The 12/17/13 Joy Jar

18 Dec

As moi winds down the ‘Joy Jar’ exercise, one of the great lessons of choosing gratitude is inner peace. Today’s deposit into the ‘Joy Jar’ is inner peace.

“The best fighter is never angry.”
Lao Tzu

“Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.”
Buddha

“We don’t realize that, somewhere within us all, there does exist a supreme self who is eternally at peace.”
Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love

“We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.”
Dalai Lama XIV

“Nothing external to you has any power over you.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Pleasure is always derived from something outside you, whereas joy arises from within.”
Eckhart Tolle

“Each one has to find his peace from within. And peace to be real must be unaffected by outside circumstances.”
Mahatma Gandhi

“Inner peace can be reached only when we practice forgiveness. Forgiveness is letting go of the past, and is therefore the means for correcting our misperceptions.”
Gerald G. Jampolsky, Love Is Letting Go of Fear

You were born a child of light’s wonderful secret— you return to the beauty you
“You were born a child of light’s wonderful secret— you return to the beauty you have always been.”
Aberjhani, Visions of a Skylark Dressed in Black

“Peace is the number one beautiful ornament you can wear, I really believe that. They say you should always wear a smile, but I don’t believe that you should “always” wear a smile, seriously, you’re going to look stupid! But peace, you should always carry peace within you, its the most beautifying thing you could ever have or do. Peace makes your heart beautiful and it makes you look beautiful, too. You want to have perfect physical posture when you stand, sit, and walk, and peace is the perfect posture of the soul, really. Try perfect posture outside as well as inside. Peace creates grace and grace gives peace.”
C. JoyBell C.

“Spirituality is not to be learned by flight from the world, or by running away from things, or by turning solitary and going apart from the world. Rather, we must learn an inner solitude wherever or with whomsoever we may be. We must learn to penetrate things and find God there.”
Meister Eckhart

“Happiness can only be achieved by looking inward & learning to enjoy whatever life has and this requires transforming greed into gratitude.”
John Chrysostom

“Having inner peace means committing to letting go of self-criticism and self-doubt.”
Sanaya Roman, Living with Joy: Keys to Personal Power and Spiritual Transformation

“When people speak of great men, they think of men like Napoleon – men of violence. Rarely do they think of peaceful men. But contrast the reception they will receive when they return home from their battles. Napoleon will arrive in pomp and in power, a man who’s achieved the very summit of earthly ambition. And yet his dreams will be haunted by the oppressions of war. William Wilberforce, however, will return to his family, lay his head on his pillow and remember: the slave trade is no more.”
Charles Fox

My faith helps me understand that circumstances don’t dictate my happiness, my inner peace.
Denzel Washington

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Campus security is moving off campus

18 Dec

The Curry School of Education’s Youth Violence Project posted College Campus Violence:

The shootings at Virginia Tech, understandably, have generated questions about the safety of college campuses. A brief overview of what we know about violent crime on college campuses can give some perspective on this tragic event. On May 15, 2007 the House Committee on Education and Labor held a hearing entitled “Best Practices for Making College Campuses Safe.” Click here for information on this hearing and Dr. Cornell’s testimony.
There are approximately 16 million students attending 4,200 colleges and universities in the United States (Carr, 2005).
There was relatively little information on college crime until passage of the Clery Act of 1998, which required colleges to publish annual crime statistics for their campuses. All college students should be able to obtain annual reports on crime rates for their campus, although the Clery Act excludes larceny, theft, vandalism, threats, and harassment.
In 2005 the American College Health Association (ACHA) released its Campus Violence White Paper (Carr, 2005) to address violence patterns on college campuses and identify promising prevention and response practices. This report noted that there are often questions about the accuracy and completeness of college crime data, because colleges are motivated to present a favorable image in order to recruit students and attract donors. Nevertheless, college crime reports generally indicate a lower rate of violent crime than is found in the general community.
A further problem with college crime reports is that many crimes go unreported to college authorities. A study by Sloan, Fisher, and Cullen (1997) found that only 35% of violent crimes on college campuses were reported to authorities. Students interviewed for this study gave various reasons for not reporting crimes; for example, many regarded the crime as too minor or considered it a private matter. Victims also might be too ashamed or embarrassed to report a crime. However, crime under-reporting is a common problem and can be found outside of college campuses as well. It is not clear whether under-reporting is greater on college campuses than in the community at large….
Sources: (1) U.S. Dept of Education (2010). Summary of Campus Crime and Security Statistics 2002-2004, (2) Summary Crime Statistics for 2004-2006, and (3) Summary Crime Statistics for 2007-2009. http://www2.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/campus.html
The Virginia Tech shootings raised particular concern about the homicide rate on college campuses. Fortunately, data on homicides are considered more reliable than most crimes because they are intensively investigated and publicly reported events. According to the latest available data from the U.S. Department of Education (2010), there were 335 murders on college campuses in the thirteen years from 1997-2009, an average of 26 per year. Since there are approximately 4,200 colleges in the United States, this means the average college can expect to experience a murder on campus about once every 166 years.
Also, it may be useful to note that there have been more than 16,000 homicides per year in the United States since 2001. Murders on college campuses represent far less than one percent of the total homicides in the United States. These statistics can help place the problem of college homicides in perspective; nevertheless, campus safety is an important concern and we want to prevent all college homicides.
References
Baum, K., & Klaus, P. (2005). Violent victimization of college students, 1995-2002. (NCJ Publication No. 206836). Washington , DC : U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Carr, J. L. (2005). American College Health Association campus violence white paper. Baltimore , MD : American College Health Association.
U.S. Department of Education (2001). The Incidence of Crime on the Campuses of U.S. Postsecondary Education Institutions, Washington, D.C.
U.S. Department of Education (2001-2004). Summary of Campus Crime and Security Statistics. Washington, D.C. http://curry.virginia.edu/research/projects/violence-in-schools/college-campus-violence

As crime increases on campus, so does the role of campus security both on campus and in the surrounding neighborhoods.

Eric Tucker of AP posted the article, College Police Forces Increasingly Expand Reach:

The police officers who patrol America’s colleges are empowered these days to do far more than respond to campus emergencies.
Campus police around the country are increasingly expanding their jurisdiction beyond the school and into the surrounding neighborhoods, blurring a town-gown divide that colleges say is arbitrary when it comes to crime. Proponents say the arrangement allows schools to keep closer tabs on students who misbehave off-campus—making it easier to refer them for disciplinary proceedings, if necessary—and gives university officers greater flexibility to investigate campus crimes committed by community members. It can also ease the workload of resource-strapped municipal police departments.
“It used to be we were responsible for the campus. Now there’s an expectation, I think, especially with parents, but to a large extent among students, that we’re also responsible for these areas off campus,” said Jeff Corcoran, interim chief of the University of Cincinnati police force, where officers patrol areas near the school. “We’re getting pushed to ignore those imaginary lines on the map and be more proactive in that area.”
Still, a proposed expansion of authority has stirred concerns in Washington, D.C., where residents say university police don’t have the same level of training or transparency requirements as the city police. Campus police officers in the city have arrest powers on campus but participate in a separate, shorter training academy. And because private colleges generally aren’t compelled by public records law to release the same information as public institutions and government agencies, some are concerned about a lack of accountability to the city and its residents. http://diverseeducation.com/article/59555/

Campus law enforcement is becoming higher profile as the number of criminal incidents on campus increases.

Nina Bernstein reported in the 2011n New York Times article, On Campus, a Law Enforcement System to Itself:

On most of these campuses, law enforcement is the responsibility of sworn police officers who report to university authorities, not to the public. With full-fledged arrest powers, such campus police forces have enormous discretion in deciding whether to refer cases directly to district attorneys or to leave them to the quiet handling of in-house disciplinary proceedings.
The Penn State police did investigate a complaint in 1998 about Jerry Sandusky, the former assistant coach who was charged last week with sexually abusing eight boys, and turned it over to the district attorney, who declined to prosecute.
But many serious offenses reach neither campus police officers nor their off-campus counterparts because they are directly funneled to administrators.
That is what happened at Penn State in 2002, according to a grand jury report, when a graduate assistant to Mr. Paterno reported that he saw Mr. Sandusky raping a 10-year-old boy in the locker room showers.
“I think we’re just on the cusp of breaking the silence,” said Colby Bruno, the managing lawyer at the Boston-based Victim Rights Law Center who specializes in cases of sexual assault on campus. “But there are a lot of very invidious ways that a school can go about squelching these reports. This is everyone’s problem; it’s not just a sports problem or a sports-icon problem….”
The department is investigating whether Mr. Paterno and other Penn State officials violated the reporting and disclosure requirements of one of the laws, known as the Clery Act. Separately, the scandal puts Penn State on the radar of the department’s Civil Rights division, which this April issued a tough letter to all 6,000 colleges and universities that accept federal money, spelling out how they must handle cases of sexual violence under Title IX of the Civil Rights Act to prevent the creation of “a hostile environment” for accusers that would violate equality of access to education…
Paul Verrecchia, president of the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators, defended the professionalism of campus officers, who, just like other police officers, he said, “raise their hand and swear to uphold the laws and protect the Constitution.” Local law enforcement officials can also be influenced by the power of the university, he added…. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/12/us/on-college-campuses-athletes-often-get-off-easy.html?_r=0

The Major Chiefs Association wrote a 2009 Report on campus security

Here are the key findings of Campus Security Guidelines: Recommended Operational Policies for Local and Campus Law Enforcement Agencies:

