Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Crabs on the Bench?
I'm not a lawyer and have very little desire to be one. But as a Marylander...if I were selected to be a judge, I would certainly get some crabs and take them to the court room. I would proceed to crack those claws open with my gavel and have myself a feast. When court resumes, it would certainly be glorious to decide the guilt or innocence of individuals while inhaling the beautiful, leftover aroma of Old Bay.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Shaving Sucks
Here is the good news. As of January 31st of 2008, I am a cancer survivor. I was diagnosed with Grey Zone lymphoma back in September of 2007, and underwent chemotherapy to kill the cancer. Chemo sucked, but I made cancer my bitch!
Now that I am healthy and off of the drugs from my chemo, I have noticed great changes in my body. My energy has returned and I'm able to do a lot more than I was before. However, there is a drawback to good health. The hair on my body is starting to grow back. It will be great to have legs that don't look like a 12 year old boy's and a full head of hair again. However, it sucks that the hair on my face is growing back in. I last shaved in October. After being diagnosed with cancer I let my facial hair grow for a while since I knew it would be falling out anyway. I have still yet to shave, but I can see it in the distance. There are tiny hairs on my chin and where the sideburns should be. During chemo they would fall out if I rubbed a finger across them, but they now seem firmly planted! DAMNIT! Shaving is a pain in the ass and I'm not looking forward to it again.
Of course I wouldn't trade not shaving for chemotherapy. Chemo is a dirty, old whore! However, if I had the option, I might choose to continue with my baldness on my head in exchange for a hair free face. Alas...this will never be. The time to bust out the rusty razor is near, and I will have to deal with it as best as I can.
Now that I am healthy and off of the drugs from my chemo, I have noticed great changes in my body. My energy has returned and I'm able to do a lot more than I was before. However, there is a drawback to good health. The hair on my body is starting to grow back. It will be great to have legs that don't look like a 12 year old boy's and a full head of hair again. However, it sucks that the hair on my face is growing back in. I last shaved in October. After being diagnosed with cancer I let my facial hair grow for a while since I knew it would be falling out anyway. I have still yet to shave, but I can see it in the distance. There are tiny hairs on my chin and where the sideburns should be. During chemo they would fall out if I rubbed a finger across them, but they now seem firmly planted! DAMNIT! Shaving is a pain in the ass and I'm not looking forward to it again.
Of course I wouldn't trade not shaving for chemotherapy. Chemo is a dirty, old whore! However, if I had the option, I might choose to continue with my baldness on my head in exchange for a hair free face. Alas...this will never be. The time to bust out the rusty razor is near, and I will have to deal with it as best as I can.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Social Services takes the Blame
My title is in reference to the recent tragedy in Washington, DC in which a mother of 4 was discovered to have killed her children because she thought they were possessed.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/10/AR2008011001174_2.html?hpid=topnews
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/11/AR2008011101761.html?hpid=topnews
It should be obvious to anyone that this woman suffers from severe mental illness. That a woman could kill her own children and live with their dead bodies under the same roof for several months is almost incomprehensible. This type of behavior is the reason why our society has organizations in place to monitor and control citizens. I believe most people want our government to step in and prevent these types of situations. On a daily basis the police, social service workers, and others take action to prevent harm and abuse from occurring or continuing. However, no system can prevent all tragedys.
So the reaction of Mayor Fenty in this situation is to call into question the performance of these organizations. Everybody's favorite whipping boy seems to be Child and Family Services Agency(CFSA). They are an agency that has the unenviable task of interfering in the matters of citizens in order to protect children. Employees of this agency are overworked and underpaid. The reason why so many cases of reported abuse and neglect are closed without a positive outcome is that there aren't enough people in these positions to adequately do their job.
It was implied by Mayor Fenty in the above articles that CFSA should have done more to protect these children. I wish CFSA could have done that. However, how much time can a CFSA caseworker spend on a case in which they cannot even reach the family, when they have active cases with participating families that they already have little time to address? It seems the solution that city administrators are focused on will ultimately hurt CFSA and not help it. From the Washington Post...
He(Fenty) called the case record"extremely underwhelming and disappointing," and vowed to revamp procedures and punish or fire city workers found responsible for letting the family slip through the cracks.
"We are witnesses to a great tragedy. We've lost four children," said acting D.C. attorney general Peter Nickles. "We're going to hold those people responsible for the event leading to the deaths of these kids."
