video Born with a Wooden Spoon: Welcome to Poverty U.S.A., When people in poverty get money they would typically spend it on entertainment instead of getting out of debt or pay the bills. While Through a Child's Eyes: Views of Global Poverty when asked what would they do if they had money minus one girl, most wanted the essentials to live, such as food, water, clothing, electricity, shelter etc.
In today’s economic state the risk of people falling under the poverty line is becoming more and more of a reality. One of the few key factors is education. The job market is becoming more and more competitive as more and more jobs are becoming scarce. It’s slowly becoming a necessity to get your college degree just to work as a cashier at the local supermarket. Unfortunately, with the rising cost in education and the fact teachers salaries are being cut due to budget cuts, people are being left behind causing them to fall into poverty and forgotten about. Programs need to be enstated to help people who want to learn and better themselves to go to college and help break out of the life of poverty. These lids need to be taught that they can be what they want to be and not just that they are always going to be poor.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Monday, February 28, 2011
Blog Week #6 Idenity
Out of all the videos so far I found this video to be one of the more interesting ones I have seen. In this video Identity Crisis-self image in child hood follows a group of kids that are around the age of five years old and are trying to see how kids perceive themselves in society. The story begins with a child who is in an abusive home. His mother is trying hard to get him away from the abusive father by staying at friends houses, hotels and women’s shelters. The mother states that she hopes her son doesn’t notice what is going on but in an interview he clearly states he understands that they are running from his father. Threw out the video you see this child becoming angry and upset with his mother. Towards the end when the family moves into a new house you see him becoming angry slamming doors and attempting to break things.
Another boy that is followed came from a wealthy family with a very masculine and a stay at home mom. Threw out the show the mom would attempt to try and push feminine things on him, such as the color pink and he would freak out and say no. Later in the film the family began to come under tension when the mother decided she wanted to move the family. During that time the boy became violent and angry beating up his siblings and throwing things. Once the family got settled and the tension went away the boy seemed to calm down and stop fighting.
Other parts of the movie they took all the children in the study and would show and do certain things that would test their gender roles, race and other forms of identity. What I found to be interesting is when they showed the kids a poster board with four pictures about it, almost all the white kids selected the white kid as someone who’s trust worthy, they would want to be friends with etc, while 50% of the black kids also selected the white kid when asked the same questions. This just raises my suspicions of what are these kids learning to be favoring white kids more then their own race. Now I’m not racist but I found it interesting that even a black kid when asked who do you think is more trustworthy and he picks the white kid over his own race, something is a little off there. One of the black kids that was featured in this movie is being raised by a single mother who wants to give her child a strong black foundation. She sends him to a mostly black school, they went to Harlem on a vacation and during that time he did tours of black heritage in America. When he was asked the same questions as before with the four pictures he predominantly chose the black person for these questions showing how the parental influence on an identity can effect how he sees himself and others.
Another interesting thing is when it came to them identifying what sex they were. Most identified themselves as the correct sex, but didn’t know what they would be when they grew up. They also had difficulties identifying the male doll when they were changed to women’s clothing and had longer hair. This shows that the kids were looking at different characteristics and how they acted and dressed.
With my job in retail security I’ve delt with all walks of life. I’ve arrested a crack heads, kids, grandmas, men, women, rich, poor, hell even a professor and a lot of why they did what they did stems from their childhood. The identity part of a child’s life I feel is an important factor in how they turn out. If parents coddle them and restrict there every move they are either going to party once they leave or be a social outcast. If they are abused as a child, they tend to have violent tendencies in the future etc. These times are important for the development of children that parents shouldn’t take lightly and should help guide them on the right path.
Another boy that is followed came from a wealthy family with a very masculine and a stay at home mom. Threw out the show the mom would attempt to try and push feminine things on him, such as the color pink and he would freak out and say no. Later in the film the family began to come under tension when the mother decided she wanted to move the family. During that time the boy became violent and angry beating up his siblings and throwing things. Once the family got settled and the tension went away the boy seemed to calm down and stop fighting.
