‘Becoming A Man’ course: Helping young African-American men avoid prison

3 Jul

Here’s today’s COMMENT FROM AN OLD FART: Moi read Tim Jones’ Bloomberg article, Chicago’s 29% Homicide Drop Comes With 400 Cops Working Overtime, which was posted at the Business Week site:

Chicago cut its homicide rate by 29 percent during the first half of this year, thanks in part to a crime prevention strategy that paid 400 officers overtime to quell violence in the city’s most dangerous neighborhoods.

Following a year in which homicides topped 500 for only the second time in a decade, Chicago reported its lowest first six-month total since 1965 — 180 through June 30, according to police data. That’s 76 fewer than the same period in 2012.

A question hanging over the latest homicide figures is the city’s financial ability to maintain the beefed-up street force as temperatures rise and costs mount. http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-07-02/chicago-s-29-percent-homicide-drop-comes-with-400-cops-working-overtime

The murder rate and the associated violence has profound implications for society as well as the victims and perpetrators.

Sophia Kerby writes in the Center for American Progress report, The Top 10 Most Startling Facts About People of Color and Criminal Justice in the United States: A Look at the Racial Disparities Inherent in Our Nation’s Criminal-Justice System:

1. While people of color make up about 30 percent of the United States’ population, they account for 60 percent of those imprisoned. The prison population grew by 700 percent from 1970 to 2005, a rate that is outpacing crime and population rates. The incarceration rates disproportionately impact men of color: 1 in every 15 African American men and 1 in every 36 Hispanic men are incarcerated in comparison to 1 in every 106 white men.

2. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, one in three black men can expect to go to prison in their lifetime. Individuals of color have a disproportionate number of encounters with law enforcement, indicating that racial profiling continues to be a problem. A report by the Department of Justice found that blacks and Hispanics were approximately three times more likely to be searched during a traffic stop than white motorists. African Americans were twice as likely to be arrested and almost four times as likely to experience the use of force during encounters with the police.

3. Students of color face harsher punishments in school than their white peers, leading to a higher number of youth of color incarcerated. Black and Hispanic students represent more than 70 percent of those involved in school-related arrests or referrals to law enforcement. Currently, African Americans make up two-fifths and Hispanics one-fifth of confined youth today.

4. According to recent data by the Department of Education, African American students are arrested far more often than their white classmates. The data showed that 96,000 students were arrested and 242,000 referred to law enforcement by schools during the 2009-10 school year. Of those students, black and Hispanic students made up more than 70 percent of arrested or referred students. Harsh school punishments, from suspensions to arrests, have led to high numbers of youth of color coming into contact with the juvenile-justice system and at an earlier age.

5. African American youth have higher rates of juvenile incarceration and are more likely to be sentenced to adult prison. According to the Sentencing Project, even though African American juvenile youth are about 16 percent of the youth population, 37 percent of their cases are moved to criminal court and 58 percent of African American youth are sent to adult prisons.

6. As the number of women incarcerated has increased by 800 percent over the last three decades, women of color have been disproportionately represented. While the number of women incarcerated is relatively low, the racial and ethnic disparities are startling. African American women are three times more likely than white women to be incarcerated, while Hispanic women are 69 percent more likely than white women to be incarcerated.

7. The war on drugs has been waged primarily in communities of color where people of color are more likely to receive higher offenses. According to the Human Rights Watch, people of color are no more likely to use or sell illegal drugs than whites, but they have higher rate of arrests. African Americans comprise 14 percent of regular drug users but are 37 percent of those arrested for drug offenses. From 1980 to 2007 about one in three of the 25.4 million adults arrested for drugs was African American.

8. Once convicted, black offenders receive longer sentences compared to white offenders. The U.S. Sentencing Commission stated that in the federal system black offenders receive sentences that are 10 percent longer than white offenders for the same crimes. The Sentencing Project reports that African Americans are 21 percent more likely to receive mandatory-minimum sentences than white defendants and are 20 percent more like to be sentenced to prison.

9. Voter laws that prohibit people with felony convictions to vote disproportionately impact men of color. An estimated 5.3 million Americans are denied the right to vote based on a past felony conviction. Felony disenfranchisement is exaggerated by racial disparities in the criminal-justice system, ultimately denying 13 percent of African American men the right to vote. Felony-disenfranchisement policies have led to 11 states denying the right to vote to more than 10 percent of their African American population.

10. Studies have shown that people of color face disparities in wage trajectory following release from prison. Evidence shows that spending time in prison affects wage trajectories with a disproportionate impact on black men and women. The results show no evidence of racial divergence in wages prior to incarceration; however, following release from prison, wages grow at a 21 percent slower rate for black former inmates compared to white ex-convicts. A number of states have bans on people with certain convictions working in domestic health-service industries such as nursing, child care, and home health care—areas in which many poor women and women of color are disproportionately concentrated. http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/race/news/2012/03/13/11351/the-top-10-most-startling-facts-about-people-of-color-and-criminal-justice-in-the-united-states/

The question becomes is there anything that can be done to stop individual involvement in criminal activity and/or violent crime.

Jennifer Aniston got into a flap about her opinion regarding single motherhood. As reported by the Celebitchy blog in the post, Bill O’Reilly Takes On Jennifer Aniston’s Pro-Single Mother Comments Aniston said:

“Women are realizing it more and more knowing that they don’t have to settle with a man just to have that child. Times have changed and that is also what is amazing… that we do have so many options these days, as opposed to our parents’ days when you can’t have children because you have waited too long. The point of the movie is what is it that defines family? It isn’t necessarily the traditional mother, father, two children and a dog named Spot. Love is love and family is what is around you and who is in your immediate sphere. That is what I love about this movie. It is saying it is not the traditional sort of stereotype of what we have been taught as a society of what family is.”

See, Andrea Peyser’s Gals Being Lost in ‘No Man’ Land

The Washington Post article, Number of Black Male Teachers Belies Their Influence made moi think about the importance of healthy male role models in a child’s life. This article is about a good male role model, a hero, Will Thomas.

The reason that teachers like Will Thomas are needed, not just for African American kids, is because the number of households headed by single parents, particularly single women is growing. Not all single parent households are unsuccessful in raising children, but enough of them are in crisis that society should be concerned. The principle issues with single parenting are a division of labor and poverty. Two parents can share parenting responsibilities and often provide two incomes, which lift many families out of poverty. Families that have above poverty level incomes face fewer challenges than families living in poverty. Still, all families face the issue of providing good role models for their children. As a society, we are like the Marines, looking for a few good men.

