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201701673caic1920 · 5 years ago

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Apple Pie: unavailable on U.S. prison menu.

Some might say why should it be? Why should anyone who is serving time have the pleasure of eating America’s favourite dessert? Prisoners can request it as part of their last meal on death row. They can try and make an imitation but other than that, this staple, along with plenty of other food types are conspicuous by their absence in the diet of the American prisoner.

Nasty, unidentifiable, rotten, maggot infested, rat nibbled ‘chow’ unfit for human consumption, which would get food providers anywhere else shut down, is available.

The reason? The average daily budget for feeding a U.S prisoner is around $2.65 and as low as 56 cents per meal in some Arizona jails.

Studies have shown the food is nutritionally poor, usually processed, high in sugars, salt and fat. And, just like on the outside this leads to weight gain, heart disease and diabetes.

Diabetic inmates cost the state of Virginia $2.17 million per year. It now costs more to treat prisoner’s health issues than it does to feed them.

Prisons used to cater ‘in house’, cooking from scratch and sometimes using ingredients grown on site. Now, catering is industrialized and privatised. It is outsourced to profit seeking companies like Aramark who stand accused of everything from serving inedible cheese to halving rations, charging for meals never served and violating food standard codes.

Powdered food was reported in Alabama county jails. What even is that?

Dickensian style gruel, bread and water, Nutraloaf, sure, there will be people who think prisoners deserve it, but those incarcerated in Alcatraz in the 1940s had a better diet! Including apple pie on Mondays!

Why should we care? Because, this is now a public health problem, affecting not just the prisoners but their families, communities and wider society especially when prisoners are released with chronic and costly medical conditions. Food low in nutritional value has also been shown to affect mental health which prison populations already have a higher incidence of to start with.

This is not new. Journalist Alan Elsner reported worsening state prison cuisine in his book The Gates of Injustice: The Crisis in America’s Prisons as far back as 2004.

He also gave this security warning; ‘hungry inmates are angry inmates.’

Food used as punishment and the domino effect is just one of the crises currently faced by the American penal system. Rising prison healthcare costs are also attributable to the aging prison population.

We have an aging demographic, but reports suggest that prisoners suffer age related illness and disease 10-15 years earlier than the general population. Add to this, harsh, long mandatory minimum sentences and an increase in admissions of people over 55 and it is not difficult to appreciate some of the challenges.

Correctional officers are not trained nurses or carers, correctional facilities were not meant to be hospitals, elderly care homes or shelter for the mentally ill.

An illuminating Washington Post article by Kenneth Dickerman and photographer Lucy Nicholson article says that 20 years ago only 1 percent of California’s state prison population was over 60 but by 2016 that figure had risen to 7 percent.

Nicholson captured scenes in the California Medical Facility in Vacaville where sick and elderly prisoners are cared for in its medical unit and hospice. It is already overcrowded and understaffed. And it is expensive. KPBS reported that providing prisoner health care cost California $1.9 billion ten years ago, with producer Wendy Fry warning ‘If we think we’re having a prison crisis right now, we just need to wait about 5 years.’

Well, that time has come and gone, and as she pointed out the ‘Three Strikes Laws’ of 1994 (those harsh mandatory sentences alluded to earlier) had far reaching and costly consequences that the ‘lock’em up and throw away the key’ law makers of the time did not care to think about.

There are sick and elderly prisoners who do not even remember why they are there. Some are serving long sentences for non-violent crimes and some who committed heinous crimes but are now to ill or frail to be a public danger. Is prison the right place for them? Is there a case for release on compassionate grounds?

15 to life, 25 to life, does that mean you should get out? And how would we feel about this if we or one of our family members were the victim of a crime?

To be fair, California has begun to rethink its position and according to The Guardian will reconsider the life sentences 4,000 non violent prisoners.

A relief maybe for those given life sentences for ‘stealing a bicycle, possessing less than half a gram of methamphetamine, stealing two bottles of liquor or shoplifting shampoo.’

Various news outlets have given column space to new legislation called the First Step Act. Introduced under the Trump administration but with cross party support, the program aims to release those with good behaviour early.

Crack cocaine offenders affected by the penalty disparity for possession of crack compared to powder cocaine at the height of the ‘The War on Drugs’ have benefited, with 1,691 getting reduced sentences. And, in November 2019 Oklahoma released 500 prisoners in one day according to The New York Times.

These ‘good news’ stories splashed across the front pages give a positive impression but hold on a minute. These figures are drops in the ocean compared to the total American prison population. Estimated at a staggering 2.3 million according to the non-profit organisation Prison Policy Initiative, who have plenty to say in their in depth report Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2019.

America is still incarcerating the same amount of people that inhabit a small country. Statistics show that despite having 5% of the world’s population it has 25% of the world’s prison population and there are multiple reasons for this ‘mass-criminalization’ but long, harsh sentences, even for low-level misdemeanors stand out.

It is not hard to imagine how difficult the management of such a system must be. Two million people to feed and administer along with the organisation of thousands of personnel and the maintenance of 100’s of buildings. Some have fearsome reputations such as Rikers Island in New York, due to close in 2026 and not before time.

In October 2019 BBC journalist Rosie Blunt told us some alarming tales from Rikers, one of modern civilisation’s most notorious jails. Stories of stabbings, teenagers hanging themselves, officers selling drugs and razors, and soul-destroying solitary confinement in an old and frightening building that is falling apart.

Most are held in state prisons but privately-run institutions are increasing and raise further questions. Here the prisoners have become a workforce, contracted out to private companies. They cannot complain or go on strike. They do not take holidays or turn up late.

They are paid 25 cents an hour.

There is no incentive to rehabilitate or educate, recidivism just boosts the investors bottom line. It is in their financial interest to keep the prison population high.

There is also a sinister element to this forced labour which has not been lost on commentators who compare it to slavery and Nazi Germany. Exploitation is occurring.

Issues such as nutrition, healthcare, and work camp ethics are just the tip of the iceberg where American prison crises are concerned. Many of the problems concern Human Rights but, and correct me if I am wrong, America has yet to adhere to the United Nations ‘Nelson Mandela Rules.’

Until then we can say, “mass incarceration is as American as apple pie.”.

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thechasefiles · 7 years ago

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The Chase Files Daily Newscap 4/15/2018

Good Morning #realdreamchasers! Here is The Chase Files Daily News Cap for Sunday 15th April 2018. Remember that you can read full articles via subscribing to Nation News Online, purchasing a Sunday Sun Nation Newspaper (SS) or via Barbados Today (BT).

STAB OF DEATH - The usual hustle and bustle of a Saturday afternoon in Bridgetown came to a standstill yesterday following the brutal murder of a 36-year-old nail technician and mother of two. According to police reports, the woman, whose name was not released, but who our investigations indicated is Onica King of Four Roads, St Philip, or Lead Vale, Christ Church, was working in her shop at No. 41 Mandela Plaza on Swan Street when she was attacked around 2:45 by a man who is well known to her. He reportedly fled the scene on foot. This latest killing sent the number of murders in Barbados for this year to ten. When a Sunday Sun team arrived on Swan Street, the mood was sombre, with people speculating on what had taken place. Shops in the immediate vicinity of the plaza were also forced to close because the area was inaccessible. As news of the stabbing incident spread, hundreds of curious onlookers gathered on both sides of the cobbled street, which had already been cordoned off by police, so they could only watch from a distance. Many who abandoned their shopping or delayed trips home took up any available vantage point as they tried to catch a glimpse of the body, which was still in the building. Many passers-by, including fellow nail technicians, vented their frustrations about the incident and most called for the Government and the law to do something to punish the perpetrators. Since the stabbing, a video of the dying woman has gone viral, showing the victim’s two children (a boy and a girl) crying and screaming for their mother before being taken inside a room by an unidentified male. At least one woman collapsed on the street sobbing uncontrollably. When the news team left the scene at 5:45 p.m. a large crowd was still gathered, waiting on the body to be removed. This incident comes on the heels of the stabbing death of police officer Shayne Welch on March 26 during a reported love triangle at his home in Kingsland Drive, Christ Church. Applon Parris has since been charged for his death. (SS)

