two hmw of community and service

Please write it in two different doc,

1.Conceptualizing Your Integrative Paper

2.Rough Outline for Integrative Paper

 

They both has requriments and examples.
 

ConceptualizingYour Integrative Paper

Let me strongly focus on this assignment and its importance for your success in writing your Integrative Paper. You must spend some quality time thinking about items 1-4 below. If you do not, it will be an uphill struggle from this point as you try to wrap your mind around finding a topic for your paper and writing the style of paper that is required`. This IS an assignment that requires critical thinking! Look carefully at the information related to the Integrative Paper from the Introductory Materials and try to visualize what this paper is all about. Thanks. DR. S

For this assignment, you will need to thoughtfully consider a topic that represents a social issue/social problem of real concern to you. Consider the following items are vital parts in your conceptualization of the paper.

1. think about your volunteer site and what the agency or program’s purpose may be.

2. identify a social issue, concern, or need that exists in the community and what the agency or program is doing to address the social issue or meet the need. You may consider a related social issue as well as those issues directly connected to your agency’s purpose. Your task here is to identify a very specific social issue/problem so that you can conduct and research a valid literature review. Keep your social issue focused narrowly and on one topic and that will make your research much easier and more meaningful.

3. Identify ALL of the course concepts in your agency’s effort to meet that need that you identify. Be flexible in your thinking and application of the concepts.

4. how does your volunteer activity help the agency meet their goals related to this social issue or need.

For example (as a beginning place to begin your critical thinking process): Domestic violence is a major social problem in our society. It affects thousands of families throughout the US. The womens’ safe houses across the nation attempt to intervene in this problem by offering a temporary safe haven for women and their children and programs to help women deal with the abusive situation and its effects. Identify one specific social concern connected to domestic violence (psychological effect on children, psychological affect on women, lowered self esteem in abused women, etc. Remember it needs to be very narrow and specific. Domestic violence, as a topic, is TOO broad).

The key here is to make your social issue very narrow and specific or your paper will be too long and general. If you want to focus on the victims then pick a specific issue such as psychological issues of domestic violence. Narrowing your focus effectively from there, you could look at self esteem or feelings of self worth or respect for self or domestic violence’s influence on motivation. You could also focus on a negative effect on children. Get your problem/social issue very narrow so you can focus on just one area to research.

You will need to solidly explore how the course concepts are at work in your topic. Think at several systems levels. For example: How do the concepts apply at the individual level (the women, the perpetrator, the child) as well as at the agency, community, and state or national levels (larger system level).

Remember that all agencies have a mission in your community and their programs are designed to meet some human need that is found among the individuals, families, or community groups.

This process helps you to see the far reaching aspects of a situation or problem and how community service efforts makes a difference in assuring that help is delivered to those who need it. You can also see how the course concepts are applied throughout the process.

Please see yourselves and your volunteer work as a very important part of how people receive the help they need in our communities. Without people who volunteer their time, there would be much less help delivered, much less unity in our communities, and certainly fewer individual recovery for those in need and fewer rewards and for those who serve.

Here is the assignment:

After completing the critical thinking exercise above, write a meaningful and descriptive paragraph or two that captures your social issue and gives you the direction for your paper. Be as brief and concise as you can be. Excessive words or writing in an expressive style defeats the approach of the paper. This paper is to be written in a technical/objective/scholarly paper. More about this later. Of course you may modify your conceptualization, however, try to be as effective as possible the first time. Stretch your brain around this one. Submit your conceptualizing paragraphs to Forum.

Best wishes. Dr. S

AnExample of Conceptualizing

Sandwich Generation dilemma. Seniors continue to live longer and adults are postponing marriage and having children to later in life. This has created a generation squeeze where middle ages adults are left caring for their elder parents, who very much want to remain independent, while raising their own children and holding a job.

What is positive about his first paragraph is that the writer is gathering information rather broadly. It is positive because a good deal of information is on the table. The topic, however, is still very broad, however, several options can be pursued! To make this stronger a significant, single issue of concern could be identified.

This dual caregiver role can be very stressful for both the caregiver and the senior. Here is a bit of information that can be used and the writer goes on to look at a possible solution to the issue which is their volunteer site. Adult day care programs like the Hoover Center provide both relief to caregivers and companionship for seniors as they are able to improve their quality of life by remaining more alert and active during the day. The Adult Alive program provides participants with the opportunity to pursue educational interests interact socially and continue to access and contribute to the community as well as comprehensive health education and wellness component where the focus is prevention.

The specific program goals are as follows: Increase independence and self-reliance, Assist senior adults in remaining in their homes, Prevent premature institutionalization, and Increase resource accessibility. Reciprocity: Both seniors and caregivers benefit from this relief of stress and ability to remain active. As a volunteer I can learn from the seniors’ life experiences and gain a since of companionship ad close friendships at formed from spending time with the participants.Here the writer is detailing some of the positive outcomes of the program. The challenge is to convert this writing from descriptive writing to technical writing. Many many of the words and phrases will be stated more concisely, turn into strong declarative statements, or be eliminated entirely. While the broad stroke is useful in getting ideas, one must be aware that that style of writing can be rather seductive and take you on an ill fated journey!

Mutual Interdependence: The seniors are dependent on me providing actives that stimulate their mind and body as I depend on their participation and words of wisdom to better. This is individually focused and does not include the family nor the community in the application.

(Inter)connectedness: After getting to know some of the participants we have found that we enjoy some of the some hobbies and have been to some of the same places. This is individually focused and does not include the family nor the community in the application. The definition of the concept has not been clearly identified. In appropriate application of the concept.

(Inter)relatedness: the Hoover Center has affected the lives of the participations and their caregivers. The program has also given me the chance to meet and learn from some amazing individuals. This is individually focused and does not include the family nor the community in the application. In addition, the definition of the concept is not integrated appropriately!

Transaction: Everyone at the center, from the staff to the participants, has a positive outlook on life and is welcoming to all who visit. This is truly a great group to be around. Without the center these seniors would be sitting at home alone in front of the television while letting their sharpness of mind and physical ability go to the wayside. This is individually focused and, while appropriate, does not include a discussion of the meaning of the concept.