Key Findings
Some of the most important suggestions that resulted from this project are as follows:
1. Policies and Formal Agreements: Local and campus law enforcement agencies should have both policies and formal agreements to define general and specific roles for all types of incident response.
• Policies assist local law enforcement in defining roles and enforcing a culture of respect and cooperation with campus public safety. For example, if a local law enforcement department has a policy describing the campus public safety chain of command and which officers have the authority to make decisions, this policy provides guidance to officers and highlights the authority of campus public safety.
• Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) should be developed to formalize responsibilities and protocol (i.e., an MOU on roles during critical incident response).
• MOUs should be tailored to the needs of individual campuses in the jurisdiction. Local law enforcement should work with campus public safety in determining what issues need to be addressed in the MOUs.
2. Coordination Plans: Local and campus law enforcement must coordinate with each other in order to be prepared to respond to critical incidents.
• Local law enforcement should designate a Campus Liaison Officer to serve as the primary point of contact with campus public safety.
• Regularly scheduled meetings, joint training, exercises, and patrols on campus must take place to promote cooperation and prepare for critical incident response.
• Local law enforcement and campus public safety should coordinate in developing, reviewing, and implementing emergency response and business continuity plans.
3. Interoperable Communications: Local and campus law enforcement must find solutions to achieve interoperability.
• Local law enforcement should work with campus public safety to acquire the equipment necessary for interoperable communications between the agencies.
• Local and campus law enforcement should address the governance issues with interoperability (i.e., identify a coordinator for law enforcement communications).
• Campus public safety should be included in all planning sessions and exercises regarding interoperable communications in the region.
4. Potential Risks and Threats: Local and campus law enforcement should work together to improve information-sharing and threat assessments in their jurisdiction.
• Local and campus law enforcement should collaborate to address potential threats on and off campus.
• Law enforcement must be allowed to share records with other departments in order to fully evaluate potential threats.
• Campus public safety must be included in area fusion centers and Joint Terrorism Task Forces as a means to share intelligence and information. Campus Security Guidelines 3
5. Media and Public Relations: Local and campus law enforcement should plan and practice joint media and the public relations scenarios, as perceptions of competency and coordination are paramount during a critical incident on campus.
• Preparation and plans should be made to work with the media before, during, and after incidents.
• Messages released to the media should be coordinated between local law enforcement and campus public safety.
• Local and campus law enforcement should reach out to members of the campus in order to build trust and improve relationships with students. https://www.majorcitieschiefs.com/pdf/MCC_CampusSecurity.pdf

The Clery Act outlines the reporting requirements for colleges and universities.

The Clery Center provides this summary of the Clery Act:

Summary Of The Jeanne Clery Act
The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (20 USC § 1092(f)) is the landmark federal law, originally known as the Campus Security Act, that requires colleges and universities across the United States to disclose information about crime on and around their campuses. The law is tied to an institution’s participation in federal student financial aid programs and it applies to most institutions of higher education both public and private. The Act is enforced by the United States Department of Education.
The law was amended in 1992 to add a requirement that schools afford the victims of campus sexual assault certain basic rights, and was amended again in 1998 to expand the reporting requirements. The 1998 amendments also formally named the law in memory of Jeanne Clery. Subsequent amendments in 2000 and 2008 added provisions dealing with registered sex offender notification and campus emergency response. The 2008 amendments also added a provision to protect crime victims, “whistleblowers”, and others from retaliation.
The Clery Act requires colleges and universities:
Publish an Annual Security Report (ASR) by October 1, documenting three calendar years of select campus crime statistics including security policies and procedures and information on the basic rights guaranteed victims of sexual assault. The law requires schools make the report available to all current students and employees, and prospective students and employees must be notified of its existence and given a copy upon request. Schools may comply with this requirement via the internet if required recipients are notified and provided exact information regarding the on-line location of the report. Paper copies of the ASR should be available upon request. All crime statistics must be provided to the U.S. Department of Education.
To have a public crime log. Institutions with a police or security department are required to maintain a public crime log documenting the “nature, date, time, and general location of each crime” and its disposition, if known. Incidents must be entered into the log within two business days. The log should be accessible to the public during normal business hours; remain open for 60 days and, subsequently, made available within two business days upon request.
Disclose crime statistics for incidents that occur on campus, in unobstructed public areas immediately adjacent to or running through the campus and at certain non-campus facilities including Greek housing and remote classrooms. The statistics must be gathered from campus police or security, local law enforcement and other school officials who have “significant responsibility for student and campus activities.” The Clery Act requires reporting of crimes in seven major categories, some with significant sub-categories and conditions:
1. Criminal Homicide
a. Murder & Nonnegligent manslaughter
b. Negligent manslaughter
2. Sex Offenses
a. Forcible
b. Non-Forcible
3. Robbery
4. Aggravated Assault
5. Burglary, where:
a. There is evidence of unlawful entry (trespass), which may be either forcible or not involve force.
b. Unlawful entry must be of a structure – having four walls, a roof, and a door.
c. There is evidence that the entry was made in order to commit a felony or theft.
6. Motor Vehicle Theft
7. Arson
Schools are also required to report statistics for the following categories of arrests or referrals for campus disciplinary action (if an arrest was not made):
1. Liquor Law Violations
2. Drug Law Violations
3. Illegal Weapons Possession
Hate crimes must be reported by category of prejudice, including race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, and disability. Statistics are also required for four additional crime categories if the crime committed is classified as a hate crime:
1. Larceny/Theft
2. Simple Assault
3. Intimidation
4. Destruction/Damage/Vandalism of Property
Issue timely warnings about Clery Act crimes which pose a serious or ongoing threat to students and employees. Institutions must provide timely warnings in a manner likely to reach all members of the campus community. This mandate has been part of the Clery Act since its inception in 1990. Timely warnings are limited to those crimes an institution is required to report and include in its ASR. There are differences between what constitutes a timely warning and an emergency notification; however, both systems are in place to safeguard students and campus employees.
Devise an emergency response, notification and testing policy. Institutions are required to inform the campus community about a “significant emergency or dangerous situation involving an immediate threat to the health or safety of students or employees occurring on the campus.” An emergency response expands the definition of timely warning as it includes both Clery Act crimes and other types of emergencies (i.e., a fire or infectious disease outbreak). Colleges and universities with and without on-campus residential facilities must have emergency response and evacuation procedures in place. Institutions are mandated to disclose a summary of these procedures in their ASR. Additionally, compliance requires one test of the emergency response procedures annually and policies for publicizing those procedures in conjunction with the annual test.
Compile and report fire data to the federal government and publish an annual fire safety report. Similar to the ASR and the current crime log, institutions with on-campus housing must report fires that occur in on-campus housing, generate both an annual fire report and maintain a fire log that is accessible to the public.
Enact policies and procedures to handle reports of missing students. This requirement is intended to minimize delays and confusion during the initial stages of a missing student investigation. Institutions must designate one or more positions or organizations to which reports of a student living in on-campus housing can be filed if it’s believed that student has been missing for 24 hours.
Download Additional Information:
Jeanne Clery Act Full Text.pdf
http://clerycenter.org/summary-jeanne-clery-act

The issue with campus security often involves jurisdiction.

Bradley Silverman of Brown University wrote in the 2012 Washington Monthly article, Under Color of Law: What rights do college students have against campus police?

In Klunder v. Brown University http://dockets.justia.com/docket/rhode-island/ridce/1:2010cv00410/29247/ Klunder charges Enos, Brown and its President, Ruth Simmons, with violating his civil rights. He is bringing suit under Section 1983 of the Civil Rights Act of 1871 , which allows individuals to seek damages from persons who violate their constitutional rights while acting “under color of state law. ” The statute normally applies exclusively to government agencies or employees, but Klunder argues that Brown is liable under the law because it operates a police department exercising “full police powers, ” a public function traditionally reserved for the state. Klunder underlines the hazy status of campus security officers under the law.
The Constitution only protects citizens from actions undertaken by government, not private entities. Americans’ constitutional rights during police encounters – such as the right against unreasonable searches and seizures or the prohibition on detention without trial – do not apply during interactions with private law enforcement officers. At the heart of this case lies the question of whether safety officers at private universities are state actors operating under color of state law, purporting to act in the performance of official duties under the law “regardless of whether or not the act is within the limits of [their] authority.” If so, their behavior may become subject to constitutional restraints on state action. At many schools, security agents play a dual private/public role, acting as both institutional guardians and sworn police officers exercising state powers, sometimes simultaneously.
This question is increasingly pertinent in a nation where an ever-expanding population of students pursuing higher education requires increasing numbers of security officers to protect them. The percentage of schools nationwide employing armed guards increased from 66 percent to 72 percent between 1995 and 2005 , while the percentage of schools using sworn police officers also increased.
Brown Police Chief Mark Porter says the move toward greater on-campus security began in the late 1960s in response to campus demonstrations and accelerated after the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting. University police departments can respond to on-campus incidents more quickly than their municipal counterparts, Porter says, and give schools greater discretion in adjudicating misdemeanors and minor policy infractions. Police officers must meet higher training and educational standards than ordinary security forces, and can develop stronger relationships with students and faculty than city police. To be sure, many of these benefits undoubtedly accrue to students as well.
Brown’s Deputy Counsel James Green asserts that the university is not subject to Section 1983 jurisdiction. The school insists Enos operated as a Brown security agent, not a sworn police officer, throughout his dealings with Klunder. Green notes that Klunder originally filed claims against eleven Brown faculty, most of which were dismissed before trial. On July 13, District Court Chief Justice Mary Lisi dismissed complaints against nine defendants, but permitted those against Enos, Simmons and the university to move forward, declaring that there was insufficient information to determine whether Public Safety officers act under color of law.
Sheldon Nahmod, a professor of law at Chicago-Kent College of Law, believes Klunder makes a compelling argument that Brown’s Public Safety officers are indeed state actors. The issue depends on whether Rhode Island delegated its traditional law enforcement function to Brown. Nahmod says Brown police may be constitutionally liable for actions taken in the line of duty if they are found to be the legal equivalent of police officers. Under Rhode Island law, the superintendent of state police may “appoint qualified employees of those institutions [of private education] as special police officers, ” who “may exercise… the same powers and authority of a police officer.” The case, Nahmod says, “is quite important going beyond this particular decision,” because a favorable ruling for Klunder would almost certainly subject private university security officers to constitutional limits on state action. “The stakes are pretty high,” he said.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/college_guide/blog/under_color_of_law_what_rights.php?page=all

The role of campus security is evolving as more challenges confront universities regarding the issue of student safety and protection.