Other parts of the movie they took all the children in the study and would show and do certain things that would test their gender roles, race and other forms of identity. What I found to be interesting is when they showed the kids a poster board with four pictures about it, almost all the white kids selected the white kid as someone who’s trust worthy, they would want to be friends with etc, while 50% of the black kids also selected the white kid when asked the same questions. This just raises my suspicions of what are these kids learning to be favoring white kids more then their own race. Now I’m not racist but I found it interesting that even a black kid when asked who do you think is more trustworthy and he picks the white kid over his own race, something is a little off there. One of the black kids that was featured in this movie is being raised by a single mother who wants to give her child a strong black foundation. She sends him to a mostly black school, they went to Harlem on a vacation and during that time he did tours of black heritage in America. When he was asked the same questions as before with the four pictures he predominantly chose the black person for these questions showing how the parental influence on an identity can effect how he sees himself and others.
Another interesting thing is when it came to them identifying what sex they were. Most identified themselves as the correct sex, but didn’t know what they would be when they grew up. They also had difficulties identifying the male doll when they were changed to women’s clothing and had longer hair. This shows that the kids were looking at different characteristics and how they acted and dressed.
With my job in retail security I’ve delt with all walks of life. I’ve arrested a crack heads, kids, grandmas, men, women, rich, poor, hell even a professor and a lot of why they did what they did stems from their childhood. The identity part of a child’s life I feel is an important factor in how they turn out. If parents coddle them and restrict there every move they are either going to party once they leave or be a social outcast. If they are abused as a child, they tend to have violent tendencies in the future etc. These times are important for the development of children that parents shouldn’t take lightly and should help guide them on the right path.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Week #3 Youth in Adult Prisons
Juvenile justice is becoming a major discussion topic among political officials, law makers and law enforcers. People wonder if it’s just better to lock these youths up and throw away the key, or is there a chance to change them for the better. Others want to figure out what makes these kids tick and what causes them to commit these crimes and are they able to be saved. With juvenile’s crime going from petty theft to armed robbery even as far as murder, what’s the next move for them? In response to this some juveniles are now being charged in adult court. In adult court cases juveniles are now being facing the same charges for their actions as if a 40 year committed the same crime (Part 1: Juveniles Locked Up" 1995). In the article they stated in 2000 they estimated that about 14,500 juveniles under the age of 18 are in adult prisons (Kupchik 248). In these adult prisons they video stated that these teens are going in as kids and if they ever get out they risk coming out as harden criminals (Part 1: Juveniles Locked Up" 1995).
Rehabilitation has been a great topic for debate, does it really work and if so why? In the movie they showed you a camp called, the “Last Chance Ranch.” This ranch is for kids who are sent there to learn discipline, gain an education and hopefully change their life around in efforts to beat their jail or prison sentence. You see the leader of the group and he shows you the much love and respect he has for the small group of kids. He states that he could have 700 kids at the ranch but if he did he couldn’t have a “relationship” with each kid. He describes his goal to have the cook, the guards the maintenance people etc, to have a relationship with each boy and know who they are. Lastly he states that if the kids don’t want to learn he doesn’t want them, send them to prison, he wants the one who wants to change who wants to learn. Towards the end of his segment you actually see a success story on how this program worked. The young gentleman is now supporting himself on his income. He graduated high school and is now on a scholarship at a college to help better his education. This just proves how rehabilitation in people who want to change can work and is successful (Part 1: Juveniles Locked Up" 1995).
Another topic they covered was prevention. One form of prevention they covered was instead of charging everyone as an adult, teach kids who commit petty crimes what they did were wrong and show them the consequences. An example one person had was on the first offence have the kid on the side of the street in an orange vest doing community service. On the second send them to jail on for one weekend, and so on and so forth till they understand what they are doing is wrong and there will be consequences to their actions(Part 1: Juveniles Locked Up" 1995)
Another thing these kids need and I saw this in the movie was therapy. Most of these kids do their crimes because they are hurting inside. Some because they are having family issues at home, some were molested as a child and others are just searching for love and affection that they aren’t getting at home but are through gangs and violence. The kids in the movie are learning to cope with what they did and how their choices affected other people. One of the girls in the movie I felt hit the nail on the head, she stated that people especially kids get busted and go to jail and feel no remorse for their crimes. Once they are relished they just go on doing what they do and tend to commit more and more crimes. Through therapy she was able to understand how her crime affected other people. Another girl said that she could easily hit the girl next to her, but didn’t want to because of the pain it might inflict on her and she would feel bad(Part 1: Juveniles Locked Up" 1995).