Why does the culture think that the opinion of any celebrity should be valued above common sense? Celebrities will often repeat the mantra that they are not role models and really want to work on their art or their craft. But, many young people look up to these babbling heads as if they are an example of the best way to live. So, the question becomes how to give children the values that they might receive if they were in a healthy family. Youth Guidance attempts to meet that need with the “Becoming A Man” program.

Youth Guidance describes “Becoming a Man” (BAM):

Youth Guidance’s B.A.M. (Becoming A Man™) – Sports Edition is a school-based counseling, mentoring, violence prevention and educational enrichment program that promotes social, emotional and behavioral competencies in at-risk male youth. B.A.M – Sports Edition’s curriculum addresses six core values: integrity, accountability, self-determination, positive anger expression, visionary goal-setting and respect for women, as each value relates to personal and academic success.

B.A.M. – Sports Edition addresses key challenges African-American and Latino youth confront daily in some of  Chicago’s toughest communities. B.A.M. – Sports Edition focuses exclusively on males because they are vastly more likely than females to be either victims or perpetrators of violent crime. Youth Guidance’s Anthony DiVittorio, L.C.P.C. created B.A.M. in response to an observation that his male students often lacked physical and emotional access to their fathers or other positive male role models. DiVittorio designed the B.A.M. curriculum around an innovative application of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) techniques, resiliency theory and rites of passage “men’s work” that have been demonstrated to successfully help youth improve self-regulation, social skills, and interpersonal skills. B.A.M. is invested in helping youth improve life-long protective factors and reduce behavioral risk factors.

Over the course of 30 weekly sessions, B.A.M. – Sports Edition participants engage in developmentally-based lessons and challenges that promote their emotional literacy, impulse-control, social competence, positive peer relations and interpersonal problems-solving skills. B.A.M. – Sports Edition is designed to help students pass classes, reduce both in-school and out of school suspensions, reduce detentions, increase school attendance, reduce disciplinary problems, and support grade promotion.

Results of the study released in 2012 show that B.A.M. works and is cost-effective. Program participants saw a 10 percent increase in graduation rates, a reduction in failing grades by 37 percent, and a decrease in violent crime arrests by 44 percent. At a cost of $1,100 per participant, the Crime Lab estimates the social benefit/cost ratio to be at least 3:1 per participating youth.

“The University of Chicago Crime Lab study shows that Youth Guidance’s B.A.M. program reduces youth violence, increases school achievement and helps Chicago’s young men reach their full potential.  ‘Becoming a Man’ helps young men find evidence of their worth, strengthen their connection to and success in school, and help build safer communities,” stated Youth Guidance’s CEO Michelle Morrison.

B.A.M.’s curriculum is built on six B.A.M. Core Values

Here are the BAM Core Values:

1.INTEGRITY – is the core principle of the program. Students learn to identify and respect societal values and to conduct themselves in accordance with those values. Students learn that a man’s word should have meaning, and that a man’s integrity is dependent on keeping his word. Students learn that a man is someone who is reliable, honest and in touch with his integrity or lack thereof. He makes amends when he is out of integrity, and does what he says he is going to do.

2. ACCOUNTABILITY – Students learn that they should be responsible for the choices that they make and take ownership for their feelings, thoughts and behaviors. Students learn that a man does not project, or put blame onto others for the consequences of his own bad choices. A man can feel anger, sadness or fear, but he must own his reactions to those emotions.

3. SELF-DETERMINATION – is a learned skill, and practice begins in B.A.M. group. Students learn the importance of focus and perseverance in reaching one’s goals. Students learn to deal with self-defeating feelings, thoughts and behaviors that can become obstacles or barriers to goal-attainment. Students learn that self-doubt, uncertainty, and moments of weakness are natural when attempting to reach a goal.

4.POSITIVE ANGER EXPRESSION – is the most effective and remembered lesson taught in the program. Students learn that anger is a normal emotion that can be expressed in a constructive manner. This skill allows for the alleviation of angry feelings and becomes a bridge to goal attainment. Students learn anger management coping skills such as deep breathing exercises to elicit a relaxation response. Students learn effective techniques to express anger that avoid typical negative consequences (i.e. suspensions, arrests, damaged relationships, etc.).

5.VISIONARY GOAL SETTING – Students learn the difference between short-term and long-term goals and how to create realistic steps toward goal attainment. Students learn to envision their manhood in the future and to make clear connections between their current behaviors, attitudes and values and their vision. During this intense phase, students aim to get in touch with traumas, pains and faulty thinking that cause them to act in negative, destructive manners. They learn how to heal these parts of themselves and to use the energy toward attaining their vision. Not all students are ready for this phase of the program. However, it can be a life altering phase for those who are.

6. RESPECT FOR WOMANHOOD – Students go through three stages of learning. First, there are lectures and discussions around the history and contemporary roles that women have held in society. Students are challenged to take a critical look at which norms represent positive value and appreciation as opposed to depreciation, devaluing and oppression. Second, students learn concrete positive communication skills and begin using them during their interactions. As a result, students enter the final stage of training, wherein they increase their value and appreciation of womanhood.

B.A.M. – Sports Edition places special emphasis on issues surrounding respect and integrity. This value reinforces those important messages at a deeper level.

See, Therapy Helps Troubled Teens Rethink Crime http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/07/02/188646607/therapy-helps-troubled-teens-rethink-crime?utm_medium=Email&utm_source=share&utm_campaign=

It is going to take coordination between not only education institutions, but a strong social support system to get many of these children through school. This does not mean a large program directed from Washington. But, more resources at the local school level which allow discretion with accountability. For example, if I child is not coming to school because they have no shoes or winter coat, then the child gets new shoes and/or a coat. School breakfast and lunch programs must be supported and if necessary, expanded. Unfortunately, schools are now the early warning system for many families in crisis.

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

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The 07/01/13 Joy Jar

1 Jul

 

Today is the first day of July. The year is over half completed. Moi began the exercise of the ‘Joy Jar’ when that Mayan end of the world thing went belly up. She was grateful that she was still standing. Bet many of you were grateful as well. So, to ‘cultivate an attitude of gratitude’ moi puts something in the ‘Joy Jar’ every day. Today’s deposit into the ‘Joy Jar’ comes form Smart Office Pro:

 

31 inspiring quotes for July

 

01 Jul

 

Quick link: 34 inspirational quotes for July 2012

 

Inspirational and motivational quotes for July 2011.

 

Please follow Smart Office Pro if you would rather get a daily quote via Twitter.