Resources:

Campus Law Enforcement Can Challenge Managers http://www.officer.com/article/10249254/campus-law-enforcement-can-challenge-managers

Arming Campus Police: Managing the Risk http://www.nkms.com/uploadcache/1315496358-AdamsAyerBishop_ArmingCampusPolice_FINAL_20110718.pdf

Staying Safe Off Campus http://www.thedailybeast.com/witw/articles/2013/07/13/can-students-stay-safe-off-campus.html

College Discipline Extends Off-Campus http://education-law.lawyers.com/school-law/College-Discipline-Extends-Off-Campus.html

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The 12/16/13 Joy Jar

16 Dec

Christmas is just over a week away and the ‘Joy Jar’ exercise officially ends on Christmas Day. The ‘Joy Jar’ exercise is really like Christmas – it is a Spirit and it will last a lifetime. Today’s deposit into the ‘Joy Jar’ is the Spirit of Christmas.

Are you willing to believe that love is the strongest thing in the world – stronger than hate, stronger than evil, stronger than death – and that the blessed life which began in Bethlehem nineteen hundred years ago is the image and brightness of the Eternal Love? Then you can keep Christmas.
Henry Van Dyke

Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love.
Hamilton Wright Mabie

Christmas gift suggestions: To your enemy, forgiveness. To an opponent, tolerance. To a friend, your heart. To a customer, service. To all, charity. To every child, a good example. To yourself, respect.
Oren Arnold

Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.
Calvin Coolidge

Good news from heaven the angels bring,
Glad tidings to the earth they sing:
To us this day a child is given,
To crown us with the joy of heaven.
Martin Luther

I wish we could put up some of the Christmas spirit in jars and open a jar of it every month.
Harlan Miller

If I were a medical man, I should prescribe a holiday to any patient who considered his work important.
Bertrand Russell

May your walls know joy, may every room hold laughter, and every window open to great possibility
Mary Anne Radmacher

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart. Wishing you happiness.
Helen Keller

There is no ideal Christmas; only the one Christmas you decide to make as a reflection of your values, desires, affections, traditions.
Bill McKibben

This is my wish for you: peace of mind, prosperity through the year, happiness that multiplies, health for you and yours, fun around every corner, energy to chase your dreams, joy to fill your holidays!
D.M. Dellinger

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U.S. Supreme Court declines to accept school bullying case, Morrow v. The Blackhawk School District

16 Dec

Moi wrote about bullying in School bullying: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency report:
The Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency has issued the report, Bullying in Schools: An Overview by Ken Seeley, Martin L. Tombari, Laurie J. Bennett, and Jason B. Dunkle. Among the study’s findings are:

o Bullying is a complex social and emotional phenomenon that plays out differently on an individual level.
o Bullying does not directly cause truancy.
o School engagement protects victims from truancy and low academic achievement.
o When schools provide a safe learning environment in which adults model positive behavior, they can mitigate the negative effects of bullying.
o Any interventions to address bullying or victimization should be intentional, student-focused engagement strategies that fit the context of the school where they are used.
The report makes the following recommendations:
o Increase student engagement.
o Model caring behavior for students.
o Offer mentoring programs.
o Provide students with opportunities for service learning as a means of improving school engagement.
o Address the difficult transition between elementary and middle school (from a single classroom teacher to teams of teachers with periods and class changes in a large school) (Lohaus et al., 2004).
o Start prevention programs early.
o Resist the temptation to use prefabricated curriculums that are not aligned to local conditions.
Increase Student Engagement
Bullied children who remain engaged in school attend class more frequently and achieve more. Challenging academics, extracurricular activities, understanding teachers and coaches, and a focus on the future help keep victimized children engaged in their education (Bausell, 2011). Schools, administrations, and districts that wish to stave off the negative effects of bullying must redouble their efforts to engage each student in school. Typical school engagement strategies include (Karcher, 2005):
• Providing a caring adult for every student through an advisory program or similar arrangement.
o Carefully monitoring attendance, calling home each time a student is absent, and allowing students the ability to make up missed work with support from a teacher.
o Adopting and implementing the National School Climate Standardsfrom the National School Climate Council (2010).
o Promoting and fostering parent and community engagement, including afterschool and summer programs.
o Providing school-based mentorship options for students.http://www.ojjdp.gov/pubs/234205.pdf

School bullying: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency report

See, School Bullying Report Makes Recommendations To Address Issue, Support Victims http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/17/school-bullying-report-ma_n_1155250.html?ref=email_share

The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear the case of Morrow v. The Blackhawk School District.

Mark Walsh reported in the Education Week article, Supreme Court Declines to Take Up School Bullying Case:

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an appeal seeking to hold a Pennsylvania school district responsible for repeated bullying of a high school student by one of her peers.
A federal appeals court had taken note of school shooting tragedies at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., and at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., as symbols of the new dangers in schools. But it nonetheless held that despite compulsory education laws, the Blackhawk school district in Pennsylvania did not have a “special relationship” with its students that would give rise to a duty to protect them from harm from other students….
The case involves Brittany Morrow, who in early 2008 at Blackhawk High School in Beaver County, Pa., began facing bullying from a schoolmate that included “racially motivated” threats and physical assaults, court papers say. In one incident, the perpetrator attacked Brittany in the lunchroom and because Brittany defended herself, she was suspended along with her attacker.
For that and other incidents, the perpetrator was charged in juvenile court with assault, making terroristic threats, and harassment. She was adjudicated delinquent and ordered to have no contact with Brittany. The perpetrator was nevertheless allowed to return to Blackhawk High. In the fall of 2008, she allegedly boarded Brittany’s school bus and threatened her, and later elbowed her in the face at a high school football game…
They lost before a federal district court and the full 3rd Circuit court.
The appeals court ruled 9-5 for the school defendants that there was no “special relationship” between schools and students and 10-4 that legal injuries to the victims were not the result of actions taken by administrators under a “state-created danger” theory of liability.
In their appeal to the Supreme Court in Morrow v. Balaski (Case No. 13-302), the family said school officials “acted to allow the aggressor to return to school following her temporary suspension and despite court orders mandating no contact. They opened the front door of the school to a person they knew would cause harm to the children.”
In a brief opposing high court review, the school district and the assistant principal argued that there was no conflict among the federal appeals courts about the special relationship theory of liability and that no school official acted affirmatively to increase the dangers to Morrow.
The justices declined without comment to take up the appeal.
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/school_law/2013/12/supreme_court_declines_to_take_1.html

Justia.com summarized the case:

Justia.com Opinion Summary: Brittany and Emily Morrow were subjected to threats and physical assaults by Anderson, a fellow student at Blackhawk High School. After Anderson physically attacked Brittany in the lunch room, the school suspended both girls. Brittany’s mother reported Anderson to the police at the recommendation of administration. Anderson was charged with simple assault, terroristic threats, and harassment. Anderson continued to bully Brittany and Emily. A state court placed Anderson on probation and ordered her to have no contact with Brittany. Five months later, Anderson was adjudicated delinquent and was again given a “no contact” order, which was provided to the school. Anderson subsequently boarded Brittany’s school bus and threatened Brittany, even though that bus did not service Anderson’s home. School officials told the Morrows that they could not guarantee their daughters’ safety and advised the Morrows to consider another school. The Morrows filed suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983, alleging violation of their substantive due process rights. The district court dismissed, reasoning that the school did not have a “special relationship” with students that would create a constitutional duty to protect them from other students and that the Morrows’ injury was not the result of any affirmative action by the defendants, under the “state-created danger” doctrine. The Third Circuit affirmed.
The court issued a Revised version of this opinion on June 14, 2013
PDF Download PDF

Click to access 11-2000-2013-06-05.pdf

http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca3/11-2000/11-2000-2013-06-05.html

The American Psychological Association (APA) has information about bullying.