These quotes make it appear that whoever was assigned to this case will likely be fired from their position. Therefore the other overworked CFSA caseworkers will now have to take on the burden of more cases that this employee was assigned to. I would also not be surprised if other caseworkers choose to resign from their positions after seeing a colleague blamed for this tragedy. Would this type of punitive action against a CFSA employee improve the chances that a job-seeking social worker would consider CFSA?
I am a social worker who works for DC Public Schools. I have never worked for CFSA but was taught by people who worked their and have worked with colleagues who have as well. I was constantly told when I was a grad student and intern that CFSA was a great place to work to gain experience in the social work field. However, they also spoke about how people do not last in those positions because the pay does not match the work. Former employees of CFSA spoke about the impossibility of managing their assigned caseloads and the ever-present fear of a situation just like this one. They knew that if something went wrong on one of their caseloads, that they would be made a public scapegoat. That doesn't sound like a place I want to work.
So it is no surprise that CFSA caseworkers are overworked and burn out at a high rate. Take a look at the pay scale for a social worker with CFSA.
http://www.cfsa.dc.gov/cfsa/cwp/view,a,3,q,519648.asp
48,000 dollars is not a great starting salary for a person just out of grad school. However, 80,000 dollars per year as the maximum salary for a clinical social worker is very poor. How is CFSA supposed to retain employees when there is such a low ceiling on their salaries? Would you stay in crappy job if you knew you would never be paid well based off of what you do? The only people who are likely to stay very long in a job with this type of workload and low pay are the people who are satisfied doing mediocre work for a mediocre paycheck. Those are exactly the type of people that Fenty and the rest of the DC government do not want in their organization!
If Fenty wants CFSA to work better and help save lives in DC, then he doesn't need to assign blame. He needs to provide help. As a DCPS employee I know teachers who have been in the system for over 30 years. They make six figures for a 10 month position in which they work from 8:00 to 3:30. THATS NOT EVEN AN EIGHT HOUR DAY! Do I think these people deserve this type of compensation? Most of them do. So why isn't a CFSA caseworker who works a tougher job, with longer hours and for a full 12 months compensated as well?
The solution for CFSA is to hire more caseworkers. In order to do this, Mayor Fenty and the city need to show the public that they will support these people. Pay them better! It sounds like an imperfect solution, but one of the best ways to avoid burnout is to compensate people well. Retention and recruitment of CFSA employees would increase with better pay. This would result in smaller caseloads at CFSA, which would allow for a higher quality of intervention with families such as the one in this case. That is the way that you keep children from falling through the crack...not by giving another black eye to the people over at CFSA! When crime rates go up, politicians are quick to call for an increase in the hiring of police officers. So when children die, why aren't politicians proposing solutions to help improve hiring at child welfare agencies?
There were some other things that concerned me as I read about this story. One quote I read was extremely troublesome...
Family members filled three rows of the courtroom behind her but declined to comment after the proceedings.
What? There were enough family members of this woman to fill three rows of a courtroom, but none of them had intervened with the family over the last year. They did interview one woman who claimed to be a godmother to two of the children. She stated that she had stopped by the house on several occassions to drop off public assistance checks, but that the mother had denied her entry into the house. I'm sorry...but the children should be more important then the welfare check! How can you leave a check with this woman if she hasn't even let you see the children. If she denied me access to see my godchildren, then I would have other family members, the police, and CFSA with ME to get in and see those children. Its inexcusable that family members did not do more to save those children and help this woman get help.
The other issue that was raised concerned the involvement of schools in this situation. Apparently the mother withdrew the children from school, which reveals a lack of accountability in the District's school system. The children were attending two different charter schools before they were pulled out, and this was the statement from DC Public Charter School Board Nona Richardson...
"If parents opt to home-school a student, there "is no way of following" them, she said.
She said neither the board nor the schools tracked the students after the mother pulled them out of school.
This is a big problem with DC's school system. DC Public Schools are currently facing a decline in enrollment, largely because of the drastic increase in public charter schools. While some of the charter schools have done well, others have been failures. Most public charter schools in DC see little or no change in the performance of their students when compared to traditional DC public schools. I don't see how the DC Public Charter School Board is better equipped to handle student tracking than DCPS. Apparently from the quote above, they have not set into place guidelines to monitor what happens to their students once they leave their individual school. This is a flaw with the charter school system. One of the above articles mentions...