Guess what? One concept is missing!!

Rough Outline for Integrative Paper

Integrative Paper Outline

As you begin to think more about the content and organization of your Integrative Paper, please review the purposes of the paper and the outline below. If you have not had the opportunity to write a scholarly paper in your own discipline, this is an excellent time to begin. It will be new and possibly a challenge. Please do not hesitate to contact me regarding this assignment and its various components. Most of all, do not be afraid to tackle this task.

The integrative paper is designed to be a thoughtful, scholarly work. This means that it should follow scholarly research procedure–although little, if any, formal, original data collection will be conducted by you. However, a significant part of your research will include a comprehensive literature review gathering support for your ideas about your topic from what other scholars have written about the subject. Be sure to give them credit for their ideas by proper citations. The writing style to be used in citing published materials from others in the body of your paper and the Reference Page will be APA style. See Kent library online for a review of APA style.

It is important to state the social issue as a problem that needs to be addressed. You then articulate the nature of the problem, the extent of the problem, outcomes or consequences, and possible solutions. So try to view your social issue in this way.

The Integrative Paper is an integration exercise, relating the community service experience to one social issue surrounding human need. You may be aware of a number of social issues, concerns, or problems experienced by people that are being met by your volunteer site and your volunteer activities. You write on only one. The volunteer experience and the issue(s) inherent in the experience will be viewed and integrated using the concepts of the Course Perspective. The Course Perspective can illuminate causation as well as possible interventions. Please give careful attention to the application of the concepts we have been using throughout the course.

In developing the paper you, as a volunteer, must be able to articulate the volunteer’s role in addressing your social concern. Generally, the social concern may be the specific focus, or one of the concerns, of the agency or program in which you are volunteering. This will require you to think critically and make informed judgments about the causes and solutions related the condition. As an example: you may consider tutoring as as addressing a need arising from the lack of resources in the environment (or home) to adequately assist a child in successfully completing life stage task connected to cognitive or social development and/or education. You will need to then develop a statement as to why this condition is a problem along with the impact that the agency and its resources, including its volunteer support, is attempting in order to remedy the problem.

The course concepts must be identified as they relate to the problem and their application to the problem is also very important. The idea is that you can experience first hand how your volunteer activity is a response from the environment to assist (from the example above) the child in reaching their potential. The integrative paper will be your final analysis and integration of the service learning experience. It will contain significant reflection and evaluation and demonstrate your ability to apply what you have learned, both in class and through volunteering, to the human experience in a comples, interdependent world. (University Studies Objectives 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)

The following outline applies to your rough outline and your final outline. It is made available here so you can study and reflect upon the content that needs to be in each heading. The rough outline is the one you create initially and you should feel free to add your own special headings to illuminate other aspects of the social issue or volunteer experience (for example: a review of your agency). So create your outline for the Rough Outline assignment, which means adding any special headings, to the mandatory outline below. Briefly describe what your paper will contain in each of the headings. Your outline will then be carried over to the final outline where you might make changes to your initial effort. Thanks.

Ok, here is the mandatory outline and it should appear in your paper and can be modified by the addition of any special headings you wish. These additional headings, or content, are enhancements to your paper.

1. Introduction–what is this paper going to be about (what is your topic) and how are you going to present information about your topic in the paper? Stay brief and concise.

2. Statement of the problem–state what social problem or issue you are addressing by describing it a little. State it as a problem. In other words, make a case for the relevance of the problem or issue by citing a`source or two that agrees that it is a problem

3. Review of relevant literature and theory–note that you will look carefully at a representative selection of the most recent literature that also identifies this problem or a problem similar to it. You are going to write about your problem, the nature and extent of the problem, its consequences, and solutions as well as recommendations for resolving the problem. This should represent the bulk of your work for your paper.

4. Findings (data from your literature search and volunteer observations). Your observations would be considered antedotal information and not be valid research, however, your experience may add support to your more formalized research.

5. Integration of the course concepts into your paper. You will describe how each concept is found in your specific social issue. You will give good examples with discussion of how the examples apply to the concept.

6. Conclusions (a summary of what the literature and you has to say about the causes and solutions to your social problem).

7. Recommendations for further research or study.

8. Works Cited Page–those references you actually used in your paper

9. Reference Page–additional readings, etc., that may not have been used directly but read for information

The pieces of the Integrative paper have due dates for specific components which will be identified in the Weekly Assignments page of the course

Here are some additional suggestions to guide your initial thinking in identifying the relevant social issue, pursuing the relevant literature, and

determining the impact of your volunteer work:

•

What is the nature of your volunteer work? What do you do? Be specific. Look closely.

•

Think about the social issue(s) (or human need) that your volunteer effort is attempting to address (along with related issues that may not be the direct focus of your volunteer site).

•

Think about the mission or purpose of your volunteer site or program and what it is trying to do to meet the human need connected to this issue.

•

How is that larger social issue connected to the specific things you are doing in you volunteer experience? In other words, how are you assisting your agency or program?

•

Think about how this specific volunteer activity encompasses the social issue and how the social issue affects the community, the quality of life of citizens, etc.

•

Narrow your thinking to choose one issue or topic to write about.

•

Find out what has been written in the professional literature about your topic

•

Review that literature by including supporting research in a meaningful way to support your view (argument) of the relevance of your volunteer effort. You are not really reviewing what the literature has to say per se but reviewing the relevant literature as it relates and supports your topic.

•

Draw conclusions about your observations, the problem, the people, etc. This is anecdotal evidence

•

Make recommendations for further study of this area if it is appropriate.

Sample

Integrative Paper

Integrative Paper

N S

Introduction

Increasingly, children are coming home after school with no one to look after them. They have no one to make sure they are doing their homework and staying out of trouble. If the these children are at home alone, with no one to tell them that they cannot go and “play” until their homework is finished, then why would they stay in and do it.

