STUFF YOURSELF
“Interaction over food is the single most important feature of socializing,” says Sidney Mintz, professor of anthropology at Johns Hopkins University. “The food becomes the carriage that conveys feelings back and forth.”[i] I believe that what we eat is only one factor in the obesity epidemic that our children are inheriting. “By the time children go to middle school,” says anthropologist Marquisa LaVelle of the University of Rhode Island in Kingston, “many families have basically stopped eating together.“i So children by the time they are in middle school and are able to feed themselves had better have good eating habits. Our government has not made it any easier for families and schools to make healthy decisions. Speaking about the Farm Bill passed by Congress in 2007, Michael Pollan had this to say: “We would not need all these nutrition programs if the commodity title didn’t do such a good job making junk food and fast food so ubiquitous and cheap. Food stamps are crucial, surely, but they will be spent on processed rather than real food as long as the commodity title makes calories of fat and sugar the best deal in the supermarket.”[ii] How we socialize children about food and what it can and cannot do, what food is and what food is not, is at the root of passing on obesity to our children.
I would like to propose a program to be implemented in the public schools. I would call this program “STUFF YOURSELF!” or “Stuff It!” for short. Worldwide, a billion people are now overweight or obese, including 22 million children under the age of 5.In the United States, 64.5 percent of adults and 15 percent of children ages 6 to 19 are overweight.[iii] This is because they are not eating good food, nor are they absorbing useful information about that food and/or activity. For this program to be successful it needs a square meal approach. At the center of the meal is a safe school. Delivering this meal are trustworthy teachers. Also on the plate are balanced portions of Problem/Solution Identification and Goal Setting/Achievement Strategies. “Stuff Yourself” would emphasize what needs to be put into a growing mind and body.
“Obese children reported scores [on a quality of life survey] that were as bad as cancer patients in each and every domain of life,” says Jeffrey Schwimmer, M.D., assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of California San Diego. “We were surprised it was that bad.”[iv] Although we could argue about which came first, the obesity or the negative self image, we still have a health issue that must be addressed. Why are our children eating themselves to death and shortening their lives? According to Joanna Poppink, a Los Angeles therapist specializing in eating disorders “People don’t have eating disorders because of food. They binge, starve, compulsively eat and purge as a way of self medicating themselves. There are feelings they cannot bear to experience. Often they don’t even know this. But when they eat to the point of emotional numbness, starve to an ethereal high, fill themselves up and get rid of it through vomiting or laxatives or excessive exercise, they are fighting off a terrible despair.” [v] I believe that if we address the issues that drive the unhealthy habits we will see healthier, better developed children. Improve children’s lives and you improve their health.
I would use as my template for “Stuff Yourself!” the common sense found in Dieting for Dummies by Jane Kirby. She lays it out very simply. She encourages healthy food eaten in a healthy environment. Healthy food would be information about all food, not demonizing one type of food over another. Food phobias and stigmas are how we got unhealthy eating habits in the first place. Healthy environments would mean eating sitting down, and perhaps around a dinner table without a television going. Too often we don’t just eat. We watch television and eat or read and eat instead of eat with our friends and family while enjoying their company. She would request that parents and teachers be credible examples and to never use food as reward or punishment. Lastly she would ask that we listen to a child about how they are feeling.[vi] I would add in my program an emphasis on academics to complement the body portion. Stuff your head with knowledge and stuff your body with health and you’ll be a success.
Adults have to model better behavior. These children are attempting to solve a problem through food that cannot be addressed through eating. Children will learn from adults they trust in a safe environment in which tough feelings can be addressed. A child in this environment will plan for the future and set goals. With the support of family and teachers they can achieve anything. Although this might seem on the surface a fairly complex problem, a simple look at basic behavior around socialized eating offers some extremely simple solutions. Are we willing to implement them? The solution doesn’t require much money nor training programs to implement, but these concepts must be engrained in our children. Gently. Like we would want them delivered to ourselves, because that’s where we have to start, after all. After we get our fill of information and have changed ourselves, we will be ready to: STUFF OUR CHILDREN WITH EXCELLENCE!
[i]Time Magazine: Why We Eat; Kluger, Gorman and Park; June 07, 2004 from: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,994388,00.html
[ii] New York Times: Weed it and Reap; Pollan, Michael, Novemeber 4, 2007. From: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/opinion/04pollan.html?scp=10&sq=Michael%20Pollan&st=cse
[iii] New York Times: Why We Eat (and Eat and Eat); O’Grady, Denise; November 26, 2002 from: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE1D81E39F935A15752C1A9649C8B63
[iv] Psychology Today: Sadness and Overeating; Lawson, Willow; May 30, 2003 from: http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/pto-20030530-000001.html
[v] Joanna Poppink, M.F.C.C., licensed by the State of California in 1980, is a Marriage, Family, Child Counselor (License #15563) from: http://www.selfhelpmagazine.com/articles/eating/other/basics.html
[vi] Dieting for Dummies 2nd Edition; Kirby, Jane RD (2003) from the chapter: Honor Your Child’s Body
JUST THE CASH, THANKS
Hills and Hirschorn in their article Best in Class: How Corporations Can Help Transform Schools (Earnst&Young2007) say in the introduction “The issues our schools face are so urgent that more companies must do more.” They go on the tell how corporations can do more to create the skilled workforce they’re going to need by partnering with schools to educate children.
These companies aren’t fast food vendors or soda manufacturers. They are technology and economics firms. They want to invest in the next generation of minds to solve the problems of tomorrow instead of using them as fuel for short term profits that we’ve read about in our text book.