The APA has the following suggestions for teachers and administrators:

Be knowledgeable and observant
Teachers and administrators need to be aware that although bullying generally happens in areas such as the bathroom, playground, crowded hallways, and school buses as well as via cell phones and computers (where supervision is limited or absent), it must be taken seriously. Teachers and administrators should emphasize that telling is not tattling. If a teacher observes bullying in a classroom, he/she needs to immediately intervene to stop it, record the incident and inform the appropriate school administrators so the incident can be investigated. Having a joint meeting with the bullied student and the student who is bullying is not recommended — it is embarrassing and very intimidating for the student that is being bullied.
Involve students and parents
Students and parents need to be a part of the solution and involved in safety teams and antibullying task forces. Students can inform adults about what is really going on and also teach adults about new technologies that kids are using to bully. Parents, teachers, and school administrators can help students engage in positive behavior and teach them skills so that they know how to intervene when bullying occurs. Older students can serve as mentors and inform younger students about safe practices on the Internet.
Set positive expectations about behavior for students and adults
Schools and classrooms must offer students a safe learning environment. Teachers and coaches need to explicitly remind students that bullying is not accepted in school and such behaviors will have consequences. Creating an anti-bullying document and having both the student and the parents/guardians sign and return it to the school office helps students understand the seriousness of bullying. Also, for students who have a hard time adjusting or finding friends, teachers and administrators can facilitate friendships or provide “jobs” for the student to do during lunch and recess so that children do not feel isolated or in danger of becoming targets for bullying. http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/bullying.aspx

Stop Bullying.gov has some great advice about bullying.

According to the Stop Bullying.gov article, What You Can Do:

What to Do If You’re Bullied
There are things you can do if you are being bullied:
Look at the kid bullying you and tell him or her to stop in a calm, clear voice. You can also try to laugh it off. This works best if joking is easy for you. It could catch the kid bullying you off guard.
If speaking up seems too hard or not safe, walk away and stay away. Don’t fight back. Find an adult to stop the bullying on the spot.
There are things you can do to stay safe in the future, too.
Talk to an adult you trust. Don’t keep your feelings inside. Telling someone can help you feel less alone. They can help you make a plan to stop the bullying.
Stay away from places where bullying happens.
Stay near adults and other kids. Most bullying happens when adults aren’t around.
http://www.stopbullying.gov/kids/what-you-can-do

Even though children are encouraged to report bullying, they often don’t.

The Committee for Children explains Why Don’t Kids Report Bullying?

There is good evidence that young people often do not report bullying to adults. Children are adept at hiding bullying-related behaviors and the unequal “shadow” power dynamics that can exist among them. Because of this secrecy, adults underestimate the seriousness and extent of bullying at their schools.
Schools cannot help if children do not entrust them with information. So why don’t children report bullying?
Research Shows That Adults Rarely Intervene
There is a catch-22: Students don’t tell because they don’t see adults helping, but adults can’t help if students don’t tell them what is going on in their peer groups.
The perception that adults don’t act may lead students to conclude that adults don’t care, or that there are different standards for adults’ behavior than for young people’s. In the workplace, shoving co-workers in the hallway would not be tolerated. Yet many adults believe that young people need to “work out” bullying problems like these on their own. This belief may promote a “code of silence” about abusive behavior. A logical consequence would be the failure of students to report other dangers, such as knowledge about a weapon at school.
Students Fear Retaliation and a Reputation as a “Rat”
Fear of retailiation might be especially the case about reporting popular students who bully. There is evidence that well-liked and successful children can be the most skilled at bullying and at escaping detection.
They Don’t Want to Lose Power
Students may not report that they or their friends bully because they don’t want to lose the power they gain through controlling others.
They Don’t Recognize Subtle Bullying
Students may not report more subtle, indirect, and relational types of bullying (such as deliberately excluding peers or spreading rumors) because they don’t realize that these are also unfair, unequal ways to treat others.
They Feel Ashamed, Afraid, or Powerless
Students may not report being victims of bullying because it makes them feel ashamed, afraid, and powerless. Over time, they may come to feel they deserve to be bullied. This may be particularly true of children in fourth grade and up.
Because adults rarely intervene, young people may come to believe they can bully without any consequences. Many believe that “acting bad” pays off. In fact, it may win them status with others, as children do act more friendly and respectful toward those who bully.
What Can Adults Do?
If we want children to talk to us and ask for help, we need to invite them to report. And effective adult follow-through is critical. This means “walking the talk” of bullying prevention, and addressing the power imbalances that put children who bully, those who are bullied, and bystanders at risk of perpetuating abuse. Bringing children who bully and those they bully into the same room to talk is not advisable. Intervening, making plans for behavior change, and continuing to check in on an individual basis with the students involved is best.
Adults can also give young people tools to help them evaluate when and how to report. Teaching about the distinction between reporting (telling to keep someone safe) and tattling (telling to get someone in trouble), for example, can help students make responsible decisions. This, in turn, can empower everyone in schools to help prevent inequity and suffering. http://www.cfchildren.org/advocacy/bullying-prevention/why-kids-dont-report-bullying.aspx

The Tanenbaum Center which honors the work of the late Rabbi Marc Tanenbaum has a really good definition of the “Golden Rule” https://www.tanenbaum.org/resources/golden-rule which is stated in an interview with Joyce Dubensky entitled, The Golden Rule Around the World At the core of all bullying is a failure to recognize another’s humanity and a basic lack of respect for life. At the core of the demand for personal expression and failure to tolerate opinions which are not like one’s own is a self-centeredness which can destroy the very society it claims to want to protect.

Resources:

Helping Kids Deal With Bullies http://kidshealth.org/parent/emotions/behavior/bullies.html

Teachers Who Bully http://www.webmd.com/parenting/features/teachers-who-bully

Is Your Child Being Bullied? 9 Steps You Can Take as a Parent http://www.empoweringparents.com/Is-Your-Child-Being-Bullied.php#ixzz2PqGTZNdl

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/

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http://drwildareviews.wordpress.com/

Dr. Wilda © https://drwilda.com/

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Fordham Center on Law and Information Policy study: Cloud computing poses privacy risks for school information

15 Dec

Many schools and districts are using cloud computing. Judith Hurwitz, Robin Bloor, Marcia Kaufman, and Fern Halper from Cloud Computing For Dummies wrote about cloud computing in What Is Cloud Computing?

Cloud computing is the next stage in the Internet’s evolution, providing the means through which everything — from computing power to computing infrastructure, applications, business processes to personal collaboration — can be delivered to you as a service wherever and whenever you need.
The “cloud” in cloud computing can be defined as the set of hardware, networks, storage, services, and interfaces that combine to deliver aspects of computing as a service. Cloud services include the delivery of software, infrastructure, and storage over the Internet (either as separate components or a complete platform) based on user demand. (See Cloud Computing Models for the lowdown on the way clouds are used.)
Cloud computing has four essential characteristics: elasticity and the ability to scale up and down, self-service provisioning and automatic deprovisioning, application programming interfaces (APIs), billing and metering of service usage in a pay-as-you-go model. (Cloud Computing Characteristics discusses these elements in detail.) This flexibility is what is attracting individuals and businesses to move to the cloud.
The world of the cloud has lots of participants:
•The end user who doesn’t have to know anything about the underlying technology.
•Business management who needs to take responsibility for the governance of data or services living in a cloud. Cloud service providers must provide a predictable and guaranteed service level and security to all their constituents. (Find out what providers have to consider in Cloud Computing Issues.)
•The cloud service provider who is responsible for IT assets and maintenance.
Cloud computing is offered in different forms: public clouds, private clouds, and hybrid clouds, which combine both public and private. (You can get a sense of the differences among these kinds of clouds in Deploying Public, Private, or Hybrids Clouds.)
Cloud computing can completely change the way companies use technology to service customers, partners, and suppliers…. http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/what-is-cloud-computing.html

Moi wrote about cloud privacy concerns in Does ‘cloud storage’ affect student privacy rights?

Mike Bock wrote the intriguing Education Week article, Districts Move to the Cloud to Power Up, Save Money:

There are serious questions and concerns, however, about moving computer operations to the cloud. Chief among those worries is the security of sensitive data, such as student records. That concern alone has led some district information-technology leaders to remain hesitant about moving in that direction….
Bandwidth Needs Grow
But for districts with the bandwidth infrastructure in place, experts say cloud approaches offer lower costs and less time spent on maintenance. Since many cloud-based applications are offered either for free or for a monthly subscription rate, upfront costs for software are typically lower than the standard model of purchasing software and installing it across the district….
Privacy Concerns
But there is a trade-off. If a district puts its student-information system in a cloud environment, the cloud provider has access to information about all students.
Districts need to be protective and aware of that reality and must follow requirements outlined in state and federal policy, including the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, a federal law that requires that websites obtain parents’ consent before collecting personal details about users, such as home addresses or email addresses, from children younger than 13…. http://www.edweek.org/dd/articles/2013/02/06/02cloud.h06.html?tkn=PYMF4hhA6EcyMvzcq4T6AaBDFNeT6fynaPVn&cmp=clp-edweek&intc=es
School districts have to balance the rights of students to an education with the need to know of other parties. https://drwilda.com/2013/02/19/does-cloud-storage-affect-student-privacy-rights/

Kalyani M. posted Privacy Issues For Schools Using The Cloud at Spideroak blog:

While use of cloud services help schools to save thousands of dollars, the data security and privacy risks presented by these services cannot be ignored. The survey report by SafeGov.org says “there are a number of areas where advertising-oriented cloud services may jeopardize the privacy of data subjects in schools, even when ad-serving is nominally disabled. Threats to student online privacy occasioned by the use of such services in the school environment include the following:
•Lack of privacy policies suitable for schools: By failing to adopt privacy policies specifically crafted to the needs of schools, cloud providers may deliberately or inadvertently force schools to accept policies or terms of service that authorise user profiling and online behavioural advertising.
•Blurred mechanisms for user consent: Some cloud privacy policies, even though based on contractual relationships between cloud providers and schools, stipulate that individual data subjects (students) are also bound by these policies, even when these subjects have not had the opportunity to grant or withhold their consent.
• Potential for commercial data mining: When school cloud services derive from ad-supported consumer services that rely on powerful user profiling and tracking algorithms, it may be technically difficult for the cloud provider to turn off these functions even when ads are not being served.
•User interfaces that don’t separate ad-free and ad-based services: By failing to create interfaces that distinguish clearly between ad-based and ad-free services, cloud providers may lure school children into moving unwittingly from ad-free services intended for school use (such as email or online collaboration) to consumer ad-driven services that engage in highly intrusive processing of personal information (such as online video, social networking or even basic search).
•Contracts that don’t guarantee ad-free services: By using ambiguously worded contracts and including the option to serve ads in their services, some cloud providers leave the door open to future imposition of online advertising as a condition for allowing schools to continue receiving cloud services for free.”
SafeGov has also sought support from European Data Protection Authorities to implement rules for both cloud service providers and schools. As per these rules or codes of conduct-targeted advertising in schools and processing or secondary use of data for advertising purposes should be banned. In the privacy policy agreement contract between the schools and service providers it should be clearly stated that student data would not be used for data mining and advertisement purposes.
Keeping all these things in mind, the schools should make sure the data would be stored and managed by the service providers before moving to cloud services. They should demand assurance from the service providers that the information collected by them will not be used for data mining, targeted advertising or sold to third parties… https://spideroak.com/privacypost/cloud-security/privacy-issues-when-schools-use-cloud-services/

See, Testing the Waters of Cloud Computing http://www.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3753288

Sean Cavanaugh reported in the Education Week article, Districts’ Use of Cloud Computing Brings Privacy Risks, Study Says:

School districts have become increasingly reliant on cloud-based technologies despite “substantial deficiencies” in policies governing those Web-based systems and their protection of private student data, a new study finds.
The study, released today by the Fordham Law School’s Center on Law and Information Policy, seeks to provide the first national examination of privacy and cloud computing in public schools. The study authors also put forward a series of recommendations to policymakers for ramping up safeguards on students’ private information.
Fordham researchers based their study on a national sample of public school districts, asking for detailed information from 54 urban, suburban, and rural systems around the country.
Among the information they sought: contracts between districts and technology vendors; policies governing privacy and computer use; and notices sent to parents about student privacy and districts’ use of free or paid, third-party consulting services.
The study concludes that privacy implications for districts’ use of cloud services are “poorly understood, non-transparent, and weakly governed.”
Only 25 percent of the districts examined made parents aware of the use of cloud services, according to the study. Twenty percent do not have policies governing the use of those services, and a large plurality of districts have “rampant gaps” in their documentation of privacy policies in contracts and other forms.
To make matters worse, districts often relinquish control of student information when using cloud services, and do not have contracts or agreements setting clear limits on the disclosure, sale, and marketing of that data, the Fordham researchers say.
The Fordham study concludes that districts, policymakers, and vendors should consider taking a number of steps to increase privacy protections, including:
• Providing parents with sufficient notice of the transfer of student information to cloud-service providers, and assuring that parental consent is sought when required by federal law;
• Improving contracts between private vendors and districts to remove ambiguity and provide much more specific information on the disclosure and marketing of student data;
• Setting clearer policies on data governance within districts, which includes establishing rules barring employees from using cloud services not approved by districts. States and large districts should also hire “chief privacy officers” responsible for maintaining data protections;
• Establishing a national research center and clearinghouse to study privacy issues, and draft and store model contracts on privacy issues. The center should be “independent of commercial interests to assure objectivity,” the study authors said.
“School districts throughout the country are embracing the use of cloud computing services for important educational goals, but have not kept pace with appropriate safeguards for the personal data of school children,” said Joel Reidenberg, a professor at Fordham’s law school who worked on the study, in a statement accompanying its release. “There are critical actions that school districts and vendors must take to address the serious deficiences in privacy protection….” http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/DigitalEducation/2013/12/fewer.html?intc=es

Citation:

Center on Law and Information Policy
Privacy and Cloud Computing in Public Schools
Joel R. Reidenberg, Fordham University School of Law
N. Cameron Russell, Fordham University School of Law
Jordan Kovnot, Fordham University School of Law
Thomas B. Norton, Fordham University School of Law
Ryan Cloutier, Fordham University School of Law
Daniela Alvarado, Fordham University School of Law
Download Full Text (760 KB)
http://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1001&context=clip
Description
Today, data driven decision-making is at the center of educational policy debates in the United States. School districts are increasingly turning to rapidly evolving technologies and cloud computing to satisfy their educational objectives and take advantage of new opportunities for cost savings, flexibility, and always-available service among others. As public schools in the United States rapidly adopt cloud-computing services, and consequently transfer increasing quantities of student information to third-party providers, privacy issues become more salient and contentious. The protection of student privacy in the context of cloud computing is generally unknown both to the public and to policy-makers. This study thus focuses on K-12 public education and examines how school districts address privacy when they transfer student information to cloud computing service providers. The goals of the study are threefold: first, to provide a national picture of cloud computing in public schools; second, to assess how public schools address their statutory obligations as well as generally accepted privacy principles in their cloud service agreements; and, third, to make recommendations based on the findings to improve the protection of student privacy in the context of cloud computing. Fordham CLIP selected a national sample of school districts including large, medium and small school systems from every geographic region of the country. Using state open public record laws, Fordham CLIP requested from each selected district all of the district’s cloud service agreements, notices to parents, and computer use policies for teachers. All of the materials were then coded against a checklist of legal obligations and privacy norms. The purpose for this coding was to enable a general assessment and was not designed to provide a compliance audit of any school district nor of any particular vendor.
Publication Date
12-13-2013
Rights
© 2013. Fordham Center on Law and Information Policy. This study may be reproduced, in whole or in part, for educational and non-commercial purposes provided that attribution to Fordham CLIP is included.
Publisher
Fordham Center on Law and Information Policy
City
New York
Keywords
children, education, cloud computing, school, FERPA, PPRA, COPPA, privacy, Joel Reidenberg, Cameron Russell, Fordham, CLIP
Privacy and Cloud Computing in Public Schools
Included in Communications Law Commons

There is a complex intertwining of laws which often prevent school officials from disclosing much about students.

According to Fact Sheet 29: Privacy in Education: Guide for Parents and Adult-Age Students,Revised September 2010 the major laws governing disclosure about student records are:

What are the major federal laws that govern the privacy of education records?
◦Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) 20 USC 1232g (1974)
◦Protection of Pupil’s Rights Amendments (PPRA) 20 USC 1232h (1978)
◦No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, Pub. L. 107-110, 115 STAT. 1425 (January 2002)
◦USA Patriot Act, P.L. 107-56 (October 26, 2001)
◦Privacy Act of 1974, 5 USC Part I, Ch. 5, Subch. 11, Sec. 552
◦Campus Sex Crimes Prevention Act (Pub. L. 106-386)
FERPA is the best known and most influential of the laws governing student privacy. Oversight and enforcement of FERPA rests with the U.S. Department of Education. FERPA has recently undergone some changes since the enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act and the USA Patriot Act…. https://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs29-education.htm

The Fordham study indicates that many schools and districts have not fully analyzed student privacy concerns in their rush to the cloud.

Resources:
What cloud computing really means http://www.infoworld.com/d/cloud-computing/what-cloud-computing-really-means-031

What Is Cloud Computing? http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2372163,00.asp

FERPA General Guidance for Students http://ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/students.html

No Child Left Behind A Parents Guide http://ed.gov/parents/academic/involve/nclbguide/parentsguide.pdf

Related:
Data mining in education https://drwilda.com/2012/07/19/data-mining-in-education/

Who has access to student records? https://drwilda.com/2012/06/11/who-has-access-to-student-records/

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/

Dr. Wilda © https://drwilda.com/

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The 12/15/13 Joy Jar

15 Dec

Advent is the perfect time for reflecting about the positive things in life and hope. One of the great American spiritual leaders was Rev. Norman Vincent Peale:

Norman Vincent Peale
(1898-1993)
Champion of Positive Thinking
Born in Bowersville, Ohio, USA, on May 31 1898, Norman Vincent Peale grew up helping support his family by delivering newspapers, working in a grocery store, and selling pots and pans door to door, but later was to become one of the most influential clergymen in the United States during the 20th-century.
He was educated at Ohio Wesleyan University and Boston University. He was a reporter on the Findlay, Ohio, Morning Republic prior to entering the ministry and went on to author some 40 books. Ordained in the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1922, Peale served as pastor at a succession of churches that included Berkeley, Rhode Island (1922–24), Brooklyn, New York (1924–27), and Syracuse, New York (1927–32) before changing his affiliation to the Dutch Reformed Church so that he could become pastor of the Marble Collegiate Church in New York City (1932–84). There he gained fame for his sermons on a positive approach to modern living, which were regularly broadcast, first on radio and later on television. The church had 600 members when he arrived to pastor in 1932; it had over 5,000 by the time he retired in 1984. In 1969 and 1970 he was president of the Reformed Church in America.
Peale confessed that as a youth he had “the worst inferiority complex of all,” and developed his positive thinking/positive confession philosophy just to help himself. In 1937, Peale established a clinic with Freudian psychiatrist Dr. Smiley Blanton in the basement of the Marble Collegiate Church. (Blanton brought with him the “extensive experience” of having undergone psychoanalysis by Freud himself in Vienna in 1929, 1935, 1936, and 1937.) The clinic was described as having “a theoretical base that was Jungian, with a strong evidence of neo- and post-Freudianism” (Carol V.R. George, God’s Salesman: Norman Vincent Peale and the Power of Positive Thinking , p. 90). It subsequently grew to an operation with more than 20 psychiatric doctors and psychologically- trained “ministers,” and in 1951 became known as the American Foundation for Religion and Psychiatry. In 1972, it merged with the Academy of Religion and Mental Health to form the Institutes of Religion and Health (IRH). To his death, Peale remained affiliated with the IRH as president of the board and chief fund raiser. Indeed, Peale pioneered the merger of theology and psychology which became known as Christian Psychology.
Peale applied Christianity to everyday problems and is the person who is most responsible for bringing psychology into the professing Church, blending its principles into a message of “positive thinking.” Peale said, “through prayer you … make use of the great factor within yourself, the deep subconscious mind … [which Jesus called] the kingdom of God within you … Positive thinking is just another term for faith.” He also wrote, “Your unconscious mind … [has a] power that turns wishes into realities when the wishes are strong enough.”
His simple, optimistic, and dynamic sermons brought increasing numbers of parishioners and increasing fame to Peale. For 54 years Peale’s weekly radio program, “The Art of Living,” was broadcast on NBC. His sermons were mailed to 750,000 people a month. His life was subject of a 1964 movie entitled One Man’s Way.
In 1945, Peale and his wife started Guideposts magazine; its circulation now tops 4.5 million, the largest of any religious magazine. Peale also published several best-selling books, including The Art of Living (1937), Confident Living (1948), The Power of Positive Thinking (1952), and This Incredible Century (1991). His most popular book, The Power of Positive Thinking, has sold more than 20 million copies in 41 languages.
With his wife, Ruth, Peale founded the Foundation for Christian Living in 1945. He died on December 24, 1993, at 95. Ruth carries on the work they began. http://normanvincentpeale.wwwhubs.com/

Today’s deposit into the ‘Joy Jar’ is the wisdom of Rev. Peale.

Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy.
Norman Vincent Peale

Change your thoughts and you change your world.
Norman Vincent Peale

Action is a great restorer and builder of confidence. Inaction is not only the result, but the cause, of fear. Perhaps the action you take will be successful; perhaps different action or adjustments will have to follow. But any action is better than no action at all.
Norman Vincent Peale

Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.
Norman Vincent Peale

It’s always too early to quit.
Norman Vincent Peale

Watch your manner of speech if you wish to develop a peaceful state of mind. Start each day by affirming peaceful, contented and happy attitudes and your days will tend to be pleasant and successful.
Norman Vincent Peale

Empty pockets never held anyone back. Only empty heads and empty hearts can do that.
Norman Vincent Peale

Stand up to your obstacles and do something about them. You will find that they haven’t half the strength you think they have.
Norman Vincent Peale

The trouble with most of us is that we would rather be ruined by praise than saved by criticism.
Norman Vincent Peale

Any fact facing us is not as important as our attitude toward it, for that determines our success or failure. The way you think about a fact may defeat you before you ever do anything about it. You are overcome by the fact because you think you are.
Norman Vincent Peale

Four things for success: work and pray, think and believe.
Norman Vincent Peale

If you paint in your mind a picture of bright and happy expectations, you put yourself into a condition conducive to your goal.
Norman Vincent Peale

It is of practical value to learn to like yourself. Since you must spend so much time with yourself you might as well get some satisfaction out of the relationship.
Norman Vincent Peale

Every problem has in it the seeds of its own solution. If you don’t have any problems, you don’t get any seeds.
Norman Vincent Peale

Part of the happiness of life consists not in fighting battles, but in avoiding them. A masterly retreat is in itself a victory.
Norman Vincent Peale

Drop the idea that you are Atlas carrying the world on your shoulders. The world would go on even without you. Don’t take yourself so seriously.
Norman Vincent Peale

Repetition of the same thought or physical action develops into a habit which, repeated frequently enough, becomes an automatic reflex.
Norman Vincent Peale

We tend to get what we expect.
Norman Vincent Peale

Be interesting, be enthusiastic… and don’t talk too much.
Norman Vincent Peale

The Gateway to Christianity is not through an intricate labyrinth of dogma, but by a simple belief in the person of Christ.
Norman Vincent Peale

Formulate and stamp indelibly on your mind a mental picture of yourself as succeeding. Hold this picture tenaciously. Never permit it to fade. Your mind will seek to develop the picture… Do not build up obstacles in your imagination.
Norman Vincent Peale

The more you lose yourself in something bigger than yourself, the more energy you will have.
Norman Vincent Peale

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The 12/14/13 Joy Jar

15 Dec

Today is well into the Christmas Season and as we enter the last couple of weeks before Christmas, it is good to reflect on the season. Daily Christian quotes have a great series of reflections about the Advent Season. Today’s deposit into the ‘Joy Jar’ is reflecting on Advent.

The event of Christ is the only event in human history that promises relocation and centering, meaning and purpose. This promise and its fulfillment evoke passionate and heartfelt praise and thanks, especially for those aware of their own brokenness and the healing which Christ brings into their lives.
Robert Webber

A prison cell, in which one waits, hopes… and is completely dependent on the fact that the door of freedom has to be opened from the outside, is not a bad picture of Advent.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer

One of the essential paradoxes of Advent: that while we wait for God, we are with God all along ,that while we need to be reassured of God’s arrival, or the arrival of our homecoming, we are already at home. While we wait, we have to trust, to have faith, but it is God’s grace that gives us that faith. As with all spiritual knowledge, two things are true, and equally true, at once. The mind can’t grasp paradox; it is the knowledge of the soul.
Michelle Blake

It is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas, when its mighty founder was a child himself.

Charles Dickens

In spite of the many benefits God has blessed us with, how many times do we complain about little difficulties and trials? We lose sight of the big picture and fail to appreciate the really important things. Just as we cannot benefit from a wrapped gift under a Christmas tree until we open it, so gratitude can be seen as our way of opening the gift of God’s love intended by all the small and big positive events of our lives.
Ronda De Sola Chervin

As we prepare for our traditional celebrations, let us remember those who will not be looking forward to this festival. Let us remember too how Jesus identified with the oppressed and the homeless. Let the joy of the festival touch more of the people of our world this year than ever before. May God be glorified and may people of good will once again experience His peace.
Denzil John

For the Christ-child who comes is the Master of all; No palace too great, no cottage too small.
Phillips Brooks

Often times when we think of becoming a Christian, we think of what it is doing for us – that we are reconciling in our relationship with our creator that we are having our sins forgiven, that we are being saved… I think that the call to receive Christ is more like Gabriel’s visit to Mary where he asks us, will you carry the Christ, will you carry the salvation of the world?
Mike Wilkins

The way to Christmas lies through an ancient gate….It is a little gate, child-high, child-wide, and there is a password: “Peace on earth to men of good will.” May you, this Christmas, become as a little child again and enter into His kingdom.
Angelo Patri

The spirit of Christmas needs to superseded by the Spirit of Christ. The spirit of Christmas is annual; the Spirit of Christ is eternal. The spirit of Christmas is sentimental; the Spirit of Christ is supernatural. The spirit of Christmas is a human product; the Spirit of Christ is a divine person. That makes all the difference in the world.
Stuart Briscoe

When the song of the angels is stilled,
when the star in the sky is gone,
when the kings and princes are home,
when the shepherds are back with the flocks,
then the work of Christmas begins:
to find the lost,
to heal those broken in spirit,
to feed the hungry,
to release the oppressed,
to rebuild the nations,
to bring peace among all peoples,
to make a little music with the heart…
And to radiate the Light of Christ,
every day, in every way, in all that we do and in all that we say.
Then the work of Christmas begins.
Howard Thurman

If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. If He had a wallet, your photo would be in it. He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning. Whenever you want to talk, He’ll listen. He could live anywhere in the universe, and He chose your heart. What about the Christmas gift He sent you in Bethlehem; not to mention that Friday at Calvary.
Joe Gatuslao

Immanuel will bring lasting, true peace. (Isa 7:14) Not just an end to physical war, although that is what we usually think of when we think of peace. No, this is a deeper peace. A peace between us and God. True reconciliation between the Creator and his creatures. Through Immanuel life for us and his death for us we will be at peace with God. This isn’t our doing. We didn’t make the peace. We didn’t even take the first step. God did. Because that is God’s attitude toward us: always seeking, always restoring, always saving. Immanuel comes to show us that we matter, each and every one of us, to God. Jesus Christ, our Lord, and God’s Son, is Immanuel – God with us. Jesus was born a child and lived among us, died our death on the cross, all so that we would have peace with God, from this time forth and forever more. The zeal of the Lord of Hosts has done this.
Charles P St-Onge

When Christ entered our world, he didn’t come to brighten our Decembers, but to transform our lives.
Rich Miller
http://dailychristianquote.com/dcqchristmas2.html

For more information about Advent, The Season of Advent: Anticipation and Hope http://www.cresourcei.org/cyadvent.html

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So, you think Dr. Ben Carson is an evil Christian conservative bast**d: A tale of Seattle Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center

14 Dec

Here’s today’s COMMENT FROM AN OLD FART: moi read the following Seattle Weekly article by Vernal Coleman, Langston Hughes’ Next Act: The arts venue has fostered generations of black artists—but can it keep going without city tax dollars?