 

“It is the small decisions you and I make every day that create our destiny.”
– Anthony Robbins

 

“The smallest good deed is better than the grandest good intention.”
– Japanese proverb

 

“Work banishes those three great evils: boredom, vice, and poverty.”
– Voltaire

 

“A fall into a ditch makes you wiser.”
– Chinese proverb

 

“Experience is not what happens to you; it is what you do with what happens to you.”
– Aldous Huxley

 

“We never reflect how pleasant it is to ask for nothing.”
– Seneca

 

“That which we obtain too easily, we esteem too lightly.”
– Thomas Paine

 

“There is always room at the top.”
– Daniel Webster

 

“There is more happiness in doing your own path without excellence than in doing another’s path well.”
– the Bhagavad Gita

 

“Those that are afraid of bad luck will never know good.”
– Russian proverb

 

“A certain amount of opposition is a great help to you. Kites rise against, not with, the wind.”
– John Neal

 

“Big shots are only little shots who keep shooting.”
– Christopher Morley

 

“It takes a strong fish to swim against the current. Even a dead one can float with it.”
– John Crowe

 

“All growth is a leap in the dark, a spontaneous act without benefit of experience.”
– Henry Miller

 

“Whenever you take a step forward, you are bound to disturb something.”
– Indira Gandhi

 

“No great thing is created suddenly.”
– Epictetus

 

“Call on God, but row away from the rocks.”
– Indian proverb

 

“Work like you don’t need the money.”
– Mark Twain

 

“What the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”
– Napoleon Hill

 

“Success is the child of audacity.”
– Benjamin Disraeli

 

“What we hope to do with ease, we must learn first to do with diligence.”
– Samuel Johnson

 

“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going!”
– Jim Ryun

 

“I’ve got something inside me, peasantlike and stubborn, and I’m in it till the end of the race.”
– Truman Capote

 

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

“We do our best that we know how at the moment, and if it doesn’t turn out, we modify it.”
– FDR

 

“People who are afraid to fail can never experience the joys of success.”
– Pete Zafra

 

“Accept  and expect positive things and that is what you will receive.”
– Lori Hard

 

“If you don’t quit, and don’t cheat, and don’t run home when trouble arrives, you can only win.”
– Shelley Long

 

“A professional is a person who can do his best at a time when he doesn’t particularly feel like it.”
– Alistair Cooke

 

“Never let your work drive you. Master it and keep it in complete control.”
– Booker T. Washington

 

“Follow your dream as long as you live… for wasting time is an abomination of the spirit.”
– Plato

 

http://smartofficepro.com/2011/07/01/inspirational-quotes-jul2011/

 

 

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Is there something really wrong with a society with depressed preschoolers????

1 Jul

Here’s today’s COMMENT FROM AN OLD FART: Moi read this article from Science Daily, Brain Differences Seen in Depressed Preschoolers:

A key brain structure that regulates emotions works differently in preschoolers with depression compared with their healthy peers, according to new research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

The differences, measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), provide the earliest evidence yet of changes in brain function in young children with depression. The researchers say the findings could lead to ways to identify and treat depressed children earlier in the course of the illness, potentially preventing problems later in life. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130701172022.htm

Really. We have depressed preschoolers? Should one have experienced more about life before developing a negative opinion of it?

The National Institute of Mental Health in the Depression in Children and Adolescents (Fact Sheet) estimates about “About 11 percent of adolescents have a depressive disorder by age 18.”

About 11 percent of adolescents have a depressive disorder by age 18 according to the National Comorbidity Survey-Adolescent Supplement (NCS-A). Girls are more likely than boys to experience depression. The risk for depression increases as a child gets older. According to the World Health Organization, major depressive disorder is the leading cause of disability among Americans age 15 to 44.

Because normal behaviors vary from one childhood stage to another, it can be difficult to tell whether a child who shows changes in behavior is just going through a temporary “phase” or is suffering from depression.

PDF

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/depression-in-children-and-adolescents/index.shtml

Statistics for the numbers of preschoolers who exhibit depression are hard to come by, but researchers are beginning to study the issue.

Pamela Paul reports in the New York Times article, Can Preschoolers Be Depressed?

But generally speaking, preschool depression, unlike autism, O.D.D. and A.D.H.D., which have clear symptoms, is not a disorder that is readily apparent to the casual observer or even to the concerned parent. Depressed preschoolers are usually not morbidly, vegetatively depressed. Though they are frequently viewed as not doing particularly well socially or emotionally, teachers rarely grasp the depth of the problem. Sometimes the kids zone out in circle time, and it’s mistaken for A.D.H.D., “because they’re just staring,” explains Melissa Nishawala, the child psychiatrist at N.Y.U. “But inside, they’re worrying or thinking negative thoughts.” More often, they are simply overlooked. “These are often the good kids who tend to be timid and withdrawn,” says Sylvana Côté, a researcher at the University of Montreal who studies childhood mood and behavioral disorders. “It’s because they’re not the oppositional, aggressive children who disrupt everyone in class that their problems go undernoticed.”

Many researchers, particularly those with medical training, are eager to identify some kind of a “biologic marker” to make diagnosis scientifically conclusive. Recent studies have looked at the activity of cortisol, a hormone the body produces in response to stress. In preschoolers who have had a diagnosis of depression, as in depressed adults, cortisol levels escalate under stressful circumstances and then fail to recover with the same buoyancy as in typical children.

But in adults, cortisol reactivity can be an indication of anxiety. Other research has found that in young children, anxiety and depression are likewise intertwined. At Duke, Egger found that children who were depressed as preschoolers were more than four times as likely to have an anxiety disorder at school age. “Are these two distinct but strongly related syndromes?” asks Daniel Pine of the N.I.M.H. “Are they just slightly different-appearing clinical manifestations of the same underlying problem? Do the relationships vary at different ages? There are no definitive answers.”

Further complicating the picture is the extent to which depressed children have other ailments. In Egger’s epidemiological sample, three-fourths of depressed children had some additional disorder. In Luby’s study, about 40 percent also had A.D.H.D. or O.D.D., disruptive problems that tend to drown out signs of depression. Though it looks as if only the children with depression experience anhedonia, other symptoms like irritability and sadness are shared across several disorders. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/29/magazine/29preschool-t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

There is no one single cause of depression.

The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry says this about the causes of depression:

Depression has no single cause. Both genetics and the environment play a role, and some children may be more likely to become depressed. Depression in children can be triggered by a medical illness, a stressful situation, or the loss of an important person. Children with behavior problems or anxiety also are more likely to get depressed. Sometimes, it can be hard to identify any triggering event. http://www.aacap.org/AACAP/Families_and_Youth/Resource_Centers/Depression_Resource_Center/FAQ.aspx

Moi would theorize that these preschoolers are picking up stressors form unhealthy family situations and an unhealthy society.

Everyone would probably have some thoughts about what makes a good society or a healthy society. Here are some thoughts from Professor Patrick W. Jordan about THE GOOD SOCIETY FRAMEWORK:

• Relationships – the quality of people’s social, family and interpersonal relationships; the extent to which society is coherent and harmonious.

