Archive | November, 2013

I-Best adult education prepares adult education students for employment

5 Nov

Moi wrote in The International Baccalaureate program and vocational students:
There is an “arms race” going on in American Education. More people are asking whether college is the right choice for many. The U.S. has de-emphasized high quality vocational and technical training in the rush to increase the number of students who proceed to college in pursuit of a B.A. Often a graduate degree follows. The Harvard paper, Pathways to Prosperity argues for more high quality vocational and technical opportunities:

The implication of this work is that a focus on college readiness alone does not equip young people with all of the skills and abilities they will need in the workplace, or to successfully complete the transition from adolescence to adulthood. This was highlighted in a 2008 report published by Child Trends, which compared research on the competencies required for college readiness, workplace readiness and healthy youth development. The report found significant overlaps. High personal expectations, self-management, critical thinking, and academic achievement are viewed as highly important for success in all three areas. But the report also uncovered some striking differences. For instance: while career planning, previous work experience, decision making, listening skills, integrity, and creativity are all considered vital in the workplace, they hardly figure in college readiness.
http://www.gse.harvard.edu/news_events/features/2011/Pathways_to_Prosperity_Feb2011.pdf

There is a reluctance to promote vocational opportunities in the U.S. because the is a fear of tracking individuals into vocational training and denying certain groups access to a college education. The comprise could be a combination of both quality technical training with a solid academic foundation. Individuals may have a series of careers over the course of a career and a solid foundation which provides a degree of flexibility is desired for survival in the future. See, Why go to college? https://drwilda.wordpress.com/2011/11/28/why-go-to-college/

The International Baccalaureate program and vocational students

Kavitha Cardozo of NPR reported in the article, How To Turn Adult Education Into Careers, Quickly:

From The Classroom To The Workplace
Students going through this program are pretty typical of what you’d find in any adult education class across the country. They’ve often dropped out of high school, have low levels of reading and math, many don’t speak English fluently.
Through this program, they can take college-level courses and earn certificates in any of the almost 200 courses offered, from medical billing to welding to building maintenance.
I-BEST programs teach students specific skills that employers value.
Millions of adults who grew up speaking a language other than English are still held back by their language skills..
Students at Shoreline Community College have just finished the theory portion of an auto mechanics class, where they learned about the physics of manual transmissions. Then it’s a quick change into overalls and the hands-on part begins.
This class isn’t child’s play though. Instructor Mark Hankins says students have to learn the complex systems of today’s cars so at the end of the program, “they can go out and do a brake job, they can do fluid replacement, they can do inspections.
“And those are the kind of jobs that there’s a big need for,” he says.
All I-BEST programs have to demonstrate that students can get jobs paying a living wage when they graduate. In most parts of Washington state, that’s $13 an hour.
C.J. Forza says his brain “just clicks with engines.” He dropped out of school in the 12th grade; he’s now 31. He loves cars so much he works part time in a mechanic shop already. Forza’s now learning the “why,” not just the “how,” of repairs.
“Instead of just guessing at what it is, I’m more able to figure out, OK, this issue can be caused by this, this or this,” he says.
Like most adults here, Forza is managing many responsibilities, without much money to hold his life together. But he sticks it out because he can see exactly what the connection is between this class and his career.
At the end of one year, Forza will have a certificate in general auto mechanics and will see his pay jump from $10 an hour to $15.
“I want to be the breadwinner of my family. I have a 3-year-old daughter that I need to raise. I want a career not a job,” he says.
‘Not Everybody Has Bootstraps’
Instructor Hankins says this program really does make a difference.
“I have a student that is now a general manager of a dealership, and I’m sure he’s making two or three times more salary than I am right now,” he says with a laugh.
It can take years before adults in typical adult education programs can take college courses. But what makes I-BEST unusual is that it shortens that time by bypassing the GED exam completely. Students in a Washington state community college program who earn an associate’s degree can receive a high school diploma retroactively.
I-BEST’s Erickson says that when people talk about the program’s success, they often focus on the numbers and the model and the research. But at its heart, she says, I-BEST is about giving people another chance.
“A lot of people will say, ‘Why can’t they just pull themselves up by their bootstraps?’ But not everybody has bootstraps or even boots,” she says.
Erickson says if we can create opportunities to get more people educated and into the workforce, why shouldn’t we?
http://www.npr.org/2013/11/02/241897572/how-to-turn-adult-education-into-careers-quickly?utm_medium=Email&utm_source=share&utm_campaign=

Here is a description of the Washington program from the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges.:

Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training
(I-BEST)
________________________________________
Washington’s Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training Program (I-BEST) is a nationally recognized model that quickly boosts students’ literacy and work skills so that students can earn credentials, get living wage jobs, and put their talents to work for employers.
I-BEST pairs two instructors in the classroom – one to teach professional and technical content and the other to teach basic skills in reading, math, writing or English language – so students can move through school and into jobs faster. As students progress through the program, they learn basic skills in real-world scenarios offered by the job-training part of the curriculum.
I-BEST challenges the traditional notion that students must complete all basic education before they can even start a job-training program. This approach often discourages students because it takes more time, and the stand-alone basic skills classes do not qualify for college credit. I-BEST students start earning college credits immediately.
A Benefit to the Economy
Talent and skills determine the competitive edge in today’s economy, yet one out of every six people in Washington lacks the basic reading, writing and math skills to get living-wage jobs and meet the needs of employers. This segment of Washington’s population is growing quickly at the same time that most jobs now require college experience. By 2019, two-thirds of all new jobs in Washington State will require at least one year of college education.
In order to have a vibrant economy, Washington employers need access to skilled, credentialed workers and all residents need access to opportunities that allow them to earn a living wage.
In Washington’s 34 community and technical colleges, I-BEST pairs workforce training with ABE or ESL so students learn literacy and workplace skills at the same time. Adult literacy and vocational instructors work together to develop and deliver instruction. Colleges provide higher levels of support and student services to address the needs of non-traditional students. There are more than 170 approved programs, expanding each year since the 2006 launch of I-BEST. State Board staff provide colleges with technical assistance and information on best practices to ensure low-income students successfully complete integrated programs and find family wage careers.
Why I-BEST Was Developed
The SBCTC developed Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) to address the changing needs of employers and students. It tested traditional notions that students must first complete all levels of adult basic education before they can advance in workforce education training programs.
In Washington state, over half of the students come to community and technical colleges with the goal of getting to work. Research showed that students were not transitioning to higher levels of education.
“Only 13 percent of the students who started in ESL programs went on to earn at least some college credits. Less than one-third (30 percent) of adult basic education (ABE/GED) students made the transition to college-level courses. Only four to six percent of either group ended up getting 45 or more college credits or earning a certificate or degree within five years.”
Building Pathways to Success for Low-Skill Adult Students:
Lessons for Community College Policy and Practice
from a Longitudinal Student Tracking Study
(Prince, Jenkins: April 2005).
I-BEST moves students further and faster to certificate and degree completion. As a result, I-BEST was designed to directly transition into college-level programs and help students build skills that will move them forward.
The I-BEST Model
• I-BEST programs must include college-level professional-technical credits that are required of all students in the selected program and are part of a career pathway.
• All students must qualify for federally supported levels of basic skills education.
• Students must be pre-tested using CASAS (the standardized test used statewide to assess ABE and ESL students).
• An instructor from basic skills and an instructor from the professional-technical program must jointly instruct in the same classroom with at least a 50 percent overlap of the instructional time.
• Faculty must develop integrated program outcomes, jointly plan curriculum, and jointly assess student learning and skill development.
• I-BEST programs must appear on the demand list for the local area and meet a minimum set wage.
Questions about I-BEST?
Contact Louisa Erickson, SBCTC, lerickson@sbctc.edu or 360-704-4368.
Top of page
© 2013 Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges.
http://www.sbctc.ctc.edu/college/e_integratedbasiceducationandskillstraining.aspx

There shouldn’t be a one size fits all in education and parents should be honest about what education options will work for a particular child. Even children from the same family may find that different education options will work for each student.