Pending approval from the council, the city will continue as owner of the theater property, while responsibility for its programming and funding is handed to a nonprofit.

“I think everyone knows that there is some risk involved, and that this isn’t necessarily going to be a slam-dunk,” says Councilman Nick Licata. “I think the key thing here is for the city government to play an active role in making a successful effort.”

How successful that effort is depends largely on how soon the proposed nonprofit can replace the city’s subsidy, which could be difficult. Midsize theater companies like Langston Hughes—those with annual budgets between $200,000 and $1.2 million—are typically the most difficult to fund, says Jim Kelly, executive director of King County arts agency 4Culture. “They’re the ones that are large enough to need contributed income, but don’t have that deep well of supporters that larger organizations like a Seattle Repertory Theater have.”

According to the committee’s draft plan, the proposed nonprofit will be operational by the beginning of the fiscal year 2016 and ready to fully assume the theater’s financial obligations by 2018. That gives the city roughly four years to establish the organization’s nonprofit status and recruit a leadership board to help generate through fundraising what the theater cannot earn.

And if previous earnings are any indication, the fundraising burden would be significant. Langston Hughes was closed for building upgrades for two years beginning in spring 2010. It did not reopen until May 2012, making a full accounting of its budget hard to come by.

But according to budget figures obtained from the city, Langston Hughes brought in just $70,880 in ticket and rental fees during the 2012 fiscal year. That’s up from the $56,963 it earned in 2009, the year before the renovations.

Compare those numbers to Langston Hughes’ operating costs: In fiscal year 2013, Langston Hughes was budgeted $745,698 by the city, the bulk of which was devoted to staff pay. The 2014 proposed budget bumps that total up to $809,180.

Drawing bigger-ticket shows could ensure a healthier bottom line—but that might distract from the organization’s traditional mission of nurturing talented writers. Office of Arts and Culture Director Randy Engstrom says he expects the Institute will be able to do both….http://www.seattleweekly.com/home/950153-129/langston-hughes-next-act

Emily Heffler detailed Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center’s (Langston Hughes) challenges in the Seattle Times article, Langston Hughes center’s city subsidy under review http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2020241221_langstonhughesxml.html
The problem is that there is not sufficient capital in many communities of color to sustain the organizations which nurture their cultural identity.

What many ask, doesn’t government exist to support cultural institutions? Well, tell that to the Detroit bankruptcy trustee. See, Detroit Institute of Art May Sell Paintings and Sculptures To Pay Off Bankruptcy http://www.bustle.com/articles/10067-detroit-institute-of-art-may-sell-paintings-and-sculptures-to-pay-off-bankruptcy Many communities of color have like Blanche Dubois:

I have always depended on the kindness of strangers. TENNESSEE WILLIAMS, A Streetcar Named Desire

There is very little capital in the African American community to sustain cultural institutions.

Michael A Fletcher wrote in the Washington Post article, Fifty years after March on Washington, economic gap between blacks, whites persists:

When it comes to household income and wealth, the gaps between blacks and whites have widened. On other measures, the gaps are roughly the same as they were four decades ago. The poverty rate for blacks, for instance, continues to be about three times that of whites.

“The relative position of blacks has not changed economically since the march,” said William Darity Jr., a professor of public policy, economics and African American studies at Duke University. “Certainly, poverty has declined for everybody, but it has declined in a way that the proportion of blacks to whites who are poor is about the same as it was 50 years ago….”http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-08-27/business/41486283_1_jesse-jackson-jr-blacks-whites

See, These ten charts show the black-white economic gap hasn’t budged in 50 years http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/08/28/these-seven-charts-show-the-black-white-economic-gap-hasnt-budged-in-50-years/ It is that same lack of capital which makes the situation of Langston Hughes so precarious.

The question all communities of color should be asking is how can they begin to accumulate capital? One idea was put forth by Dr. Ben Carson, a Black Christian conservative. Here is what Dr. Carson proposed:

“When a person is born, give him a birth certificate, an electronic medical record, and a health-savings account to which money can be contributed–pretax–from the time you’re born till the time you die. If you die, you can pass it on to your family members . . . and there’s nobody talking about death panels.” http://www.ontheissues.org/2016/Ben_Carson_Health_Care.htm

This is one proposal which allows communities of color to begin to develop capital resources within the community.

Dr. Carson’s ideas and those of any other Christian conservative will never be considered, particularly if they are people of color. Star Parker, a Black conservative, wrote in the article, Why the left attacks Ben Carson: ‘Liberals never take on what black conservatives actually say, because they can’t’ :

Ben Carson is the biggest threat to liberals since Bill Cosby got out of line at an NAACP banquet in Washington, D.C., in 2004.

Cosby had the temerity to deliver tough, critical talk about what too many blacks are doing with the freedom civil rights activists of the 1960s fought to achieve.

He contrasted the ’60s generation with the new generation of black youth sitting in jail. “… [T]hese are not political criminals. These are people going around stealing Coca Cola. People getting shot in the back of the head over a piece of pound cake.”

Cosby attributed the chaos to breakdown in values, family and personal responsibility. It’s the last thing the NAACP crowd wanted to hear that night, and he paid a price. Cosby was vilified and marginalized until he backed off.

Liberals never take on what black conservatives actually say, because they can’t. So the attacks become personal.

Trillions of taxpayers’ dollars have been poured into black communities over the last half-century, producing virtually no change in the incidence of black poverty.

Yet, Ben Carson, through diligence and traditional values, achieved on his own what those trillions of dollars of government programs were supposed to deliver.

Liberal black writer Ta-Nehisi Coates put the cards on the table in an article about Cosby that appeared in 2008 in the The Atlantic magazine. The typical black conservative votes for Democrats, he notes, “not out of love for abortion rights … but because he feels … that the modern-day GOP draws on support of people who hate him.”

So stoking paranoia about racism has always been the strategy of liberals to fend off the political threat of conservative values that so many churchgoing blacks embrace.

Predictably, Coates has produced a New York Times column on Carson, reducing this great man to the usual caricature of a black empty suit manipulated by white conservatives.

Ben Carson is an accomplished and wealthy man. Americans, certainly black Americans, need him in public life more than he needs to be in public life. Let’s hope the left wing and the haters of traditional morality don’t succeed in making him conclude it’s not worth it. http://www.wnd.com/2013/04/why-the-left-attacks-ben-carson/

The only long term solution for communities of color is accumulating capital within communities of color.

This commentary has come full circle. Langston Hughes is a mid-sized arts facility and to be fair, mid-sized arts facilities have challenges. Add to those challenges the fact that it is located in a community of color and the focus of its offerings are aimed at communities of color. The question is whether any institution focused on a community of color has a chance of survival if the only source of revenue is a government subsidy?

Moi would urge those folk of color who reflex ably stop listening when any conservative speaks to heed the words of the Buddha:

“Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.” The Buddha

Black economic disparity is firmly entrenched 50 years after the March on Washington on Washington which leads moi to what Albert Einstein said:

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Albert Einstein

Unfortunately, for institutions like Langston Hughes, the light on the road to Damascus may come too late.

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

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Study: Blue light may affect the sleep habits of students

13 Dec

The goal of this society should be to raise healthy and happy children who will grow into concerned and involved adults who care about their fellow citizens and environment. In order to accomplish this goal, all children must receive a good basic education and in order to achieve that goal, children must arrive at school, ready to learn. One of the mantras of this blog is there should not be a one size fits all approach to education and that there should be a variety of options to achieve the goal of a good basic education for all children.

The University of Illinois Extension has some good advice for helping children with study habits. In Study Habits and Homework he University of Illinois recommends:

Parents can certainly play a major role in providing the encouragement, environment, and materials necessary for successful studying to take place.
Some general things adults can do, include:
Establish a routine for meals, bedtime and study/homework
Provide books, supplies, and a special place for studying
Encourage the child to “ready” himself for studying (refocus attention and relax)
Offer to study with the child periodically (call out spelling words or do flash cards) http://urbanext.illinois.edu/succeed/habits.cfm

Some folks claim they need as few as four hours of sleep. For most folks, that is not healthy and it definitely isn’t healthy for children.