The school system's home-school office requires parents to fill out a form to obtain approval to withdraw their children from the schools. But the charter schools have no such policy.
While charter schools are very popular with some people, I think many of them can be inadequate. This shows a problem specific to the DC charter school system in general.
One thing I did like to see in the Post was that the school social worker at Booker T. Washington Public Charter School made an effort to help the family early on. She made two visits within a week to the home to inquire about the prolonged absence of the oldest daughter. She contacted the police and CFSA to intervene as well, but those interventions were not successful. Its unfortunate that her actions did not lead to help from the other agencies. However, this shows the value that a social worker can have in a school. Since a troubled parent will often avoid help, it is important that we have people in our schools that are there to help these troubled children. School might be the best place to identify children who are having difficult times at home.
Most employees in DC's government and citizens of the city will be quick to tell others that the Districts's government is filled with flaws. This tragic story, while ultimatley a tale of what mental illness can lead to when untreated, also shows that the District could improve its services to residents across all agencies. The charter schools, police department, and CFSA all had opportunities to intervene, and none of them were able to help prevent this event from happening. I hope Mayor Fenty and his administrators will help create solutions to make the District government more efficient in dealing with potential similar situations, rather than place blame on the individual employees who came into contact with this case!
Finally I would like to make a plug for adoption and foster care. I have worked with children who have been sent back to live in homes with parents who are drug addicts and refusing to accept treatment for mental illness. The District, CFSA, and most importantly the kids need people who have the means to help, to reach out and provide a safe place for neglected and abused children to live. This is a way that concerned citizens can truly help make for a better community.
http://www.cfsa.dc.gov/cfsa/cwp/view,a,3,q,520649,cfsaNav,%7C31319%7C.asp
http://www.cfsa.dc.gov/cfsa/cwp/view,a,3,q,521279,cfsaNav,%7C31319%7C.asp
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/10/AR2008011001174_2.html?hpid=topnews
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/11/AR2008011101761.html?hpid=topnews
It should be obvious to anyone that this woman suffers from severe mental illness. That a woman could kill her own children and live with their dead bodies under the same roof for several months is almost incomprehensible. This type of behavior is the reason why our society has organizations in place to monitor and control citizens. I believe most people want our government to step in and prevent these types of situations. On a daily basis the police, social service workers, and others take action to prevent harm and abuse from occurring or continuing. However, no system can prevent all tragedys.
So the reaction of Mayor Fenty in this situation is to call into question the performance of these organizations. Everybody's favorite whipping boy seems to be Child and Family Services Agency(CFSA). They are an agency that has the unenviable task of interfering in the matters of citizens in order to protect children. Employees of this agency are overworked and underpaid. The reason why so many cases of reported abuse and neglect are closed without a positive outcome is that there aren't enough people in these positions to adequately do their job.
It was implied by Mayor Fenty in the above articles that CFSA should have done more to protect these children. I wish CFSA could have done that. However, how much time can a CFSA caseworker spend on a case in which they cannot even reach the family, when they have active cases with participating families that they already have little time to address? It seems the solution that city administrators are focused on will ultimately hurt CFSA and not help it. From the Washington Post...
He(Fenty) called the case record"extremely underwhelming and disappointing," and vowed to revamp procedures and punish or fire city workers found responsible for letting the family slip through the cracks.
"We are witnesses to a great tragedy. We've lost four children," said acting D.C. attorney general Peter Nickles. "We're going to hold those people responsible for the event leading to the deaths of these kids."
These quotes make it appear that whoever was assigned to this case will likely be fired from their position. Therefore the other overworked CFSA caseworkers will now have to take on the burden of more cases that this employee was assigned to. I would also not be surprised if other caseworkers choose to resign from their positions after seeing a colleague blamed for this tragedy. Would this type of punitive action against a CFSA employee improve the chances that a job-seeking social worker would consider CFSA?
I am a social worker who works for DC Public Schools. I have never worked for CFSA but was taught by people who worked their and have worked with colleagues who have as well. I was constantly told when I was a grad student and intern that CFSA was a great place to work to gain experience in the social work field. However, they also spoke about how people do not last in those positions because the pay does not match the work. Former employees of CFSA spoke about the impossibility of managing their assigned caseloads and the ever-present fear of a situation just like this one. They knew that if something went wrong on one of their caseloads, that they would be made a public scapegoat. That doesn't sound like a place I want to work.