Parents do need to partner with anyone that cares about their children. The fast food vendor and soda makers have shown that they do not. Universities have begun to partner with schools. Corporations have partnered with higher education for a very long time in our colleges and they aren’t plastered with garish advertising. It can be done and we already know how!
The schools need the money because we have seen time and time again that the funding models of property and sales taxes are not working. Its too direct. (I personally think this is honest, but I’m in the majority. I voted for every single tax hike and strategy that invests in our future, the children.)
They call it human capital. “Most corporations involved in education reform have focused their energy on improving the quality of human capital through professional development
for classroom instructors.”-again Best in Class. By using corporations to invest in teachers, schools and children we can begin the fulfilling task of reaching the human potential we’ve all known in which humanity was destined.
http://www.fsg-impact.org/ideasitem/503
WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD MARRIAGE?
The characteristics of a good marriage are the same characteristics for any good relationship. The degree of intimacy varies in our relationships with others. The most intimate we call marriage. Whether we are speaking of a business contact, family member or spouse, all of the characteristics impact its success. It’s our intent that defines them.
The word marriage comes from the Latin for husband, maritus. That would imply that a man is transformed into a husband upon marriage. The word for wife in Latin is uxor, a legal term. (Our word wife comes from the Old English for woman, wif.) A woman remains a woman whether she is married or not, she becomes a legal entity upon this union. These ideas form the paradox that we today call marriage. A marriage must transform us and allow us to remain ourselves. A heterosexual marriage is the easiest way to discuss these ideas because in a same sex relationship the roles are individuated. There are six characteristics of a good marriage and they can divide into masculine and feminine aspects. One could also say inside and outside or us and the world; it makes no difference.
The first three aspects are Self Respect, Self Love and Self Knowledge. These are the inside or feminine traits that support a good relationship. Can we expect success in any endeavor without these attributes? What is inside is where we begin. We start with ourselves. If we pollute ourselves, we should not be surprised to find our relationships polluted. If we have no love of our desires and intents then is it any wonder we create conflict? If I pay little attention to myself, how can I devote attention to another? We cannot offer what we do not possess. One must begin at the source, ourselves. We must cultivate the feminine first and respect our limits, appreciate our individuality and appreciate our own existence. If we have ourselves we can begin to draw from the limitless well of source.
The masculine elements concern the world, what is outside of us. The three equally important aspects of a successful marriage are Spirit, Honesty and Commitment to Growth. These are the tools, where the first three are sources of power. Power flows to the tools. If we’ve reached the source through self we can expect manifestation in our world. Can I share my spirit with another? Can I be honest about what is erotic for me? Am I prepared to transform myself and activate the transformation of another? A good marriage is evident in an honest spirit in transformation. This is where the world’s goals are accomplished, careers and fortunes made. Behind success is source. Our human source is our mate. We are the tools. We must take action to bring our dreams into the world.
These are not difficult ideas, nor is this their first evocation. From the earliest writings about the divine nature of man to underlying cosmology of the popular novel, these ideas can be gleamed. A good marriage begins with good person. To be a good person we must look in ourselves and accept the good we find, admit our humanity, and understand our intent. With this knowing we can endeavor upon the path of commitment, the most intimate and perhaps the most rewarding is marriage. The joy of being home and the thrill of embodying home for another is the reward.
What is marriage but a paradox of getting the world by giving of oneself?
That is so gay!
Phone conversation yesterday morning at 7:30am.
“I can’t come in to work today.”-Me
“I don’t think you value the financial heath of this office!” -My boss. And continues talking.
“I think I’ve already proven otherwise!” Raised over his voice, which stops his talking.
“I am not well. I cannot come in today.” I repeat in a monotone.
“Okay. Hope you feel better.” Giving face.
“Thanks.” Dull. He hung up the phone before me.
Which means I had the day to my self. New York has been a frigid place these days. Cream cheese and Tomato on a Garlic Bagel in your coat.
Some friends and I were talking what ‘GAY’ is these days…
I heard of a study recently that showed the exact same ratio of homo to hetero orientation Kinsey showed in his day. The interesting part was that 70% of men whose primary sexual outlet was with other men, called themselves straight (something Kinsey couldn’t ask).
We know who they are. They are most of us. Are the other 30% doing something frightening? Is it our way or the highway? By ‘our way’, I mean come out of a closet and join a parade. I think there has to be way for us to come together. What can we do to benefit all of us?
When an eleven-year-old uses the word “Gay” as a descriptor or epithet these days he/she doesn’t mean homosexual. It means ‘tired’, ‘tacky’, ‘out of date’, ‘clueless’-aesthetically speaking. Gay isn’t it.
I don’t think we’ll be Gay in 20 years. Well, I hope not. Because it’s not a description of who we are. 100% of us.
We need a Logo Change. We need to re-emrge from Chapter 11. We need a hostile take-over bid.
I don’t know what’s next. Right now, but I don’t think it’s Gay. Broke Back is a portion of us, maybe 30%. I think most of us choose to live within families and have serial partners. And not live in the utopia of the 30%.
Why is that? Haven’t we shown a better way? Not really. We’re still too intoxicated with our freedom. Perfectly natural. Couldn’t be avoided. We love the past. We’re here, right? I think we of the 30% have some growing up to do. I know I do.
What unites us? What divides us? What splits churches? A powerful minority of parishoners leave. Those parishoners have been working and partying for a long time. But the masses won’t be converted. Gay is a bright spark.
Enough really. The rest of us will remain in family settings. I think we have to find a way to brige this gap in our culture inorder to create something new.
Gotta be more discriptive and honest than Gay.
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