Politics in the classroom

 "You must arouse children's curiosity and make them think about school. For example, it's very important to begin the school year with a discussion of why we go to school. Why does the government force us to go to school? This would set a questioning tone and show the children that you trust them and that they are intelligent enough. at their own level, to investigate and come up with answers" (Meier)

   This is a great quote to me. My philosophy as not only an inspiring educator but as a person is to question the reasoning for everything around you. Everything and everyone has a purpose and to continue on with something without knowing it's purpose makes the activity seem less important. Showing the students of your classroom that you have faith in them to critically think and answer this question is a great way to build their confidence, not only in themselves but for the instructor as well.

   Students today are shoved standardized test after standardized test starting at a young age. To me it can have an adverse effect on them because of the fact that it can cause a burnout. From an early age, students are told over and over that these tests are "so important" and that all the pressure is on them to overachieve on them. They become so wrapped up in trying to do perfect on these tests that their other academics suffer because of it. It's a combination of stressing out too much from the standardized tests and just a burnout from too much work altogether. It can be too much on a young student to handle, because even as adults we all have moments of burnout due to mid-terms and other stressful times of our academic year. Imagine being that much younger without the ability to know how to manage our time better? It becomes too overwhelming and that's why I feel these tests should be limited to every couple of years after a certain age rather than once a year.

  So what can be done to prevent the burnout outside of changing how many times the tests are taken? To get back to the quote I opened up with it has to do with engaging the students better. Students learn better when they feel that a teacher isn't just there to lecture them and not hear their explanations. The politics of school is that the teachers speak and the students listen, the status quo if you will. But the real successful classes (measured in student participation and overall interest) come from those that can make students critically think without forcing it upon them. Making them feel like they want to be engaged without forcing anything is the key to preventing burnout because a student will want to think and participate in class. It's a much better alternative than having a student lose focus constantly because a teacher hasn't instilled confidence in them to answer a question posed to them in an effective manner.
  

Citizenship in School

     "Now we know that people with disabilities can learn and have a full, rich life. The challenge is to erase negative attitudes about people with develop­ mental disabilities, get rid of the stereotypes and break the barriers for people with disabilities." (Kingsley)
      Isn't that a peculiar statement; that there was even an assumption that those with disabilities were commonly believed to not be able to live "normal" lives? To me this statement speaks volumes. Some things obviously speak louder than others but the point stands; in order to get rid of a stereotype the issue itself has to be addressed.

      First off, the notion that a person can not enjoy a full life or even academic challenges if they'd like. The case with Mia Petersen is especially alarming.
     "I started to notice that I didn't like the classes I was taking called special education. I had to go through special ed. almost all my life. I wanted to take other classes that interested me. I had never felt so mad, 1 wanted to cry. " (Peterson)
      I believe the most striking thing would be the fact that she had to go back to school after she had already graduated to take the classes she wanted to take. Now I'm all for not having students pushed beyond their limits, but that should be up to the student to decide and no one else. It's frustrating to hear as a student myself that in order to take the classes she found interesting she had to go back when she could have taken them while she was in school. To be held back because of a misconception is a tragedy within itself. It's cruel, unfair, and quite frankly ignorant on the part of the educators.
    
     Now of course it doesn't end with just the teachers. The idea that students with disabilities are viewed any differently than students that don't is a mistake. It's a view that people are trying to fight, as they should be. The view of "Citizenship in Schools" is an interesting concept because of the very definition of the word and the water it holds. The idea that "citizenship" is built upon listening rather than spoken word is, to me, key to having an equal citizenship in schools. The viewpoint of students in schools needs to be the same for each individual attends, and by following the standpoint of the community in the school, it can start easier than any other way.

So what can be done to prevent this from happening in the future? It's simplistic in concept, however because of misguided stigmas it may be more difficult. The problem can not be solved if it is not addressed, plain and simple. People need to learn that not every situation is the same, and if a student with a disability wants to take on a difficult class they should be given a chance to do so. They are, after all, students and they should be allowed to choose the classes they wish to take and feel good in doing so.
  

