Jack & Jill Politics

I don't like horror movies to begin with…the thought of going to see Shutter Island direct by SCORCESE?

HELL NO.

Martin Scorcese + HORROR= helllll no

uh huh.

I'm too chicken…LOL

But the US Army can adapt as well.

Yes and no. Yes, it can adept in some ways to fight an indigenous guerrilla warfare insurgency force but it cannot remake itself into a guerrilla army nor can it change the fact that it is a non-indigenous occupying military force.

this was very much on point. I got so sad awhile ago listening to our local talk radio, when discussing our children, someone who ran an afterschool program called in and just said plainly -

' our children have no imagination anymore.'

she was talking about the lack of ability to SEE dreams. dreams that didn't include rappers and ball players. that there was a large world out there, and these kids had no clue. I felt so sad because I knew she was right.

thanks for all that you do, zackboston.

My geeky academic side is all tingly reading your post, Lace-Howell's article & Kelley's excerpt. Thanks for the book suggestion.

I've concluded from my own work that you can only really 'save a child' when you are also saving people who care for the child – the larger support network – meaning at least one individual that is a consistent, caring and encouraging presence integrated into the normal life of the child over the long term. Ideally this would be the parents-caregivers. It also works if this support comes from the peers within the summer program.

Along that path, I've also been rethinking lately about the idea of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs applied within a larger support network beyond self.

How powerful could it be to use art & literacy to design actions these kids can take to support self and others within the program and beyond.
To use their own wisdom to examine this hierarchy and begin to transform their collective community (self & support).

I wholeheartedly agree with Kelley's statement about knocking down vs building. Although there is value and healing in acknowledging the past, it can also derail attempts to dream a positive vision of the future. There is an enormous difference in dreaming about what I want to be as opposed to what I don't want to be anymore. The former is future-oriented, positive and motivating; the latter is mired in the negative.

When clients get stuck in the negative past, I ask “If you don't want X, what do you want instead?” This allows them to shift their dreams into future and positive thoughts & identify actions they want to take.

I know you weren't actually asking for suggestions for your summer program. I'm excited to read about others who are applying this thinking in various areas. Rant over & please share an update after the program.

oh i have been so busy in the past few days, i could not reply to your inspiring words, which i forwarded on to my friend from haiti who is working on the summer program.

i especially liked what you said about supporting the people who support young people. i have an anthropology research gig now where a tremendously multicultural and multilingual team is trying to identify, support and enhance relationships in a small community to support success for young people. you are right in that a lot of the providers do not talk to one another and operate in isolation and often get discouraged and experience despair. the parents want so much to help their children, but are intimidated by the school administrations. you helped me put into very clear focus why we are beginning to work to connect multilingual multicultural parents at the elementary school, why we are focusing on connecting administration with after school providers. we need to support the folks who support the children!

so thank you and know that i have put your comments in my journal where i can return to them over and over for inspiration, wisdom and encouragement! and thank YOU so much for the work you do with and for our young people (for all the young people are OUR young people, no?)

Oh I shared the site with consuelo who is working on the project with me and we are going to meet and look it over together. . . so thanks. Also, at the tech center we have a project trying to support young mothers as a way to support children. . . do you have any academic cites or references that I can use in the upcoming grant proposal about how supporting care providers supports children?! thanks if you can help. . .