NEW BUT PRESIDENT ELECTED – Sean Spencer is the new president of the Barbados Union of Teachers. He secured more votes than former president Pedro Shepherd and Everton Briggs when elections were held on Friday. Below is the full list of those elected to serve on the executive for the period 2018 - 2019. President - Sean Spencer; Vice president - Richmark Cave, General Secretary - Herbert Gittens, Deputy General secretary - Rudy Lovell, Treasurer - Candacy Griffith, Public relations officer - Julian Pierre; Executive members: Andre Holder, Asha Yearwood, Tanya Mayers, Jacqueline Prescod, Andrea Puckering, Dwayne Greenidge. (SS)

MARA: IT WAS STRESSFUL, STRENUOUS – The former Member of Parliament (MP) for St John Mara Thompson is confident she made the right decision to step down from electoral politics. She spoke about the decision on Friday night after a meeting at the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) constituency office in Carters, Gall Hill. There she said her final goodbyes to party members and those who made up the constituency council. In a brief interview after the proceedings, she said while she enjoyed representing the people of St John as one of the few female MPs in Barbados, as a mother, she felt relieved. “I am so filled with relief that I am not sure if I have mixed feelings of such,” she said. “I am sure I made the right decision and I am happy to go and take care of Mara now.” Thompson, who was elected in 2011 after the death of her husband former Prime Minister and MP for St John David Thompson, in 2010, said public life was a bit more than she could chew. “Yes I found it was stressful and strenuous. I felt that I wasn’t paying sufficient attention to what’s happening at home and how the girls were doing. I still have a 16-year-old. “One of my daughters said to me when I first started out that I have taken on all the hats that David wore and as I thought about it leading up to my coming out, it was true. I pretty much took on everything he did, constituency and all, but David had a wife, a cooperative, supportive wife and I don’t have what he did.” When asked what was the straw that broke that camel’s back for her, she said it was too personal and could not comment. However, as it relates to her achievements, she said she was pleased with what she did, pointing to her success in completing the David Thompson Health And Social Services Complex at Glebe Land, opening a new post office in Four Roads and fixing roads in Haynesville and other areas. Thompson added that she thought people in that constituency were annoyed with her for her decision to back down but to her surprise they were not. “They seemed thankful and grateful to me for running . . . . It was a phenomenal experience and I learnt a lot despite it was taxing.” The candidate for the parish in the upcoming General Election is George Pilgrim, the general secretary of the DLP and three-time defeated St Thomas candidate. (SS)

ALARM OVER WEIGHT OF GIRLS, WOMEN – Barbados is eighth in the world in relation to the number of females – 15 years and over – who are overweight or obese. According to a report produced by the World Health Organisation in 2011, Barbados comes in at 63 per cent in the rankings. Trinidad and Tobago runs a close second with 61 per cent, while Dominica and Jamaica bring up the rear with 60 and 53 per cent, respectively. Professor Alafia Samuels, director, Chronic Disease Research Centre, at the University of West Indies Cave Hill Campus, said the situation was alarming. She was giving the inaugural lecture entitled Confront The Epidemic Of Obesity – Is Sugar The New Tobacco? in the Roy Marshall Lecture Theatre. Data analysed in 2010 showed that 33 per cent of nine- to ten-year-olds were overweight or obese, representative of more than one per cent increase yearly. “The other issue with childhood obesity is that it causes raised blood pressure in children. Most children have no reason to have high blood pressure; it is a disease of adulthood, but obesity will bring on raised blood pressure in children,” she said. While she added that obesity was the most important underlying cause of death in Barbados, she said in order to reduce the amount of sugar consumed on a daily, people needed to eat foods with a low glycaemic index. “We break everything down into glucose, but the large starch molecules or complex carbohydrates give you a slow and extensive breakdown and therefore a slow rise in blood sugar,” she explained. She said sugar-sweetened beverages was the leading cause of obesity, diabetes and heart disease in both adults and children. (SS)

SOCIETY LOSING FIGHT AGAINST NOISE – The Society for a Quieter Barbados (SQB) has not been muzzled. But a lot of its members who agitated over the years for a noiseless Barbados have either passed away or are no longer active in the organization. President Carl Moore told the Sunday Sun that he was still inundated with noise complaints from Barbadians and visitors, but he said with only he and a public relations officer now running the show, there was little they could do to campaign against noise pollution. Recalling when the organization was first launched in 2002, Moore said he never expected it to be around for a long time because he believed Barbadians would easily comprehend the seriousness of such an irritant. “All we had to offer was quiet, and we thought that people would welcome a little quiet, but it was not to be,” he confessed during an interview at his home. At the height of its popularity the organisation attracted a membership of 250 people. “But overtime people died. . . . We lost people like Dr Leonard Shorey, Peter Morgan, Leonard St Hill, Sir Frederick Smith and Oliver Jackman and things started to slow down from about 2006. We were pretty active in keeping a website, we ran short notices in newspapers and we participated in town hall meetings.” One of their major successes was having the issue of noise pollution addressed in the National Commission on Law and Order 2000. However, Moore said even with this significant mention the legislation which they so badly needed to bring effect to the issue, eluded them.“We were involved in all these things but still not able to nudge the decision-makers to the point where they would put on the statute books strong legislation to deal with noise pollution,” he lamented, pointing out that even though noise pollution was addressed in four pieces of legislation, they were relatively weak. “We were calling for something with real teeth. The Road Traffic Act, Highways Act and the Public Order Act, they all touched on noise and the nuisance that could be addressed. As far back as 1979, discussions were held but to date there has been no real progress and police have to rely on persuasion and veiled threats of prosecution. Moore, 78, said the SQB started to fall off around 2008, struggling for three consecutive years to raise a quorum. “So Barbadians have learned to live with noise, to tolerate it; but the thing about noise, you may adjust to noise by ignoring it but the ear never closes . . . .” Some of the noise pollutants include loud music, kites, revving of vehicles and motorcycles, political and church meetings, barking dogs; even the ringing of cell phones. Moore hopes that Barbadians would become more considerate and tuned into the health hazards that excessive loud noise can create, but he still remains optimistic that young people will step forward to continue to fight for a quiet society. (SS)

POLICE APPEAL FOR INFO ON JEMMOTTS LANE FIRE – Police are currently investigating the cause of the building fire which occurred about 5:30 a.m. today at a section of the Ministry of Health at Jemmotts Lane, St Michael. They have cordoned off the area and are appealing for anyone with information to contact them. Public relations officer Acting Inspector Rodney Inniss revealed that both the upstairs and ground floor sections housing the Vector Control Unit were destroyed by the blaze. The upper floor of the Barbados Family Planning Association was destroyed while the ground floor suffered water damage only. One section of the two-storey wood and wall structure was used to store files, furniture and chemicals belonging to the Vector Control Unit. The ground floor of another section contained computers belonging to the Barbados Family Planning Association and, the upper floor was used as an exercise area. Three fire tenders and one water tanker along with 12 personnel responded to the fire and at 12:30 p.m. they were still on the scene. Anyone who may have any information on the fire is asked to call Central Police Station at 430-7676, Police Operations Control Room at 430-7100 or any other police station. All information will be held in strict confidence. (BT)