Promising Practices part 2

     It just occurred to me, as I'm sitting here at my desk racking my brains for some more ideas to add to my first post, that I really can't find anything at all to add from the conference portion. Don't get me wrong, at the workshops I learned a great deal and I enjoyed them for sure, but the panels were just aggravating at times. But then it hit me, I had a "Won't learn from you" moment. It just seemed like they weren't relatable speakers at all. The whole time it felt like "Hey see us up here? There's a reason for that, we're people and power and you are all just the lowly masses." Now I get that may seem a bit radical but in a sense it's what it felt like. Getting back to that point about the student that was pushed aside when he had a legitimate question, it felt like they were there to talk at us not to us. His question brought up a great issue and the panel almost laughed him off to the point of embarrassment. It was like he wasn't important enough to question them at all.
     I suppose that's why I couldn't retain much from the panel and even the speaker at lunch. There just seemed to be no personality to relate to as an aspiring teacher. The speakers for the majority of the time just spoke at the crowd with what seemed like questions they practiced and the mayor just seemed like he was speaking at just another political event. I'll be completely honest, there were many times that I just tuned out mentally. I know that's definitely not setting the greatest example in the world but it's the truth. There was no way a student could identify with any of the speakers and it just seemed like "Oh you better listen to these people because they are important". Nothing of real substance was ever answered and without that ability to relate it's almost impossible to retain anything because nothing they say seems important in the grand scheme of things. What are questions without answers? Or how about ideas without actions? These two questions are the main reason why I couldn't learn anything of substance from the combined over three hours of their speaking. It don't want to say it was a waste of time, after all I feel that if anything can make you think critically then it's very far from a waste, but it feels like all of this thought is stemming from the wrong things. I feel this is a legit criticism of what can be improved as a whole. Just find speakers who we as students can identify with, maybe some recent graduates from the school of education. Let them tell their stories, even if they haven't found their dream job yet their speaking would mean so much more to me as a student than some big wig in politics.

Promising Practices

   As I walked into Donovan last Saturday morning I didn't really know what to expect. First thing I noticed was name tags lined down in a row on multiple tables for people to pick up. These name tags had the names of the workshops we would attend for the day (thankfully because to be honest I had already forgotten which ones I had signed up for). I took a seat with the rest of the class as we waited for the conference to start.
  
    The first thing I want to point out would be the fact that this portion of the conference was much too long. I'm not trying to set a bad mood for my experience because let me state that it wasn't at all. However, I feel that the panel did not accomplish too much in the almost three hours they were up there. They just seemed to dance around many questions that seemed to be given prior to the event starting rather than provide answers to legitimate problems. The most striking moment from this portion would have to be when there was another student who was raising a legitimate issue and he kept getting rushed from the moderator. This caused the student to get flustered and to be honest I don't think he ever got the complete question out. I don't really remember what the poor guy had to say (and that's probably an indictment on myself as well) because I felt outraged for him. Was it because he appeared to be African American that this moderator didn't take the student seriously? Or was it because he was raising an actual issue that they hadn't thought of or had a political answer lined up for? Whatever the case may be I felt right there that the moderator had no credibility anymore as a professional. Perhaps I read too much into it but I felt that was very wrong to do to someone who showed enough effort to prepare his question in the manner he did. The could've showed him the professionalism that he had shown them.
  
   The mayor really wasn't much better in a sense. Mayor Angel Tavares did alright as a speaker, but much like the others on the panel, they really didn't have any answers. Questions were raised and like everyone else there danced around them never giving an answer to the issue. If anything he used this time to promote himself. The whole time the questions were addressed to him it really felt like he was running the campaign trail. Now I get it, he's a politician and he is running for governor at the time of this conference, but would it kill him to ease up on the self promotion and actually answer what could be done to help the education systems that need it? His major focus on the school system disparity in Rhode Island is the fact that the students are too lazy. Tavares basically stated that "if I could do it, anyone can". To me that just isn't a good enough answer. Somebody's personal accomplishments just isn't a large enough sample size to state that there isn't a problem. Nothing against him at all but it's almost like he couldn't see the bigger picture because of his own personal success. To me it's a great example of being in power and not seeing the privileges they might have had.
   
    My favorite part of the day came from the individual workshops we went to. Granted, I thought that this was going to be the majority of the day and not about two hours. They were informative and the ideals they had for their programs were fantastic. I honestly wished that they had some more time to explain things to us because they actually seemed genuine rather than the aforementioned panel. But I definitely enjoyed my time at the two and I don't really have any complaints concerning them.
  
    Between those two experiences I can say that next year they should distribute the time better than what thy did this year. I felt that they could've made a difference in attitude to the students there if they had more time at the workshops rather than have the panel last three hours. They actually had answers to issues that is plaguing the education system so why not spend more time there? If they do that next year I can say with the utmost confidence that they will see a difference from student reaction.