So it is no surprise that CFSA caseworkers are overworked and burn out at a high rate. Take a look at the pay scale for a social worker with CFSA.
http://www.cfsa.dc.gov/cfsa/cwp/view,a,3,q,519648.asp
48,000 dollars is not a great starting salary for a person just out of grad school. However, 80,000 dollars per year as the maximum salary for a clinical social worker is very poor. How is CFSA supposed to retain employees when there is such a low ceiling on their salaries? Would you stay in crappy job if you knew you would never be paid well based off of what you do? The only people who are likely to stay very long in a job with this type of workload and low pay are the people who are satisfied doing mediocre work for a mediocre paycheck. Those are exactly the type of people that Fenty and the rest of the DC government do not want in their organization!
If Fenty wants CFSA to work better and help save lives in DC, then he doesn't need to assign blame. He needs to provide help. As a DCPS employee I know teachers who have been in the system for over 30 years. They make six figures for a 10 month position in which they work from 8:00 to 3:30. THATS NOT EVEN AN EIGHT HOUR DAY! Do I think these people deserve this type of compensation? Most of them do. So why isn't a CFSA caseworker who works a tougher job, with longer hours and for a full 12 months compensated as well?
The solution for CFSA is to hire more caseworkers. In order to do this, Mayor Fenty and the city need to show the public that they will support these people. Pay them better! It sounds like an imperfect solution, but one of the best ways to avoid burnout is to compensate people well. Retention and recruitment of CFSA employees would increase with better pay. This would result in smaller caseloads at CFSA, which would allow for a higher quality of intervention with families such as the one in this case. That is the way that you keep children from falling through the crack...not by giving another black eye to the people over at CFSA! When crime rates go up, politicians are quick to call for an increase in the hiring of police officers. So when children die, why aren't politicians proposing solutions to help improve hiring at child welfare agencies?
There were some other things that concerned me as I read about this story. One quote I read was extremely troublesome...
Family members filled three rows of the courtroom behind her but declined to comment after the proceedings.
What? There were enough family members of this woman to fill three rows of a courtroom, but none of them had intervened with the family over the last year. They did interview one woman who claimed to be a godmother to two of the children. She stated that she had stopped by the house on several occassions to drop off public assistance checks, but that the mother had denied her entry into the house. I'm sorry...but the children should be more important then the welfare check! How can you leave a check with this woman if she hasn't even let you see the children. If she denied me access to see my godchildren, then I would have other family members, the police, and CFSA with ME to get in and see those children. Its inexcusable that family members did not do more to save those children and help this woman get help.
The other issue that was raised concerned the involvement of schools in this situation. Apparently the mother withdrew the children from school, which reveals a lack of accountability in the District's school system. The children were attending two different charter schools before they were pulled out, and this was the statement from DC Public Charter School Board Nona Richardson...
"If parents opt to home-school a student, there "is no way of following" them, she said.
She said neither the board nor the schools tracked the students after the mother pulled them out of school.
This is a big problem with DC's school system. DC Public Schools are currently facing a decline in enrollment, largely because of the drastic increase in public charter schools. While some of the charter schools have done well, others have been failures. Most public charter schools in DC see little or no change in the performance of their students when compared to traditional DC public schools. I don't see how the DC Public Charter School Board is better equipped to handle student tracking than DCPS. Apparently from the quote above, they have not set into place guidelines to monitor what happens to their students once they leave their individual school. This is a flaw with the charter school system. One of the above articles mentions...
The school system's home-school office requires parents to fill out a form to obtain approval to withdraw their children from the schools. But the charter schools have no such policy.
While charter schools are very popular with some people, I think many of them can be inadequate. This shows a problem specific to the DC charter school system in general.
One thing I did like to see in the Post was that the school social worker at Booker T. Washington Public Charter School made an effort to help the family early on. She made two visits within a week to the home to inquire about the prolonged absence of the oldest daughter. She contacted the police and CFSA to intervene as well, but those interventions were not successful. Its unfortunate that her actions did not lead to help from the other agencies. However, this shows the value that a social worker can have in a school. Since a troubled parent will often avoid help, it is important that we have people in our schools that are there to help these troubled children. School might be the best place to identify children who are having difficult times at home.
