For this child I prayed

For this child I prayed

Posted by  Access the profile card for user: Catherine Howe Catherine Howe  at Tuesday, May 9, 2017 5:51:26 PM

Through these difficult days, I began praying with intense conviction for my daughters health and the health of my new grand baby. The love you have for your kids and grand-kids manifest even more when they endure an illness you can't do anything about. I continued in prayer and waited for results.

I felt helpless standing by and watching the doctor hurriedly care for my precious new granddaughter. She seemed healthy and happy merely two days prior to her distress. The night before her intensified condition, I spent my entire night awake and walking the floor with my sweet pea to calm and console her pain because my daughter was suffering from her wretched 48 hour labor. As my Sophia cried her mother cried, and as they both cried I could no longer hide my anguish and cried too. We were expecting to go home the next day with our sweet girl, but as the night progressed, we were forced to watch "halo-flight" lift her away to transfer our poor sick baby to Driscoll Children's Hospital in Corpus Christi.

When you hear a baby has jaundice, you don't think much of it. Modern medicine has made such amazing improvements that jaundice is easily cared for and the condition quickly fades away. My sweet pea did not improve in her jaundice state. Her conditioned worsened and elevated to a level brain damage was an added worry. We discovered that my daughters O+ blood and my granddaughter A+ blood was not compatible. We learned newborns are born with an immature liver and their livers continue to mature as they grow outside of the womb. Sweet pea's immature liver could not process the bad antigens being form in her precious little body caused by the incompatible blood. We were given the news that her bilirubin in her blood cells was elevated to a 19.5 and that 20 was the brain damage level. Once again, the strength I thought I possessed faltered on me again as I shared gallons of tears in worry and fear.

Possible blood transfusion was floating around as a cure but the worry about how intrusive it is kept the doctors looking for another outlet. Finally the idea of an IV-IG, Immunoglobulin therapy was spoke of. This is a less intrusive therapy where an IV is inserted that supplies a medicine that is a mixture of antibodies. This medicine goes into your blood directly and combats with the antibodies that is created from the war of the two incompatible bloods. The biggest stress of this medicine is the large possibility of an allergic reaction. This medicine is also a two part medicine, each dose given 24 hours apart from each other.

Days later, and many tears of joy, our sweet bundle of joy has been taken off the critical list. She still remains in NICU but her doctor is hopeful that we will be able to bring her home by Friday. Many prayers have been answered and many hearts are no longer hurting in pain and fear over our newly born grand baby. I still remain on edge, because I know such a small thing can not tell us when she is hurting. We have been with her 24 hours a day though and I have heard a painful continual cry turn into a calm restful baby. I have also been witness of a beautiful baby girl respond to our voices and a smile come across her face. This must be God's way of letting us know that our Sweet Pea is getting well and the worry is almost over.

Understanding Intercultural Communication

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As I begin my journey to better understand intercultural communication, I have realized how complicated proper communication can become. Due to culture, religion, race, sexual preference, politics and above all those, the personal culture of everyone in which must play a part in intercultural communication because without understanding all the aspects that surround the words “proper communication”, many complications could arise.

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Basic communication is not properly practiced unless you know someone's background and lifestyle. This is the common ground in which you do communicate. You cannot and should not communicate with anyone without having a reason to do so. Intercultural communication makes it necessary to research some background on cultures in which you may be beginning a communication process. Even if it is across the world from another country, whether you are communicating via mail, email, personally, skype or whatever form of communication item you may be using.  

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Remember, whether it across the globe or in your backyard, you need to know cultural background of all those you choose to communicate with. You must be aware of cultural gestures and customs so not to offend anyone. Simply just looking someone in the eyes could be offensive to some cultures. As Edward T. Hall was quoted within the Intercultural Competence textbook, he states his analogy of culture by saying, “all cultures have a small visible component and a larger (and arguably more important) part that is hidden from view”. (Lustig & Koester, 2013) The hidden component is the one we need to research and learn if we are ever going to properly communicate with any being, near or far.