Resources:

Vocational Education Myths and Realities
http://www.fape.org/idea/How_it_works/voced_myths_8.html

Vocational Education in the United States, The Early 1990s
http://nces.ed.gov/pubs/web/95024-2.asp

Related:
The International Baccalaureate program and vocational students https://drwilda.com/2011/11/29/the-international-baccalaureate-program-and-vocational-students/
What is the National Association of Manufacturers ‘Skills Certification’ https://drwilda.com/tag/vocational-education-career-mapping/
Borrowing from work: Schools teach career mapping

Borrowing from work: Schools teach career mapping


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The 11/04/13 Joy Jar

4 Nov

Today is the beginning of moi’s personal jubilee year. It begins with this Bible passage:

For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord, “they are plans of good and not of disaster, to give you a future and hope.”
Jeremiah 29 verse 11

Today’s deposit into the ‘Joy Jar’ is the ‘Jubilee Year,’

Here are some great passages about hope from Dance Lightly With Life:

Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.
The important thing is not to stop questioning.
– Albert Einstein

All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.
– Walt Disney

If you can dream it, you can do it.
– Walt Disney

While there’s life, there’s hope.
– Cicero

When the world says, “Give up,”
Hope whispers, “Try it one more time.”
– Anonymous

I don’t know the key to success,
but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.
– Bill Cosby

When you get the choice to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance.
– Lee Ann Womack

Whoever is happy will make others happy too.
– Anne Frank

It’s really a wonder that I haven’t dropped all my ideals, because they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out. Yet I keep them, because in spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart.
– Anne Frank

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.
– Anne Frank

Hate destroys, Love builds.
Hate tears down, Love renews and creates.
Hatred holds no hope for the future.
Love creates Today as its own better future.
– Jonathan Lockwood Huie

A true friend is a source of strength and hope.
– Jonathan Lockwood Huie

The hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined nonconformists who are dedicated to justice, peace and brotherhood.
– Martin Luther King, Jr.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness;
only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate;
only love can do that.
– Martin Luther King, Jr.

Positive thinking will let you do everything better than negative thinking will.
– Zig Ziglar

Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile,
but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.
-Thich Nhat Hanh

I am determined to be cheerful and happy in whatever situation I may find myself.
For I have learned that the greater part of our misery or unhappiness
is determined not by our circumstance but by our disposition.
– Martha Washington

Men cannot for long live hopefully unless they are embarked upon some great unifying enterprise – one for which they may pledge their lives, their fortunes and their honor.
– C. A. Dykstra

To be 70 years young is sometimes far more cheerful and hopeful than to be 40 years old.
– Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

Hopeful thinking can get you out of your fear zone and into your appreciation zone.
– Martha Beck

We all have possibilities we don’t know about.
We can do things we don’t even dream we can do.
– Dale Carnegie

Develop success from failures.
Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success.
– Dale Carnegie

First ask yourself: What is the worst that can happen?
Then prepare to accept it. Then proceed to improve on the worst.
– Dale Carnegie

Do the thing you fear to do and keep on doing it… that is the quickest and surest way ever yet discovered to conquer fear.
– Dale Carnegie

Happiness doesn’t depend on any external conditions, it is governed by our mental attitude.
– Dale Carnegie

Everything that is done in the world is done by hope.
– Martin Luther

Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.
– Helen Keller

We can do anything we want to if we stick to it long enough.
– Helen Keller

Science may have found a cure for most evils;
but it has found no remedy for the worst of them all – the apathy of human beings.
– Helen Keller

Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow.
– Helen Keller

Self-pity is our worst enemy and if we yield to it, we can never do anything wise in this world.
– Helen Keller

Life is either a great adventure or nothing.
– Helen Keller

Your success and happiness lies in you.
Resolve to keep happy, and your joy
and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.
– Helen Keller

Hope is like peace. It is not a gift from God. It is a gift only we can give one another.
– Elie Wiesel

Just as despair can come to one only from other human beings,
hope, too, can be given to one only by other human beings.
– Elie Wiesel

Faith has to do with things that are not seen and hope with things that are not at hand.
– Saint Thomas Aquinas.

Hope is a waking dream.
– Aristotle

Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.
– Martin Luther King, Jr.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted,
every hill and mountain shall be made low,
the rough places will be made straight
and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.
– Martin Luther King, Jr.

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
-Reinhold Niebuhr

If you’re alive, there’s a purpose for your life.
– Rick Warren

Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul.
– Emily Dickinson

Hope is patience with the lamp lit.
– Tertullian

Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement.
Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.
– Helen Keller

Faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light.
– Helen Keller

It’s wonderful to climb the liquid mountains of the sky.
Behind me and before me is God and I have no fears.
– Helen Keller

There are only two ways to live your life.
One is as though nothing is a miracle.
The other is as though everything is a miracle.
– Albert Einstein

To eat bread without hope is still slowly to starve to death.
– Pearl S. Buck

To see a vibrant, exciting, and hopeful world, view the world through joyful eyes.
– Jonathan Lockwood Huie
http://www.dancelightly.com/hope-hopeful.php

Here is to the beginning of a year of great growth and accomplishment.

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New federal guidelines for schools regarding student allergies

4 Nov

Moi wrote about allergies in Food allergies can be deadly for some children:
If one is not allergic to substances, then you probably don’t pay much attention to food allergies. The parents and children in one Florida classroom are paying a lot of attention to the subject of food allergies because of the severe allergic reaction one child has to peanuts. In the article, Peanut Allergy Stirs Controversy At Florida Schools Reuters reports:

Some public school parents in Edgewater, Florida, want a first-grade girl with life-threatening peanut allergies removed from the classroom and home-schooled, rather than deal with special rules to protect her health, a school official said.
“That was one of the suggestions that kept coming forward from parents, to have her home-schooled. But we’re required by federal law to provide accommodations. That’s just not even an option for us,” said Nancy Wait, spokeswoman for the Volusia County School District.
Wait said the 6-year-old’s peanut allergy is so severe it is considered a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
To protect the girl, students in her class at Edgewater Elementary School are required to wash their hands before entering the classroom in the morning and after lunch, and rinse out their mouths, Wait said, and a peanut-sniffing dog checked out the school during last week’s spring break….
Chris Burr, a father of two older students at the school whose wife has protested at the campus, said a lot of small accommodations have added up to frustration for many parents.
“If I had a daughter who had a problem, I would not ask everyone else to change…. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/22/us-peanut-allergy-idUSTRE72L7AQ20110322

More children seem to have peanut allergies.
See, More school battles about peanut allergies https://drwilda.com/tag/allergy/

Mike Stobbe of AP reported in the article, Feds post food allergy guidelines for schools:

ATLANTA (AP) — The federal government is issuing its first guidelines to schools on how to protect children with food allergies.
The voluntary guidelines call on schools to take such steps as restricting nuts, shellfish or other foods that can cause allergic reactions, and make sure emergency allergy medicine — like EpiPens — are available.
About 15 states — and numerous individual schools or school districts — already have policies of their own. “The need is here” for a more comprehensive, standardized way for schools to deal with this issue, said Dr. Wayne Giles, who oversaw development of the advice for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Food allergies are a growing concern. A recent CDC survey estimated that about 1 in 20 U.S. children have food allergies — a 50 percent increase from the late 1990s. Experts aren’t sure why cases are rising.
Many food allergies are mild and something children grow out of. But severe cases may cause anaphylactic shock or even death from eating, say, a peanut.
The guidelines released Wednesday were required by a 2011 federal law.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/30/school-allergy-guidelines_n_4177867.html?utm_hp_ref=email_share

Here is information from the Centers for Disease Control about the guidelines:

Food Allergies in Schools
Food allergies are a growing food safety and public health concern that affect an estimated 4%–6% of children in the United States.1, 2 Allergic reactions can be life threatening and have far-reaching effects on children and their families, as well as on the schools or early care and education (ECE) programs they attend. Staff who work in schools and ECE programs should develop plans for preventing an allergic reaction and responding to a food allergy emergency.
Voluntary Guidelines for Managing Food Allergies In Schools and Early Care and Education Programs [PDF – 10MB]
Food Allergy Guidelines FAQs [PDF – 163KB]
What is a Food Allergy?
A food allergy occurs when the body has a specific and reproducible immune response to certain foods.3 The body’s immune response can be severe and life threatening, such as anaphylaxis. Although the immune system normally protects people from germs, in people with food allergies, the immune system mistakenly responds to food as if it were harmful.
Eight foods or food groups account for 90% of serious allergic reactions in the United States: milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, wheat, soy, peanuts, and tree nuts.3
Symptoms of Food Allergy in Children
Symptoms Communicated by Children with Food Allergies4
• It feels like something is poking my tongue.
• My tongue (or mouth) is tingling (or burning).
• My tongue (or mouth) itches.
• My tongue feels like there is hair on it.
• My mouth feels funny.
• There’s a frog in my throat; there’s something stuck in my throat.
• My tongue feels full (or heavy).
• My lips feel tight.
• It feels like there are bugs in there (to describe itchy ears).
• It (my throat) feels thick.
• It feels like a bump is on the back of my tongue (throat).
The symptoms and severity of allergic reactions to food can be different between individuals, and can also be different for one person over time. Anaphylaxis is a sudden and severe allergic reaction that may cause death.5 Not all allergic reactions will develop into anaphylaxis.
Food Allergies in Schools
• Children with food allergies are two to four times more likely to have asthma or other allergic conditions than those without food allergies.1
• The prevalence of food allergies among children increased 18% during 1997–2007, and allergic reactions to foods have become the most common cause of anaphylaxis in community health settings.1,6
• In 2006, about 88% of schools had one or more students with a food allergy.7

Treatment and Prevention of Food Allergies in Children
There is no cure for food allergies. Strict avoidance of the food allergen is the only way to prevent a reaction. However, since it is not always easy or possible to avoid certain foods, staff in schools and ECE programs should develop plans to deal with allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis. Early and quick recognition and treatment of allergic reactions that may lead to anaphylaxis can prevent serious health problems or death.
Voluntary Guidelines for Managing Food Allergies In Schools and Early Care and Education Programs
In consultation with the U.S. Department of Education and a number of other federal agencies, CDC developed the Voluntary Guidelines for Managing Food Allergies in Schools and Early Care and Education Centers [PDF – 10MB] in fulfillment of the 2011 FDA Food Safety Modernization Act to improve food safety in the United States. Download Food Allergy Guidelines FAQs [PDF – 163KB].
The Voluntary Guidelines for Managing Food Allergies provide practical information and planning steps for parents, district administrators, school administrators and staff, and ECE program administrators and staff to develop or strengthen plans for food allergy management and prevention. The Voluntary Guidelines for Managing Food Allergies include recommendations for each of the five priority areas that should be addressed in each school’s or ECE program’s Food Allergy Management Prevention Plan:
1. Ensure the daily management of food allergies in individual children.
2. Prepare for food allergy emergencies.
3. Provide professional development on food allergies for staff members.
4. Educate children and family members about food allergies.
5. Create and maintain a healthy and safe educational environment.
References
1. Branum AM, Lukacs SL. Food allergy among U.S. children: trends in prevalence and hospitalizations. NCHS Data Brief. 2008;10:1-8.
2. Liu AH, Jaramillo R, Sicherer SH, et al. National prevalence and risk factors for food allergy and relationship to asthma: results from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2005-2006. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2010;126(4):798-806.e13.
3. Boyce JA, Assa’ad A, Burks AW, et al; NIAID-Sponsored Expert Panel. Guidelines for the diagnosis and management of food allergy in the United States: report of the NIAID-sponsored expert panel. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2010;126(suppl 6):S1-S58.
4. The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network. Food Allergy News. 2003;13(2).
5. Sampson HA, Munoz-Furlong A, Campbell RL, et al. Second symposium on the definition and management of anaphylaxis: summary report—Second National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease/Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network Symposium. Ann Emerg Med. 2006;47(4):373-380.
6. Decker WW, Campbell RL, Manivannan V, et al. The etiology and incidence of anaphylaxis in Rochester, Minnesota: a report from the Rochester Epidemiology Project. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2008;122(6):1161-1165.
7. O’Toole TP, Anderson S, Miller C, Guthrie J. Nutrition services and foods and beverages available at school: results from the School Health Policies and Programs Study 2006. J Sch Health. 2007;77:500-521.
Voluntary Guidelines for Managing Food Allergies In Schools and Early Care and Education Programs [PDF – 10MB]
Food Allergy Guidelines FAQs [PDF – 163KB]
http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/foodallergies/

It requires a great deal of tact and give and take on the part of parents and the school to produce a workable situation for students, the child with the allergy, and parents.
A physical examination is important for children to make sure that there are no health problems. The University of Arizona Department of Pediatrics has an excellent article which describes Pediatric History and Physical Examination http://www.peds.arizona.edu/medstudents/Physicalexamination.asp The article goes on to describe how the physical examination is conducted and what observations and tests are part of the examination. The Cincinnati Children’s Hospital describes the Process of the Physical Examination http://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/health/p/exam/
If children have allergies, parents must work with their schools to prepare a allergy health plan.

Resources:

Micheal Borella’s Chicago-Kent Law Review article, Food Allergies In Public Schools: Toward A Model Code http://www.cklawreview.com/wp-content/uploads/vol85no2/Borella.pdf

USDA’s Accommodating Children With Special Dietary Needs http://www.k12.wa.us/ChildNutrition/pubdocs/SpecialDietaryNeeds.PDF

Child and Teen Checkup Fact Sheet http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/fh/mch/ctc/factsheets.html

Video: What to Expect From A Child’s Physical Exam http://on.aol.com/video/what-to-expect-from-a-childs-physical-exam-325661948

Where information leads to Hope. © Dr. Wilda.com

Dr. Wilda says this about that ©

Blogs by Dr. Wilda:

COMMENTS FROM AN OLD FART© http://drwildaoldfart.wordpress.com/

Dr. Wilda Reviews © http://drwildareviews.wordpress.com/

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The 11/03/13 Joy Jar

3 Nov

Moi wrote about respect for life in The death cult of the secular ruling elite: Belgium to consider law to grant euthanasia for children, dementia patients https://drwilda.com/2013/11/02/the-death-cult-of-the-secular-ruling-elite-belgium-to-consider-law-to-grant-euthanasia-for-children-dementia-patients/

Today’s deposit into the ‘Joy Jar’ is respect for life.