These success stories show the importance of trying to help change the kids behaviors not by throwing the book at them and throwing away the key, but by changing the person within. My dad used to always tell me that he could give me a fish to eat every night, but it’s better for me if he taught me how to fish myself. I know everyone have heard a saying like this but I kind of attribute this to juvenile justice. The adult mind is already set in its ways and hard to mold while a young person’s mind is still able to be changed. If you just throw him in jail for 10, 15 even 20 years he is not going to change his ways. But if you teach him how to fish, or in this chase help change his behavior through the Last Chance Ranch or therapy, they will have a better chance to survive out of an 8 by 10 cell.
Work Cited
Films for the Humanities and Sciences."Part 1: Juveniles Locked Up" 1995. Online video clip. Arizona Universities Library Consortium. FMG Video On Demand. January 1, 2011. http://digital.films.com/play/ HVKF9
Kupchik, A. (2007). The Correctional Experiences of Youth in Adult and Juvenile Prisons. Justice Quarterly, 250-255
Rehabilitation has been a great topic for debate, does it really work and if so why? In the movie they showed you a camp called, the “Last Chance Ranch.” This ranch is for kids who are sent there to learn discipline, gain an education and hopefully change their life around in efforts to beat their jail or prison sentence. You see the leader of the group and he shows you the much love and respect he has for the small group of kids. He states that he could have 700 kids at the ranch but if he did he couldn’t have a “relationship” with each kid. He describes his goal to have the cook, the guards the maintenance people etc, to have a relationship with each boy and know who they are. Lastly he states that if the kids don’t want to learn he doesn’t want them, send them to prison, he wants the one who wants to change who wants to learn. Towards the end of his segment you actually see a success story on how this program worked. The young gentleman is now supporting himself on his income. He graduated high school and is now on a scholarship at a college to help better his education. This just proves how rehabilitation in people who want to change can work and is successful (Part 1: Juveniles Locked Up" 1995).
Another topic they covered was prevention. One form of prevention they covered was instead of charging everyone as an adult, teach kids who commit petty crimes what they did were wrong and show them the consequences. An example one person had was on the first offence have the kid on the side of the street in an orange vest doing community service. On the second send them to jail on for one weekend, and so on and so forth till they understand what they are doing is wrong and there will be consequences to their actions(Part 1: Juveniles Locked Up" 1995)
Another thing these kids need and I saw this in the movie was therapy. Most of these kids do their crimes because they are hurting inside. Some because they are having family issues at home, some were molested as a child and others are just searching for love and affection that they aren’t getting at home but are through gangs and violence. The kids in the movie are learning to cope with what they did and how their choices affected other people. One of the girls in the movie I felt hit the nail on the head, she stated that people especially kids get busted and go to jail and feel no remorse for their crimes. Once they are relished they just go on doing what they do and tend to commit more and more crimes. Through therapy she was able to understand how her crime affected other people. Another girl said that she could easily hit the girl next to her, but didn’t want to because of the pain it might inflict on her and she would feel bad(Part 1: Juveniles Locked Up" 1995).
These success stories show the importance of trying to help change the kids behaviors not by throwing the book at them and throwing away the key, but by changing the person within. My dad used to always tell me that he could give me a fish to eat every night, but it’s better for me if he taught me how to fish myself. I know everyone have heard a saying like this but I kind of attribute this to juvenile justice. The adult mind is already set in its ways and hard to mold while a young person’s mind is still able to be changed. If you just throw him in jail for 10, 15 even 20 years he is not going to change his ways. But if you teach him how to fish, or in this chase help change his behavior through the Last Chance Ranch or therapy, they will have a better chance to survive out of an 8 by 10 cell.