In most homes there is either just one parent or both of the parents at home work full time jobs. This leaves children to fend for themselves after school is over. With no supervision children sometimes find themselves getting into trouble and not focusing on their schoolwork.

More and more schools are now providing after school programs for the students who would normally go home to an empty house. These after school programs are providing students with additional help with homework and physical activity. Students are able to stay at school as late as six o’clock, when most parents are home from work. Students no longer have to go home unsupervised.

Statement of Problem

Because so many children have no one to go home to, especially at-risk students and minorities, their schoolwork is suffering. Many parents are just trying to make ends meet and have a hard time making time for their children’s schoolwork. Students are not working up to their academic potential. Students learn new concepts at school such as reading and math, but they are not reinforced in the home. Also, with this lack of supervision comes a behavior problem. If these children have no one in the home to discipline them, they can do whatever they want without experiencing the consequences. This is the reason some younger children end up turning to groups such as gangs, to look for a sense of family and guidance. Being left home alone also raises questions about safety. Are school-aged children responsible enough to know what to do if a fire starts or if a stranger comes to the door? Physical health is not the only thing that may be in danger, but also the children’s mental health. Being home alone might leave a child feeling alone, scared, and anxious, which could potentially lead to feelings of depression. Parents need to consider all of the factors before leaving their child or children at home alone.

Review of Relevant Literature

The term “latchkey children” was coined in the early 19th century, which resulted from children wearing a house key around their neck (Gottlieb, 2004). Latchkey children are kids who come home after school to an unsupervised environment. These children are at home sometimes only alone for minutes at a time, but others do their homework, fix dinner, and put themselves to bed before parents are home from work (Peterson, 1998).

Parents need to ask themselves at what age would they feel comfortable leaving their child home alone. There is no particular age that a child is ready to be left at home alone. Who would dream of leaving a pre-school aged child at home alone, but it does happen. In many states, it is legal to leave an eight year old child and older at home alone to care for themselves (Peterson, 1998). Others suggest that the age of twelve is when children are ready and responsible enough to be left home alone. But all children mature at a different rate, so their can be no clear cut age to be the cutting off point for needing a babysitter or caregiver.

While one census suggests that only 7.2 percent of children between the ages of 5 and 13 — about two million — spend time in self-care, many experts estimate that over a quarter of the children who are between 6 and 14 years old spend time caring for themselves, most of them regularly (Gray, 1987). Another estimate is about five million children between the ages of five and thirteen are left home alone on a regular basis (Latchkey Children, 1998). Some estimates go as high as ten million latchkey children in the United States (Peterson, 1998). The exact number of latchkey children may never be known. Some parents are unable to admit that they leave their children home alone on a regular basis (Seligson and Fink, 1988).

Being home alone on a regular basis leads to having to deal with many potential problems. Problems with physical safety and mental health are situations that are possible. Being unsupervised increases the risk of an accident in the home. Injuries kill more children than the next nine leading causes of death combined. Children are drowning, getting burned, and getting hit by cars while playing in the street, which are all preventable, even more so when an adult or supervisor is present (Peterson, 1998). School-aged children who spend a significant amount of time at home alone experience feelings of loneliness, boredom, anxiety, and fear (Gottlieb, 2004). What if friends are not allowed to come over and play? What if all of their homework is finished? What if a stranger rings the doorbell? What if there is an accident and the child is unable to reach his or her parents? What can the child do then? Interaction between children is important because this is when they develop interpersonal skills. Research has indicated that children with the opportunity to socialize with peers during after-school hours are better adjusted and happier than those who do not (Middle-School kids Battle for the Right to Stay Home Alone, 1999).

Children who are left home alone tend to make more unhealthy choices when they are at home with no supervision. Many children use the television as a babysitter. While watching television children tend to eat. They pick foods that are high in fat, sugar, and salt, which are all foods that are advertised on TV most often (Peterson, 1998). Not only do these children make bad choices about what foods to eat, but tend to engage in harmful activities such as, smoking, drinking, using drugs, and sexual activity. Being unsupervised gives children free rein to experiment. A 1998 study found that eighth grade students who were left at home unsupervised for eleven hours or more a week were twice as likely to abuse drugs and alcohol, as compared to children who were under supervision (Middle-School Kids Battle for the Right to Stay Home Alone, 1999). Not only that, but a study by Steinberg in 1986 on fifth, sixth, eighth, and ninth graders showed that the less adult supervision the adolescents had, the more susceptible they were to giving in to peer pressure and to commit antisocial acts (Gray, 1987). Statistics from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services also show that school-aged children who spent no time participating in extracurricular activities were 49% more likely to have used drugs and 37% more likely to become teen parents than those students who spend one to four hours a week in extracurricular activities (Middle-School Kids Battle for the Right to Stay Home Alone, 1999). According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the peak hours for juvenile crime are between 2 pm and 8 pm (Opening Doors to Latchkey Kids, 2001). With no one to tell these children no, they figure to themselves why not.

Not all research conducted about latchkey children has had a negative outcome. Results have been in favor of self-care and some outcomes have produced inconclusive data. People who are in favor of latchkey say that the experience of being home alone can provide children with the opportunity to become more self-reliant and promotes positive character building (Gottlieb, 2004). In a 1986 study of 1200 children in kindergarten through eighth grade by Hedlin and her colleagues, found that 80% of the students care for themselves said that they loved it or usually liked it (Gray, 1987). In 1985, no difference was found between the self-esteem, social skills, of sense of control over their own lives between fourth-grade latchkey children and fourth graders that were supervised by their parents (Gray, 1987). There are some children who are capable of self-care at a young age, it just depends how mature and responsible they are.

The effects of latchkeyism on children are not clear. Some think that latchkeyism promotes responsibility and independence in a child (Rooney, 1983). On the other hand, people argue that the lack of supervision encourages delinquent behavior and get in the way of the child’s emotional and social growth (Rooney, 1983). Rather recently, parents and teachers have recognized the increasing need for after-school childcare. There have been steps made forward to alleviate the growing problem. More and more schools are providing structured, after school programs for the students who would normally go home alone. Children are also participating in more extracurricular activities that provide them with supervision of an adult. But there are still some schools that do not provide after-school care. In these instances parents are forced to leave their children home unattended.