Today’s thought nuggets come from United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Respect Life Program”

The measure of love is to love without measure.
~ Theme, Respect Life Program (2010)

Every human being, at every stage and condition, is willed and loved by God. For this reason, every human life is sacred. To deprive someone of life is a grave wrong and a grave dishonor to God. Because we are created in the image of God, who is Love, our identity and our vocation is to love. Pope Benedict has called this “the key to [our] entire existence.”
~ Flyer, Respect Life Program (2010)

We do not begin life as free and autonomous individuals. We are entirely dependent on others for our very existence. We are born into families—the “schools of love” where, over time, we learn to forgo the immediate satisfaction of every self-centered desire and we find true, lasting joy in bringing good and happiness to others.
~ Flyer, Respect Life Program (2010)

We will not be fit for heaven until we have learned to love one another as God loves us, as he radically demonstrated on the Cross. If we don’t learn to love sacrificially, we may not only fail in reaching heaven, we will make life on earth hellish for ourselves and others.
~ Flyer, Respect Life Program (2010)

How we care for an unexpected child, a parent suffering from cognitive impairment, or an infant with a disability does not reflect the degree of their humanity, but our own. We are as dependent on them as they are on us. There can be no compromise with the standard Jesus set and continually calls us to: The measure of love is to love without measure!
~ Flyer, Respect Life Program (2010)

It is clear that there is no moral requirement to utilize burdensome treatments that merely prolong the dying process. Unless the patient is very near death, however, the provision of nutrition and hydration, even by artificial means, should be administered as long as they can sustain life and alleviate suffering without imposing serious risks or side effects to the patient.
~ Marie T. Hilliard, PhD, “Caring for Each Other, Even Unto Death,” Respect Life Program (2010)

Today active interventions or omissions of basic care are proposed for ending the lives not only of the dying, but also patients suffering from a long-term cognitive disability, such as advanced dementia or a so-called persistent “vegetative” state. Some argue that patients who cannot consciously respond have lost their “human dignity.” This view is dangerously wrong: Human beings never lose their dignity, that is, their inherent and inestimable worth as unique persons loved by God and created in His image. People can be denied respect affirming that dignity, but they never lose their God-given dignity.
~ Marie T. Hilliard, PhD, “Caring for Each Other, Even Unto Death,” Respect Life Program (2010)

There are scientifically sound and surgically and medically effective ways to treat the causes of infertility in a thoroughly compassionate manner. There are doctors across the nation who have learned the art and science of looking into the causes of infertility and, as appropriate, addressing a couple’s condition medically, surgically, and psychologically.
~ John T. Bruchalski, MD, FACOG, “Hope for Married Couples who Want to Have a Child,” Respect Life Program (2010)

Many successful options exist for Christians who want a morally sound way to treat infertility, and who need help combating the sadness, frustration, and even anger that can come from the inability to “have a child.”
~ John T. Bruchalski, MD, FACOG, “Hope for Married Couples who Want to Have a Child,” Respect Life Program (2010)

Science has shown that reducing the number of babies born does not in itself solve political, economic, or environmental problems. Rather, reducing births often creates grave problems. Take Social Security and Medicare, for example. In the United States and other industrialized countries, these programs are difficult to sustain unless each generation of taxpaying workers is larger than the one that went before it.
~ Steven W. Mosher, “Make Room for People,” Respect Life Program (2010)

Birth rates have been in free fall in most of the developed world for some time now. Europe as a whole is averaging only about 1.3 children per couple. Some Asian countries, such as Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, are in even worse shape demographically. This birth dearth means that the work force and revenues are shrinking at precisely the same time that elderly citizens are growing in number—and demanding the retirement and health benefits they have long been promised.
~ Steven W. Mosher, “Make Room for People,” Respect Life Program (2010)

Jesus exhorts us to bend over the physical and mental wounds of so many of our brothers and sisters whom we meet on the highways of the world. He helps us to understand that with God’s grace, accepted and lived out in our daily life, the experience of sickness and suffering can become a school of hope. In truth, as I said in the Encyclical Spe salvi, “It is not by sidestepping or fleeing from suffering that we are healed, but rather by our capacity for accepting it, maturing through it and finding meaning through union with Christ, who suffered with infinite love” (n. 37).
~ Pope Benedict XVI, Message for the Eighteenth World Day of the Sick (2010)

In order to protect nature, it is not enough to intervene with economic incentives or deterrents. The decisive issue is the overall moral tenor of society. If there is a lack of respect for the right to life and to a natural death, if human conception, gestation and birth are made artificial, if human embryos are sacrificed to research, the conscience of society ends up losing the concept of human ecology and, along with it, that of environmental ecology. It is contradictory to insist that future generations respect the natural environment when our educational systems and laws do not help them to respect themselves.
~ Pope Benedict XVI, Charity in Truth (Caritas in Veritate), 51 (2009)

The social question has become a radically anthropological question, in the sense that it concerns not just how life is conceived but also how it is manipulated, as bio-technology places it increasingly under man’s control. In vitro fertilization, embryo research, the possibility of manufacturing clones and human hybrids: all this is now emerging and being promoted in today’s highly disillusioned culture, which believes it has mastered every mystery, because the origin of life is now within our grasp. We must not underestimate the disturbing scenarios that threaten our future, or the powerful new instruments that the “culture of death” has at its disposal.
~ Pope Benedict XVI, Charity in Truth (Caritas in Veritate), 75 (2009)

To the tragic and widespread scourge of abortion we may well have to add in the future the systematic eugenic programming of births. At the other end of the spectrum, a pro-euthanasia mindset is making inroads as an equally damaging assertion of control over life that under certain circumstances is deemed no longer worth living. Underlying these scenarios are cultural viewpoints that deny human dignity.
~ Pope Benedict XVI, Charity in Truth (Caritas in Veritate), 75 (2009)

[In vitro fertilization] further depersonalizes the act of generating a child, turning it into a technical process in a laboratory. This procedure is so far from a loving act of the spouses that it can even be used to conceive a child if neither of them is alive, for the body of neither one is involved in the act of generating this life once sperm and egg are obtained and stored. Because these embryos are deliberately created not in the nurturing environment of the mother’s body but in the poor substitute of a culture in a glass dish, the great majority of them die.
~ USCCB, Life-Giving Love in an Age of Technology (2009)

Often embryos not used in a first attempt at pregnancy are frozen and stored for future attempts. This also poses a serious risk to their lives. When their parents have as many live-born children as they want, or abandon their efforts to have a child through IVF, the remaining embryos are considered “excess” or “spare.” Some are thrown away as laboratory waste, while others are abandoned indefinitely in a frozen state or slated for experimental purposes. The current debate about killing embryonic human beings on a large scale to “harvest” their embryonic stem cells arose partly because IVF clinics produced so many “spare” embryos, creating a terrible temptation for researchers to find a “use” for these human beings no longer wanted by their parents.
~ USCCB, Life-Giving Love in an Age of Technology (2009)

Population and climate change should be addressed from the broader perspective of a concern for protecting human life, caring for the environment, and respecting cultural norms and the religious faith and moral values of peoples. Population is not simply about statistics. Behind every demographic number is a precious and irreplaceable human life whose human dignity must be respected.
~ USCCB, Global Climate Change: A Plea for Dialogue, Prudence, and the Common Good (2001)