“We developed a culture that said, No one is ever on their own. Everyone belongs to a big group. The prosperity and survival of the group come first. And no, everyone is not equal. Some are patriarchs, and some are poor relations; that’s life. But generosity is the value that makes it all work”. ---Tamim Ansaray

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References

Lustig, M. W., & Koester, J. (2013). Intercultural competence: Interpersonal communication across cultures (7th ed. ed.). pg.20, Boston, MA: Pearson.

Who is taking care of Who?

The world's amount of resources has shown an extreme need to have the populations learn sustainability. It is shocking to believe our world’s population is reaching numbers of over seven billion and growing rapidly. Our natural resources which have become the basis of our life on earth include water, energy, land and materials needed for survival. We are facing severe damage of over-consumption of these resources. With our climate changing, animal life is becoming less abundant, forest continues to shrink and land is being destroyed. We truly are facing the extinction of our resources for our planet if we do not change our lifestyles. We face a fragile eco-system and consuming fewer resources makes perfect sense. (Unkown)

The fact of the matter is, America needs to use fewer resources, such as oil, steel, food, and water. But, sadly enough, we need to provide more for our United States, for our poverty-stricken communities, our dying elderly and our diminished water supply before we consider providing anymore for third world countries. As practiced and preached on flight information given by stewardess’, it is said, in the case of any emergency, please put your oxygen mask on first then help others. By practicing this emergency standard, you will be able to help others after you have sustained your own life needs. This should be a common practice for all situations.

It seems impossible to use fewer resources when the United States statistically shows its own distress. Believe it or not, corporate media hides the fact that America has its own pressing issues. According to the United States census, 14.5% of Americans, or in laymen terms, over 45 million people live in poverty. Poverty is an apparent plague, objectively and measurably as it rates specifically among American children. (Johnson, 2016)

I am not opposed to helping others, especially those in poorer third world countries, I just think we should look deeper into American needs and their poor societies that also need the same resources to sustain life. I am trying not to contradict my beliefs of helping our fellow countries, I am just believing, we ourselves have many needs that are being overlooked due to the extreme disdain media has introduced us to outside of the United States of America. The media produces such severity of these third-world circumstances that now appear blinded by our own American severities. 

Resources

Johnson, A. (2016, January 5). 45 Million Americans Live in Poverty, but You Wouldn't Know It From Watching 2016 Coverage. Retrieved from AlterNet: http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/45-million-americans-live-poverty-you-wouldnt-know-it-watching-2016-coverage

Unkown. (n.d.). Overconsumption? Our use of the world's natural resources. Retrieved from https://www.foe.co.uk/sites/default/files/downloads/overconsumption.pdf

What do you think Social Justice means?

A common term the seems to be used worldwide is Social Justice. People believe it is something to fight for. But what exactly does Social Justice mean? Imagine a new society and you are the designer. New laws have been designed for it by you and your appointed trustees. These laws are human rights and they are to assure all individuals residing in this society protection of said “rights”.  Healthcare facilities., churches and schools have been developed for all individuals.

For no good reason, within this newly built society, there is now a formed group that decides to stand up and force the limits of access to all other groups for a few days. The forced limits are against the law and will be called social injustice. On the other hand, if you lift the limits laid on the newly built society, it becomes equally available to every individual in this society. This will be called social justice. In conclusion of this hypothetical situation, humankind will have their basic rights and guaranteed self-respect. As it shall be, without discrimination individuals will meet their basic economic need.

           Despite the existence of human rights found throughout the world, Social justice comes with 

issues and the issues are huge. These issues consist of health, shelter, and education and finally food 

and security. Other issues include ageism, racism, rights of the disabled people, women and children, 

corporate accountability, water and sanitation and a lot more. Attention to these issues need to be 

exposed and exploited.