• Economy – people’s degree of economic prosperity and spending power;the extent to which jobs are rewarding and offer potential for growth and development.

• Environment and Infrastructure – the pleasantness and sustainability of the natural environment; the degree to which the built environment is pleasant and functions well and extent to which the infrastructure is effective and efficient.

• Health – whether people have access to good healthcare and healthy food; whether work, home and public environments are generally safe.

• Peace and Security – whether crime is low and people feel safe in their homes and public areas; whether or not society is affected by war or terrorism.

• Culture and Leisure – whether there is a rich and rewarding culture, both ‘high’ and ‘popular’; whether there are opportunities to participate in rewarding leisure activities.

• Spirituality, Religion and Philosophy – whether there is access to religious and spiritual teachings and the opportunity to practice one’s religion of choice; whether there is access to philosophical teachings and ideas about how to live.

• Education – whether there is education that enables people to function effectively in society; whether the education is intellectually enriching.

• Governance – whether there is democracy, fairness and freedom of expression; whether justice is transparent and consistent, and whether society is governed with compassion and equality.                                                                            http://www.une.edu.au/faculties/professions/Resources/goodsocietyframework.pdf

Given Professor Jordan’s framework for a healthy society, one might ask how the U.S. is doing? Like the canaries in the mineshaft who die when overcome by poisonous gases, maybe the depressed preschoolers are telling us.

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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The 06/30/13 Joy Jar

30 Jun

 

Moi has been thinking quite a bit about tolerance and what that means. The Free Dictionary defines tolerance:

 

1. The capacity for or the practice of recognizing and respecting the beliefs or practices of others.

 

2.

 

a. Leeway for variation from a standard.

 

b. The permissible deviation from a specified value of a structural dimension, often expressed as a percent.

 

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/tolerance

 

 

Most folk are tolerant of those who believe exactly as they do or who look and act like them. The hard part of tolerance is extending those same courtesies to those who are different. Today’s deposit into the ‘Joy Jar; is the aspirational goal of tolerance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Tolerance only for those who agree with you is no tolerance at all.”
Ray Davis

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Laws alone can not secure freedom of expression; in order that every man present his views without penalty there must be spirit of tolerance in the entire population.”
Albert Einstein

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Love thy enemies, it says in the scriptures. My foster mother always added, “At the very least, you will be polite to them.”
Patricia Briggs, Moon Called

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are 20 gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.”
Thomas Jefferson

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“In the world it is called Tolerance, but in hell it is called Despair…the sin that believes in nothing, cares for nothing, seeks to know nothing, interferes with nothing, enjoys nothing, hates nothing, finds purpose in nothing, lives for nothing, and remains alive because there is nothing for which it will die.”
Dorothy L. Sayers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Never judge someone
By the way he looks
Or a book by the way it’s covered;
For inside those tattered pages,
There’s a lot to be discovered”
Stephen Cosgrove

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools”
Martin Luther King Jr.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“If I do not believe as you believe, it proves that you do not believe as I believe, and that is all that it proves.”
Thomas Paine

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“In order to have faith in his own path, he does not need to prove that someone else’s path is wrong.”
Paulo Coelho, Warrior of the Light

 

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Study: Wealthier students are more connected on Facebook

30 Jun

 

Moi wrote in The role economic class plays in college success:

 

Many educators have long recognized that the impact of social class affects both education achievement and life chances after completion of education. There are two impacts from diversity, one is to broaden the life experience of the privileged and to raise the expectations of the disadvantaged. Social class matters in not only other societies, but this one as well.

 

A few years back, the New York Times did a series about social class in America. That series is still relevant. Janny Scott and David Leonhardt’s overview, Shadowy Lines That Still Divide describes the challenges faced by schools trying to overcome the disparity in education. The complete series can be found at Social Classhttps://drwilda.com/2011/11/07/race-class-and-education-in-america/

 

Jason DeParle reports in the New York Times article, For Poor Strivers, Leap to College Often Ends in a Hard Fall:

 

“Everyone wants to think of education as an equalizer — the place where upward mobility gets started,” said Greg J. Duncan, an economist at the University of California, Irvine. “But on virtually every measure we have, the gaps between high- and low-income kids are widening. It’s very disheartening.”

 

The growing role of class in academic success has taken experts by surprise since it follows decades of equal opportunity efforts and counters racial trends, where differences have narrowed. It adds to fears over recent evidence suggesting that low-income Americans have lower chances of upward mobility than counterparts in Canada and Western Europe.

 

Thirty years ago, there was a 31 percentage point difference between the share of prosperous and poor Americans who earned bachelor’s degrees, according to Martha J. Bailey and Susan M. Dynarski of the University of Michigan. Now the gap is 45 points.

 

While both groups improved their odds of finishing college, the affluent improved much more, widening their sizable lead.

 

Likely reasons include soaring incomes at the top and changes in family structure, which have left fewer low-income students with the support of two-parent homes. Neighborhoods have grown more segregated by class, leaving lower-income students increasingly concentrated in lower-quality schools. And even after accounting for financial aid, the costs of attending a public university have risen 60 percent in the past two decades. Many low-income students, feeling the need to help out at home, are deterred by the thought of years of lost wages and piles of debt….

 

Income has always shaped academic success, but its importance is growing. Professor Reardon, the Stanford sociologist, examined a dozen reading and math tests dating back 25 years and found that the gap in scores of high- and low-income students has grown by 40 percent, even as the difference between blacks and whites has narrowed.

 

While race once predicted scores more than class, the opposite now holds. By eighth grade, white students surpass blacks by an average of three grade levels, while upper-income students are four grades ahead of low-income counterparts.

 

“The racial gaps are quite big, but the income gaps are bigger,” Professor Reardon said.

 

One explanation is simply that the rich have clearly gotten richer. A generation ago, families at the 90th percentile had five times the income of those at the 10th percentile. Now they have 10 times as much.

 

But as shop class gave way to computer labs, schools may have also changed in ways that make parental income and education more important. SAT coaches were once rare, even for families that could afford them. Now they are part of a vast college preparation industry. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/23/education/poor-students-struggle-as-class-plays-a-greater-role-in-success.html?hpw&_r=0

 

K-12 education must not only prepare students by teaching basic skills, but they must prepare students for training after high school, either college or vocational. There should not only be a solid education foundation established in K-12, but there must be more accurate evaluation of whether individual students are “college ready.” A study by Purdue University Libraries Associate Professor Reynol Junco shows the class differences in the soft social skill of networking.

