13.3 University Policies

13.3 University Policies

Site URL's:

1. Texas Womans University: https://twu.edu/dps/emergency-notification-lockdown/active-shooter-awareness/  
2. University of North Texas: https://police.unt.edu/active_shooter
3. University of A&M: https://www.tamu.edu/emergency/procedures/shooter.html

All of these sites include information about "Run. Hide.Fight", what to do when police arrive, and recognizing possible clues of a threatening person. The sites differ based on how much information they have and how the information is displayed. TWU has the most information about what to do in the event of an active shooter, even advice on how to handle and prepare for the situation with any at any time, not just on the university. UNT has little information on the direct link, you have to click on the poster to see their information, which doesn't seem to be as effective as getting the information across. Texas A&M a good amount of information for the active shooter on campus but also has other links on the side of the page that lead to other traumatic events such a bomb threat, which I thought was a good resource I did not see on the other university sites. It was very easy to find all of this information from all of these universities as I just typed it in a google search. Something I would add to the information on these sites is examples of place to hide and how to know if it is safe to open any doors to authorities. Personally, I am not just going to open the door for someone saying they are with the police department. Also, there is not anything on the sites about if it is safe to get to your car if you can and drive off campus. The sites all say run if you can but does that mean just running away as far as you can or does that also mean get in your car and drive across campus to get off campus if you can? For example, at TWU you have to usually drive down a long road through campus to get off campus, is it safe to do that or could that put you closer to the shooter?

5.3 LGBQ Parents and Schools

5.3 LGBQ Parents and Schools

One way to make schools safer for children of LGBQ parents and for the parents themselves is for schools to enforce anti-bullying and anti-discrimination policies. A study done by the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network states that "Schools must also have comprehensive anti-bullying and anti-discrimination policies that protect all students from harassment and include clear and effective systems for reporting and addressing incidents that students experience" (2008). This can help children of LGBQ parents and their parents at school events and on the average school day. If the children in school are expected to be accepting of others then this could diminish harassment toward children LGBQ parents and students who have different sexual orientations and identities. Though schools can have these policies in place, they must also be enforced for them to be effective. Teachers and administrators need to believe in their policies an enforce them so that there can be a difference for these students. All students should feel safe at their schools so that can have a positive learning experience.

Reference

Kosciw, J. G., & Diaz, E. M. (2008). Involved, Invisible, Ignored: The Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and
 Transgender Parents and Their Children in Our Nation's K-12 Schools. Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education 
 Network (GLSEN). 121 West 27th Street Suite 804, New York, NY 10001.

16.3 Coping with Economic Stress

16.3 Coping with Economic Stress

Though I am still living with my parents because I am trying to get through school with as little financial stress as possible, I still have an economic stress that I may have for the rest of my life. I am a preschool teacher and I absolutely LOVE my job. This is what I want to do for as long as I can. Going to work is the time of the week I enjoy in between school and personal responsibilities. Although I love what I do, the pay does not make it easy to choose this profession as a career. Teachers in general do not make enough money for what they do, preschool teachers are no different as they work on an hourly basis. The economic stress that I have because of my choice to be happy in my career rather then make money is that I will never be able to support myself entirely on my own with my dream job. With how our society is today with a 50% divorce rate and the cost of living increasing it is scary to think that I may have to give up what I love to do for money to support myself and my family one day. Even if my partner makes enough money to support our family we will be limited by my small income. I have already accepted that I will most likely only be able to have one child so that I can give my all to the child instead of giving only a little to multiple children. I am 100% fine with this but it is stressful to know that if I keep doing what I love, then I will never be able to support a family or live on my own by myself securely. Having to rely on others for so much can be difficult to wrap my head around but I believe that if I am happy in my career, which people spend a lot of their time at work, then it is all worth it and will work out. My father has taught me the life lesson of always do what makes you happy instead of what makes the most money. 