"Seperate but Equal" An ideal thrown to the wayside

           To start off this post I'm going to come out and say how I feel personally; segregation is alive and well in current day America. Now I'm a  bit of a history buff and knew about the case Brown Vs. The Board of Education before it was mentioned on the Professor's blog. While it was a win in the ever changing struggle for equality it was a very slight one. While education systems agreed upon an equal opportunity for all races there was still a divide in the school systems themselves over the years. Segregation is alive due to economic constraints rather than just race now. Rather than segregation through race and education being affected by that it is now affected by who can afford a private school for their children. The people who can afford these private schools can expect their children to receive a better education than those in public schools. This also has implications on where they can apply to college, because it is no secret that colleges will always look to those in private schools before those in public schools if the grades are similar. It's just a sense of superiority due to something the student themselves can't control; their family's economic situation. This is eerily similar to the very thing that was fought for in the case of Brown Vs. The Board of Education, equal opportunity for every student. How can a student be responsible for their parents' living situation anymore than they can be responsible for what they are as a human being? It's just as simple as that students are still being punished for things they can't control almost 60 years after the fact.
        Speaking of things taking awhile to advance Barack Obama was the first African American to be elected president after over 200 years of the country being independent from Britain. Now I'm not going to get into a political debate on how I think Obama is doing with the country because that is not the basis of my argument at all. What I am arguing would be the longevity of just white males being elected in this time period. If equality was achieved in 1954 in the education system then perhaps it wouldn't have been a stretch to believe that maybe even in 30 years someone other than a white male would have been thought of as a presidential candidate. Well as history has shown us that wasn't the case. There is even still a racism with Obama being elected president according to author Tim Wise because their is the idea of Barack Obama being considered at times to be "Outside the black and brown norm" To also paraphrase Tim Wise, he basically says "Thinking that America will go into a post-racial point would be just as absurd to think that Pakistan is any less of a sexist community because of their elected official in the 80's". Much like the education system there is still blockades to actual advancements because of the ideals that people are different, and in a sense, still segregated.
       The separate but equal phrase held no water ever because to imply that something is different means that they aren't equal. If a difference has to be distinguished then the ideal of equality is a falsehood in that scenario. I just personally feel that we aren't moving fast enough as a society in the right direction. Not speaking morally of course because that's an entirely different thing and an argument for another day, but in the argument of equality of education in the country it's still just too slow. While one problem is slowly being fixed another one arises. There needs to be a sense of equality from student to student, and one should not be seen as superior over the other because they went to a "special school".

Talking Point 6

   This article had some pretty valid ideals concerning service learning in America and what it means to not only the community but also to the people that help out. As everyone who reads this is aware, our service learning is a huge part of our curriculum, and speaking for myself, it is the best part of my week. The idea that I can make a difference in the community is exactly what service learning is all about. It's the most rewarding part of the process and the lessons that it gives is integral to the development of aspiring teachers. It also brings invaluable experience in dealing with situations that you may not think of normally.

   What I mean by that is every student has a different story, and with that different living situations they deal with on a daily basis. Some people have a bad habit of seeing the "troubled" child as someone who just doesn't want to learn. However, much of the time that is not the case at all. Sometimes if a student is labeled as "troubled" right off the bat then they just won't want to learn from that instructor plain and simple. There are also the cases where a teacher won't try to relate to every individual student and that creates a disconnect in the learning process. By going through the process of Service Learning, we as students can identify these problems in a real time scenario. The real enlightening thing is when you can identify when a teacher is having one of those disconnect moments and remember not to do what they do.

  This isn't about criticizing the teacher you are put with constantly though, it's merely just a learning experience for people like us in a real environment. With service learning we are able to ease ourselves into a classroom, and instead of having a whole class alone, we have just a small group of students while the teacher of the class has the majority. I can personally say I'm beginning to feel very comfortable in that environment because of this. It's just not as overwhelming when you only have about four or five kids to pay attention to rather than about twenty as your first experience in a classroom. My major thing I want to get out of Service Learning would be to avoid the aforementioned "not learning from you" moments, after all the main reason I decided to go into teaching was because of my experiences with that as a student. To be able to identify when I could be losing a student is just so important to what I want to do and who I want to be. Thanks to Service Learning, I'm understanding what to do and what not to do more and more week after week.