 

Bianca Bosker writes in the Huffington Post article, Wealthier College Students Share, Connect More On Facebook: Study:

 

Social media may have to reconsider its reputation as the great equalizer: according to a new study, college students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are less likely than their wealthier peers to communicate and share on Facebook, behavior the study’s author argues could in turn be detrimental to academic performance and social life.

Purdue University Libraries Associate Professor Reynol Junco surveyed 2,359 college students with an average age of 22 years old to understand how gender, ethnicity and socioeconomic status affected their time spent on and usage of the social networking site. The survey participants were asked to estimate how much time they spent on Facebook and what they did during that time. (However, a previous study by Junco showed self-reporting to be an inaccurate representation of the time students actually spent browsing the site.)

facebook usage
The table above lists the frequency with which all the students surveyed said they engaged in different activities on Facebook.

Junco found that students used the site with equal frequency, irrespective of their backgrounds, spending an average of 101 minutes a day on Facebook.

But those whose parents completed a lower level of education — a proxy for socioeconomic status — were less inclined to engage in seven of 14 of core social activities on Facebook, including tagging photos, messaging privately, chatting on the site and creating or RSVPing to events, according to the study.

While the study did not determine if there were any activities that students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds were more likely to engage in, what those students are less likely to do on the site is notable, Junco wrote. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/25/college-students-facebook-study_n_3497733.html

Citation:

 

 

Computers in Human Behavior

 

Volume 29, Issue 6, November 2013, Pages 2328–2336

 

Inequalities in Facebook use

 

 

  • Library Science, Purdue University Libraries, West Lafayette, IN 47907, United States

 

 

 

 

Highlights

 

• Little research has examined digital inequalities in social networking website use.
• This study used a large sample to examine digital inequalities in Facebook usage.
• Women were more likely to use Facebook for communication.
• African Americans were less likely to use Facebook to check up on friends.
• Those from lower SES were less likely to use Facebook for communication and sharing.

 

Abstract

 

While research has examined digital inequalities in general Internet use, little research has examined inequalities in social networking website use. This study extends previous research by examining how Facebook use is related to student background characteristics. Analyses were conducted to assess differences in time spent and activities performed on Facebook using a large sample (N = 2359) of college students. Results showed that women were more likely to use Facebook for communication, African Americans were less likely to use Facebook to check up on their friends, and students from lower socioeconomic levels were less likely to use Facebook for communication and sharing. Implications for education, communication, and student outcomes are presented.

 

These networking skills often aid in success later.

 

 

In College readiness: What are ‘soft skills’ moi wrote:

 

 

Soft skills are skills associated with “emotional intelligence.”

 

Jeanne Segal, Ph.D., and Melinda Smith, M.A. have written the excellent article, Emotional Intelligence (EQ) for HELPGUIDE.Org.

 

What is emotional intelligence?

 

Emotional intelligence (EQ) is the ability to identify, use, understand, and manage emotions in positive ways to relieve stress, communicate effectively, empathize with others, overcome challenges, and diffuse conflict. Emotional intelligence impacts many different aspects of your daily life, such as the way you behave and the way you interact with others.

 

If you have a high emotional intelligence you are able to recognize your own emotional state and the emotional states of others and engage with people in a way that draws them to you. You can use this understanding of emotions to relate better to other people, form healthier relationships, achieve greater success at work, and lead a more fulfilling life.

 

Emotional intelligence consists of four attributes:

 

  • Self-awareness – You recognize your own emotions and how they affect your thoughts and behavior, know your strengths and weaknesses, and have self-confidence.

  • Self-management – You’re able to control impulsive feelings and behaviors, manage your emotions in healthy ways, take initiative, follow through on commitments, and adapt to changing circumstances.

  • Social awareness – You can understand the emotions, needs, and concerns of other people, pick up on emotional cues, feel comfortable socially, and recognize the power dynamics in a group or organization.

  • Relationship management – You know how to develop and maintain good relationships, communicate clearly, inspire and influence others, work well in a team, and manage conflict.

 

Why is emotional intelligence (EQ) so important?

 

As we know, it’s not the smartest people that are the most successful or the most fulfilled in life. You probably know people who are academically brilliant and yet are socially inept and unsuccessful at work or in their personal relationships. Intellectual intelligence or IQ isn’t enough on its own to be successful in life. IQ can help you get into college but it’s EQ that will help you manage the stress and emotions of sitting your final exams.

 

Emotional intelligence affects:

 

  • Your performance at work. Emotional intelligence can help you navigate the social complexities of the workplace, lead and motivate others, and excel in your career. In fact, when it comes to gauging job candidates, many companies now view emotional intelligence as being as important as technical ability and require EQ testing before hiring.

  • Your physical health. If you’re unable to manage your stress levels, it can lead to serious health problems. Uncontrolled stress can raise blood pressure, suppress the immune system, increase the risk of heart attack and stroke, contribute to infertility, and speed up the aging process. The first step to improving emotional intelligence is to learn how to relieve stress.

  • Your mental health. Uncontrolled stress can also impact your mental health, making you vulnerable to anxiety and depression. If you are unable to understand and manage your emotions, you’ll also be open to mood swings, while an inability to form strong relationships can leave you feeling lonely and isolated.

  • Your relationships. By understanding your emotions and how to control them, you’re better able to express how you feel and understand how others are feeling. This allows you to communicate more effectively and forge stronger relationships, both at work and in your personal life. http://www.helpguide.org/mental/eq5_raising_emotional_intelligence.htm

 

Whether one calls success traits “emotional intelligence” or “soft skills” is really not important. The traits associated are those more likely to result in a successful outcome for the student.

 

Margaret Rouse defines “soft skills” in the post, Soft Skills. http://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/soft-skills

 

K-12 education must not only prepare students by teaching basic skills, but they must prepare students for training after high school, either college or vocational. There should not only be a solid education foundation established in K-12, but there must be more accurate evaluation of whether individual students are “college ready.”   https://drwilda.com/2012/11/14/college-readiness-what-are-soft-skills/

 

 

Related:

 

Helping community college students to graduate                     https://drwilda.com/2012/02/08/helping-community-college-students-to-graduate/

 

The digital divide affects the college application process https://drwilda.com/2012/12/08/the-digital-divide-affects-the-college-application-process/

 

College readiness: What are ‘soft skills’                                   https://drwilda.com/2012/11/14/college-readiness-what-are-soft-skills/

 

Colleges rethinking who may need remedial education https://drwilda.com/2012/10/24/colleges-rethinking-who-may-need-remedial-education/

 

 

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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Dr. Wilda Reviews: The Dragon Pearl

30 Jun

Moi received a complimentary copy of the Dragon Pearl which was exclusively released to Walmart on June 18, 2013 and which will be available on DVD on August 20, 2013. Here is a synopsis and Youtube trailer:

Josh and Ling were expecting a boring vacation visiting each of their parents at an archaeological dig in China. But the new friends soon discover they’re right in the middle of an adventure when they find a Chinese Golden Dragon.