Most employees in DC's government and citizens of the city will be quick to tell others that the Districts's government is filled with flaws. This tragic story, while ultimatley a tale of what mental illness can lead to when untreated, also shows that the District could improve its services to residents across all agencies. The charter schools, police department, and CFSA all had opportunities to intervene, and none of them were able to help prevent this event from happening. I hope Mayor Fenty and his administrators will help create solutions to make the District government more efficient in dealing with potential similar situations, rather than place blame on the individual employees who came into contact with this case!
Finally I would like to make a plug for adoption and foster care. I have worked with children who have been sent back to live in homes with parents who are drug addicts and refusing to accept treatment for mental illness. The District, CFSA, and most importantly the kids need people who have the means to help, to reach out and provide a safe place for neglected and abused children to live. This is a way that concerned citizens can truly help make for a better community.
http://www.cfsa.dc.gov/cfsa/cwp/view,a,3,q,520649,cfsaNav,%7C31319%7C.asp
http://www.cfsa.dc.gov/cfsa/cwp/view,a,3,q,521279,cfsaNav,%7C31319%7C.asp
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Graduation Season
One of my two jobs is in a restaurant and the other is in a school. So I am well aware that June is graduation season. It actually starts in mid may when most of the colleges have their graduations. It continues right through June as the High Schools get into the mix as well. These are occassions to celebrate, and we often get partys in the restaurant of people celebrating a friend or family member's graduation. However, there are also graduation partys being held for kids coming out of middle school, elementary school, and even preschool.
There might have been something done when I moved on from preschool, but I know there was not a graduation ceremony when I went from elementary school to middle school or middle school to high school. Why? Its because those aren't really graduations. Its more about outgrowing the school you were in and heading to another one the next year. There are no diplomas. It does not help you to put the elementary school you graduated from on your resume.
A "graduation" ceremony was held at the elementary school I work at. It isn't a traditional school in that it serves children with emotional disturbances, and is mostly low income. I'm happy for the kids to be moving on, and its great that their families will actually come up to the school and watch them "graduate." However, it is completely silly at the same time. There was a full auditorium of families yesterday for the "graduation." Not just mothers, fathers, and siblings, but grandparents aunts, uncles, cousins, and probably some other relatives of some sort. Many of these families made a huge deal of this. While it is called a graduation, its not based on any achievements from these kids. The only reason they are "graduating" is because they won't be allowed in elementary school when they turn 13. Many of these so called "graduates" from this elementary school can't even read on a 2nd grade level. Yet their families come out dressed like a wedding is taking place. It gives the kids a false sense of accomplishment. However, its the way it is. I realize that many of the parents that came to this "graduation" likely won't ever see their child graduate from high school. This might be the highlight of their academic life. Its sad but its true. A 12 year old kid who can't read doesn't want to come to school. As much as you try to help them learn, they have pride by that age. They are not willing to admit they can't read, spell, or divide. When these kids get to a higher level and are no longer coddled, school will become hell for them. They won't want to come to a place that makes them feel stupid...even if that institution is making an honest effort to teach them, thats what those kids will feel. So while I was watching these parents at their children's elementary school graduation...I understood why they were celebrating so much. Perhaps they never made it to their own high school graduation...and perhaps they don't know if there child will make it that far.
There might have been something done when I moved on from preschool, but I know there was not a graduation ceremony when I went from elementary school to middle school or middle school to high school. Why? Its because those aren't really graduations. Its more about outgrowing the school you were in and heading to another one the next year. There are no diplomas. It does not help you to put the elementary school you graduated from on your resume.
A "graduation" ceremony was held at the elementary school I work at. It isn't a traditional school in that it serves children with emotional disturbances, and is mostly low income. I'm happy for the kids to be moving on, and its great that their families will actually come up to the school and watch them "graduate." However, it is completely silly at the same time. There was a full auditorium of families yesterday for the "graduation." Not just mothers, fathers, and siblings, but grandparents aunts, uncles, cousins, and probably some other relatives of some sort. Many of these families made a huge deal of this. While it is called a graduation, its not based on any achievements from these kids. The only reason they are "graduating" is because they won't be allowed in elementary school when they turn 13. Many of these so called "graduates" from this elementary school can't even read on a 2nd grade level. Yet their families come out dressed like a wedding is taking place. It gives the kids a false sense of accomplishment. However, its the way it is. I realize that many of the parents that came to this "graduation" likely won't ever see their child graduate from high school. This might be the highlight of their academic life. Its sad but its true. A 12 year old kid who can't read doesn't want to come to school. As much as you try to help them learn, they have pride by that age. They are not willing to admit they can't read, spell, or divide. When these kids get to a higher level and are no longer coddled, school will become hell for them. They won't want to come to a place that makes them feel stupid...even if that institution is making an honest effort to teach them, thats what those kids will feel. So while I was watching these parents at their children's elementary school graduation...I understood why they were celebrating so much. Perhaps they never made it to their own high school graduation...and perhaps they don't know if there child will make it that far.