FIRE CAUSES CLOSURE OF TWO AGENCIES – At least two agencies will remain closed tomorrow after yesterday’s early morning four-hour blaze at the old Ministry of Health buildings on Jemmotts Lane, St Michael. The fire sent residents of nearby communities scampering, affected the Vector Environmental Section and brought operations at the Barbados Family Planning Association (BFPA) to a halt. It appeared to have started at one of the unoccupied buildings and was reported to the Barbados Fire Service at 5:30 a.m. The upper floor of the BFPA was destroyed and that agency will remain closed while the ministry’s Rodent Bait Distribution Centre will also be closed, with officials advising members of the public to collect the bait from any polyclinic except the Edgar Cochrane, Wildey and the Glebe, St George. A few residents who did not want to be named said they were awoken by the sounds of sirens and they quickly picked up the scent of burning wood. Smithy of Smith’s Corner Bar, which is located south of the compound, was on the beach when he noticed the smoke. He immediately rushed home to see if his property was affected. Though it wasn’t affected, the asthmatic said he and the eight other tenants of the two-storeyed building left due to the thick smoke. The intense flames burned for hours and engulfed a number of buildings, including the section used to store files, furniture and chemicals of the Vector Environmental Section, while the upper section of the BFPA used as an exercise area was destroyed and the ground floor used to store computers suffered water damage only. Those who showed up at the clinic yesterday had to be turned away. Minister of Health John Boyce who was briefed on the incident later said the necessary chemicals were taken away from the area. The BFPA acting executive director Anderson Langdon and chief financial officer Sonya Alleyne were both at the scene assessing the damages. Alleyne estimated that about 35 people from their Youth Advocacy Movement (YAM) which handles the Adolescent Young Mother’s Programme would be affected along with the Community Sexuality Education and other youth outreach activities. Langdon said the BFPA had been the home of the institution since 1966, and even though it was an old building, they had now being set back, as he made an appeal for help. Divisional officer Mervin Mayers said the residents who lived on Jemmotts Lane including residents of London Bourne Towers and Nelson Street were asked to move due to the asbestos roofing. Four fire tenders and one tanker, and 14 officers from Worthing Fire Station and Bridgetown responded and their investigations are ongoing. (SS)

RODENT BAIT DISTRIBUTION CENTRE CLOSED – The Rodent Bait Distribution Centre located on the old Ministry of Health compound, Jemmotts Lane, St Michael has been closed after today's fire which destroyed a block of buildings. The public is advised that rat bait may be collected from any polyclinic except the Edgar Cochrane, Wildey and the Glebe, St George. (SS)

EUNICE GIBSON POLYCLINIC TO CLOSE EARLY MONDAY – The public is advised that the Eunice Gibson Polyclinic, at Warrens, St Michael, will close at 1 p.m. on Monday, April 16, to allow staff to attend the funeral service for a former colleague. The Ministry of Health apologises for any inconvenience this closure may cause. (SS)

SIR JOHN A MAN OF PRINCIPLE – He was their cheerleader, their life coach and their teacher. And he was not afraid to take a stand if he believed in a principle. These were the memories of the children of Sir John Connell, Lachmi and Dr Kwame Connell who were speaking at his service of thanksgiving at the Cathedral Church of St Michael and All Angels yesterday. The 81-year-old retired Justice of Appeal passed away on March 28, and his service yesterday drew legal luminaries and politicians from across the divide to the 229-year-old church. During a service attended by Prime Minister Freundel Stuart; leader of the Barbados Labour Party, Mia Mottley; Retired Chief Justice Sir David Simmons; Chief Justice Sir Marston Gibson; members of the judiciary, the magistracy and the legal fraternity, Lachmi remembered her father as a man who stood on principle “regardless of the repercussions”. “An example [was] his voting with the Government while being an Opposition senator on the issue of increasing the number of constituencies, having discussed with the leadership at George Street that they would not rescind the law if they win the next General Election, only to be fired from the platform by then party leader Errol Barrow,” she said, adding his philosophy was that he should be able to face the man in the mirror every day. She said he was branded a radical but explained that his humble beginnings in a chattel house in the “Back Ivy”, born to a carpenter father and a seamstress mother, underpinned his philosophy of educating Barbadians. She added his one unfulfilled desire was that he wanted to do more for Haiti. Her brother Kwame said his father taught by example and was a teacher “who was never tired of learning”. “He wanted to educate his people even though it wasn’t always well received,” his son recalled. He held his father as their teacher, their cheerleader, their moral compass and their life coach. “He taught by example and he set a very high standard,” he told the congregation yesterday, adding his father had “genuine trouble” with the “concept of boredom” when “there were so many books to read”. The sermon was delivered by Dean of the Cathedral, Dr Jeffrey Gibson. (SS)

THOUSANDS ATTEND WINNIE MANDELA’S FUNERAL – Thousands of mourners crowded into a stadium in Soweto, near Johannesburg, where the campaigner was given a high-level send-off. Her casket was draped in the national flag, and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered the eulogy. Mrs Madikizela-Mandela, former wife of Nelson Mandela, died earlier this month at the age of 81. (BT)

KADOOMENT BAND LAUNCHES PICKING UP STEAM – The Crop Over Festival fever is quickly heating up. So far, a number of bands including Zulu, Khepri Kulture and Erup The Band have unveiled their costumes which they will take on the road come Grand Kadooment on August 6. The latest was Erup which released their Hidden Treasures: Gems of the Caribbean theme on Friday night at George Washington House. Their five sections include Ametrine, Black Opals, Mystic Topaz, Mojave and White Diamond. Zulu International Inc., the self-proclaimed Fun Band were the first out the gates on March 18 with their theme Hidden in the Stars. Sections include Milky Way, Unidentified Wukking Object (UWO), Stargazer, Apollo, Nebula, Supernova, The Auroras, Comet and SagiA: The Black Hole. New band Khepri launched soon after with sections designed by varying section leaders. Options include Denyque, Silent Morning, Flavaa Nation, Spektrum and Mojito. Krave the Band is set to launch tonite at Ignite Bim, followed by Xhosa tomorrow night. Kontact, Eunioa, Colorz, Baje, Aura, Betty West and LUX Carnival also have quickly approaching dates. Crop Over will be officially launched on June 2. (SS)

For daily or breaking news reports follow us on Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter & Facebook. That’s all for today folks. There are 263 days left in the year. Shalom! #thechasefilesdailynewscap #thechasefiles #dailynewscapsbythechasefiles

#The Chase Files #stabbing #Murder in Town #Swan Street #Onika Edwards-King #Onika King #Nail Technician Murdered in Swan Street #Murdered in front of children #Nation News #Barbados Today