Director:

Mario Andreacchio

Writers:

Mario Andreacchio (story), John Armstrong (original script), 3 more credits »

Stars:

Sam Neill, Li Lin Jin, Louis Corbett | See full cast and crew

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwgJ-HbwKlg

What this movie does well is provide “family-friendly” entertainment. It was a good movie which could have been a very good movie by stronger character portrayal and better special effects. The martial arts action at the end of the movie really saved the show.

This was a joint Chinese- Australian production and moi wondered whether the story which is really a beautiful fable should have been handled more deftly. Some of the characters appeared to be caricatures. Prime example was the Temple caretaker role, Wu Dong, which was played by Jordan Chan. Maybe a performance which would have focused more on the wisdom of a Temple caretaker who was charged with protecting a legacy would have been more effective.

The story is based upon the role that dragons and pearls have in Chinese history. Dragons and Dragon Lore, by Ernest Ingersoll, [1928], at sacred-texts.com provides some context in Chapter Ten: The Dragon’s Precious Pearl The story is based on a Chinese fable about a Chinese dragon who gave his pearl, the source of his power, to a good Chinese Emperor to help him win a battle against his enemies. The Emperor’s daughter re-writes history when her father is killed in battle to say the pearl was lost when it really was buried in the Emperor’s tomb. The dragon has been waiting thousands of years for the “chosen” one to return the pearl. This is a great fable would should provide the strong backbone of any fantasy movie.

Sam Neill plays a divorced father who is the leader of the archeological team excavating the Emperor’s tomb. His son, played by Louis Corbett comes to visit him for the summer. There just wasn’t the chemistry between the two, even for a relationship which has been strained by divorce. Li Lin Jin who plays Ling is very good as the sensible Chinese girl. Again, the stereotypes are present as Corbett plays the clueless westerner. The children meet the caretaker when they return a flute he lost to the Temple. The music, by Frank Strangio, which wafts through the production is quite good. This music can only be heard by the “chosen” one which is Ling. At the Temple, the children encounter the dragon. The villain, Philip Dukas played by Robert Mammone added an unexpected twist.

The movie is weakest on special effects. The dragon is only OK and the pearl looks like a dot which is places over people’s heads when the face is to be obscured. Probably, the pearl is supposed to convey energy, but it just looks lame. The strongest parts of the movie are the music, the beautiful photography and scenery and the beautiful fable. Moi recommends the movie because the whole family can watch together and the martial arts action is quite enjoyable.

Dr. Wilda recommends the Dragon Pearl as family friendly entertainment.

Other Reviews:

The Dragon Pearl                                                  http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/dragon-pearl-film-review-sam-neill-335529

The Dragon Pearl                                                 http://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/the-dragon-pearl

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

Dr. Wilda says this about that ©

Blogs by Dr. Wilda:

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

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

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Dr. Wilda Reviews: Seattle Art Museum’s ‘Future Beauty: 30 Years of Japanese Fashion’

30 Jun

Moi had the great pleasure of attending the Seattle Art Museum’s (SAM) press preview for Future Beauty: 30 Years of Japanese Fashion which runs June 27 – September 8 at SAM Downtown in Simonyi Special Exhibition Galleries. This exhibit was organized by the Kyoto Costume Institute (KCI) and London’s Barbican Art Gallery in collaboration with SAM Seattle whichis one of two U.S. cities which will host this exhibit. After leaving Seattle, the exhibit will go to the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts. Japanese fashion historian, Akiko Fukai , who is the Chief Curator of the KCI is the curator. All moi can say is, we are so very blessed. For fashionistas on the West Coast, it is definitely worth traveling to Seattle to see. Moi would describe the experience as being treated to some very expensive Cognac. It is not something one gets every day, but once treated to the experience, the Cognac is savored. Once the Cognac is drunk, you know that you might not have appreciated all the subtle notes.

The exhibit is “ structured in a combination of thematic and monographic sections.” The first section is influenced by In Praise of Shadows:

….an essay on Japanese aesthetics by the Japanese author and novelist Jun’ichirō Tanizaki. It was translated into English by the academic students of Japanese literature Thomas Harper and Edward Seidensticker.

The essay consists of 16 sections that discuss traditional Japanese aesthetics in contrast with change. Comparisons of light with darkness are used to contrast Western and Asian cultures. The West, in its striving for progress, is presented as continuously searching for light and clarity, while the subtle and subdued forms of oriental art and literature are seen by Tanizaki to represent an appreciation of shadow and subtlety, closely relating to the traditional Japanese concept of sabi. In addition to contrasting light and dark, Tanizaki further considers the layered tones of various kinds of shadows and their power to reflect low sheen materials like gold embroidery, patina and cloudy crystals. In addition, he distinguishes between the values of gleam and shine.              ttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Praise_of_Shadows

The other sections have the themes of Flatness, Tradition and Innovation, and Cool Japan. One is of course wowed by the designs, but the real story is CREATIVITY and INNOVATION in the imagining of how fabrics can be used in design. Another thought moi had was that those who wear these fashions are probably very confident and sure of themselves and their relationship to the world.

This show is really one of those that you have to see in person because one will not be able to grasp the subtle and nuanced way in which some very exceptional fabrics are used in design. Sometimes fashion is simply eye candy and there certainly are those pieces in the collection. There are also those pieces that jar the senses and ask one to think about what role fashion has or should have. Is fashion important and what does beauty really mean? This is a beautifully displayed collection of designs displaying a particularly cultural take on the question of what is good design. Moi highly recommends this show.

The Japanese External Trade Organization describes the Fashion History of Japan:

Japanese fashion reached a turning point in the 70’s. Pr?t-a-porter (ready-made clothing) which people could wear more easily than haute couture, became widely available and that drastically changed Japanese fashion. Japan was in the middle of a high economic growth period and strong personal consumption backed the situation. Hanae Mori, Kenzo Takada, and Issei Miyake received attention internationally in the 1970’s.

Kenzo Takada established The House of KENZO in Paris in 1970 and opened his own boutique “Jangle Jap” there. He then started participating in the Paris Pr?t-a-porter Collection and his colorful, pretty and dynamic folklore look, big look, and layered look quickly became popular. Issei Miyake also started showing in Paris the Pret-a-porter Collection in 1973. Hanae Mori had her first show in New York in 1965 and then opened her maison de haute couture in Paris in 1977 and joined the Paris Haute Couture Collection. At the same time, Sayoko Yamaguchi, a Japanese fashion model, became very popular in the Paris Collection with her bob hair and makeup which emphasized her long-slitted eyes.