[The new Washington State law legalizing assisted suicide] represents a dangerous new assault on the culture of life. Of special concern is the threat that legalizing assisted suicide poses for vulnerable persons, who are already at risk of marginalization by an individualistic and utilitarian perspective of life. Those most at risk from this dangerous change in public policy are elderly persons, those without adequate health care, people with disabilities and those with no family support system.
~ Bishops of Washington State, “Respecting Life at the End of Life” (2008)

[Abortion is] a defining issue not only personally but socially. Poverty can be addressed incrementally, but the death of a child is quite final. Capital punishment should be abolished because, among other reasons, we cannot be absolutely certain that an innocent man or woman will not be executed. In an abortion, one victim is always innocent.
~ Cardinal Francis George, Archbishop of Chicago, “The Face of Evil: Demons and Death,” Oct. 1, 2000

Unfortunately in our culture we [are held] fast in a grip of deadly attitudes about human life, about the human person, especially in the moments of his or her beautiful but fragile beginnings and in the vulnerable times of old age and illness. There are some in our culture and in our country … who think that human civil institutions or some given human subject bestow the right to life. No! Not any of us can bestow the right to life. We can only recognize the right to life, uphold and defend it, and cherish its beauty.
~ Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, Archbishop of Galveston-Houston, homily at the Opening Mass, National Vigil for Life, Jan. 21, 2010

It is not enough for us even to defend innocent human life. Of course, if we fail to do this, we fail in our most urgent task. But by good deeds of love and charity, we must build this active culture of life that is ready and capable of turning back hell itself. If we won’t put the abortionist out of business we are pitiable souls. If we don’t enact laws and work tirelessly to change human hearts so that life is forever reverenced and protected, we have not fought the good fight which is our charge as the Church Militant. As warriors we must first beat back the enemy. But then let us not forget that we are warriors for the victory of life!
~ Most Rev. Robert W. Finn, Bishop of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Address to Gospel of Life Convention, April 18, 2009

At every Mass, we should offer special prayers for our nation and her leaders, in order that the culture of death may be overcome and a civilization of love may be steadfastly advanced. All Catholics throughout the nation should take part in Eucharistic adoration and in the praying of the Rosary for the restoration of the respect for human life and for the safeguarding of the integrity of the family.
~ Most Rev. Raymond L. Burke, Prefect, Apostolic Signatura, Address to the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast, May 8, 2009

No man is a problem. … No human being—no matter how poor or how weak—can be reduced to just a problem. When we allow ourselves to think of a human being as a mere problem, we offend his or her dignity. And, when we see another human being as a problem, we often give ourselves permission to look for expedient but not just solutions. The tragic history of the 20th Century shows that thinking like this even leads to “final solutions.”

For us, Catholics, therefore, there can be no such thing as a “problem pregnancy”—a only a child who is to be welcome in life and protected by law. The refugee, the migrant—even one without “papers”—is not a problem. He may perhaps be a stranger but a stranger to be embraced as a brother. Even criminals—for all the horror of their crimes—do not lose their God-given dignity as human beings. They too must be treated with respect, even in their punishment. This is why Catholic social teaching condemns torture and advocates for the abolition of the death penalty.
~ Most Rev. Thomas Wenski, Archbishop of Miami, homily at installation Mass, June 1, 2010

The real choice in accepting or rejecting a child with special needs is never between some imaginary perfection or imperfection. None of us is perfect. No child is perfect. The real choice in accepting or rejecting a child with special needs is between love and unlove; between courage and cowardice; between trust and fear. That’s the choice we face when it happens in our personal experience. And that’s the choice we face as a society in deciding which human lives we will treat as valuable, and which we will not.
~ Most Rev. Charles J. Chaput, OFM Cap, Archbishop of Denver, “Address to Phoenix Catholic Physicians’ Guild,” Oct. 6, 2009

Working to end abortion doesn’t absolve us from our obligations to the poor. It doesn’t excuse us from our duties to the disabled, the elderly and immigrants. In fact, it demands from us a much stronger commitment to materially support women who find themselves in a difficult pregnancy.

All of these obligations are vital. God will hold us accountable if we ignore them. But none of these other duties can obscure the fact that no human rights are secure if the right to life is not. And unfortunately, abortion is no longer the only major bioethical threat to that right in our culture. In fact, the right to life has never, at any time in the past, faced the range of challenges it faces right now, and will face in the immediate future. Physician-assisted suicide, cloning, genetic engineering and developments in biotechnology will raise profoundly serious questions about the definition of “human nature” and the protection of human dignity in the years ahead.
~ Most Rev. Charles J. Chaput, OFM Cap, Archbishop of Denver, “Why This Work Matters: Human Dignity and the Road Ahead,” March 9, 2010

Since the first century, the Church has addressed the moral evil of abortion and the killing of a defenseless baby in the womb. People who are casual about the sin of abortion and who choose to view it as a political issue rather than the serious moral issue that it is are guilty of violating the Fifth Commandment. You cannot be “pro-choice” (pro-abortion) and remain a Catholic in good standing. That’s why the Church asks those who maintain this position not to receive holy Communion. We are not being mean or judgmental, we are simply acknowledging the fact that such a stance is objectively and seriously sinful and is radically inconsistent with the Christian way of life.
~ Most Rev. Robert J. Carlson, Archbishop of St. Louis, “Before the Cross: Good Catholics Cannot Be Pro-Choice,” St. Louis Review, July 6, 2010

Mother Teresa said that Christ comes to us in the distressing disguise of the poor. She also said that it is a terrible poverty that a child must die so that people might live as they wish. Taken together, I believe that the poorest of the poor are those whose poverty lies in the loss of a child. We should consider them the face of Christ in our lives and help them with a kind word, a listening ear, a healing embrace. Only love can overcome the tragedy of abortion, and that love must begin with each of us.
~ Carl Anderson, Supreme Knight, Knights of Columbus, Address at the 25th Anniversary Celebration of Project Rachel

I do not mean to say that caring for the elderly and others is not a burden. It can be, sometimes significantly so. I am saying that bearing this burden is so central to being human that if we run from the burden, we not only disrespect the elderly and vulnerable, we dehumanize ourselves.
~ William E. May, PhD, “On Being a Burden to One’s Family,” Culture of Life Foundation Briefs,March 26, 2010

Families with lots of children are no longer considered examples of generosity, but rather irresponsibility. [Our culture says that] children with severe disabilities are not special angels sent to us by God, but drains on the economy; better that they were not born. And the elderly are burdens. But if we succeed in pushing away everyone who is dependent, then we’re left with ourselves, our ego-centric, sin-rationalizing, defensive, irritable and vain selves. If we never learn to give till it hurts, till the painful reality that we’re not the center of the universe sinks in, we will fail at marriage, at parenthood, at citizenship, even at simple neighborliness.