9.4 Policies for Immigrant Families

9.4 Policies for Immigrant Families

Policies that are in place for immigrant families according to the text:

1. Temporary Assistance of Needy Families
2. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
3. Supplemental Security Income
4. Children's Health Insurance Program
5. Medicaid
6. College Financial Aid

These are some of the programs and policies that have been put into place for immigrants. Thought it is great that the USA has these helpful policies in place, they are not as helpful as they seem. The problem with most of these polices are the waiting periods, the punishments for using them, and the limited amount of immigrants that they can help. First, the waiting period for immigrants to use these policies has increased because of welfare reform. Immigrants must now wait 3-5 years before using most of these resources. This is a very long time for immigrant families to wait to get the assistance they need to help support their families and reasons for migrating. After 5 years immigrants may not need as much help as they would when first coming to the USA with barely any resources to aid their migration. Immigrants need this help as soon as they enter into the USA because that is most likely the most challenging time for their families. Second, the punishment for using these programs could be devastating to the immigrants. After working very hard to get the USA or get their families to the USA, deportation for trying to utilize helpful resources is too risky. This makes it even harder for immigrant families to get the support they need. Third, most government assistance programs are for refugees. Other immigrant statuses do not have as many options as immigrant refugees but immigrants of all status may need the same assistance. There definitely needs to be some reform to these programs, as they are not helping everyone that they could be. 

9.3 Adaption vs Assimilation

9.3 Adaption vs Assimilation

The adaptation for immigrants are greatly effected by their perceptions of their stressors. If the immigrant(s) perception is positive and their possible culture values of family is strong then this could help buffer the stressors that could come along with migrating. If an immigrant is questioning their choice to migrate then the stressors could have a larger effect on the immigrant(s) and their families. Cultural values, such as family togetherness, could be a great support and encouragement for immigrants. Some policies are also some in place to help immigrants adapt to their new environment, which are public assistance programs, unless the immigrant is of certain status such as a refugee, who have other programs in place for them. Through there are these programs, immigrant still face a lot of stressors due to the limited amount of options they have for assistance at such a challenging time for their families.Most immigrants need other resources to help them. These other resources include laws that have been put in place, religious institutions, and places that offer similar culture as their own. For example, immigrant children are given the right to be taught English at school, this way there is someone with some English speaking ability in every family with children. There are also programs offered to refugees that can help with language barriers, work training, and other skills to help transition their families to a new country. With these policies, programs, and community assistance in place, immigrant families can try as best they can to either adapt or assimilate if they choose too. Adaption is changing certain parts about the familial dynamic or economic factors to help adapt to their new home, these changes are usually long term but families can still keep their original way of life as best as they can. Assimilation is different, to assimilate is to complete take on what is around you. Immigrants who assimilate take on the surrounding environment and society and make it their own as well. 

3.5 Parenting: Movie and ABC-X Model

3.5 Parenting: Movie and ABC-X Model

Movie: "The Switch"

A: Stressors for the parents

• Stubborn Child
• Deciding to have a child while you are single
• Having a child from a sperm donor
• Being away while your child needs your attention
• Distance from friends for long periods of time
• Starting a new job
• Dating with a child
• Fights with family or friends
• Lice or other illness
• Moving states with your child
• Keeping up a connection with a sperm donor
• Finding out that you have a kid 
• Finding out that you "high-jacked" someones pregnancy
• Being told to stay away from those you love
• Change in family structure with the addition of a father

B: Resources

Social support from friends, money, doctors and medical experts, counseling and therapies, support groups, technologies, internet, grocery stores to quickly pick up what you need, personality for patience, honesty, and determination, parenting resources, and transportation

C: Perceptions

• Moving with my child across states will be hard
• Moving back to my friends is so exciting
• What if I am doing the wrong things having a child on my own this way
• Why would someone ever get pregnant on their own 
• I am so glad that she is happy with her decisions and her child
• I cant believe that I am a father, this could be terrible or amazing
• I will loose my best friend forever if I tell the truth
• If she marries another man I will loose the chance to be with her forever
• What if my child hates where we are moving, what if he loves it
• My child could be so upset that I wasn't there when he needed me 
• My child can rely on my friends and that is great for us
• I love my kid so much I have to figure out how to keep him in my life

x: Crisis

The crisis in this movie is a breaking point when the two best friends stop talking to each other and broke up their family because the other was honest with terrible news. This could have been avoided if the friends properly communicated throughout the movie. The proper communication should have started when Wally "high-jacked" a pregnancy while he was drunk, instead of replacing the sperm Wally should have told someone what happened. Communication also could have changed things if Wally was honest with Cassie as soon as possible about his wrong doings when he remembered what happened instead of getting caught in his emotions, this could have prevented a lot of challenges for everyone. The lack of communication and bad choices lead to crisis in this family.