Anecdotal Data

As my volunteer work, I chose to lend my time to Franklin Elementary at their after school program. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I worked from 2:30 to 5:30pm when the last bus of children left to go home. There are about 250 students in the school and anywhere from 80 to a few over 100 students stay each day. The students that need to stay are provided with an afternoon snack, help with homework and basic skills such as reading, writing, and math, and time for physical activity. The children are broken up into age groups and put with a qualified teacher. Some of the students still must ride the bus home, but by the time they do get home most of their parents will be there.

My personal help was needed to get the snack ready for all the students before they came into the cafeteria, to clean it up, and extra supervision for the kindergarteners. It was also my responsibility to keep the children under control as much as possible. My help was much needed by the teachers since this is a relatively new program for the school.

Because so many children stayed each day it was obvious to me that the majority of the students came from a home where both parents worked or from a single parent home. I was definitely needed in the kindergarten room. In particular, I worked alongside Ms. Huey, who overwhelmingly had her hands full. Getting snack ready for sometimes over 100 elementary school students took quite a bit of time, but working with the kindergarteners was the most challenging part of the experience.

For the most part I can say that the behavior of all of the students was out of control. My patience was tested many times by all the different ages of students. There was a lack of manners. When the students were disciplined it almost seemed like they did not care. More of the girls cooperated, but the boys were almost unmanageable and sometimes disrespectful not only to the teachers, but to other students. The behavior problems are a tell tale sign that these children are latch key kids. If they were permitted to go home after school no one would be there to discipline them, and I think many of them would rather have it that way. On the positive side of things, I learned valuable classroom management skills for my future classroom.

In Ms. Huey’s kindergarten class each day the students worked on reading, writing, and math skills before getting to play games. I acted as a tutor to the students. If one to two students needed extra help understanding a concept, we went out in the hall to concentrate on it. During these times was when I was able to talk to the students on a personal level. One boy told me that he did not have toys or books at his house. Normally, I would take that as a child just exaggerating, but in this boy’s case it was obvious that there was no learning going on at the home. He couldn’t even say the alphabet.

I believe that the students benefited from me being in the classroom. I was there to give personal attention, which is what some of the children really need.

Course Perspectives

In today’s society most families are not fortunate enough to able to survive financially, without both parents working. Some children are sent to daycare, left at home with a babysitter, and some are just left at home to fend for themselves. A number of parents have no other option but to depend on someone else to care for their children. Without teachers, babysitters, and daycare workers some parents would not be able to go to work. Parents are interdependent on these people because they look to them for support and assistance to look after their children, and most of all trust them to do so. Parents of school-aged children are interdependent on other people to look after their children, and working parents with school-aged are interconnected. They all know the trouble of having to find a babysitter at the last minute when their child is sick and cannot go to school. They all feel the same pain of not being able to be at every little league game or dance recital because of work. And they all know how hard it is to raise children when they have to work all the time to provide for their families. The children of these parents are also interconnected with one another. They know how it feels to come home to an empty house after school. Working parents must work together. They must rely on one another when possible. If one parent is able to pick the children up from school one day, so that the children do not have to go to an empty home or stay after school, the other parent could volunteer the next time they had a day off of work. When people work together and do favors for one another things can go much smoother.

Children going home to an empty house and academic achievement are interrelated. As a school-aged child it is hard to have enough discipline to go home and do homework if there is no one there to tell you to do so. And sometimes children have questions; what if there is no one there to ask? It is easy just to give up. Students who do not have supervision after school tend to not work up to their full potential in school. This is why it is important that parents make sure their children have some kind of guidance after school. When children stay after school, they are able to get extra help on homework and more practice with skills. It is important that the interaction between the students and teachers is meaningful. The children need to know that the teachers are there to provide help and guidance. The extra assistance provided in after school programs really affects the students’ performance in school.

Summary and Conclusions

After school programs will solve the whole problem of students being left home alone after school, raise everyone’s grades, or keep students out of trouble, but it is a great place to start. For older students, such as eighth grade and up who think that they are too old for a babysitter or to participate in the after school program, extracurricular activities are also ways to get children involved.

Suggestions for Further Research

Teachers who participate in after school programs can compare the progress and behavior of children who stay after school and those who go home to an empty house. The teachers will see for themselves if after school programs work because all of the findings will be first hand experience.

Recommendations

Some parents do not have the option of hiring a babysitter, sending their child to daycare, or letting the student stay at an after school program. If this is the case parents should prepare their child for being home alone. It is important to teach the child how to use the key, lock all doors and windows from the inside, and safely store the key. He also needs to know how to get out of the house in case of an emergency like a fire. For a child to be able to stay at home alone it is crucial for him to know his home phone number, full address, and wear his parents can be reached at all times. He should also know to call 911 in case of an emergency. Role-playing is a good way to get a child comfortable with calling 911 in the appropriate situation. See if he would know what to do if the popcorn in the microwave caught on fire, if someone followed him home from school, or he lost his key and cannot get into the house. Make sure the child always walks home the same way everyday, so the parent knows that he is safe (Heins, 2004).

Another step to letting a child stay home alone is setting basic ground rules that apply all the time. The first thing the child should do when arriving at home is to get in contact with his parents in some way, whether he talks to them over the phone or sends them a page. Make sure he knows where he is allowed to play, how long, and with whom. Limits must also be set for how long he should be able to watch television, talk on the phone, and play video and computer games. Know who is coming over to the house after school and who should not be allowed in the house without parent supervision (Heins, 2004). Having rules and guidelines for behavior will do no good if they are not enforced. Not only is important to tell the child what he should do, but make sure it is being done.

Some children love being at home alone after school. On the other hand some children are scared and uncomfortable. To ease their minds, it is also a good idea to have a neighbor or family friend check up on the children from time to time.