Talking point 5

      This piece is no shock to me at all. As noted, children's entertainment is lazy and for the most part just plain wrong. It's been this way for a long time from Popeye to Disney movies, the amount of racism and sexism is truly shocking if you don't pay attention to it. Popeye is a show about the big, strong, American male saving his helpless girlfriend from the big bad ethnic groups. Not as entertaining when you talk about it like that is it? Naturally the show creators never have an episode where they just come out and say it but the interpretation is that America is the best and it's people superior to every other ethnic group.
   
      Disney movies really aren't any better in that regard. Granted, the racial undertones are not as noticeable as in Popeye because really I don't think they could have been even if they wanted to. The problem with Disney movies would be the unrealistic standard they have for women in general. They constantly portray them as almost physically perfect but absolutely helpless in ever other category. They aren't what you would call brilliant and have all the personality of a wooden log you would find on the side of the road. You can name every Disney movie plot the same way; the helpless princess gets in some sort of trouble "she couldn't possibly get herself out of" and the male lead has to save her so they can happily ride of into the sunset together. Kind of odd how that works out when you think about it, the man saves the damsel and apparently she is his for life. Talk about unrealistic expectations, if a firefighter or a police officer were in a Disney movie they certainly would have quite a few partners in their lifetime.

    So really it's all about the standards these movies and cartoons set for children. They can give the males that watch them an unearned and definitely unmerited feeling of superiority over women. In turn, the girls that watch these cartoons gain this dependence on feeling pretty and looking perfect as well as a constant need of a man to feel complete. To me it's all laziness on the part of the writers. Just because it's aimed at children does not mean that the characters in the story can't have their own distinct personality and development. It's easier to write stereotypical characters because there is nothing to establish, the connection to the audience is already there because of the common usage of these stereotypes. I really feel that if you can improve the writing and actually try to send a positive message to children of every demographic you can challenge them to think as well as make them feel positive for who they are.

   http://voices.yahoo.com/dark-disney-race-problems-disney-films-2979770.html
  
   As shown in the link it's just respecting the culture of all that needs to be fixed. Plenty of children that come from different ethnicities shut down and hate these cartoons because they can't relate to the characters. So these movies and other forms of media will never teach these children anything because of the insults of the movie and the imminent shutdown that is coupled with it. If a child can't relate or is told right off the bat he or she is bad for being different then they won't want to hear the message that movie or person wants to tell them.

Journal entry 2

      I'm about halfway through my service learning and I can say with all honesty that this has been the most positive experience of my life. This is no hyperbole at all; I've never been able to help so many kids at one time and I feel like for the first time I am making a difference in multiple lives. I'm beginning to learn names without having to look at name placements and that is a huge thing for me because I've never really been very good at remembering names. I've been working with a particular child and I can say I'm almost shocked at his progress. It's not like I felt this particular child was slow by any means but I figured at such a young age it would be difficult for them to retain information, and with all they are learning the specifics I figured would get lost in translation. However his progress has really opened my eyes on just how fast children can learn.
      I can also say that it feels like the children are much more comfortable with me than I had anticipated. I have a pretty large extended family and I've dealt with children sure, but they've always been family and I figured they would react differently to someone they've never met before. However I couldn't be more wrong. They actually seemed overjoyed at my constant involvement, and as the weeks have passed they all want me to sit at their tables for snack time or help them with their activities.
     I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to expect in the second half of this experience. Just about all my questions have been answered and my concerns put to rest. It's like I said earlier this experience has been incredibly positive, as the teachers in the school has made me feel incredibly welcome and there hasn't been one situation where I felt like I didn't belong. I honestly can't wait until next week because this truly has been the highlight of my week from trip to trip.

"I Won't Learn, But you can Make Me"

           Teaching isn't as easy as making a lesson plan and presenting it to a classroom of children or young adults, not that most believe this to be true but it's always good to clear up misconceptions right off the bat. Every child is different and they come with different learning needs. Simply put, you can not just teach a class and expect every student to learn the same way or to act the same way.
          Children that come from different cultures may have encountered problems with teachers in the past and may reject the idea of learning, much like Barry in this article. Barry had been deemed a problem child and the teacher decided it would be easier to just assume he couldn't learn the material and should be held back on that merit alone. The real problem had lied with the fact that teachers almost feared him, treating him as "6'1" and addicted to drugs". Essentially they saw him, at six years old mind you, as a threat to society. Now I don't know about you but I don't know of that many dangerous six year olds roaming the country.
          It comes down to just being able to deal with different situations and not trying to force anything. The teacher realized in that situation that even though he was in a position of power it didn't really matter at that junction because the student did not respect that power (Delpit). It's not about trying to get every student to like you but they have to respect you as a teacher in order for them to learn anything. Barry only learned when he felt that there was something in it for him, and that particular thing was recognition from class that not only was he the "tough" kid but he was also smart this entire time. When teaching the point in this article would be to play to the attitude of the students in question.