Sarah D. Sparks reported in the Education Week article, ‘Blue Light’ May Impair Students’ Sleep, Studies Say:

Schools may soon face an unintended consequence of more flexible technology and more energy-efficient buildings: sleepier students.
That’s because evidence is mounting that use of artificial light from energy-efficient lamps and computer and mobile-electronics screens later and later in the day can lead to significant sleep problems for adults and, particularly, children.
While lights and electronic devices that mimic daylight can improve students’ attention and alertness if used during normal daytime hours, Dr. Charles A. Czeisler, a professor of sleep medicine at Harvard Medical School, has found exposure in the late afternoon and evening can disrupt sleep cycles as much as six to eight hours—the same amount of “jet lag” caused by a flight from New York City to Honolulu.
“Technology has disconnected us from the natural 24-hour day,” Dr. Czeisler said in a keynote lecture at the Society for Neuroscience meeting held here last month.
That could lead to headaches for school districts across the country that are rolling out take-home electronic devices in an effort to boost student achievement.
Two connected systems determine how people of all ages sleep. The first is pretty straightforward: The longer it’s been since you’ve slept, the sleepier you get. The second system, called the circadian cycle, is more complex and can easily come into conflict with a person’s basic sleep drive.
Human brains regulate circadian sleep through exposure to short-wavelength “blue” light, which makes up the bulk of bright daylight. Short-wavelength light increases cortisol in the brain, which regulates alertness. As blue light during the day fades to the longer-wavelength, redder light of dusk, the brain’s timekeeper, the hypothalamus, suppresses cortisol and releases the sleep-promoting chemical melatonin.
One study released this month in the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience showed that even those who are functionally blind become more alert and have increased brain activity in response to blue light, suggesting it can have effects even when it can’t be seen.
‘Biologically Potent’
In several studies, Dr. Czeisler has found that light-emitting diodes, or LEDS, which contain a large proportion of blue light, are more “biologically potent”—twice as effective at resetting the brain’s circadian clock as incandescent light. College students exposed to even brief periods of blue light late in the day showed delayed release in melatonin and up to a two-hour delay in sleep time.
Losing Shut-Eye
As students move through school, the gap between the amount of sleep they get on school nights and the amount they get on weekend nights tends to grow.
Blue light is becoming ubiquitous in any device that uses LEDS—including tablet and laptop computers, energy-efficient lamps, and some televisions. The Arlington, Va.-based National Sleep Foundation found this year that more than half of Americans use a computer, laptop, or tablet device in the hour before sleep every night or nearly every night. More than seven in 10 also have televisions in their bedrooms.
In real life, that can create an unhealthy cycle: Students exposed to blue light late in the day feel less sleepy and continue to do homework or play online until very late, exposing themselves to more light and making it harder to feel sleepy, even as their need for sleep grows. In the past 50 years, Americans’ average sleep time has dropped from 8.5 hours a day to only 6.9 hours, Harvard’s Dr. Czeisler said. An analysis of nearly 700,000 school-age children in 20 countries found that they slept on average 75 minutes less a night in 2008 than in 1905, with American children’s sleep shrinking more rapidly than for those in most other countries…..
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2013/12/11/14sleep_ep.h33.html?tkn=XYNFw7hK%2F8TdYrgvqxBY6H%2FjAT%2FMKwiy%2FAaU&cmp=clp-edweek

Citation:

December 2013, Vol. 25, No. 12, Pages 2072-2085
Posted Online October 30, 2013.
(doi:10.1162/jocn_a_00450)
© 2013 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Blue Light Stimulates Cognitive Brain Activity in Visually Blind Individuals
Gilles Vandewalle1,2*,**, Olivier Collignon3,4*,†, Joseph T. Hull5,6, Véronique Daneault1,2, Geneviève Albouy1, Franco Lepore3, Christophe Phillips7, Julien Doyon1, Charles A. Czeisler5,6, Marie Dumont2, Steven W. Lockley5,6††, and Julie Carrier1,2††
1University of Montréal Geriatric Institute, Québec, Canada
2Hôpital du Sacré-Cœur de Montréal, Québec, Canada
3Université de Montréal, Québec, Canada
4Centre de Recherches CHU Sainte-Justine, Montréal, Québec, Canada
5Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA
6Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
7University of Liège, Belgium
*These authors contributed equally to this work.
**Present address: Cyclotron Research Centre, University of Liège, Belgium.
†Present address: Centre for Mind/Brain Science, University of Trento, Italy.
††These authors are joint senior authors on this work.
Light regulates multiple non-image-forming (or nonvisual) circadian, neuroendocrine, and neurobehavioral functions, via outputs from intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs). Exposure to light directly enhances alertness and performance, so light is an important regulator of wakefulness and cognition. The roles of rods, cones, and ipRGCs in the impact of light on cognitive brain functions remain unclear, however. A small percentage of blind individuals retain non-image-forming photoreception and offer a unique opportunity to investigate light impacts in the absence of conscious vision, presumably through ipRGCs. Here, we show that three such patients were able to choose nonrandomly about the presence of light despite their complete lack of sight. Furthermore, 2 sec of blue light modified EEG activity when administered simultaneously to auditory stimulations. fMRI further showed that, during an auditory working memory task, less than a minute of blue light triggered the recruitment of supplemental prefrontal and thalamic brain regions involved in alertness and cognition regulation as well as key areas of the default mode network. These results, which have to be considered as a proof of concept, show that non-image-forming photoreception triggers some awareness for light and can have a more rapid impact on human cognition than previously understood, if brain processing is actively engaged. Furthermore, light stimulates higher cognitive brain activity, independently of vision, and engages supplemental brain areas to perform an ongoing cognitive process. To our knowledge, our results constitute the first indication that ipRGC signaling may rapidly affect fundamental cerebral organization, so that it could potentially participate to the regulation of numerous aspects of human brain function.
Cited by
Vivien Bromundt, Sylvia Frey, Jonas Odermatt, Christian Cajochen. (2013) Extraocular light via the ear canal does not acutely affect human circadian physiology, alertness and psychomotor vigilance performance. Chronobiology International1-6
Online publication date: 13-Nov-2013.
http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/jocn_a_00450

Education is a partnership between the student, parent(s) or guardian(s), teachers(s), and school. The students must arrive at school ready to learn and that includes being rested. Parent(s) and guardian(s) must ensure their child is properly nourished and rested as well as providing a home environment which is conducive to learning. Teachers must have strong subject matter knowledge and strong pedagogic skills. Schools must enforce discipline and provide safe places to learn. For more information on preparing your child for high school, see the U.S. Department of Education’s Tools for Success http://www2.ed.gov/parents/academic/help/tools-for-success/index.html

Resources:

National Sleep Foundation’s Teens and Sleep
http://www.sleepfoundation.org/article/sleep-topics/teens-and-sleep

Teen Health’s Common Sleep Problems
http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_body/take_care/sleep.html

CBS Morning News’ Sleep Deprived Kids and Their Disturbing Thoughts
http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-500165_162-6052150.html

Psychology Today’s Sleepless in America http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/sleepless-in-america

National Association of State Board’s of Education Fit, Healthy and Ready to Learn http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED465734

U.S. Department of Education’s Tools for Success
http://www2.ed.gov/parents/academic/help/tools-for-success/index.html

Related:

Another study: Sleep problems can lead to behavior problems in children https://drwilda.com/2013/03/30/another-study-sleep-problems-can-lead-to-behavior-problems-in-children/

Stony Brook Medicine study: Teens need sleep to function properly and make healthy food choices https://drwilda.com/2013/06/21/stony-brook-medicine-study-teens-need-sleep-to-function-properly-and-make-healthy-food-choices/

University of Massachusetts Amherst study: Preschoolers need naps Does school start too early? https://drwilda.com/tag/too-little-sleep-raises-obesity-risk-in-children/

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

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Blogs by Dr. Wilda:

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The 12/13/13 Joy Jar

13 Dec

Today is Friday the 13th and some folk believe that the day is unlucky. The ‘Joy Jar’ exercise was one of finding something to be grateful for every day. Grateful people are not superstitious because they are hopeful and no matter the circumstances, there is something to be thankful for.

Philippians 4:11
New International Version
I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.

Today’s deposit into the ‘Joy Jar’ is overcoming superstition with hope.

“If a black cat crosses your path, it signifies that the animal is going somewhere.”
Groucho Marx

“Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.”
Bertrand Russell, Unpopular Essays

“What the mind doesn’t understand, it worships or fears.”
Alice Walker

“The root of all superstition is that men observe when a thing hits, but not when it misses.”
Francis Bacon

“Superstition [is] cowardice in the face of the Divine.”
Theophrastus

“Superstition has been defined as the use of a form whose significance has been forgotten.”
Dion Fortune, Esoteric Orders and Their Work and The Training and Work of the Initiate

“Mankind accepts good fortune as his due, but when bad occurs, he thinks it was aimed at him, done to him, a hex, a curse, a punishment by his deity for some transgression, as though his god were a petty storekeeper, counting up the day’s receipts.”
Sheri S. Tepper, The Visitor

“It will seem to many persons very inconsistent with their ideas of the dignity of a spirit that they should appear and act in the manner I have described, and shall describe further; and I have heard it objected that we cannot suppose God would permit the dead to return merely to frighten the living, and that it is showing Him little reverence to imagine He would suffer them to come on such trifling errands, or demean themselves in so undignified a fashion. But God permits men of all degrees of wickedness, and of every kind of absurdity, to exist, and to harass and disturb the earth, whilst they expose themselves to its obloquy or its ridicule.”
Catherine Crowe, The Night Side of Nature

“There is a faculty in man that will acknowledge the unseen. He may scout and scare religion from him; but if he does, superstition perches near.”
Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, The Haunted Baronet And Others: Ghost Stories 1861-70

“You may substitute knowledge for superstition without satisfying the needs that drive people into superstition’s arms.”
Susan Neiman, Moral Clarity: A Guide for Grown-up Idealists

“We live in a world where unfortunately the distinction between true and false appears to become increasingly blurred by manipulation of facts, by exploitation of uncritical minds, and by the pollution of the language.”
Arne Tiselius

“When even the brightest mind in our world has been trained up from childhood in a superstition of any kind, it will never be possible for that mind, in its maturity, to examine sincerely, dispassionately, and conscientiously any evidence or any circumstance which shall seem to cast a doubt upon the validity of that superstition. I doubt if I could do it myself.”
Mark Twain, The Autobiography of Mark Twain

In the end, people are left with empty superstition or acknowledging that there is a higher POWER:

“My concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.”
Abraham Lincoln

I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.
C. S. Lewis

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