Works Cited

Gottlieb, Dr. M. I. (2004). Latchkey children: “something to think about”. Retrieved April 10, 2004 from the World Wide Web:

http://www.demauro.com/marv3.html

Gray, E. B. (1987). Latchkey children. US Department of Education. Retrieved April 10, 2004 from the World Wide Web:

http://www.accg.net/latchkey_key.htm

Heins, Dr. M. (2004). Latch-key kids. Parent Kids Right. Retrieved April 10, 2004 from the World Wide Web:

http://parentkidsright.com/pt-latchkeykids.html

Latchkey children. (1998). Ceredo Volunteer Fire Department. Retrieved April 10, 2004 from the World Wide Web:

http://www.ceredofire.org/keykids.html

Middle school kids battle for the right to stay home alone. (1999, September 1). The Wall Street Journal, p. B1.

Opening doors to latchkey kids. (1999). Northwest Education Magazine. Retrieved April 10, 2004 from the World Wide Web:

http://www.nwrel.org/nwedu/spring_99/article6b.html

Peterson, L. (1998). Latchkey children. Gale Encyclopedia of Childhood and Adolescence. Retrieved April 10, 2004 from the World Wide Web:

http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/g2604/0003/2602000343/p1/article.jhtml

Rooney, T. (1983). Who is watching our children? The latchkey phenomenon. California State Legislature, Sacramento. Senate Office of Research. Retrieved April 10, 2004 from the World Wide Web:

http://theallengroup.com/members/Fr_pabon.html

Seligson, M., & Fink, D. B. (1988). Latchkey children and school-age children child care. ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary Education and Early Childhood Education. Retrieved April 10, 2004 from the World Wide Web:

http://www.ericfacility.net/ericdigests/ed301360.htm

Another

sample paper

Relating Adults and Children:

A Significant Element in Community Development

This paper is a strong paper in terms of content, however, it is wordy and could have been more effective if it had been more concise and precise. It is not written in a strong, technical style. There are many words and phrases that to not strongly contribute to the argument the writer is making.

Can you see how a phrase intended to clarify or add information is actually distracting to the reader?

Introduction

The relationships that children have with their families are instrumental to a family’s well-being and the well-being of the community. However, parents’ work and family commitments avert most of family members from being physically present and involved in activities together that promote learning and development. At the extreme, child neglect is associated with poor outcomes for children, including the development of emotional and behavior disorders (Cicchetti, Lynch, 1995). American families are not following healthy relationship standards, not providing enough support and guidance to youth, leaving their communities distant and unsociable. Time spent with parents is important for socialization, development of relationships, and learning appropriate ‘life tasks’ for young children. Healthy family relationships fuel the health of all families, building strong communities and composing a future for ourselves one generation at a time. As a civilization, it is in our best interest to make a conscious choice: to make family life a priority and apply ourselves toward improving the quantity and quality of time families spend together, and increasing overall the happiness of today’s families and communities.

This paper intends to address this concern, bring attention to its presence shown in families across America, and discuss techniques on how to promote healthy change in the lives of a family using its external and internal developmental assets to enrich specific elements of the human experience.

Statement of the Problem

For reasons that significantly vary in nature and are difficult to verify, American families are not following a healthy design. YMCA of the USA polled 1,005 parents from across the United States, investigating how much support and success they experience in raising healthy, responsible, and caring children and teenagers. Among those surveyed, 46 percent feel overwhelmed by everything, 34 percent feel unsupported by family or friends, and a staggering 52 percent feel that they are unprepared for a situation that arises, overall feeling dissatisfied with their parenting. To further dismay, in the same study, a majority (53 percent) of parents surveyed said they don’t often seek support in the vital and challenging task of raising children and teenagers. This devastating combination of dissatisfactory parenting and inability to seek help lands American families in a terrible condition.

Review of Literature

Learning how adults and children relate is important in understanding the problems with today’s family. In a national study of more than 2,000 American children and adults, the primary finding was that most young people, as well as adults, feel it is important for the generations to connect. However, the study found that positive youth-adult relationships aren’t happening as often as they could (Griffen-Wiesner, 2003). When it comes to supporting and guiding young people, the study clearly illustrated that parent’s aren’t delivering.

Among those adults surveyed, well over half (59 percent) do not participate in guiding decision making with their children. Youth that were surveyed agreed and reported 54 percent of adults do not guide them in their decisions. The survey also showed that 42 percent of adults did not teach shared values, and youth agreed, saying 44 percent of adults do not teach them shared values. Teaching shared values and guiding decision making are two of the most important ways for adults to engage with youth (Griffen-Wiesner, 2003). As the study demonstrates, most or a good percent of American families are not acting in ways to develop strong relationships with children. This inopportune behavior is not acceptable because simply spending time together would provide the opportunities for these engagements to happen.

When the people closest to them expect adults to be involved in young people’s lives, those adults are more likely to report actual involvement (Griffen-Wiesner,2003). Among adults who were surveyed, a shocking 91 percent say they are not highly engaged in young people’s lives when expectations are weak. Even when considering expectations of them to be strong, only 48 percent of adults say they are highly engaged in young people’s lives.

During childhood a child learns the systems of life, and is exposed to ways of life through years of constant contact and communication with the world. This child then grows into a young adult with a number of experiences on which to draw information and base both small and major life decisions. These decisions this young adult makes, such as to go to college after high school, exercise regularly, buy recycled toilet paper, build an influential business, attend church, avoid drugs, work on a cure for a disease, or even whether or not to buy organic clothing, will forge a life for his generation and an example of life for the next.

As society has become more complex and demanding, family and community relationships have all too often fallen by the wayside. According to Comer and Haynes (1997) neither educators nor parents have enough time to get to know one another and establish working relationships on behalf of children. Yet children don’t stop learning about values and relationships when they enter a classroom, nor do they cease learning academics −− and attitudes about learning −− when they are at home or elsewhere in their community. Children constantly observe how the significant adults in their lives treat one another, how decisions are made and executed, and how problems are solved.