Work Cited
Films for the Humanities and Sciences."Part 1: Juveniles Locked Up" 1995. Online video clip. Arizona Universities Library Consortium. FMG Video On Demand. January 1, 2011. http://digital.films.com/play/ HVKF9
Kupchik, A. (2007). The Correctional Experiences of Youth in Adult and Juvenile Prisons. Justice Quarterly, 250-255
Monday, January 31, 2011
Week #2 play deprivation, and juvenile incarceration
From when I was a little kid I loved to play and I felt that it had been a huge factor to how I turned out today. I was always out and about playing with the kids in my neighborhood and with that it taught me how to social and get along with a lot of different people regardless of their race or other differences. When I first started watching Ted Talks video, Stewart Brown shows a picture of a polar bear walking up to a dog. We all know polar bears are extremely dangerous and responsible for human deaths, but it doesn’t look at the dog as a meal, but as a play companion. The pictures continue to show how the dog and bear react to each other and how Stewart Brown describes play “overriding the carnivorous nature” causing the unlikely pair to become friends and playmates(Ted Talks 2008). With the story of the bear it shows how important play was to the animal. It showed to me that his choice to play was more import to him then eating that night.
Stewart brown stated that people tend who are not fully developed in adult life because they were “play deprived” which might lead them down the wrong path(Ted Talks 2008). He says another story that the Texas tower shooter Charles Whitman through studying him had “severe play deprivation” as a child. He continued to say that after the end of his study it was his and many other scientist felt that the cause of his out burst and shooting rampage was by his childhood play deprivation (Ted Talks 2008).
When it comes to juvenile incarceration most juveniles that they interviewed showed signs of physical abuse or suffering in their lives. The corrections councilors and staff believe that most of the reasons these juveniles end up behind bars at a young age is because of abuse from family members, being abandoned by a parent or because of drugs and alcohol(Juvenile Correction Facilities (2005)). On of the statistics that stuck out in my head was that 96% of all kids in the center have substance abuse and over 60% of the kids have a criminal history in their family(Juvenile Correction Facilities (2005)). They give you a lot of examples throughout the show of how these kids past have affected their current life. For example Ashley was on of the females inside the corrections facility. Her past neglecting from her mother and being abandoned by her father had leaded her down the wrong path. She was molested and would constantly get high because her family would just leave drugs leaving around. She tried to commit suicide on multiple occasions and made her extremely violent and angry(Juvenile Correction Facilities (2005)). Another story was Conrad. Conrad was a 16 years kid who was abused mentally and physically by his mom and was forced to do drugs with his mother. When asked about why he does this he stated he liked being a “loser” (Juvenile Correction Facilities (2005)).
Both of the two have good reasons for why kids do what they do. Brown made many good examples of why kids need play to develop and make them better adults when they are older, while other factors steaming from family ties might cause kids to commit crimes. Either way both of the two videos show the importance of how the child’s development steam from their environment. Whether its from the environment the kid surrounds themselves with playmates, or the abuse they receive from a family member or a close friend, it will effect how the child develops and turns out later in life.
TED Talks."Stuart Brown says play is more than fun." May 2008. Online Video Clip. Accessed on January 24, 2011. //www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/stuart_brown_says_play_is_more_than_fun_it_s_vital.html>
Films for the Humanities and Sciences."Juvenile Correction Facilities" 2005. Online video clip. Arizona Universities Library Consortium. FMG Video On Demand. Accessed on January 24, 2011. http://digital.films.com/play/BURGYK
Stewart brown stated that people tend who are not fully developed in adult life because they were “play deprived” which might lead them down the wrong path(Ted Talks 2008). He says another story that the Texas tower shooter Charles Whitman through studying him had “severe play deprivation” as a child. He continued to say that after the end of his study it was his and many other scientist felt that the cause of his out burst and shooting rampage was by his childhood play deprivation (Ted Talks 2008).