3.4 Parenting: resources for Parental Stress

3.4 Parenting: resources for Parental Stress

3 websites that offer advice on coping with parental stress.

1. 8 tips for coping with parental stress

• Sponsor: Pacficia
• https://www.thinkpacifica.com/blog/8-tips-for-coping-with-parenting-stress/
• This page has 8 helpful tips on how to cope with parental stress. The 8 tips include: "Attend to your self care", "It takes a village", "Progress, not perfection", "Practicing mindfulness or relaxation exercises", "Let yourself be a kid again", "Pick your battles", "Making your relationship a priority", and "Done read ever parenting article out there". Each tip had a short paragraph to explain what the writer intended by the tip. 

2. 9 Steps To Stress-Free Parenting

• Writer: Susan Stiffelman
• https://www.huffpost.com/entry/nine-steps-to-stress-free-parenting_n_1403209
• This page is a set up in the form of a reader asking a questions about stress from being a parent and then someone from the website writes them back with advice. The writer of the article suggest that there are 9 things a parent can do to help manage their stress, they are to "Get enough sleep', "Don't take things personally". "Exercise", Do not aim for perfection, "Breathe in, breathe out", "Play", "Get support", and "Do one thing a time".

3. Stressed Out? Try These Helpful Ways To Ease Parenting Stress

• Sponsor: Child Development Institute
• https://childdevelopmentinfo.com/how-to-be-a-parent/angry_child/stress/#.XQJy1vlKjIU
• This article starts by acknowledging that parenting is stressful and how parents can get so stressed, this allows parents to relate to the article quickly. The article then goes in, briefly, on how to perform "Progressive Relaxation" on oneself, how to "Breathe Deeply" and "How To Take a Mental Vacation". Finally, the article gives 50 other ways to relax with proven stress reducers in short bullet points. 

Questions:

Some of the most common tips to stress free parenting or coping with stress in these 3 articles were to practice meditative breathing, playing, and try not to make everything perfect. The tip that I found to be the most interesting, that was found in all of these articles, was to play like a child. Playing with Legos or finger painting has been found to be a great way to help relieve stress for people of all ages. Another common message that all of the articles focused on was taking time for yourself and practicing proper breathing. Self-care seems to be very important for everyone, especially parents. Simple things like take a few moments for yourself and getting enough sleep can really help parents cope with stress and not have breakdowns. Some realistic strategies that I saw were some that we talked about in class. For example, taking a few minutes for yourself when coming home from work so that you can be ready to interact with your family and not bring the work stress home. Again, playing seems to be like a great coping strategy, you could even do this with your child to get in some extra bonding time and keep them occupied as well. I think most of these strategies seem realistic and easily doable for parents as most of them only take a short time and can be used as soon as the stress becomes to much, or better yet, be used as a preventative for excess stress. 

Parenting: Normative vs Non-normative stressors

Parenting: Normative vs Non-normative Stressors

The difference between a normative stressor and a non-normative stressors is that a normative stressor are a part of everyday life while non-normative stressors disrupt everyday life.

Normative:

1. Traffic on your way to work
2. Going to the grocery store
3. Feeding your infant
4. Paying bills
5. Cleaning your house

Non-normative stressors:

1. Death of a loved one
2. Teenage pregnancy
3. A natural disaster
4. Diagnosis
5. Child getting arrested

Introduction

Hi! My name is Catherine Santowski, but I go by Catie. Starting this summer I am a Senior who hopes to graduate in the spring of 2020! My major is Child development and I may pursue my Family Life Educator certification after graduation. I work with 3 year old a preschool and I LOVE it, preschool aged children are my passion. My dream job is to be a lead teacher for either 3 or 4 year old. I am really excited about this class, I love the flexibility and the topics seem very interesting. Good luck to everyone this semester!