In a study by Folbre, Fuligni, Yoon, and Finnoff (2005), current trends reflect a reduction in the time mothers spend with their children. Overall hours of parental child care are as much or less than that of hired child caregivers, and give a poor impression of the quantity and quality of family time spent together. Part of the cause could be that more and more families are earning two incomes. In the media, dual-earner couples are often depicted as time-crazed and their children are portrayed as desperate for parental love because they are being “raised” by childcare providers. For instance, the cover of the May 2001 issue of National Review shows crying and angry children in daycare—one of whom is angrily “flipping off” his unseen mother. The cover is captioned, “Thanks, Mom! The Case Against Working Mothers” (Barnett, Rivers, 1996; Galinsky, 1999; Holcomb, 1998).

Family quality time is too often limited for a number of reasons in a family, and the consequences of not taking time with a family are devastating. Adults face obstacles and challenges during parenthood. Job demands, sibling rivalry, overscheduling, and the family’s financial situation are the factors parents most often relate to parenting hardships (Roehlkepartain, Scales, Roehlkepartain, & Rude, 2002). Because of these and other various reasons, many serious complications arise in a family. Depression can affect the entire family without realization and treatment, drug and alcohol abuse can ensue as a result in both parents and children from lack of communication and values. A number of behavioral problems and difficulty communicating can also result inside a family that doesn’t get enough quality time together.

Parent-child problems can create distress within a family. Poor communication and discipline problems are very common. Sometimes there are constant battles between siblings, and the parents cannot seem to resolve the conflicts. Divorce, and the creation of stepfamilies, can create difficulties in a family, sometimes for all members of the family. Sometimes the couple relationship itself is the problem (Franklin, 2003). A key—but often lacking—resource for parents is a strong relationship with their spouse or partner. The parents that experience an excellent partner relationship—regardless of whether they are married—are more likely to feel successful and up to the challenges of parenting. The YMCA poll showed that parents with a strong partner relationship were more likely to say they do things to help their kids grow up strong and healthy, feel successful and confident as parents, experience fewer challenges as parents, and be open to other support and learning. Despite the importance of this relationship for parenting success, only half of the parents interviewed (54 percent) said their relationship with their partner was excellent (Roehlkepartain, Scales, Roehlkepartain, & Rude, 2002).

Poor parent relationships coupled with poor communication, constant conflict, lack of closeness, sexual problems, or in-law problems are all to be considered possible concerns. When parents spend time communicating with their families they will develop meaningful and comfortable conversation very easily. Being able to communicate comfortably is very important. Otherwise a family may communicate by shouting at each other when necessary and saying things that are improvised and untrue. Quality time is important to minimize these conflicts and consequences of poor relations between adults and children.

Techniques

What exactly is quality time? What determines if the time spent with your family is of a good quality? Quality time has a degree of emotional or social quality which other aspects of personal life may lack. Time spent with important information, intensity, priorities, organization, and any distribution of values make normal time with family enjoyable and beneficial (Quality time, 2006). Dinner time is an uncomplicated and enjoyable time to spend with your family, and an opportunity to sit down together after a long day to exchange stories or ideas.

Many families may feel restricted by simply not knowing exactly how to spend quality time and integrate time with work and school into their schedules. Taking this into consideration, research has been done on what needs to be established by parents in order for them to create healthy children and youth, as well as healthy communities around the world.

Search Institute is an independent nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide leadership, knowledge, and resources to promote healthy children, youth, and communities. According to extensive research over several years, there are several developmental assets that have been identified to support the experience of elements in the human experience that have long-term, positive consequences for young people (Benson, Leffert 2001). These assets, divided into external and internal categories, are the building blocks of healthy development that help young people grow up healthy, caring, and responsible.

External assets include support, empowerment, boundaries and expectations, and constructive use of time. Family life needs to provide high levels of love and support, positive communication, and support from a caring neighborhood as well as other adult relationships in and out of school. Empowerment comes from perceiving that adults in the community value youth and give young people important roles in the community. Service to others also empowers children. It is also important that a child feels safe at home, school, and in the neighborhood to feel empowerment in his/her life.

Boundaries and expectations is an important developmental asset for growth. Family boundaries, school boundaries, and neighborhood boundaries need to provide clear rules and consequences for children as well as monitor children’s behavior. Boundaries and expectations also entail parents or other adults and the child’s peers to model positive, responsible behavior. Both parents and teachers should also encourage the young person to do well and set reasonably high expectations. The last of the external developmental assets is constructive use of time. A young person should participate in creative activities and youth programs in the community, as well as well as spend allotted time at home each week with family. By creating scheduled activities, the young person can learn skills such as art and music as well as plan out their time spent on these activities and at home, making time at home just as important and worthy of serious attention.

Internal developmental assets include a commitment to learning, positive values, social competencies, and a positive identity. Being motivated, engaged, and caring about school and education takes commitment but is a very rewarding lifelong process. Having positive values will also help a child stay responsible, a child should be caring, have integrity and honesty, restraint from unhealthy impulses, as well as have a sense of equality and social justice. Being social competent means a child should learn how to plan ahead and make choices, resisting negative peer pressure and dangerous situations. Interpersonal and cultural competences are important here as well, as the young person should have empathy, sensitivity, and friendship skills as well as comfort with people of different backgrounds.

The last of the internal developmental assets, according to the Search Institute, is positive identity. A young person feels personal power when he or she has control over things that happen to him/her. A young person develops good self-esteem and a sense of purpose with a positive view of their personal future. All of these developmental assets work together as building blocks to provide parents, teachers, and caregivers a view of what should be important for a child’s development. When spending time with children, these assets can be established and reinforced with time and effort to give children a chance to achieve their full potential in a community and make a difference in the world.