~ William E. May, PhD, “On Being a Burden to One’s Family,” Culture of Life Foundation Briefs, March 26, 2010
http://old.usccb.org/prolife/programs/rlp/2010/quotes.shtml

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Yale University study: Left-handed people more likely to have psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia

3 Nov

Science Daily reported in the article, Lefties More Likely to Have Psychotic Disorders Such as Schizophrenia:

Being left-handed has been linked to many mental disorders, but Yale researcher Jadon Webb and his colleagues have found that among those with mental illnesses, people with psychotic disorders like schizophrenia are much more likely to be left-handed than those with mood disorders like depression or bipolar syndrome. 1 The new study is published in the October-December 2013 issue of the journal SAGE Open. About 10% of the U.S. population is left-handed. When comparing all patients with mental disorders, the research team found that 11% of those diagnosed with mood disorders such as depression and bipolar disorder are left-handed, which is similar to the rate in the general population. But according to Webb, a child and adolescent psychiatry fellow at the Yale Child Study Center with a particular interest in biomarkers of psychosis, “a striking of 40% of those with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder are left-handed….” Webb and his colleagues studied 107 individuals from a public outpatient psychiatric clinic seeking treatment in an urban, low-income community. The research team determined the frequency of left-handedness within the group of patients identified with different types of mental disorders. The study showed that white patients with psychotic illness were more likely to be left-handed than black patients. “Even after controlling for this, however, a large difference between psychotic and mood disorder patients remained,” said Webb. What sets this study apart from other handedness research is the simplicity of the questionnaire and analysis, said Webb. Patients who were attending their usual check-ups at the mental health facility were simply asked “What hand do you write with?” “This told us much of what we needed to know in a very simple, practical way,” said Webb. “Doing a simple analysis meant that there were no obstacles to participating and we had a very high participation rate of 97%. Patients dealing with serious symptoms of psychosis might have had a harder time participating in a more complicated set of questions or tests. By keeping the survey simple, we were able to get an accurate snapshot of a hard-to-study subgroup of mentally ill people — those who are often poverty-stricken with very poor family and community support.” http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131031125319.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Latest+Science+News%29

Citation:

Journal Reference:
1. J. R. Webb, M. I. Schroeder, C. Chee, D. Dial, R. Hana, H. Jefee, J. Mays, P. Molitor. Left-Handedness Among a Community Sample of Psychiatric Outpatients Suffering From Mood and Psychotic Disorders. SAGE Open, 2013; 3 (4) DOI: 10.1177/2158244013503166

Here is the Yale University press release:

By Karen N. Peart
October 31, 2013
Being left-handed has been linked to many mental disorders, but Yale researcher Jadon Webb and his colleagues have found that among those with mental illnesses, people with psychotic disorders like schizophrenia are much more likely to be left-handed than those with mood disorders like depression or bipolar syndrome.
The new study is published in the October-December 2013 issue of the journal SAGE Open. About 10% of the U.S. population is left-handed. When comparing all patients with mental disorders, the research team found that 11% of those diagnosed with mood disorders such as depression and bipolar disorder are left-handed, which is similar to the rate in the general population. But according to Webb, a child and adolescent psychiatry fellow at the Yale Child Study Center with a particular interest in biomarkers of psychosis, “a striking of 40% of those with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder are left-handed.”
“In general, people with psychosis are those who have lost touch with reality in some way, through hallucinations, delusions, or false beliefs, and it is notable that this symptom constellation seems to correlate with being left-handed,” said Webb. “Finding biomarkers such as this can hopefully enable us to identify and differentiate mental disorders earlier, and perhaps one day tailor treatment in more effective ways.” Webb and his colleagues studied 107 individuals from a public outpatient psychiatric clinic seeking treatment in an urban, low-income community. The research team determined the frequency of left-handedness within the group of patients identified with different types of mental disorders.
The study showed that white patients with psychotic illness were more likely to be left-handed than black patients. “Even after controlling for this, however, a large difference between psychotic and mood disorder patients remained,” said Webb. What sets this study apart from other handedness research is the simplicity of the questionnaire and analysis, said Webb. Patients who were attending their usual check-ups at the mental health facility were simply asked “What hand do you write with?” “This told us much of what we needed to know in a very simple, practical way,” said Webb. “Doing a simple analysis meant that there were no obstacles to participating and we had a very high participation rate of 97%.
Patients dealing with serious symptoms of psychosis might have had a harder time participating in a more complicated set of questions or tests. By keeping the survey simple, we were able to get an accurate snapshot of a hard-to-study subgroup of mentally ill people — those who are often poverty-stricken with very poor family and community support.”
Other authors on the study include Mary I. Schroeder, Christopher Chee, Deanna Dial, Rebecca Hana, Hussam Jefee, Jacob Mays, and Patrick Molitor. Citation: Sage Open vol. 3 no. 4 2158244013503166 (October-December 2013)

For interesting facts about left-handed people http://facts.randomhistory.com/facts-about-left-handedness.html

A 2011 Wall Street Journal article, The Health Risks of Being Left-Handed, highlighted some of the potential challenges faced by lefties:

On average there is no significant difference in IQ between righties and lefties, studies show, belying popular perceptions. There is some evidence that lefties are better at divergent thinking, or starting from existing knowledge to develop new concepts, which is considered an element of creativity. And left-handed people have salaries that on average are about 10% lower than righties, according to recent research performed at Harvard University that analyzed large income data bases, although findings of some earlier studies were mixed.
Left-handedness appears to be associated with a greater risk for a number of psychiatric and developmental disorders. While lefties make up about 10% of the overall population, about 20% of people with schizophrenia are lefties, for example. Links between left-handedness and dyslexia, ADHD and some mood disorders have also been reported in research studies. The reasons for this aren’t clear. Scientists speculate it could be related to a concept known as brain lateralization.
The brain has two halves. Each performs primarily separate, specialized functions, such as language processing, which mainly takes place in the left hemisphere. There is lots of communication between the hemispheres. Typically in right-handers, the brain’s left side is dominant. But this tendency doesn’t hold up with lefties, as scientists previously believed. Some 70% of lefties rely on the left hemisphere for their language centers, a key brain function, says Metten Somers, a psychiatrist and researcher who studies brain lateralization at Utrecht University Medical Center in the Netherlands. This doesn’t appear to present problems, scientists say. The other 30% of lefties appear to exhibit either a right-dominant or distributed pattern, Dr. Somers says. They may be more prone to impaired learning or functioning, and at greater risk for brain disorders, he says. Hemisphere dominance is typical and more efficient. Symmetry, in which neither side is dominant, is believed linked to disorders, researchers say. People with schizophrenia, for instance, exhibit more symmetrical activation of their brain hemispheres than those without the disorder, studies show.
In a 2008 study, Alina Rodriguez, a psychology professor at Mid Sweden University in Östersund who studies handedness, brain development and ADHD, found that left- or mixed-handedness in children was linked to a greater risk of difficulty with language as well as ADHD symptoms. In another study published last year in Pediatrics, involving nearly 8,000 Finnish children, Dr. Rodriguez found that mixed-handedness rather than left-handedness was linked to ADHD symptoms. And knowing that a child was mixed-handed and had ADHD symptoms at age 8 helped predict much more accurately than just knowing they had symptoms at that age whether the child would continue to have symptoms at age 16. (What happens when people are forced to switch from writing with their dominant hand to the other isn’t well known, experts say.) Research that suggests that there is a link between favoring the left hand and an increased risk of bipolar disorder and ADHD, among other conditions. Emily Nelson has details on Lunch Break.
One reason that not more is known about lefties is that many studies of how the brain works prohibit left-handers from participating because their brain wiring is known to be different, says Robin Nusslock, a psychology professor at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., who uses neuroimaging to study mood disorders.
Lefties have an advantage in sports such as tennis, fencing and baseball, when up against a righthanded competitor, but not in noninteractive sports such as gymnastics. A potential pathway between prenatal stress and brain wiring could be cortisol, the body’s main stress hormone, which can interfere with brain development, says Carsten Obel, a professor at the public-health department at Aarhus University in Denmark who has conducted research on the prenatal environment and risk of disease. Cortisol is able to pass over the placenta barrier to influence the baby.
Several studies show that stressful life events, such as the death of a loved one or job loss, during pregnancy increase the risk of having non-right-handed children. In one study of 834 Danish mothers and their 3-year-old children, Dr. Obel and his colleagues found that mothers who reported multiple stressful events during their third trimester of pregnancy and experienced distress were more than three times as likely to have a mixed-handed child, 17% compared with 5%, according to the 2003 paper published in Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology. Another large study followed 1,700 Swedish mothers and children until the kids were 5 years old. It found that mothers with depressive symptoms or who underwent stressful life events while pregnant were more likely to have left- or mixed-handed children. The work was published by Dr. Rodriguez and her colleagues in 2008 in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. Experts suggest that left- and mixed-handedness could be used as a risk factor for possible psychiatric or developmental conditions, along with behavioral difficulties, such as having a hard time in school. The presence of such risk factors could prompt early evaluation for those conditions, they say. http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052970204083204577080562692452538