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taylorwarren · 8 years ago

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I know you are struggling right now. You are not the prettiest, or the thinnest, or the best at dancing at the Laine Theatre Arts college. You have never properly fitted in, although you are sharing your Surrey school digs with really nice girls. You have bad acne. You think the principal has put you at the back of the end-of-year show (in a humiliatingly bright purple Lycra leotard) because you are too plump to go at the front. (This may or may not be true.) There is a red telephone box outside the school and you have just rung your parents, crying, “I can’t do this, I miss home, I’m not good enough.” And Mum has told you to come home. “We’ll go to Lakeside and buy a new pair of shoes,” she said. It’s tempting. But then Dad got on the phone: “Stay there, prove everyone wrong.” If you’d listened to Mum, you would be going to Lakeside. (Shoes are important, just not right now.) It would be the easy solution. And I’m writing to jolly you along, to offer consolation and encouragement, and to tell you, aged 18, to be strong. You haven’t forgotten being bullied at school, have you? Do you recall that first day at secondary school? Most children were wearing their own coats and had the latest cool bag, but not you. Kitted out in the full St Mary’s High School uniform, you stood in the freezing playground while other teenagers walking past threw soggy tissues and old Coke cans that they plucked from the puddles. But the thick skin that you developed then is already standing you in good stead, and it will do so for the rest of your life. Your complexion will sort itself out (in fact you will launch your own make-up brand); as soon as the Eighties are over, your perm will die down, and your weight will settle itself. At school you eat Super Noodles and boxes of Frosties because they say they are fat free, and you will endure many other silly fad diets (including an addiction to green juices). Instead, learn to embrace your imperfections – that is what I want to tell you. Let your skin breathe; wear less make-up. (And don’t ever let that make-up artist shave your eyebrows! The effects last forever.) You will always be addicted to Elnett hairspray but you will tone it down. Less of the “Hello! I just got stuck in a wind tunnel”, please. And I should probably say, don’t mess with your boobs. All those years I denied it – stupid. A sign of insecurity. Just celebrate what you’ve got. Do answer an ad in The Stage, looking for candidates to form a new girl band. Line up around the block and audition to change your life. You love musicals – Miss Saigon, Cats, Starlight Express and Les Misérables – so you will perform “Mein Herr” from Cabaret, while everyone else sings a Madonna song. You haven’t yet heard of the internet or electronic mail or smartphones. Nor have you perfected the art of the selfie for Instagram (you can’t even turn on a computer right now, and Dad still drives to London to send a telex). But one day you will find that audition performance again online, and at the same time discover that your name brings up 47,800,000 search results on Google. The judges of the competition will match you to four other girls, all misfits in their own ways. Together you will make it OK to look different. And, as the Spice Girls, you will sell 75 million records. You cannot possibly imagine your future life right now. You will travel on private planes, visit incredible countries, stay in fantastic hotels. (At the beginning, you will steal the hotel mini shampoos, shower gels and conditioners, but you soon realise that they leak in your suitcase – often disastrously.) You will storm into people’s offices, leap on to tables in hotels and go crazy (although you will also be the one checking that the table isn’t going to collapse). You will meet Nelson Mandela, Mariah Carey and Elton John. But please, I implore you, keep a diary. There will be so many amazing moments, and you will forget. There will also be down days and bad days. You will often be so busy that you will be in a different country every day. And being young and a bit silly, you’ll complain and sit in hotel rooms and moan about being tired. Go out and see the country where you are. Go to galleries, go to museums. Soak up the culture. You are lucky to be there. If you don’t join the Spice Girls, you might always be that insecure person in that little shell, and you will never become who you truly are. With this in mind, be kind, be polite, be considerate of others’ feelings, because I know that every one of us would sit here now and say they’re not the main culprit, but we didn’t fully appreciate each other a lot of the time. So practise what you preach when you sing “friendship never ends”, and celebrate everyone’s uniqueness. You are going to have so much fun with your clothes – PVC catsuits; chokers that say absurd things; weird spiky blonde hair. It will never occur to you that you appear ridiculous. You will turn up at awards ceremonies resembling a drag queen. But I look back at you and smile. It will add interest to your life to go from one extreme to another. I love the fact that you will feel free to express yourself. Fashion will take on added stature one day, but try not to be stifled by it. You will learn, as you mature, to swap heels for Stan Smith trainers, minidresses for crisp white shirts. And you will never be one of those people who just roll out of bed. Wear sunglasses a lot. Even inside. Especially at airports. They turn a nothing-outfit into something quite pulled together and cool. You are going to really like Aviators. (Then one day you will develop your own!) On boyfriends and lasting love: learn more about football, especially the offside rule. And yes, love at first sight does exist. It will happen to you in the Manchester United players’ lounge – although you will get a little drunk, so exact details are hazy. While the other football players stand at the bar drinking with their mates, you will see David standing aside with his family. (He’s not even in the first team at this stage – you are the famous one.) And he has such a cute smile. You, too, are close to your family, and you will think how similar he feels to you. He’s going to ask for your number. (He still has the London-to-Manchester plane ticket on which you wrote it.) I’m afraid that most of your first dates will be in car parks, which is not as seedy as it sounds. It is because your manager, Simon Fuller, will warn you, “Don’t let anyone see you out together or you’ll get hounded.” At the time, you won’t understand why. You are going to be very, very famous, both for the band you form and because of the man you marry, and then later for a fashion business you will launch in your own name. You will get used to fame. Although you cannot set a price on losing privacy, you will learn to use celebrity to your advantage. For good things. For charity. One day you will have the privilege to campaign on behalf of the United Nations to end mother-to-child transmission of HIV and Aids in Africa. And people will listen. Changes will happen. That is not to say you won’t be affected by what you see of yourself in the press. It will hurt you when people comment on your weight. It will continue to upset you whatever age you are, because we women are very tough on ourselves. The paparazzi will become part of your life, their long lenses waiting. Some are nice, some not. They may make your children cry, or they may give you a compliment – but you will not be able to control every image they publish. When you are pregnant with Brooklyn, they will snap you sitting by the pool at the Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles in a black-and-white bikini, and the picture will make the front page of a British newspaper. It is an unkind shot and so upsetting that for the rest of the tour you will barely leave your hotel or sit outside. And I’m the same now. Do I relax on the beach in a bikini? No. I am still hugely self-critical, and because of that I can be a little uptight. My 60-year-old self would probably say the same thing to me as I am telling you now: enjoy yourself a little more. Be less image-conscious. Learn to relax. You are going to make mistakes – of course you are. You will be super-super-successful, but you will find out that you can lose it all much more quickly than you can earn it. That is a hard lesson to learn. Collectively, I now see, the Spice Girls were victims of our own success, believing we could do anything, that the sky was the limit, that we could do it all on our own. You will learn from that, and when you have another opportunity you will not lose it again. On being a mother: once you are a parent, you worry. And you are going to have four, so that’s a lot of worry! Mum likes to say, “You might be 42, but I still worry about you.” Children mean that you will be constantly tired and will develop big bags under your eyes. Your children will always come first, but never forget who you are and what you want to achieve. Is it possible to have it all? To be a successful working mother? You will hear this question asked by many women as you grow older. What you will realise is that by working hard, yet always putting family first, it will be possible to achieve that balance. Nothing will be perfect, but it is only now that I have learnt to appreciate all I have and all I have been blessed with. I am happy. A word on school sports day: never wear platform heels and flares if you have to take part in the mothers’ race. And never believe another mum when she says she will stick with you at the back of the race. Because she won’t. And when they announce, “It’s the taking part that counts,” it’s not. It’s all about winning. You will shout at home but never at work. Be a nice boss. Ultimately, go with what you think, but don’t smother those who are talented. (If they are not, then admittedly I get frustrated – I’m not very tolerant.) On marriage: have patience. Bite your tongue. Be supportive. And preserve a bit of mystique. Never let yourself go completely (at least brush your hair, clean your teeth, have a bit of a brow going on because you will always want him to look at you and feel attracted). Always make time for each other. Because if you don’t, everything will revolve around the children and I’m not sure how sexy that is! And do not forget the person you fell in love with. You will follow your man around the world, moving from Manchester to Spain, and then America. In Spain you will revel in watching him enjoy some of his best footballing days. Spain is also where you will lay the foundations for your own fashion brand by collaborating with others on denim and sunglasses. But I need to warn you: a lot of your time there will be really hard. I’m not afraid to say now what a horribly difficult time it was. People will say awful things. You will be a laughing stock. Every time you turn on the television or look at a newspaper it will seem as though someone is having a go at you and your family. You will learn how mean other women can be. (And it will teach you always to support the women around you, to take them on a journey with you.) Others would crack under the pressure, but you won’t. Use that time to close off, to focus, work hard and protect the children. In relationships people will throw obstacles in your way, and you either manoeuvre around them or you trip up. You will never discuss with David how many children you both want; you don’t say to each other, “Where shall we live?” You don’t discuss any of that because you will be young and in love. Even when you don’t necessarily want the same thing, your support for each other will mean that you will stick together and grow up together. And it will be worth it. Most days, you will look at your life and think, “Wow! I was never the one who was supposed to get all this.” I want to tell you that I still feel that way now. Recently I was in New York for the British Vogue cover shoot in a penthouse at the Carlyle hotel. I looked out of the window and I could see the sun shining and all the yellow cabs below and I pinched myself. You are going to have many of those moments. Don’t take them for granted.