Young children learn qualities such as these best through play. Parents are their children’s first and best playmates. Parents have a role in being involved in their children’s play. Children tend to be more creative when their parents are involved in their play. The best play occurs when the adult plays alongside the child, rather than just providing the toys or supervising. Becoming part of a child’s play may take practice. Some parents feel that they need to give up “childish” things and “grow up.” However, this is not true for parents. Gavin (2006) in her work in pediatrics suggests that parents should observe, follow, and be creative when it comes to playing with children. Watch and observe your child closely to learn what he can do and what he has problems doing. Take note of his favorite activities and times to play them. Secondly, join in and play with your child so that he knows you are interested in what he is doing. You can add to the complexity of the play; however, let your child be in control and determine the direction of play. Finally, be creative. Let go of the adult idea that there is only one way to play with a toy. Use toys in different ways, and you will be amazed at how many different ways you can play with one toy. Being creative will make playing more fun for you and your child.

The importance of play in the learning and development in children is and has been a significant factor in child care techniques. Trish Konzack has taught preschoolers for twenty-three years. According to her, this is because when children are playing with blocks, they are learning math and science. When they play with dolls, they are practicing nurturing. When they are dressing up, they are learning buttoning. When they play with play dough, they are exercising the small muscles of their fingers. When they paint, they are using small and large muscles and learning about color. When they cut, color, and draw, they are enhancing the small-motor development needed for writing. When they interact with each other, they are learning to share, take turns, and negotiate. Children learn while they play. If parents are concerned about reading and writing, they can read and sing to their children every day; they can let their children watch them write — letters, bills, grocery lists. They can swap stories and tell jokes.

Playful activities and everyday learning opportunities are of high quality to a child’s relationship with parents and family, development, and overall self-image. All the experiences children have, both in and out of school, help shape their sense that someone cares about them, their feelings of self worth and competency, their understanding of the world around them, and their beliefs about where they fit into the scheme of things (Comer, Haynes 1997). This is how, through play, important developmental concepts listed above can be incorporated.

Findings

America is breaking important promises to its children and youth. Promises to provide safe places, caring adults, healthy development, effective education, and opportunities to make a difference, are commissioned by The Alliance for Youth in America and are promoted, along with all of the developmental assets to encourage families to participate together to build a healthy community. However, recent research by Benson and Leffert (2001) leading The Search Institute, shows that millions of young people, ages 6 to 17, experience very few, if any, of the important elements of this alliance. This gap sets them up for higher levels of negative outcomes, including drug and alcohol abuse, depression, poor academic achievement, and violence.

The Alliance for Youth commissioned a study to conduct national polls of more than 2,000 (ages 12-17) teenagers and their parents, and more than 2,000 parents of children ages 6-11. The study, designed by the Search Institute and Child Trends, found the following: only one in four adolescents (25 percent) and one in three children (37 percent) experience all of the five promises listed above. Thirty percent of 12-17-year-olds and 13 percent of 6-11-year-olds experience none or one of these promises. Young people experiencing more of these promises are more likely to have positive outcomes. Experiencing the promises is more strongly related to most outcomes than are demographics such as age, gender, race/ethnicity, or family income or education (Roehlkepartain, Scales, Roehlkepartain, & Rude, 2002).

The decrease of interaction between family members is a concern. Children who grow up in homes where the TV is on most of all of the time or with TVs or game consoles in their bedrooms spend more time watching TV and playing video games, and less time interacting with other family members. Research finds that 51 percent of 8-18 year-old children live in homes where the TV is left on most of the time, whether anyone is watching it or not, and 68 percent of 8-18 year-old children have a TV in their bedroom (Keith 2006). A solution to this perception could be families playing video games together instead of kids playing alone in their rooms. Family movies together are a common way for everyone to be entertained, however, interaction and communication about movies is critical for this to be a positive element for development of healthy relationships.

Conclusions

The objectives of this paper are driven by the purpose to increase our understanding of the troubles individuals, families, communities, and society experience and find ways to assist in healthy transactions between members of families. Ecological theory suggests that the entities within a community environment are an essential component in the ecology of living systems that are constantly interacting. Life in a community is carried out through both direct and indirect exchanges that result in a change of both the individual and the environment. It is these transactions as well as the nature of community itself that affects the development of children and families in the community, and also relates to community social problems. A family is a part of a system that that have a direct connection and effect upon all other parts, such as other individuals, businesses, etc. This is the concept of interrelatedness and interconnectedness. When one part of a system is affected, because we are all joined, the entire system is affected in a variety of meaningful ways. Attachments within a family and between a family and the surrounding community, such as friendships and positive kin relationships are all part of a social network in which we are all interrelated and connected to one another. For example, a family formed by either biological or emotional relation is going to be allied and depend on each other in this manner. More specifically, a family system usually requires a source for money, household maintenance, food preparation, transportation, and other needs that must be met. A healthy family also provides to one another love and respect, emotional support, confidence, and advice. When these needs are not met for whatever reason, a family cannot function properly or efficiently within healthy standards. Time together, just being with one another talking, playing, and displaying attention and affection will promote the kind of relationships within a family that trusts one another and depends on each other to provide needs for the family and a whole.

There are other theories that could help explain the reasons for and the outcomes of the activities of living. Concepts of interrelatedness, interconnectedness, reciprocity, mutual interdependence and transactions are supported by these theories. These concepts explain that we are all dependant on each other, joined to one another, unable to exist without each other, while having individually unlimited potential to create healthy transactions between one another. The mutual reliance of each person on each other person is mutual interdependence. Being interdependent means we are unable to exist without each other and mutually dependent on elements to survive. People cannot exist without each other. Families are no exception by any means. Whether it is shelter, food, or affection, a family provides one another with needs in order to survive as individuals. In this social network, the provision of community resources such as schools, recreation facilities, medical facilities, employment, social opportunities, and agencies for assistance and support, etc., foster growth and well being among family individuals as well as all other individual citizens. This concept of reciprocity involves a relationship between people involving the exchange of any goods, services, favors, or obligations between entities in families, communities, and countries that connect in some way with each other. In a healthy family environment, for example, mutual exchanges are made by doing something in return for something else. Any kind of relationship involves this type of exchange, whether it is washing dishes for someone who cooked, or giving a hug and a kiss for a job well done, families should make mutual exchanges on a daily basis. Some families, however, unfortunately do not take the time to create a giving and receiving relationship with one another. When one family member feels that others are just taking from him or her, it can cause problems within the relationships. There should be a balance of generosity and receiving to promote a healthy atmosphere. Activities such as playing games together, learning the concepts of cause and affect through demonstrations and play, and getting to know one another’s needs are all ways to achieve an understanding of reciprocity within family members. This system of giving and accepting is crucial to develop in members of a family, especially children, and with quality time together, it can be achieved.