  http://www.teach-kids-attitude-1st.com/

         This link leads to a webpage all about the importance of a good attitude when it comes to students at a young age. Granted all students won't have a great attitude at first but by identifying these students and trying to teach to their strengths can improve that attitude rather than having them regress through negligence or even negative terms.

Inclusion in the Classroom

     "Safe Spaces" was a writing piece that really raised some issues that people don't think about on a daily basis. LGBT students face a problem that most other students don't even see. The lack of relativity in curriculum must make them feel like what they are is wrong. In a time period (K-12) where children are trying to find out who they are any type of negative reinforcement can cause issues for the child in question. There are some alarming numbers concerning teenager suicide with many of them having to do with the fact they were bullied because of their sexual orientation.
       Thinking back to the our first writing piece concerning privilege. While it may not be known to people who don't put emphasis on it (remember people with privilege unaware of that position) but heterosexuality is a position of privilege. Everything about heterosexuality is what is seen as normal. A "family" is constantly seen as a mother, father, and children. Even single parents are mentioned as part of the norm but the issue lies strictly on that of same sex parents. The author mentions that same sex parenting isn't mentioned in elementary school, and thinking back to my schooling I don't remember really hearing about it until high school. This has to be a terrible feeling for children of same sex parenting. Think about being a child in elementary school and having teachers and classmates constantly telling you that it is "unusual" or even "wrong" to not have a mother and a father. Children are impressionable, especially the age in question, so this constant negative reinforcement may make them begin to resent their living situation and even themselves.
        The call to action is all about trying to integrate same sex parenting into the norm of curriculum. A kindergarten teacher in the article put three scenarios up for interpretation, with only one of them being what would be called a "normal" family. The emphasis wasn't put on what each family consisted of but how the families cared for each other. The idea isn't to point out the differences of each family, but to teach that every family is normal not just heterosexual ones.
       Students have to stop feeling like they are different for the wrong reasons. Things like sexual orientation have to be introduced at a younger age in order for children to learn that it is ok and normal to feel or be the way they want. The reason why children make fun of each other would be because they are afraid of what is different. If gay or lesbian isn't a term or concept they understand they will immediately think it is wrong due to that fear of the unknown. The easiest thing to combat this would be to teach them what it is and why there is nothing wrong with it.

My first day (Kozol style journal entry)

     My first day went about as well as I could have asked for. Not expecting perfection I suppose really made things easier I guess, but nevertheless I gathered my things from home and set off for my first experience in my service learning program. I'd be lying if I said that finding the school was as easy as anticipated. I don't spend much time in Providence so getting to the school was in a sense difficult considering the road work in the area and all the detours I had to take. When I finally did get there I noticed that the elementary school itself was very large, much more so than my elementary school I attended in Johnston years ago. I was buzzed in after a few minutes of waiting and when I walked into the office it seemed very busy. In fact it was so busy that I had to speak up slightly just so I could get noticed. I signed in and waited for my assignment, I knew who I was looking for but not necessarily where they would be. After some more waiting my contact came to meet me and instructed me to go to a room down the hall to help out in a kindergarten class.
       Talk about surprise, I went into the day thinking I would be helping out in a third grade class and to hear that I would be going to a kindergarten class really threw me off. Not in a bad way of course but it changed how I was going to act for sure, while both age groups are children kindergarten are the youngest of the bunch. I walked down the hall and the teacher seemed really surprised to see me. She explained to me that no one had told her she would be getting a tutor in class so she really hadn't set up a specific group for me to work with to start off with. It was fine to me because I had gotten to really get a good look at my surroundings and try to learn names as quickly as possible. When she had decided who I was going to work with I went to their table and began to work with the children on some art project they were working on.
      I was actually really surprised with how friendly the children in the class were. I suppose I really didn't know what to expect because after all this was my first time being in a school in this capacity. They asked questions on which school I went to and if I was a student like them. It truly surprised me how quickly they grasped the idea that even though I was much bigger than them and an adult, was a student like them.
      To be able to connect with these kids on the first day was important for me because I wanted them to understand that I was going to be there a while and that I was there to help them. Sure enough they all knew me as Mr. Wentworth immediately and I was actually somewhat embarrassed when I didn't know some of their names. But if I am to take anything away from this first day it would be that the feeling of how gracious and kind these students were, even at such a young age, is the reason why I am doing all this. I want to get into this profession to help students at a young age and to see their gratitude even at this stage validates those feeling and ambitions.