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fluffycabbages · 5 years ago

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Chapter 7 : Mandela Effect

Story is available on Wattpad, Solved

When we arrived at the hospital, Officer Jones was already talking to Simon. He was still sad about Kathryn’s death but Officer Jones was trying to cheer him up so we can find the murderer.

“You need to think about the crime scene Simon. You’re the only one who can help us now.” Ethan was motivating him but Simon was guilty, “I want to but I can’t. Everytime I recall that day, I always blame myself for my sister’s death. We are orphans, my sister is my only family. Our parents were gone a few years ago and we were under the care of our uncle but my sister worked as a part timer to earn money. She wanted me to have a life like a normal kid with a complete family. I shouldn’t have ran out of the house.”

“Simon, he was armed and stronger than you. You were no match for him. We believe your sister will be happy if you help her find out who the murderer is and put him behind the bars.” I tried to encourage him while signalling Ethan to help me.

“Yeah. We think the murderer is a serial killer. If you can help us, we will be able to stop him from further murders and there won’t be people like you losing their family members.”

“Okay. I’ll try to recall what happened.” Simon agreed to help us.

“Can you tell us what happened that day?” Ethan asked him.

“My sister, Kathryn and I were walking back home from school. She studies at the high school next to the middle school I study at. When we reached home, there was a knock on the door, so I opened the door and saw a tall, white man at the doorstep. He pointed a knife at me and ordered me to tie my sister at her wrists then ankles. I tried to tie them loosely so she can break free but he saw what I was doing and started punching me. My sister broke free and attacked him but he stabbed her in the gut. I tried to stop him but he shot me in the arm then tied my sister at her wrists and ankles again. I got his knife and charged at him but he shot me in the head. I knew I needed to get help, I wasn’t his match. So I ran out of the house to seek for help but I was too late. He had killed her.” Simon was sobbing as he was explaining.

Officer Jones petted his shoulder to reassure him, “You are a strong boy Simon, you are helping you sister.”

Ethan needed more information about the murderer, “Simon, can you describe how did the murderer looked like?”

“He was tall and white, nothing special about him physically.”

“Have you seen him before?”

“No. He’s definitely not from our neighbourhood.”

“Did he have a tattoo or scar on his face?”

“No. I don’t recall him having any of those.”

“Thank you for your cooperation Simon.”

Still none of us have a direction of where to continue our investigation. Everything seems to be halted at the “tall, white man” part. Residents of the city are concerned as someone had committed a crime in their neighbourhood. Though the other neighbourhoods where the Davis and Pauline was murdered was far from this neighbourhood but news spread fast with the help of internet. Especially if the cases were unsolved.

“Guys, look!” Officer Jones gathered his subordinates with Ethan and I at a discussion room. He placed today’s evening paper on the table. A local news station had publish an article on the front page of the paper. He continued, “Now everyone in the city is talking about this.”

I opened a social media app on my phone and sure do it was on the headline with tons and tons of netizens commenting their doubt on the capability of the police. It was the talk of the city with people guessing who the murderer is. It was terrorising the city with them constantly aware that there is a killer among them.

We were back at the detective agency but I was confused, “Hey Ethan, was Simon lying?” “No, he wasn’t. In fact none of them were lying. I know what you are thinking.” I believed Ethan when he said the both of them weren’t lying as he had been studying body language for quite some time. This is one of the reasons why Officer Jones trusts him and lets him ask the suspects questions.

“But if none of them were lying, why were their descriptions different?” I raised an eyebrow while asking Ethan.

“Perhaps it’s the Mandela Effect.”

“What is that?”

“Mandela Effect?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, first let me ask you a few questions. What does the Queen say everytime she wants to ask the mirror something?”

“Mirror, mirror on the wall.”

“What is the cartoon that has Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tweety, Sylvester?”

“Looney Toons.”

“Great. Spell it.”

“L-O-O-N-E-Y T-O-O-N-S”

“Now, tell me what is the last sentence for the song “We Are The Champions.”

“I don’t get it Ethan. I asked for an explanation on Mandela Effect not a freaking trivia.”

“I am proving to you Mandela Effect is a real thing. It is false memory as the human brain is highly unreliable. Remember how you said the Queen from Snow White said mirror, mirror on the wall? Actually she said magic mirror on the wall.”

“What?” I shook my head in disbelief.

“And you spelt Looney Tunes as L-O-O-N-E-Y T-O-O-N-S, it was actually T-U-N-E-S.” Surprising right?”

I was out of words and nodded as Ethan continued, “Either Ryan or Simon has false memory on the murderer’s facial features. They weren’t lying because in their memory it was like that. They were just stating the facts based on their memory. It’s just that their memory isn’t completely accurate.”

“Gosh! How are we going to trace the murderer now?” I’ve never felt so lost before. So was Ethan, he was so used to being able to solve cases in days but all 3 cases so far, we have no idea what to do.

Ethan wrote every possible information on the whiteboard and pictures on the table. We tried to relate the murderer’s motive so we can hopefully save the next victim. To us, these cases are obviously related.

3 months had passed. The cases should’ve been filed into the unsolved case file but Ethan didn’t want to give up. He felt in his heart that it was his responsibility as a detective to solve the cases and put the culprits behind the bars.

Initially residents of the city were worried will there be another murder case but nothing happened for 3 consecutive months. They started to calm down while we were puzzled. The culprit is obviously a serial killer. That was the thing that bothered us because one thing about serial killers and it is they cannot stop killing. Once they had murdered someone and got the feeling of excitement and satisfaction, they can no longer stop killing people. It’s like a drug addiction. Which was why we were puzzled.

Link to blog :

detectivecrimestories.blogspot.com

Link to story at blog :

https://detectivecrimestories.blogspot.com/2020/01/chapter-7-mandela-effect.html

#romance #love #college #detective #crime #crimesolving #mystery #serialkiller #bestfriends #friendship #dangerous #adventure #youngadult

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consciousowl · 6 years ago

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Ubuntu: What We Can Learn from South Africa

Let there be peace on earth And let it begin with me Let there be peace on earth The peace that was meant to be With God as our Father Brothers all are we Let me walk with my brother In perfect harmony

-Jill Jackson and Sy Miller

When we think of South Africa, we think of many things. Spectacular diamonds and luscious beaches, modern high-rises where the world’s first open-heart transplant operation was performed. And, of course, Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela. Mohandas K. Gandhi, who nearly won Time Magazine’s “Person of the Century,” got his start in South Africa through his experiments in nonviolent resistance to establish rights for Indian migrant workers. Nelson Mandela went from political prisoner breaking rocks on desolate Robben Island to President of his country, and then Nobel Prize-winning global celebrity. What was their secret? What was unique to the soil of South Africa that so changed the world?

What Is Ubuntu?

Ubuntu is to South Africa what Chivalry was to Medieval Europe and Bushido to Samurai Japan. Ubuntu grew out of a common recognition that we are all equally human, no matter what are our race, gender, nationality or religion. Ubuntu puts into action Christ’s injunction to live the Golden Rule, to love our neighbor as ourselves. Ubuntu maintains that we are only human by means of, and in relation to, other people. “I am me because you are you.” We can never truly be viewed in isolation. Each of us emerges from this earth in a state of infantile helplessness. We must be taught everything. Without proper education, we couldn’t even speak! Ubuntu insists that we give consideration to others whether or not convenient for us. We must never sacrifice another person to a dollar bill. All the money in the world would be meaningless if we were utterly alone. You give me meaning and definition. I need you, just as you need me. I honor you as my other self, and celebrate our differences as the spice of life.

How Ubuntu Worked in South Africa

In traditional Africa, when you went from village to village, you needed no provisions. When you arrived at the next village, you didn’t need to carry money, seek a restaurant or a hotel. The villagers would automatically feed you and house you. You would be welcomed, much like the Hawaiians with their inimitable greeting of Aloha! (“I love you!”)