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Certified Pre-Owned
Oh those clever bastards at Lexus! This has been going on for a few years now, but I heard a radio commercial this morning and it started bothering me again. Lexus doesn't sell Used Cars. They sell Certified Pre-Owned.
Which is just another way of saying "USED!" Who are you fooling with this advertising? Hopefully not people who have enough money to buy a Lexus. Their ads flat out state that Certified Pre-Owned is its own class of car buying. I disagree...a car is either used or it isn't.
I understand why many people don't want to buy used cars. A lot of people take pride in having something that is their own, and that nobody else has ever laid claim to. With a new car you also have control over how the car is treated. Unfortunately not all people can afford to buy a new car.
So buying a used car is an option many people have to take. I understand wanting to buy a car that you know has been well taken care of, compared to a vehicle that has been treated like shit. However, unless you buy directly from a person you trust, you really don't have any clue how a car was treated. Lexus can put as many certificates on the car as they want, but they weren't there when the previous owner was driving it. They can fix it up all nice and make it look like new, but the bottom line is that the car was still previously used by another unknown driver. Its still going to have miles on it, just like any used car, that a new car just won't have.
I hate how people try to redefine our language. People understand the concept of a used car. Why try to change that. Thank you Lexus for trying to create a new term to trick consumers. Why not tell the public that Lexus takes pride in selling the highest quality used car, instead of getting tricky with your words.
Which is just another way of saying "USED!" Who are you fooling with this advertising? Hopefully not people who have enough money to buy a Lexus. Their ads flat out state that Certified Pre-Owned is its own class of car buying. I disagree...a car is either used or it isn't.
I understand why many people don't want to buy used cars. A lot of people take pride in having something that is their own, and that nobody else has ever laid claim to. With a new car you also have control over how the car is treated. Unfortunately not all people can afford to buy a new car.
So buying a used car is an option many people have to take. I understand wanting to buy a car that you know has been well taken care of, compared to a vehicle that has been treated like shit. However, unless you buy directly from a person you trust, you really don't have any clue how a car was treated. Lexus can put as many certificates on the car as they want, but they weren't there when the previous owner was driving it. They can fix it up all nice and make it look like new, but the bottom line is that the car was still previously used by another unknown driver. Its still going to have miles on it, just like any used car, that a new car just won't have.
I hate how people try to redefine our language. People understand the concept of a used car. Why try to change that. Thank you Lexus for trying to create a new term to trick consumers. Why not tell the public that Lexus takes pride in selling the highest quality used car, instead of getting tricky with your words.
Monday, June 4, 2007
Violence in the Work Place
I work at a school for kids with emotional disturbances. Since I am pretty much the only young male employee, I have become the go to person in school when kids are acting out. This leads to days like today when I have kids who refuse to stay in the class, throw tantrums, and act generally inappropriate. Having to ohysically restrain kids who are physically aggressive and threatening to hurt others, myself, and themselves has become a part of my world from Monday to Friday. I was thinking today...how many people out there really have to deal with violence in their jobs on a daily basis. What type of jobs do people have where they need to be wary of somebody hitting or kicking them?
The first job that comes to my mind is a police officer. They need to be constantly aware that they are targets, and that they will be dealing with unsafe people. Arresting a person can obviously be a violent act, and the aggressive driving that officers undertake is definitely intense.
Other people that deal with criminals or the mentally ill probably also have to deal with violence with their job. I would include some doctors, teachers, social workers, and nurses who probably deal with violence often in the work place. Prison guards and military personnel deal with violence. Paramedics probably encounter some violent people as well.