When it comes to juvenile incarceration most juveniles that they interviewed showed signs of physical abuse or suffering in their lives. The corrections councilors and staff believe that most of the reasons these juveniles end up behind bars at a young age is because of abuse from family members, being abandoned by a parent or because of drugs and alcohol(Juvenile Correction Facilities (2005)). On of the statistics that stuck out in my head was that 96% of all kids in the center have substance abuse and over 60% of the kids have a criminal history in their family(Juvenile Correction Facilities (2005)). They give you a lot of examples throughout the show of how these kids past have affected their current life. For example Ashley was on of the females inside the corrections facility. Her past neglecting from her mother and being abandoned by her father had leaded her down the wrong path. She was molested and would constantly get high because her family would just leave drugs leaving around. She tried to commit suicide on multiple occasions and made her extremely violent and angry(Juvenile Correction Facilities (2005)). Another story was Conrad. Conrad was a 16 years kid who was abused mentally and physically by his mom and was forced to do drugs with his mother. When asked about why he does this he stated he liked being a “loser” (Juvenile Correction Facilities (2005)).
Both of the two have good reasons for why kids do what they do. Brown made many good examples of why kids need play to develop and make them better adults when they are older, while other factors steaming from family ties might cause kids to commit crimes. Either way both of the two videos show the importance of how the child’s development steam from their environment. Whether its from the environment the kid surrounds themselves with playmates, or the abuse they receive from a family member or a close friend, it will effect how the child develops and turns out later in life.
TED Talks."Stuart Brown says play is more than fun." May 2008. Online Video Clip. Accessed on January 24, 2011. //www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/stuart_brown_says_play_is_more_than_fun_it_s_vital.html>
Films for the Humanities and Sciences."Juvenile Correction Facilities" 2005. Online video clip. Arizona Universities Library Consortium. FMG Video On Demand. Accessed on January 24, 2011. http://digital.films.com/play/BURGYK
Monday, January 24, 2011
intro post week #1
Age in my mind is just a number I feel it is all about the person’s maturity. I know people who are 15 and have maturity level of a 30 year old and I know 30 year olds who have the maturity of a 15 year old. I’m not saying that 15 year olds should be having sex with 30 year olds or be living on their own, but they should be held more responsible for their actions. Parents try to shield their kids from things because they feel they are too young to understand or too young to hear or they are afraid to explain the consequences their actions might bring. Heck my mom still tells me I’m too young for certain things and I’m 23 years old. My point is every kid is vulnerable to the horrors in this world. It used to be that you only hear about college kids doing drugs and drinking, and then it became popular in high school. Now you hear of kids that are in middle school and elementary school experimenting with drugs and sex. A few months ago at work I stopped a girl for shoplifting and she was 12 or 13 years old, she was pregnant and stealing to support her crack habit. When I tried to get a hold of her parents they didn’t care. All they cared about was how much money they could throw at me to make the charges go away. They were too busy trying to be her friend and painting me to be out the bad guy for arresting her and calling the cops. I don’t know about you but when I screwed up around the age of 15 my parents kicked my butt. If I got a bad grade, my dad would take stuff away from me. If I talked back or cussed my parents would either whip me with his belt or wash my mouth out with soap. It was a bit aggressive, but it made me the man who I am today and I’m thankful they did it. I see these parents who come into my office and see how they are buddy buddy with their kids and the kids think that it’s ok to do bad deeds because their parents don’t care or will take care of it and that just wrong.
Whether people realize it or not kids are growing up at a faster rate then most of us did and parents need to help guide their children and not shelter them. Instead of trying to protect them from all the horrors and let them get themselves into a situation where they are not prepared, parents need to help explain certain situations and help them prepare for the real world. If they are not explained or shown the examples of pear pressure and how to walk away they might find themselves in situations they don’t know how to back out of which might lead to further issues down the road. Yes kids are young, but they are exposed to the same things we all are, and unless they are explained right from wrong at a young age then they will not learn what they are seeing is wrong.
Whether people realize it or not kids are growing up at a faster rate then most of us did and parents need to help guide their children and not shelter them. Instead of trying to protect them from all the horrors and let them get themselves into a situation where they are not prepared, parents need to help explain certain situations and help them prepare for the real world. If they are not explained or shown the examples of pear pressure and how to walk away they might find themselves in situations they don’t know how to back out of which might lead to further issues down the road. Yes kids are young, but they are exposed to the same things we all are, and unless they are explained right from wrong at a young age then they will not learn what they are seeing is wrong.
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