Whenever there was conflict, it was never a private matter. Your family and their family were directly involved. Things got worked out in community. To do a violent act would result in your being shunned. People will go to great lengths to prevent that from ever happening. People weren’t punished for their transgressions. They were made to face their victims and confess their misdeeds. It was then wholly appropriate for the injured person to offer pardon to the offender. As a consequence, the person blamed would do whatever it took to restore the relationship.

Retribution or Reconciliation?

Clint Eastwood’s award-winning film, Invictus, introduces us to Nelson Mandela (played by Morgan Freeman) just before he is released from prison. Mandela had become a celebrated cause of the black South African resistance vehemently opposing apartheid. When Mandela actually became President of South Africa, the minority white Afrikaans of Dutch origin were terrified that he was about the wreak revenge on all the miscreants. Mandela had spent 27 years in deep reflection while breaking rocks. He read a lot and developed into a model prisoner with extended privileges. Mandela looked at his responsibility as President of a “rainbow” nation of different races, different Black tribes, different whites (Dutch and English), and other ethnicities, such as South Asians. Mandela took the High Road. Against all advice, he threw his entire weight behind the white rugby team, the Springboks, who had a dismal record against other countries’ teams and were utterly despised by the Black population. He recruited the team captain, “Francois Pienaar,” (Played by Matt Damon), as his ally. Mandela and Pienaar worked together to motivate the black majority to embrace rugby. Pienaar even visited the black townships and taught the youth the fundamentals of the game. When the final game for the World Cup came, South Africa, against all odds, won the championship.

From Acceptance to Appreciation to Embracing

When we look at South Africa, and remember our own American history, we recall the struggles of black people to win basic acceptance by the whites. No more “separate but equal facilities.” Blacks and whites could share the same toilets, go to the same places and share their lives together. In the 1980’s, sports and the media were increasingly dominated by people of color. Even in elite sports, such as golf, champs arose, eventually producing a Tiger Woods. In the 1980’s, Michael Jackson, Prince and Madonna reigned. Paul McCartney produced his hit “Ebony and Ivory.” Suddenly, blacks were in demand. In the 2000’s, American went from appreciating black people to embracing them, as in the person of President Black Obama, with African blood, only once removed. Not only did white Americans find themselves looking up to blacks, but ended up granting them power, just as South Africa’s F.W. de Klerk granted power to Nelson Mandela.

Ubuntu Celebrates Diversity While Promoting Unity

Many of us were raised with the concept of the “melting pot,” that every American had to conform to a certain stereotype in order to be accepted, whether it was hot dogs and baseball, or Fourth of July fireworks with a keg of beer. In the 1960’s, people gradually moved away from this to celebrating their differences, starting with Black Power and “Black is beautiful.”

Ubuntu not only honors differences; it celebrates them. If you choose to be outrageous and totally out there, so can I. I need you to be you, so that I feel free to be truly me. The U.S. is now moving to a stage where non-whites are a very substantial minority, 35% and growing. In states like California, whites are now actually a minority. Ubuntu recognizes that our differences are a strength whereby we can effectively complement each other. Thank God we are not all intellectuals, or nothing would really get done! Some of us are visionary and passionate, and others of us are crackups that help us hold onto our sanity, if only a day longer. Unity implies diversity, and diversity implies unity. You can’t have one without the other.

From Gandhi to Mandela to Obama

When we recall great men and women, as in Michael Jackson’s spectacular video, Change, we realize that the majority of them were openly human in such a way that they let their common genius hang out. Both Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu shared with the Dalai Lama an irrepressible sense of humor. Gandhi in South Africa explained that his Phoenix ashram meant “a village… or the world.” Gandhi arrived at the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man in a roundabout fashion. Ironically, he became a vegan, not in Bombay, but in London. He read the Bhagavad Gita for the first time in England, as well, introduced to him by white British. Mandela drew upon his South African heritage to make Ubuntu a rallying cry for all South Africans, and all people throughout the planet to come together in a common humanity. He must have taken inspiration from both Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, who went to India to study nonviolence from the legacy of the Mahatma. President Obama took inclusiveness to new levels with his commitment to Gay marriages. Perhaps he went too far for most people’s comfort, but Obama politically established deep acceptance, respect and acknowledgement as his operating principles. Today, it is much easier to join him in saying, “Yes we can!” Recently, some people despair of the legacy of Ubuntu, as many so deeply question it. It is time for us to remember the rallying cry of the activists. “If the people lead, the leaders will follow.” Don’t give up too soon on anyone, even if he is perceived as a tyrant. Love has a way of melting even the most obdurate heart!

The post Ubuntu: What We Can Learn from South Africa appeared first on ConsciousOwl.com.

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teachanarchy · 8 years ago

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On a recent Monday morning, 25 freshmen filed into Rudolph “Keeth” Matheny’s wood-paneled portable classroom on the campus of Austin High School in Austin, Texas. But not before the shake. Matheny greeted each student by name, then extended his hand.

“I won the handshake competition, and there’s an art to it,” one student said. “You have to do webbing to webbing, that’s the trick.” Shake firmly, but not too hard, look the person in the eye, smile. The student demonstrated and, indeed, his handshake was a winner.

The Psychological Approach to Educating Kids

In addition to perfecting handshakes, Matheny, an ex-college football coach, teaches Methods for Academic and Personal Success (MAPS), and he happens to be on the frontlines of a growing movement in education: social-emotional learning (SEL). SEL—also called whole-child education—is a systematic, evidence-based approach to teaching kids how to achieve goals, understand and manage emotions, build empathy, forge relationships, and make responsible decisions. In 2012, the Chicago-based nonprofit Collaborative for Academic Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL) partnered with eight districts around the country to implement SEL in their schools. Today, CASEL is working with 10 large districts—including Anchorage, Alaska; Austin; Chicago; Cleveland; Nashville, Tennessee; and Oakland, California—and a growing number of smaller ones. These partnerships mean more than 1 million U.S. school children are enrolled in schools that have implemented or are in the process of implementing a social-emotional learning strategy.

The day I visited Austin, half of the 90-minute MAPS class was devoted to unveiling students’ life maps—art projects that depict a future career goal and the steps necessary to get there. “It seems simple,” Matheny said. “But kids will take these maps home and put them on their bedroom walls. Sometimes they become really important parts of their lives: They’re visual reminders of what they want and how they’re going to get there.” The other half of the class time was devoted to defeating “victim-itis.” The students read “Invictus,” a poem that was significant to the imprisoned Nelson Mandela. As they exited the classroom, they high-fived Matheny at the door and recited the last two lines of the poem:

“I am the master of my fate;

I am the captain of my soul.”

Much of the recent SEL interest can be linked to two seminal studies. In 2011, a meta-analysis published in the journal Child Development showed an 11 percentile gain in academic achievement for students who participated in a well-implemented SEL program versus students who didn’t. And in 2015, the economist Clive Belfield and colleagues at Teachers College, Columbia University published a study in the Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis that demonstrated a roughly $11 benefit for every $1 spent on a rigorous SEL program. Just about every way to measure student success shows SEL can work. At Austin High, discipline referral rates have been cut in half, and graduation rates are at an all-time high.

Matheny has been at this awhile, long before he even knew the term “SEL.” He developed the initial version of MAPS in 2009. The class was based on a sports-psychology seminar he’d taught to college students for 13 years. That material just happened to dovetail with an interest of Meria Carstarphen, who was the school’s superintendent at the time and the original force behind bringing social-emotional learning to Austin. On Carstarphen’s watch, Austin became one of the first school districts to partner with CASEL. Today, Matheny is the coauthor of a high-school SEL curriculum, and Austin High has become a sort of SEL pilgrimage point. More than 300 educators over the last few years have visited to witness firsthand a model SEL class.