In the 80’s, Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons and Yohji Yamamoto received high recognition internationally. Their “boro look” which was loose black clothes ripped and frayed, brought sensational controversy in Paris, but their clothes then gave influence to the fashion after the period. Kawakubo and Yamamoto’s clothes matched to the mood of the 80’s when clothes with strong impressions were considered to be interesting. Their avant garde and dress-down approach had carved out new possibilities of fashion. It was an era when Japanese fashion bolstered a unique and original image which would shake the general idea of Western clothes. Kawakubo and Yamamoto’s deconstructed and sexless clothes later influenced designers in Belgium such as Martin Margiela.

In 1985, the Council of Fashion Designers, Tokyo (CFD) was established with 32 designers and then the Tokyo Collection was started. The DC (Designer Character) boom in the 80’s helped to energize the Tokyo Collection. In addition to designer’s brands which had been recognized internationally as high-end brands since the 70’s, character brands referred to brands which were more affordable yet very fashion trend conscious. Many character brands such as Bigi, Nicole, Atelier Sab, Pink House, and Takeo Kikuchi swept the Japanese market. Strong economic growth referred to as a “bubble” intensified the movement.

Noritaka TatehanaShortly after the 90’s started, the economic bubble burst and casual fashion became the mainstream fashion trend. In addition to “Shibukaji” which meant casual fashion originated from Shibuya in Tokyo in the end of the 80’s, “kogyaru” which referred to high school girls with loose socks, “chapatsu” ( brown hair), and “ganguro” (face with black foundation or strongly tanned) gained power in Shibuya. Street fashion in Tokyo started to get attention even from the international media and Shibuya and Harajuku especially became recognized as sources for fashion trend. “Ura Hara” which referred to the back streets in Harajuku, also became popular as a trendy fashion area. Jun Takahashi who is the designer of Under Cover originated from “Ura Hara” and he joined the Tokyo Collection in the middle of the 90’s and later started showing in Paris with the 2003 Spring Summer collection. Shibuya 109 (ichi maru kyuu), which is a building with many fashion brand tenants such as Egoist, Cocolulu, Moussy and Cecil McBEE, became very popular among young women in their teens and 20’s and the sexy and pretty fashion was called “maru kyuu fashion.”

When 21st Century started, more Japanese designers such as Chisato Tsumori, Junya Watanabe, Chitose Abe (Sacai), Limi Yamamoto (Limi Feu) started showing in the Paris Collection. In New York, “Japan Fashion Now” which was started in September in 2010 at the FIT Museum extended the term for three more months to the beginning of April in 2011 due to the popular demand. Among the featured designers in the exhibition, Under Cover, designed by Jun Takahashi was particularly favorite among the visitors. Noritaka Tatehana, who launched his shoes brand “NORITAKA TATEHANA” in 2010 quickly became famous as the pop singer Lady Gaga wore his highly distinctive shoes with no heels. His collection pieces are all handmade by the designer himself who has a back ground of creating kimono and wooden clogs utilizing yu-zen dying. Among the veteran designers, Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons still actively inspires the world of fashion not only with her collection each season, but also her concept stores Dover Street Market, which are in London as well as in Ginza, Tokyo. Rei Kawakubo was chosen to be awarded for the international design from CFDA, Council of Fashion Designers of America in June, 2012. http://www.jetro.org/fashion_history_of_japan

Here is the press release from Seattle Art Museum:

For Immediate Release

Contact: Wendy Malloy, SAM Public Relations
(206) 654-3151; email: PR@SeattleArtMuseum.org

Seattle Art Museum Presents Future Beauty: 30 Years of Japanese Fashion

Comprehensive survey of avant-garde Japanese fashion
Future Beauty: 30 Years of Japanese Fashion
June 27–September 8, 2013


SEATTLE, May 6, 2013 – This summer Seattle Art Museum (SAM) presents Future Beauty: 30 Years of Japanese Fashion featuring more than 100 costumes by celebrated and original designers including Issey Miyake, Rei Kawakubo, and Yohji Yamamoto as well as younger designers influenced by popular culture and the dynamic street life of Tokyo.

This exciting exhibition, on view at the Seattle Art Museum June 27–September 8, 2013, highlights the tremendous innovation of Japanese fashion designers from the early 1980s to the present who revolutionized the way we think of fashion today. The designs reflect a range of influences from Japanese aesthetics, reinterpretations of Western couture, punk aesthetics and Japanese street fashion.

“I am delighted that the Seattle Art Museum is the first museum in the United States to share this fascinating and influential period in design history and to present this stunning collection from the Kyoto Costume Institute.” said Kimerly Rorschach, SAM’s Illsley Ball Nordstrom Director.

Curated by the eminent Japanese fashion historian Akiko Fukai, Director/Chief Curator, the Kyoto Costume Institute (KCI), the exhibition explores the distinctive sensibility of Japanese design and its sense of beauty embodied in clothing. Bringing together over 100 garments from the last three decades—some never seen before in the United States—the exhibition also includes films of notable catwalk shows and documentaries.

“The exhibition shows how Japanese fashion design launched itself on the world stage in the 1980s,” said Catharina Manchanda, SAM’s Jon & Mary Shirley Curator of Modern & Contemporary Art.

“Japanese fashion designers at that time developed breathtaking aesthetic positions that subsequently influenced a younger generation of Western designers including Martin Margiela, Ann Demeulemeester and Alexander McQueen.”

The first Japanese designers who gained recognition in the West were Kenzo Takada and Issey Miyake in the 1970s. But the 1980s were the decade when Japanese designers forcefully made their mark. Traditionally, Western women’s fashion was and still is concerned with seductively packaging and unveiling the body.

Symmetry of the silhouette is one of Western fashion’s defining characteristics. But a legendary spring/summer show in Paris for the 1983 collection was a stark departure from such familiar positions. Rei Kawakubo for Comme des Garçons and Yohji Yamamoto were the designers who put forth a stark new aesthetic based on monochrome black and white colors and they presented asymmetrical, and above all artfully perforated and ripped designs that were deconstructive and the antithesis of a fitted gown.

The exhibition is structured in a combination of thematic and monographic sections:

The first thematic section, In Praise of Shadows, explores the Japanese designers’ interest in materials, textures and forms, and consciousness of light and shade. Most of the designs in this section are in black and white and revisit the moment when these minimal aesthetic proposals were first introduced to European audiences in the early 1980s. The costumes in this section include designs by Rei Kawakubo, Yohji Yamamoto, and Junya Watanabe.