Transactions define the importance of family time together. A communication or activity between members of a family influences and affects all members of the family. It is through transactions families learn the necessities of life, learn to respect one another, depend on one another, and has a direct bearing on the behavior and quality of life for family members. Communicating and relating with one another affects the way we perceive ourselves and our value to others in the community. The way children are treated has a direct relation to the quality of their lives. Interaction, communication, collective cooperation, and response to one another will set a worthy foundation for development and overall happiness of a family. A parent who plays along side her child is doing more than supervising, he/she is interacting with his/her child as well. Having dinner together as a family puts all members together for foster communication.

Social Systems theory provides a conceptual perspective that can guide how we view the world. Its primary value is its focus on the process of organization within systems. Humans create systems that collectively assume a single system identity in society. Systems do not always operate efficiently and produce and maintain a functional whole comprised of orderly, interrelated elements that work together such as an engine or assembly line. However, to work toward a healthy community and society, we can take a close look at the nature of the relationships that exist within a specific system and the effect on members as well. Families who are poorly organized are rarely effective, they become dysfunctional and fail to perform what a family is organized to do for its members and society. Fortunately, this system works in a way we can help failing family systems using other parts of the system, such as programs, agencies, and support such as welfare, children’s after school activities, and organized institutions especially for families such as museums and nonprofit organizations focusing on community service. Several techniques were explained that work with family systems, such as the developmental assets and methods of play. These techniques promote the healthy of family entities and systems, therefore working toward a productive and efficient community.

Ecological theory also helps extend our understanding of the interacting of personal, environmental, and cultural factors involved in complicated personal or social situations or conditions. Principles derived from this theory are aimed at promoting individual and family health and growth. This theory focuses on the effects of the environment on the growth, development, and behavior of people and institutions within the environment. To improve the quality of life, transactions between entities are the primary focus for all who live with the ecological boundary. The ecological thought associated with this system offers a useful alternative to linear thinking. In a person to person interaction, A causes an effect that changes B, however, A changes as well. The ecological theory is useful in understanding human complexities by examination of the transactions or exchanges between A and B that shape, influence, or change both over time. Ecological thinking is less concerned with cause and more concerned with the consequences of exchanges between A and B and how to help modify maladaptive exchanges. A family’s “fit” with their environment is also an important concept when dealing with ecological theory. Families whose fits are unfavorable lack the state of relative “adaptedness” which promotes continued development that satisfies and maintains or enhances the environment. By putting to action concepts and certain techniques that support this theory, families would experience generally positive exchanges over time, resulting in a better relationship between a family and their environment.

Antedotal Data

At my now part-time job at the children’s museum where I had volunteered, I get to create positive transactions, hopefully affecting children, their parents, and their entire family by promoting a comfortable fit with their environment and a productive an efficient system. By creating one positive transaction in the day of a few members of a family, I am indirectly taking action to establish a healthy and productive community and society.

It was my first day of volunteering at a children’s museum in my community when I made an observation of two different families. My job was to escort the visitors through the activities in each exhibit. The first family didn’t interact with each other and the child obnoxious and loud. The middle-aged mother sat down and looked as if she were daydreaming or too preoccupied and paid no attention to the activities of her child. I noticed that the child didn’t seem to have a good understanding of the concepts of the toys he was playing with. Instead of taking toy food and dividing it into food groups, he just gathered as much as he could and ran around with it them. When I asked him if he would like to order the food, he quickly replied, “I’m just grabbing things,” and ran off without control. At this point I felt disappointed that the boy wasn’t getting what I was trying to offer, but at the same time, I had the realization of this apparent problem in the interaction skills between a parent and a child.

The next family that walked in the door later that day was completely opposite and led me to believe that the situation could be dramatically different. This family seemed to thoroughly enjoy interacting, and they communicated well with each other. The time they spent together was intense and exciting without being loud and rowdy. The middle-aged mother played along side of child, explaining the rules and concept while being entertaining and attentive. This visit was quality time used for learning and reflection of child’s world and understanding of others, and is the precise example of what my job volunteering was trying to accomplish.

Few experiences feel as rewarding as being able to impact the world around you so significantly than serving your community. If you have ever had the opportunity to serve your community, you know how it feels to have the sense that you made a choice and made a difference. In order to make an impact, however, you must create action. The family is the beginning of an individual’s social system and is a good place to start. It’s where our social community and our world begin. The key to a healthy family is in the concepts previously explained. A family’s health is in jeopardy when factors prohibit the actual time and opportunity to significantly interact within a family. Community families need to take advantage of the benefits of quality time together.

When action is taken to create positive exchanges between any entities within a community, collective results can make a big difference. Whether it’s promoting education in children, building a barn, working with the elderly, or stuffing envelopes for a fundraiser, service to a community will pay off in a variety of ways. Other problems such as child abuse and neglect, alcohol and drug abuse, or problems in foster care can exist within communities. These difficult and serious situations call for a significantly large amount of support and understanding from a community. Being a part of a community has its benefits but also its responsibilities and part of being a helpful part of a community means facing these tough issues with collective support and motivation. We are never alone; we are always part of the many systems of life that lead into the entity of our society. This study of families and their actions and exchanges between one another is supported by this idea and extensively researched theories.

Suggestions for Further Research

Further research can be taken on interactions between family members in different communities, ranging in income, ethnicity, history, traditions, etc. in order to better understand our collective society. Each family is wonderfully unique, and it is our contribution to others that determines whether a family’s assets are supportive to society. How did families and family members interact in the past? How did it affect the future we see today? Surely a dramatic influence is in place in each of our families, there always has been and there always will be for generations to come.

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