Even during a math or science course, students are encouraged to use SEL concepts like goal-setting or perseverance.

Austin High has two SEL-dedicated teachers, Matheny and his colleague Leslie Oduwole. SEL is delivered as the year-long MAPS course available to freshmen, it’s meted out in smaller doses during “advisory”—a sort of homeroom that all students have—and it’s infused in the culture and climate of the school. So even during a math or science course, students are encouraged to use SEL concepts like goal-setting or perseverance.

Research on SEL says the approach can be effective for kids in urban, suburban, or rural schools, regardless of their academic standing. Matheny said he’s particularly blown away, however, by how effective it is for students who have struggled. For example, Daniel, an 18-year-old Austin High senior, who has battled obsessive-compulsive disorder and anxiety since the age of 9 said of SEL: “It took me a while to warm up to it. But once I did, I learned how to study, how to stay organized, how to have a planner.” In MAPS, Daniel and the other students learned about goal setting, resilience strategies, and nifty hacks such as the Pomodoro Technique, which Daniel said helped reduce his academic stress and anxiety. Most important perhaps, the coursework included calming and focusing techniques and simple breathing and mindfulness exercises, which Daniel now uses daily. He became so enthusiastic about SEL that he started teaching it (part of Austin’s program involves student-led instruction). He’s now Austin High’s valedictorian, and this fall he will be heading to Cambridge, Massachusetts, to run cross country for his new school: Harvard.

I met at least a dozen more SEL ambassadors like Daniel. A young lady in a striped T-shirt dress and sneakers beamed as she told me she got accepted to Texas Tech University in Lubbock. One senior said his parents quit school in ninth grade, and he was destined to do the same. “Throughout school I was the kid who was always sent to the principal, always getting referrals.” Then came Austin High, where he was introduced to SEL. Now his grades place him in the top 2 percent of his graduating class, and he’s been accepted to at least a half dozen colleges. “I want to be an aeronautical engineer,” he said shyly.

* * *

While the research and anecdotal evidence pile up on the side of SEL, there have been questions about its value. A 2010 study by the National Center for Education Research looked at seven SEL-based programs and couldn’t find beneficial results. From the study, titled “Efficacy of Schoolwide Programs to Promote Social and Character Development and Reduce Problem Behavior in Elementary School Children”: “In conclusion, the analysis of the year-by-year impacts did not yield evidence that the seven SACD programs, combined and individually, improved student social and character development.” This study was criticized at the time however (even by one of the investigators) for not using the statistical measures or methods best suited to the data. When the data were analyzed using other methods, positive results were found.

There also are those who oppose social-emotional learning from a political perspective, including the Breitbart News-aligned American Principles Project and Town Hall, websites for conservative news and commentary. Jane Robbins, a senior fellow at the American Principles Project, wrote:

But CASEL & Co. believe the government should take over in case the parents and church don’t do it right—perhaps teaching the wrong attitudes and mindsets.

Suppose the government decides a child will be a more acceptable student, citizen, and worker bee if he learns to acquiesce to the “consensus” of the group, regardless of his own moral standards, or if she learns to accept that all commands of the government must be obeyed. The student may fulfill the standard by developing the correct attitudes, but under whose authority does the government presume to instill attitudes that may conflict with parents’ desires?

But dictating how kids should feel couldn’t be further from what SEL is doing, said Joan Duffell, the executive director of Committee for Children (CFC), a global nonprofit that’s been championing SEL in preschool, elementary, and middle schools for decades. Instead, SEL empowers students to become more engaged citizens. “SEL is not only fundamental to education, but it’s fundamental to raising citizens who actually participate in democratic life.” The formerly communist countries of Lithuania and Slovakia have partnered with CFC to bring social-emotional learning to their schools. “The parents of the current schoolchildren were raised in a generation that didn’t have any power,” Duffell said. Educators there recognized they had to do something to help children develop belief in their own power. “They wanted children to learn how to take responsibility as citizens. SEL teaches kids the skills they need to succeed as adults in a democracy.”

The everyday work of SEL instruction, like the instruction at Austin High, is called “tier 1.” “Tier 2” and “tier 3” include crisis intervention. That’s the work that drove Eric Gordon, the CEO of the Cleveland school district, to change his city’s schools into social-emotional learning environments. In fact, he can pinpoint the day his interest began: October 10, 2007. It was Gordon’s 10th day as an employee in the district and a student, suspended from school, shot two classmates and two teachers before he ended his own life. “We made a promise on that day to never stop talking about what happened and to never allow it to happen again,” Gordon said. He was the chief academic officer at the time, and the superintendent assigned him the task of figuring out how the district should proceed after the tragedy. The American Institutes for Research, a D.C. nonprofit, performed a thorough evaluation of Cleveland schools. Their recommendation: Adopt a serious social-emotional learning strategy.

“We’d live in a better world with far less hate and far better social and emotional health.”

Cleveland has now implemented a rigorous SEL program. “Just recently, a child didn’t make it to school, and we learned he was potentially planning to harm himself,” Gordon said. The student had made a threatening call to school. “We were able to get our safety and security team to locate him with the help of Cleveland police.” A rapid response team worked with the student and got him professional mental health services in a matter of hours. “These are the things that didn’t exist in 2007 and that are now part of our SEL system.”

Cleveland is experiencing an upturn in student enrollment for the first time in years. Math and reading scores, as well as GPAs, are also on the rise. Carstarphen, who recently took over Atlanta schools, is introducing social-emotional learning there, and it’s happening even quicker than she made it happen in Austin. It took Austin Independent School District about four years to get all 129 elementary, middle and high schools converted to SEL learning environments. Even with district-level commitment, there can be hurdles to seeing positive results from SEL programs. “If you use a well-designed curriculum and your implementation is great, the kids benefit and the school gets results,” said Trish Shaffer, the SEL coordinator for Washoe County School District in Nevada. “If a school doesn’t implement the program very well, though, that will show.” Last year, the Aspen Institute, a nonpartisan think tank, launched the National Commission on Social, Emotional and Academic Development. Educators expect the commission, which sunsets at the end of next year, will add further knowledge about how SEL is best integrated into teaching methods and schools. Even with the best implementation, though, some kids will continue to struggle. SEL is not a silver bullet for all that ails children and education.

But it helps.“I’m convinced that if every student in the U.S. had a high-quality SEL program, the United States would be at the top of the education rankings,” Carstarphen said. Or as Matheny sees it: “We’d live in a better world with far less hate and far better social and emotional health.”

#schools #education #pedagogy

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shabby-xo · 8 years ago

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Dear Victoria,

There is a red telephone box outside the school and you have just rung your parents, crying, “I can’t do this, I miss home, I’m not good enough.” And Mum has told you to come home. “We’ll go to Lakeside and buy a new pair of shoes,” she said. It’s tempting. But then Dad got on the phone: “Stay there, prove everyone wrong.” If you’d listened to Mum, you would be going to Lakeside. (Shoes are important, just not right now.) It would be the easy solution. And I’m writing to jolly you along, to offer consolation and encouragement, and to tell you, aged 18, to be strong.

You haven’t forgotten being bullied at school, have you? Do you recall that first day at secondary school? Most children were wearing their own coats and had the latest cool bag, but not you. Kitted out in the full St Mary’s High School uniform, you stood in the freezing playground while other teenagers walking past threw soggy tissues and old Coke cans that they plucked from the puddles. But the thick skin that you developed then is already standing you in good stead, and it will do so for the rest of your life.

Your complexion will sort itself out (in fact you will launch your own make-up brand); as soon as the Eighties are over, your perm will die down, and your weight will settle itself. At school you eat Super Noodles and boxes of Frosties because they say they are fat free, and you will endure many other silly fad diets (including an addiction to green juices). Instead, learn to embrace your imperfections – that is what I want to tell you. Let your skin breathe; wear less make-up. (And don’t ever let that make-up artist shave your eyebrows! The effects last forever.) You will always be addicted to Elnett hairspray but you will tone it down. Less of the “Hello! I just got stuck in a wind tunnel”, please. And I should probably say, don’t mess with your boobs. All those years I denied it – stupid. A sign of insecurity. Just celebrate what you’ve got.