My thoughts are that there are people out there who deal with violence at work, but it is probably a vast minority. Its a sad thing in society that people earn their money while dealing with violence. It definitely isn't for all people to have their work day involve working with violent individuals.
Peace seems like such an easy concept, but for some people it really is difficult. I've learned that those with emotional disturbances truly don't understand how to resolve conflicts peacefully. Those who work with violent people need to understand violence, but need to have a self awareness that keeps them from becoming violent themselves.
I am cursed at by young children. I've had my life and my family's lives threatened by angry children. I've been kicked, scratched at, hit, and even punched in the face by these kids. My ability to have empathy for why they are violent is important. I understand why they want to hurt other people, but I don't resort to that type of reaction myself. If I did so, I would have been out of a job a long time ago.
When we hear about police officers who cross the line and use brutality against others, I feel they are people who are violent themselves. They take aggression towards them personally and react with violence themselves. When dealing with violent individuals it is important not to take their actions personally. Their aggressive behavior is an inability to properly communicate the emotions they feel. Helping these people learn why they act violent, and coming up with non-violent solutions for them is probably the best way to deal with them.
The first job that comes to my mind is a police officer. They need to be constantly aware that they are targets, and that they will be dealing with unsafe people. Arresting a person can obviously be a violent act, and the aggressive driving that officers undertake is definitely intense.
Other people that deal with criminals or the mentally ill probably also have to deal with violence with their job. I would include some doctors, teachers, social workers, and nurses who probably deal with violence often in the work place. Prison guards and military personnel deal with violence. Paramedics probably encounter some violent people as well.
My thoughts are that there are people out there who deal with violence at work, but it is probably a vast minority. Its a sad thing in society that people earn their money while dealing with violence. It definitely isn't for all people to have their work day involve working with violent individuals.
Peace seems like such an easy concept, but for some people it really is difficult. I've learned that those with emotional disturbances truly don't understand how to resolve conflicts peacefully. Those who work with violent people need to understand violence, but need to have a self awareness that keeps them from becoming violent themselves.
I am cursed at by young children. I've had my life and my family's lives threatened by angry children. I've been kicked, scratched at, hit, and even punched in the face by these kids. My ability to have empathy for why they are violent is important. I understand why they want to hurt other people, but I don't resort to that type of reaction myself. If I did so, I would have been out of a job a long time ago.
When we hear about police officers who cross the line and use brutality against others, I feel they are people who are violent themselves. They take aggression towards them personally and react with violence themselves. When dealing with violent individuals it is important not to take their actions personally. Their aggressive behavior is an inability to properly communicate the emotions they feel. Helping these people learn why they act violent, and coming up with non-violent solutions for them is probably the best way to deal with them.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Yarsels
So my wife has this thing about going to a certain thrift store. Its not an addiction...she can manage to go a day or so without visiting it, but it is a definite 3,4,5 times a week habit. So while I am enabling her by driving her there, she tells me to look at how many For Sale signs there are on this certain road...There were 7. I was expecting more!
But as I'm looking for For Sale signs, I saw another homemade sign. It very simply said..."Yarsel."
Now this is a word I've never encountered before. But since I'm a smart guy...I have a pretty good idea of what its author was trying to communicate.
My imagination sees a latino family...probably not legal immigrants. They are trying to make a few dollars, so they have an idea...Lets sell some junk in front of our house. The male in the family tells his friends about this idea, and is told...the Americans already do that. They call it a Yard Sale.
The latino husband goes back to his woman and tells her. We need to make a sign for our Yarsel. Since she is trained to do whats shes told, she does her best. When I try to say it with a crappy spanish accent...yarsel sounds just about right. So while the spelling may not be anywhere close to correct, the message was conveyed.
But as I'm looking for For Sale signs, I saw another homemade sign. It very simply said..."Yarsel."
Now this is a word I've never encountered before. But since I'm a smart guy...I have a pretty good idea of what its author was trying to communicate.
My imagination sees a latino family...probably not legal immigrants. They are trying to make a few dollars, so they have an idea...Lets sell some junk in front of our house. The male in the family tells his friends about this idea, and is told...the Americans already do that. They call it a Yard Sale.
The latino husband goes back to his woman and tells her. We need to make a sign for our Yarsel. Since she is trained to do whats shes told, she does her best. When I try to say it with a crappy spanish accent...yarsel sounds just about right. So while the spelling may not be anywhere close to correct, the message was conveyed.
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