MESSY LIFE

Bi -Polar Children

This issue and debate is going to continue for a long time because it is complex and often difficult to discern. I have written about this before and will again as new information becomes available.

I think this article in the NY Times is an interesting look and this on-going concern of over diagnosing and medicating.  It still addresses that there are parents with children whose behavior  is so outside the realm of both experience and understanding,  that they are  faced with some very difficult decisions. Some feel grateful and others feel at the mercy of the mental health professionals for  help with finding the best course for treatment.

Mall Life

This article, "The Couple who lived in a mall,"  by Lisa Selin Davis in Salon.com tells the story of  Michael Townsend and Adriana's Yoto's adventure of creating a secret apartment in the Providence Place Mall.

Yoto's and Townsend's motivation was part academic, part research, part performance art. Yoto wrote a thesis on comparing malls to British colonies and Towsend's interest came from a social experiment he devised with his friends from their art collective.

While the study of malls and their place in society is a fascinating topic, what Yoto and Townsend  ultimately achieved was a brilliant marketing plan. They recognized the impact of short- term and long- term gains. They invested in their experiment and reported it on their blog over the years and when "caught" already had a big following. They were able to get media coverage, a book deal, an art exhibit,  and a pending reality show out of their efforts.

I would say that these two are savy consumers of what the public really buys.

Students Fail Exit Exam

There is much debate in California about high school exit exams. This article, that appeared in the SF Chronicle,  reported that the pass rate was lower this year than last year. 

Many argue that standardized tests don't reflect the student's accurate understanding of a subject, but only reflect the ability or inability to pass a test. Others blame the problem of undereducated students on teacher's inability to teach or, on the State of California's poor standards, approach to education and curriculum. 

What I found most interesting about this article were the comments that followed it.  Most comments reflected issues around English as a Second Language Learners. However, the article clearly stated that the reason it was believed that test scores were down this year was because  "special- education" students test results  were included in the scoring.

While it is possible that a Special Education student may be bi-lingual, it is not a qualifying criteria  for special education. Students that qualify under that category have special learning needs.For example, they may  have problems with processing information, or reading difficulties such as poor comprehension. 

It is important that no matter what are beliefs are about the state of education that we clearly read and comprehend the issues our children face in order to be good advocates for change.

For more information on Special Education.

Vaccine Fears - Measles on the rise

No matter how many times there are studies released that state that vaccines are not the cause of Autism and that mercury is no longer being used as a preservative (just in case there is a causal link), parents are understandably concerned that vaccinating their child is going to have serious adverse effects to their child's health.

The recent ruling in favor of the Poling family on this vaccine issue further scared parents and made them fear their health provider's reassurances. The CDC and other health care professionals have long warned that the risk of not vaccinating is more harmful in the long run.

There is now a report issued by the CDC that there is an increase from 42 reported cases of measles last year to 131 this year and the year is not yet over. This CBS news report gives more information.
 There are no easy answers, but getting as much information as you can to help further discussions with your child's physician and fully understanding the risks of not vaccinating can help you protect your child from illness.