Do answer an ad in The Stage, looking for candidates to form a new girl band. Line up around the block and audition to change your life. You love musicals – Miss Saigon, Cats, Starlight Express and Les Misérables – so you will perform “Mein Herr” from Cabaret, while everyone else sings a Madonna song. You haven’t yet heard of the internet or electronic mail or smartphones. Nor have you perfected the art of the selfie for Instagram (you can’t even turn on a computer right now, and Dad still drives to London to send a telex). But one day you will find that audition performance again online, and at the same time discover that your name brings up 47,800,000 search results on Google.

The judges of the competition will match you to four other girls, all misfits in their own ways. Together you will make it OK to look different. And, as the Spice Girls, you will sell 75 million records. You cannot possibly imagine your future life right now. You will travel on private planes, visit incredible countries, stay in fantastic hotels. (At the beginning, you will steal the hotel mini shampoos, shower gels and conditioners, but you soon realise that they leak in your suitcase – often disastrously.) You will storm into people’s offices, leap on to tables in hotels and go crazy (although you will also be the one checking that the table isn’t going to collapse). You will meet Nelson Mandela, Mariah Carey and Elton John. But please, I implore you, keep a diary. There will be so many amazing moments, and you will forget.

There will also be down days and bad days. You will often be so busy that you will be in a different country every day. And being young and a bit silly, you’ll complain and sit in hotel rooms and moan about being tired. Go out and see the country where you are. Go to galleries, go to museums. Soak up the culture. You are lucky to be there. If you don’t join the Spice Girls, you might always be that insecure person in that little shell, and you will never become who you truly are. With this in mind, be kind, be polite, be considerate of others’ feelings, because I know that every one of us would sit here now and say they’re not the main culprit, but we didn’t fully appreciate each other a lot of the time. So practise what you preach when you sing “friendship never ends”, and celebrate everyone’s uniqueness.

You are going to have so much fun with your clothes – PVC catsuits; chokers that say absurd things; weird spiky blonde hair. It will never occur to you that you appear ridiculous. You will turn up at awards ceremonies resembling a drag queen. But I look back at you and smile. It will add interest to your life to go from one extreme to another. I love the fact that you will feel free to express yourself. Fashion will take on added stature one day, but try not to be stifled by it. You will learn, as you mature, to swap heels for Stan Smith trainers, minidresses for crisp white shirts. And you will never be one of those people who just roll out of bed. Wear sunglasses a lot. Even inside. Especially at airports. They turn a nothing-outfit into something quite pulled together and cool. You are going to really like Aviators. (Then one day you will develop your own!)

On boyfriends and lasting love: learn more about football, especially the offside rule. And yes, love at first sight does exist. It will happen to you in the Manchester United players’ lounge – although you will get a little drunk, so exact details are hazy. While the other football players stand at the bar drinking with their mates, you will see David standing aside with his family. (He’s not even in the first team at this stage – you are the famous one.) And he has such a cute smile. You, too, are close to your family, and you will think how similar he feels to you. He’s going to ask for your number. (He still has the London-to-Manchester plane ticket on which you wrote it.) I’m afraid that most of your first dates will be in car parks, which is not as seedy as it sounds. It is because your manager, Simon Fuller, will warn you, “Don’t let anyone see you out together or you’ll get hounded.” At the time, you won’t understand why.

You are going to be very, very famous, both for the band you form and because of the man you marry, and then later for a fashion business you will launch in your own name. You will get used to fame. Although you cannot set a price on losing privacy, you will learn to use celebrity to your advantage. For good things. For charity. One day you will have the privilege to campaign on behalf of the United Nations to end mother-to-child transmission of HIV and Aids in Africa. And people will listen. Changes will happen. That is not to say you won’t be affected by what you see of yourself in the press. It will hurt you when people comment on your weight. It will continue to upset you whatever age you are, because we women are very tough on ourselves.

The paparazzi will become part of your life, their long lenses waiting. Some are nice, some not. They may make your children cry, or they may give you a compliment – but you will not be able to control every image they publish. When you are pregnant with Brooklyn, they will snap you sitting by the pool at the Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles in a black-and-white bikini, and the picture will make the front page of a British newspaper. It is an unkind shot and so upsetting that for the rest of the tour you will barely leave your hotel or sit outside. And I’m the same now. Do I relax on the beach in a bikini? No. I am still hugely self-critical, and because of that I can be a little uptight. My 60-year-old self would probably say the same thing to me as I am telling you now: enjoy yourself a little more. Be less image-conscious. Learn to relax. You are going to make mistakes – of course you are. You will be super-super-successful, but you will find out that you can lose it all much more quickly than you can earn it. That is a hard lesson to learn. Collectively, I now see, the Spice Girls were victims of our own success, believing we could do anything, that the sky was the limit, that we could do it all on our own. You will learn from that, and when you have another opportunity you will not lose it again.

On being a mother: once you are a parent, you worry. And you are going to have four, so that’s a lot of worry! Mum likes to say, “You might be 42, but I still worry about you.” Children mean that you will be constantly tired and will develop big bags under your eyes. Your children will always come first, but never forget who you are and what you want to achieve. Is it possible to have it all? To be a successful working mother? You will hear this question asked by many women as you grow older. What you will realise is that by working hard, yet always putting family first, it will be possible to achieve that balance. Nothing will be perfect, but it is only now that I have learnt to appreciate all I have and all I have been blessed with. I am happy.

A word on school sports day: never wear platform heels and flares if you have to take part in the mothers’ race. And never believe another mum when she says she will stick with you at the back of the race. Because she won’t. And when they announce, “It’s the taking part that counts,” it’s not. It’s all about winning. You will shout at home but never at work. Be a nice boss. Ultimately, go with what you think, but don’t smother those who are talented. (If they are not, then admittedly I get frustrated – I’m not very tolerant.)

On marriage: have patience. Bite your tongue. Be supportive. And preserve a bit of mystique. Never let yourself go completely (at least brush your hair, clean your teeth, have a bit of a brow going on because you will always want him to look at you and feel attracted). Always make time for each other. Because if you don’t, everything will revolve around the children and I’m not sure how sexy that is! And do not forget the person you fell in love with. You will follow your man around the world, moving from Manchester to Spain, and then America. In Spain you will revel in watching him enjoy some of his best footballing days. Spain is also where you will lay the foundations for your own fashion brand by collaborating with others on denim and sunglasses.

But I need to warn you: a lot of your time there will be really hard. I’m not afraid to say now what a horribly difficult time it was. People will say awful things. You will be a laughing stock. Every time you turn on the television or look at a newspaper it will seem as though someone is having a go at you and your family. You will learn how mean other women can be. (And it will teach you always to support the women around you, to take them on a journey with you.) Others would crack under the pressure, but you won’t. Use that time to close off, to focus, work hard and protect the children. In relationships people will throw obstacles in your way, and you either manoeuvre around them or you trip up. You will never discuss with David how many children you both want; you don’t say to each other, “Where shall we live?” You don’t discuss any of that because you will be young and in love. Even when you don’t necessarily want the same thing, your support for each other will mean that you will stick together and grow up together. And it will be worth it.

Most days, you will look at your life and think, “Wow! I was never the one who was supposed to get all this.” I want to tell you that I still feel that way now. Recently I was in New York for the British Vogue cover shoot in a penthouse at the Carlyle hotel. I looked out of the window and I could see the sun shining and all the yellow cabs below and I pinched myself. You are going to have many of those moments. Don’t take them for granted.

#vogue #idol

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