The best defense for parents is a good awareness of what is going on with their child. As a parent you need to know what is going on in your child’s world

Related:

GAO report: Children’s mental health services are lacking https://drwilda.com/2013/01/12/gao-report-childrens-mental-health-services-are-lacking/

Schools have to deal with depressed and troubled children: https://drwilda.com/2011/11/15/schools-have-to-deal-with-depressed-and-troubled-children/

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The death cult of the secular ruling elite: Belgium to consider law to grant euthanasia for children, dementia patients

2 Nov

Here’s today’s COMMENT FROM AN OLD FART: AP reported in the story, Belgium considering unprecedented law to grant euthanasia for children, dementia patients:

Should children have the right to ask for their own deaths?
In Belgium, where euthanasia is now legal for people over the age of 18, the government is considering extending it to children — something that no other country has done. The same bill would offer the right to die to adults with early dementia.
Advocates argue that euthanasia for children, with the consent of their parents, is necessary to give families an option in a desperately painful situation. But opponents have questioned whether children can reasonably decide to end their own lives.
Belgium is already a euthanasia pioneer; it legalized the practice for adults in 2002. In the last decade, the number of reported cases per year has risen from 235 deaths in 2003 to 1,432 in 2012, the last year for which statistics are available. Doctors typically give patients a powerful sedative before injecting another drug to stop their heart.
Only a few countries have legalized euthanasia or anything approaching it.
In the Netherlands, euthanasia is legal under specific circumstances and for children over the age of 12 with parental consent. (There is an understanding that infants, too, can be euthanized, and that doctors will not be prosecuted if they act appropriately.) Elsewhere in Europe, euthanasia is only legal in Luxembourg. Assisted suicide, where doctors help patients to die but do not actively kill them, is allowed in Switzerland.
In the U.S., the state of Oregon grants assisted suicide requests for residents aged 18 or over with a terminal illness. Assisted suicide also is allowed in the states of Washington, Vermont and Montana.
In Belgium, the ruling Socialist party has proposed the bill expanding the right of euthanasia. The Christian Democratic Flemish party vowed to oppose the legislation and to challenge it in the European Court of Human Rights, if it passes. A final decision must be approved by Parliament and could take months.
In the meantime, the Senate has heard testimony on both sides of the issue.
“It is strange that minors are considered legally incompetent in key areas, such as getting married, but might (be able) to decide to die,” Catholic Archbishop Andre-Joseph Leonard testified.
Leonard said alternatives like palliative sedation make euthanasia unnecessary — and relieves doctors of the burden of having to kill patients. In palliative sedation, patients are sedated and life-sustaining support is withdrawn so they starve to death; the process can take days.
But the debate has extended to medical ethicists and professionals far from Belgium.
Charles Fostr, who teaches medical law and ethics at Oxford University, believes children couldn’t possibly have the capacity to make an informed decision about euthanasia since even adults struggle with the concept.
“It often happens that when people get into the circumstances they had so feared earlier, they manage to cling on all the more,” he said. “Children, like everyone else, may not be able to anticipate how much they will value their lives if they were not killed….”http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/belgium-considering-unprecedented-law-to-grant-euthanasia-for-children-dementia-patients/2013/10/31/67fd55be-4200-11e3-b028-de922d7a3f47_story.html?wpisrc

Really, children are going to have the sufficient capacity to choose to end their lives?

Here is a bit about Belgium from Europedia in the web post, Why is it so special to turn 18 in Belgium ?

18 years old is the age of majority in most Western countries (apart from some Canadian or US states where it is 19 or 21). In Asian countries it is usually 20 (Japan, Thailand) or 21 (Malaysia, Singapore). This makes it special in itself, because it means that someone has reached the official threshold of adulthood, which means that they are free to act without their parents’ consent, sign contracts (e.g. job) by themselves, vote at elections…

But in Belgium, turning 18 means much more than that.

Like in the rest of Europe (except UK and Ireland), but contrarily to the USA, 18 is also the legal age to obtain a driving licence.

Belgium being one of the rare countries with compulsory voting at elections, 18 does not only become the age when one can vote, but when one must vote (if elections are held that year, but chances are quite high with all the levels of government in Belgium).

Belgium is also one of the few countries to have compulsory education until the age of 18. So not only do 18-year-olds become “free” from the the tutoring of their parents, but also free to quit school if they want.

One major difference with other countries is that criminal responsibility (different from the legal responsibility conferred by majority) in Belgium is also set at 18 years old, contrarily to the vast majority of countries around the world where it is almost always lower (as young as 6 years old in some US states). This means that if a 17-year old Belgian kills someone, commit a arson or robbery, etc., he or she is not considered responsible of their acts, and thus cannot be sentenced by a criminal court, and will usually be purely and simply acquitted. I personally think that this is abusive and the age should be set around 14 or 15, if not lower.

18 used to be the age for compulsory military service for men, but this was abolished in the early 1990’s.

There are a few legal rights which do not coincide with the age of 18 thanks to Belgium’s permissive laws, such as the right to buy or drink alcohol (no legal age), buy tobacco (16 years old, although there is no legal age for smoking), or have a bank card (12 years old). The legal age of sexual consent and marriage is 16 both for boys and girls.

In brief, the age of 18 in Belgium is synonymous with :

– legal adulthood/majority
– legal responsibility
– criminal responsibility
– right and obligation to vote
– right to be elected (except for Senate)
– legal age for driving
– minimum age to stop school

The bold indicate what makes 18 very special in Belgium compared to the rest of the world, and especially the rest of Europe.
http://www.eupedia.com/forum/threads/24245-Why-is-it-so-special-to-turn-18-in-Belgium

So, if one is not legally responsible until they are 18, why would Belgium ever consider giving a child a right to end their own life? Even more sinister why would Belgium even give parents or caretakers the right to end a life which may have become burdensome to them.

The quality of life means different things to different people. Should Stephen Hawking be killed because he has a disease?

Stephen Hawking is the former Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge and author of A Brief History of Time which was an international bestseller. Now Director of Research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology at Cambridge, his other books for the general reader include A Briefer History of Time, the essay collection Black Holes and Baby Universe and The Universe in a Nutshell.

In 1963, Hawking contracted motor neurone disease and was given two years to live. Yet he went on to Cambridge to become a brilliant researcher and Professorial Fellow at Gonville and Caius College. From 1979 to 2009 he held the post of Lucasian Professor at Cambridge, the chair held by Isaac Newton in 1663. Professor Hawking has over a dozen honorary degrees and was awarded the CBE in 1982. He is a fellow of the Royal Society and a Member of the US National Academy of Science. Stephen Hawking is regarded as one of the most brilliant theoretical physicists since Einstein…. http://www.hawking.org.uk/

The issue in Belgium is one of respect for life and whether that respect is accorded even when a life becomes inconvenient or difficult.