One major issue and concern is making healthcare affordable. All healthcare institutions are required to treat all individuals fairly and equally whether they are employed or not. Competing with the cost of private healthcare facilities impacts all conditions in all healthcare facilities. Broken hospitals need to be fixed, nurses need to be provided with up-to-date proper training, and the healthcare equipment should be top-of-the-line quality as well. 

New settlements must be built for any poor individuals to help improve the quality of life. To be poor is degrading to any individual. Poor people often feel worthless and useless. They feel degraded and feel unseen by anyone of importance due to the living conditions they are forced to reside in. Poor people are living on roads and in slums in other parts of the world. They simply have no place to go for protection of the elements and protection of their environment.

Better educational facilitates are needed. They are needed for our country and for the less developed countries of the world. In many of our developing countries, provisions of education are a concern that must be addressed. Schools don’t have chairs, desk, and even restrooms. Students deal with teachers that do not want to teach or do not take their job seriously. These students also deal with teachers that are poorly qualified.

There are many underdeveloped countries in the world that do not have access of water, much less clean water for their societies. Some people are dying of starvation and malnutrition due to the lack of food because of the high cost or the inability of knowledge to produce food. Innovative programs must be introduced and taught for making the supply of healthy food accessible and affordable.

In a case of a society being developed, it must have proof of fair distribution of resources. This is the only way to address Social Justice issues today. It must be done wisely or not at all.  Every individual should have equal access to rights and opportunities. They must have the ability to practice their rights and even practice different opportunities within those rights and then again be allowed to exercise all those rights set forth to them. They must have protection from the weak and susceptible people. Mostly, a fair system of law should be present in developing a strong equal society.

Many individuals even in the developed countries are at times treated unreasonably and they get caught up in the social injustices. The rules and the laws exist but they are hardly implemented everywhere. It can be said that although the world has progressed a great deal, justice is not what it should be. There will always be someone who will not believe in the achievement of the common welfare of the society. (Farooq, 2015)

References

Farooq, U. (2015, 10 19). Social Justice Definition, Issues and Examples. Retrieved from Study Lecture Notes: http://www.studylecturenotes.com/basics-of-sociology/social-justice-definition-issues-and-examples

?????? Problem Solved ??????

My second WK6 post on my blog is my reflection of a college level class I am about to finish up. WLDN2010-1 What's your Problem? Because of my goal to obtain my degree in the Science Interdisciplinary field, I approached this class with eyes wide open. The idea of being able to problem solve successfully relates to interdisciplinary science hands down. Not only academically was this class important to me but the fact that I have acquired so much information for my future goal is important to me also.

Our readings seem to call out to me in every aspect necessary for myself to learn what I needed. Because of the research, I pursued outside of my reading required, I even learned more diversified ways of problem-solving and the stages and processes needed to make problem-solving successful. I now understand why the Presidential elections take so long to conclude, because, without a good team to work with, and good problem-solving skills, you will not be a successful candidate.

Although I knew about data details involving quantitative and qualitative data being a necessity for all fair and diversified solutions to problems, I was not aware of the extreme difference between the two types of data and why they are so important to use together. It makes perfect sense to use legitimate numerical data along with personal data to conclude a problem. Problems are personal, and if the public does not feel a personal connection to a problem, they will not see the problem. The qualitative process of data, looking for a more personal feeling about a problem make the combination of all data more interesting and more important to all involved. Quantitative data usually shows us that there is a potential problem and how we may begin to resolve the issue.

One of the most enjoyable things I came across in my class was the blog entries. I have thoroughly enjoyed expressing my feelings and researched data on my obsessive discussion of whether textbooks should still be in the classroom.  The feedback has been a great problem solver for me and I have come to a great realization that although I believe textbooks should be in a classroom, technology should be included too. The two need to work together just like quantitative and qualitative data need to work together.