The second section is Flatness and explores the simple geometries and interplay of flatness and volume in the work of Issey Miyake and Rei Kawakubo. This section includes a series of specially commissioned striking photographs by Japanese artist and photographer Naoya Hatakeyama.

In the next section the relationship between Tradition and Innovation is considered—from the radical reinvention of traditional Japanese garments and techniques, such as kimono and origami, to the technological advances in textile fabrication and treatment. It includes a series of paper garments by OhYa and Mintdesigns; Watanabe’s seminal autumn/winter 2000 collection Techno Couture; examples of Kawakubo’s deconstructionist work; as well as modern takes on traditional Japanese techniques and garments by Yamamoto, Kenzo and Matohu.

The final section focuses on the phenomenon that is Cool Japan. Featuring works by Tao Kurihara, Jun Takahashi for Undercover and Naoki Takizawa, among others. Cool Japan examines the symbiotic relationship between street style, popular culture and high fashion.

The exhibition also includes monographic presentations on each of the principle designers in the show featuring a range of archive and recent works: Rei Kawakubo (Comme des Garçons), Yohji Yamamoto, Issey Miyake, Junya Watanabe, and Jun Takahashi (Undercover).

Following its visit to Seattle, Future Beauty: 30 Years of Japanese Fashion will travel to the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Mass., where it will be on view November 16, 2013 through January 26, 2014.

Seattle Art Museum

SAM is one museum in three locations: SAM Downtown, Seattle Asian Art Museum at Volunteer Park, and the Olympic Sculpture Park on the downtown waterfront. SAM collects, preserves and exhibits objects from across time and across cultures, exploring the dynamic connections between past and present.

Kyoto Costume Institue (KCI)

Established in 1978 by Wacoal Corp., KCI is one of Japan’s leading repositories of historical costumes and contemporary fashion with a collection of over eleven thousand works. KCI has organized critically acclaimed fashion exhibitions around the world, including Ancien Régime and Japonism in Fashion, and generated important publications such as Fashion: A History from the 18th to the 20th Century; Collection of the Kyoto Costume Institute (Taschen, 2002).

Exhibition originally conceived by the Kyoto Costume Institute and Barbican Art Gallery, London. Seattle Exhibition organized by Kyoto Costume Institute in collaboration with the Seattle Art Museum. Exhibition supported by Wacoal Corp.

Presenting sponsor is Seattle Art Museum Supporters. Major sponsor is 4Culture King County Lodging Tax. Additional support provided by the Japan Foundation and the Max and Helen Gurvich Exhibition Endowment. Print media sponsor is Seattle Weekly. Retail partner is Pacific Place.

Contemporary and modern art programs at SAM are supported by a generous group of donors in honor of Bagley Wright.

Moi highly recommends this show. It is worth traveling to see.

Resources:

Brief History of Japanese Clothing                           http://www.reconstructinghistory.com/articles/japanese-articles/a-brief-history-of-japanese-clothing.html

Elements of Japanese Design                              http://www.thecultureconcept.com/circle/elements-of-japanese-design

FASHION JAPAN

Magazine on Japanese street fashion, runway fashion and street culture.

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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The 06/29/13 Joy Jar

29 Jun

 

 

The Corvette just turned 60. Prince has one of the best songs ever – ‘Little Red Corvette.’ It is still Seattle Hot. How do these things tie together? Well, just for the summer, moi would love to have a little red Corvette convertible and she would play Prince loud, really loud. The summer would end and the car would get put away. Today’s deposit into the ‘Joy Jar’ is moi’s imaginary little red Corvette with Prince blaring on the sound system

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The winner ain’t the one with the fastest car its the one who refuses to lose

 

Dale Earnhardt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Going to church does not make you a Christian anymore than going to the garage makes you a car.

 

Dr. Laurence J. Peter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In less enlightened times, the best way to impress women was to own a hot car. But women wised up and realized it was better to buy their own hot cars so they wouldn’t have to ride around with jerks.

 

Scott Adams

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don’t drive as if you owned the road Drive as if you owned the car

 

Unknown

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dogs feel very strongly that they should always go with you in the car, in case the need should arise for them to bark violently at nothing right in your ear

 

Dave Barry

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shutting off the thought process is not rejuvenating; the mind is like a car battery — it recharges by running.

 

Bill Watterson

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did you ever notice when you blow in a dog’s face he gets mad at you? But when you take him in a car he sticks his head out the window”

 

Steve Bluestone

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just as your car runs more smoothly and requires less energy to go faster and farther when the wheels are in perfect alignment, you perform better when your thoughts, feelings, emotions, goals, and values are in balance.

 

Brian Tracy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Living with a conscience is like driving a car with the brakes on

 

Budd Schulberg

 

 

 

 

 

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The 06/28/13 Joy Jar

28 Jun

Hot weather in Seattle is reletive in comparison to the rest of the country. We don’t have the 110+ weather of las Vegas or Phoenix, but 88 in Seattle makes folk start to complain. Today was the first hot day in Seattle and there promises to be, according to the weather minds, several more days to follow. Even hot and uncomfortable days have their place, they make one appreciate those days when it is not too cold, not too warm, not too rainy, and not too cloudy. Today’s deposit into the ‘Joy Jar’ are hot summer days which make one appreciate perfect temperature days.

A single sunbeam is enough to drive away many shadows.
St. Francis of Assisi

Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability.
Sam Keen

Summer afternoon – summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.
Henry James

Summer is the time when one sheds one’s tensions with one’s clothes, and the right kind of day is jeweled balm for the battered spirit. A few of those days and you can become drunk with the belief that all’s right with the world.
Ada Louise Huxtable

What dreadful hot weather we have! It keeps me in a continual state of inelegance.
Jane Austen

Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it.
Russell Baker

Every summer has a story.

Unknown

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The 06/27/13 Joy Jar

27 Jun

Responsible fireworks are very beautiful. Every year Seattle has had a sponsored fireworks display at Lake Union on the Fourth of July. It;s beautiful and is attended by thousands of people who celebrate the holiday. This fireworks display is safe and san and can be viewed from many vantage points. Today’s deposit into the ‘Joy Jar’ are those fireworks displays that are safe and sane.

All architecture is great architecture after sunset; perhaps architecture is really a nocturnal art, like the art of fireworks.
Gilbert K. Chesterton

You are born an artist or you are not. And you stay an artist, dear, even if your voice is less of a fireworks. The artist is always there.
Maria Callas

I always have the most fun on the Fourth of July. You don’t have to exchange any gifts. You just go to the beach and watch fireworks. It’s always fun.
James Lafferty

Just a reminder that fireworks look even more amazing when you’re not constantly checking your iPhone.

Unknown

I guess we all like to be recognized not for one piece of fireworks, but for the ledger of our daily work.
Neil Armstrong

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