David H. Roper of Our Daily Bread gives us something to chew on in Respect For Life:

In Psalm 139, David describes God as fashioning his tiny body together in the darkness of his mother’s womb. God loved David before he ever existed.
God designed the person David was to be, and He brought that person into being according to His predetermined plan. In this psalm, David used the intriguing metaphor of a journal in which God first wrote His plan and then brought that plan into fruition through His handiwork in the womb: “Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written” (v.16).
Put another way, David was shaped by his heavenly Father’s love into a unique creation. He came from the inventive heart and hand of God. What was true of David is true of you. You are special—along with everyone else in the world.
This being true, we must be pro-life in the purest sense of the word. We are to respect and cherish all human life: the born and those still in the womb; winsome children and weary seniors; the wealthy executive and the financially destitute. All persons are unique productions of our Creator’s genius. With David, let’s exclaim: “I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (139:14).
By God’s wise designing We are wonderfully made, Every part essential And in perfect balance laid. —Anon. All life is created by God and bears His autograph. http://odb.org/2010/01/17/respect-for-life/

In this instance, moi thinks the following quote is appropriate:

“I think we might be going a bridge too far.”
Lt. General Frederick “Boy” Browning (1896-1965)
British military officer

Where information leads to Hope. © Dr. Wilda.com

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The 11/02/13 Joy Jar

2 Nov

It is a windy day in Seattle and the branches are doing that wind dance. The waves are whipping up against the 520 bridge. The wind is simply a metaphor for what can blow against a life from time to time. Thank goodness for the winds which clear out debris. Today’s deposit into the ‘Joy Jar’ is the wind.

The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.
William Arthur Ward

I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.
Jimmy Dean

Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams.
Ashley Smith

Political language… is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.
George Orwell

Kites rise highest against the wind – not with it.
Winston Churchill

Notice that the stiffest tree is most easily cracked, while the bamboo or willow survives by bending with the wind.
Bruce Lee

You must take personal responsibility. You cannot change the circumstances, the seasons, or the wind, but you can change yourself. That is something you have charge of.
Jim Rohn

Thought is the wind, knowledge the sail, and mankind the vessel.
Augustus Hare

If you reveal your secrets to the wind, you should not blame the wind for revealing them to the trees.
Khalil Gibran

When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.
Henry Ford

If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable.
Lucius Annaeus Seneca

The fragrance of flowers spreads only in the direction of the wind. But the goodness of a person spreads in all direction.
Chanakya

Most people never run far enough on their first wind to find out they’ve got a second.
William James

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The 11/01/13 Joy Jar

1 Nov

It is definitely heading toward winter. Daylight Savings Time is ending and a winter storm is headed for Seattle this weekend. Storms build character and help one appreciate the calm. Today’s deposit into the ‘Joy Jar’ is weathering the storms.

After a storm comes a calm.
Matthew Henry

Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.
Rabindranath Tagore

Never cut a tree down in the wintertime. Never make a negative decision in the low time. Never make your most important decisions when you are in your worst moods. Wait. Be patient. The storm will pass. The spring will come.
Robert H. Schuller

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If patience is worth anything, it must endure to the end of time. And a living faith will last in the midst of the blackest storm.
Mahatma Gandhi

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After every storm the sun will smile; for every problem there is a solution, and the soul’s indefeasible duty is to be of good cheer.
William R. Alger

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The fishermen know that the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible, but they have never found these dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore.
Vincent Van Gogh

It is not light that we need, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake.
Frederick Douglass

Birds sing after a storm; why shouldn’t people feel as free to delight in whatever remains to them?
Rose Kennedy
Remember, the storm is a good opportunity for the pine and the cypress to show their strength and their stability.
Ho Chi Minh

You learn to know a pilot in a storm.
Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Faith is not simply a patience that passively suffers until the storm is past. Rather, it is a spirit that bears things – with resignations, yes, but above all, with blazing, serene hope.
Corazon Aquino

If you want to see the sunshine, you have to weather the storm.
Frank Lane

There are some things you learn best in calm, and some in storm.
Willa Cather

Times of great calamity and confusion have been productive for the greatest minds. The purest ore is produced from the hottest furnace. The brightest thunder-bolt is elicited from the darkest storm.
Charles Caleb Colton

When you’re caught up in the storm or, you know, just the turmoil of everything that there is another side and you do get through it. And you know, just standing by the truth and doing the right thing.
Amber Frey

God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform. He plants his footsteps in the sea, and rides upon the storm.
William Cowper

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The 10/31/13 Joy Jar

1 Nov

Moi DOES NOT practice the occult and does not believe in some of the darker aspects of Halloween. Still, there are many fun aspects of the day, Today’s deposit in the ‘Joy Jar’ is the fun that Halloween can bring.

“I think if human beings had genuine courage, they’d wear their costumes every day of the year, not just on Halloween. Wouldn’t life be more interesting that way? And now that I think about it, why the heck don’t they? Who made the rule that everybody has to dress like sheep 364 days of the year? Think of all the people you’d meet if they were in costume every day. People would be so much easier to talk to – like talking to dogs. ”
Douglas Coupland, The Gum Thief

“I wish everyday could be Halloween. We could all wear masks all the time. Then we could walk around and get to know each other before we got to see what we looked like under the masks.”
R.J. Palacio

“Pirates are not born; they are made out of God’s tears and the devil’s furry.”
Shannon L. Alder, Never or Forever

There is a child in every one of us who is still a trick-or-treater looking for a brightly-lit front porch.
Robert Brault,

Where there is no imagination there is no horror.
Arthur Conan Doyle, Sr.

Once in a young lifetime one should be allowed to have as much sweetness as one can possibly want and hold.
Judith Olney

Clothes make a statement. Costumes tell a story.
Mason Cooley

Proof of our society’s decline is that Halloween has become a broad daylight event for many.
Robert Kirby

I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself than be crowded on a velvet cushion.
Henry David Thoreau

There is nothing that gives more assurance than a mask.
~Colette

Look, there’s no metaphysics on earth like chocolates.
Fernando Pessoa

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The 10/30/13 Joy Jar

1 Nov

Moi is looking forward to being on two weeks of vacation at Christmas. Just to have time to relax and just read and go to movies will be welcome. Today’s deposit into the ‘Joy Jar’ is a much needed vacation.

“The only problem with politicians taking two week vacations every year is it’s about 50 weeks too short.
”
Jarod Kintz, The Days of Yay are Here! Wake Me Up When They’re Over.

“Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. Jobs, family, employers, and friends can exist one day without any one of us, and if our egos permit us to confess, they could exist eternally in our absence. Each person deserves a day away in which no problems are confronted, no solutions searched for. Each of us needs to withdraw from the cares which will not withdraw from us.”
Maya Angelou, Wouldn’t Take Nothing for My Journey Now

“In matters of healing the body or the mind, vacation is a true genius!”
Mehmet Murat ildan

“What shall you do all your vacation?’, asked Amy. “I shall lie abed and do nothing”, replied Meg.”
Louisa May Alcott, Little Women

Laughter is an instant vacation.
Milton Berle

A vacation is what you take when you can no longer take what you’ve been taking.
Earl Wilson

A vacation is having nothing to do and all day to do it in.
Robert Orben

If we would only give, just once, the same amount of reflection to what we want to get out of life that we give to the question of what to do with a two weeks’ vacation, we would be startled at our false standards and the aimless procession of our busy days.
Dorothy Canfield Fisher

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