As like any class you take, it helps if you feel the class is informative enough to carry on in your lifestyle. I truly feel that this class, “What’s your Problem?”, will be a class that I carry in my memory forever. I will remain practicing the skills I have learned, not only in fairness and equality but in how to remain neutral in all decisions, especially those involving a problem that needs to be solved. As my career progresses forward within the school district I am employed at, I feel that now I will be able to bring more to the table during our teamwork meetings and can set aside personal feeling for dedicated researched information.

     Walden University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission, www.hlcommission.org.

Does a textbook need to be in print form to be considered a textbook?

Using both textbooks and technology are seemingly useful. On a student’s desk, they should have the capability to immediately refer to their tablets for more research and then to their printed textbooks for other assignments given by their teacher. The fact of the matter is, the pair, textbooks and technology should be alongside each other, sitting next to the pens, pencils and paper.

Another question arises at the argument of textbooks and technology and that is, does a textbook need to be in print form to be considered a textbook? What about the text being in digital form? The textbook can be accessible in both forms allowing us even more mobility with our schoolwork. If paper is needed to study a particular subject or to introduce a complicated project, printing is always an option. It is actually easier to print from a subject in text already on digital form of book by simply clicking a button.

There are many reasons people feel print textbooks are better, I myself have a preference to print text. But I am not open-minded to the idea of having both. We should not exclude one, whether it be a print textbook or an iPad, without considering how well they work together. And yes, I have heard of studies of surveys taken by students showing that students prefer print. Maybe this is more about comfort and what they are used to and not about what may be best for them. We have to remember as educators, not all things students prefer or want is good for them and their education.

And it so happens that well-designed digital resources can support these more successful pedagogical practices and others – such as paring text with interactive graphics to aid conceptualization, featuring sound or video recordings or modelling solved problems to encourage metacognition – much more easily and pedagogically effectively than a paper textbook ever could. (Picardo, 2016)

Are textbooks cost effective for schools? Cost is usually the main reason textbooks are not replenished in schools. If this is so, then are iPads being seen as more cost effective than textbooks? It is not within any doubt that many people in the school systems, as well as parents point out that iPads in the classroom will be used for far more than just textbooks. I am not against the iPad being in the classroom. I thing if the schools are going to replace textbooks with technology, then at least it should be an interesting transition. (Wilson, 2012)

My main focus on textbooks being a lost art and technology becoming the main source for text is not my main complaint. I am concerned about the economic impact that a school will have by not issuing textbooks and only relying on iPads or whatever technology the classrooms are making available to students during class time and studies. By removing the textbook and implementing only iPads proves to be a huge cost for any school, not to mention the iPod, nooks, and desktop computers needed to make sure all students have access to all and any research and classroom assignments. The cost of training teachers for specific programs needed in the classroom and the apps that will be necessary is also a major consideration if you are supplying the money for this transition.

According to an article in the Washington Post (Mathews, 2012), textbooks can help students learn what is necessary to learn as long as they are a part of a curriculum designed by educators who know what works in the classrooms and what is an expected level of achievements according to the state. To an extent, I agree with this comment, but in our new technological world, we need to have the ability to gain access to the digital world and integrate more computer-based programs.

Our districts and our educators have adopted a system that seems to work for the classrooms. By adopting the common core standards for math and English, there is hope that the textbook companies will update the text so that the implementation of hard copy books and digital books are more beneficial in the classrooms. Welcome to the new digital-age-world…It’s best to just jump in with both feet forward!
  

References

Mathews, J. (2012, February 25). Why textbooks don't work and hurt schools. The Washington Post.

Picardo, J. (2016, October 23). Teaching to the text: Textbooks or Technology? Why is is not one or the other. Retrieved from http://www.josepicardo.com/education/teaching-to-the-text-textbooks-or-technology/

Wilson, L. (2012, March 6). True Cost of iPad Textbooks - Readers Respond. The Education Business Blog. Headway Strategies. Retrieved from http://www.educationbusinessblog.com/2012/03/true_cost_of_ipad_textbooks_re.html