Trying to Break the Language Barrier - An exploration on Richard Rodriguez's piece

           Reading this piece gave me two clear messages; albeit two very contrasting messages. The first thing I picked up on was Richard's loss of his identity as a primarily Spanish speaking person. He seemed reluctant to learn because his home life changed as he and his family learned English. In fact he even says that the personalities of his parents changed the more they learned the English language. His mother wanted to talk all the time while his father became more reserved and kept to himself. Although his father would revert to his old personality whenever he was with his friends and they would exclusively speak in Spanish. It's the thought that one has to leave their old personality behind to take on this new persona as and English speaker.                                                         

"But the bilingualists simplistically scorn the value and necessity of assimilation. They do not seem
to realize that there are two ways a person is individualized. So they do not realize that while one suffers a diminished sense of private individuality by becoming assimilated into public society, such assimilation makes possible the achievement of public individuality."

           This leads me into the other message I had noticed in this piece. Students often feel more confident about themselves when the fit in. While Richard had noticed his home life change he also noticed his social and school life change in turn. No longer would he and his siblings rush home because it would be the only place he would feel welcome. His mother wanted a phone installed in their home because she no longer felt isolated and blocked off by the language barrier. That's all that this comes down to, the fact that in bilingual homes private individualism has to suffer a bit in order to have confidence in public and to be their own people.

          So what do I think about this ideal? Personally I am all about people being who they are and to strive for who they want to be without caring about what people may think. The notion that someone has to change themselves in order to strive in society is in itself against my belief. However, as much as I may dislike it, it is a necessary change. To live and thrive in America you have to speak English. However that doesn't mean you have to change who you are entirely because of it. Sacrifices sometimes have to be made in order to achieve a successful job or life, and a small change in private life is a small sacrifice to make.

Society's "Fall from Grace" A look into Kozol's article

      Jonathan Kozol's piece to me was effective at putting the reader in the shoes of a life that isn't truly noticed by society as a whole. We try think about and show pity to those who don't have as much as we do, nor do we truly understand what these people go through on a daily basis. Kozol paints a picture right from the beginning at the struggle and the absolutely alarming statistics that these people are stricken with. They are by his own admission the "poorest of the poor". They see death and despair at almost every corner, either through overdoses on cocaine which has run rampart in their community or from random murders throughout the county. These children are faced with issues many of us couldn't even comprehend at that age because thankfully we weren't exposed to it.
     
       I feel the most shocking thing in this entire article would be the fact that these children aren't even all that phased by their surroundings. Their overexposure to rampart violence and drug usage has completely desensitized them to problems like seeing a murder just down the street. As shown in the anecdote with the child named Cliffe. While walking with him in the park they walk by an area where as Cliffe put it "a guy got shot in the head" with little to no emotion in his voice. They even walked by a place where amputated limbs and bloodied bed sheets were burned and he even made light of that situation.

     Now one could say that it's a coping mechanism, after all there is a large majority of children that live in that area who suffer from depression. They spend their nights crying without even knowing the reason why so they probably try to shove these traumatic events to the back of their minds. By doing this they are likely to have these sudden bursts of sobbing without reason because the memory that has been repressed for a time period is still effecting them emotionally and mentally. It's a very sad thing to think about but it's an issue all the same.

Hello everyone

Hello everyone I'm Kyle. This is my third year at RIC and fifth year of college overall after starting off at CCRI. I didn't have the most exciting summer as most of it was spent working or just hanging out with my friends, although the latter is really all I needed in order to have a good summer. As far as my job goes I work just a few minutes up the road from the college at The Home Depot in Johnston. It's not all that great in any aspect but it's a job all the same. As far as my interests go I enjoy watching sports (all hometown teams) and playing them if my friends aren't busy with whatever they have going on at the time.