Stop Adolescent Zombies! Let Students Sleep In the Morning.

Remember the old saying, "If you can't beat them, join them"? Take a minute to answer a few questions with a simple "yes" or "no" to help solidify the potential worth of this wisdom.

(1) For whatever reason (procrastination, extracurriculars, part-time work), do many teens stay up late at night to do homework?

(2) Despite warnings from their parents, do many teens frequently hold nightly marathon phone sessions with their friends?

(3) Do more and more teens find it alluring to engage in computer games and instant messaging when they should be getting their necessary sleep?

I assume most of you answered "yes" to all three questions. If you are an adult, you probably blame teens for their own sleep lack of sleep. Why? Teens have a reputation of being notoriously lazy morning risers who deliberately stay up too late at night. They claim they just can't get out of bed in the morning for school because they are "too tired" or "still sleepy" or "stay up too late" or "can't get to sleep at all." Excuses, excuses, right?

Guess what? Parents and teens agree. They are essentially saying the same thing: lazy teens are lousy morning people because they are deprived of sleep. Why fight this fact? Reasons for resistance may include the accepted wisdom of another old maxim -- "Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise."

Well, folks, a lot has changed since Benjamin Franklin coined that little proverb in a 1735 edition of Poor Richard's Almanack. Maybe James Thurber was closer to the truth when in February, 1939, he turned around the old saying and wrote this in the New Yorker: "Early to rise and early to bed makes a male healthy and wealthy and dead."

Yes, adults who just don't know the makeup adolescents are partly to blame for the "sleepy" problem. Judy Owens, MD, a national authority on children and sleep, director of the pediatric sleep disorders center at Hasbro Children's Hospital, and an associate professor of pediatrics at Brown Medical School, thinks so. In her book, Take Charge of Your Child's Sleep: The All-in-One Resource for Solving Sleep Problems in Children and Teens, she reported that 90% of parents polled believed that their adolescents were getting enough sleep during the week. It looks as if a lot of parents better "wake up."

Most teens need a lot of sleep to maintain optimal daytime alertness, and sleep deprivation is causing a growing concern among researchers, educators and parents.

(1) The average sleep for U.S. adolescents is seven hours. At least 30 percent of teenagers reported falling asleep during school.

(Christina Calamaro PhD, Mason B. Thornton and Sarah Ratcliffe. “Adolescents Living 24/7 Lifestyle: Effects of Caffeine and Technology on Sleep Duration and Daytime Functioning,” Pediatrics, 2009)

(2) A study of Rhode Island teenagers found that "85 percent were chronically sleep-deprived and accumulated a minimum 10-hour sleep deficit during the week. Forty percent went to bed after 11 p.m.; 26 percent said they usually got less than 6.5 hours on school nights."

(Gisele Glosser, "Teens, Sleep and School," Math Goodies, 2012)

(3) In another study in the Journal of School Health, more than 90 percent of teens reported sleeping less than the recommended nine hours a night. In the same study, 10 percent of teens reported sleeping less than six hours a night.

(Mayo Clinic Staff, "Teen Sleep: Why Is Your Teen So Tired?" 2009)

In June 2005, a major report in the journal Pediatrics merged a review of more than two decades of basic research with clinical advice for physicians. The authors included Richard Millman, MD, professor of medicine at Brown Medical School and director of the Sleep Disorders Center of Lifespan Hospitals, a Rhode Island sleep research and treatment center, one of the largest in the country.

The report indicated that adolescents aged 13 to 22 need nine to ten hours of sleep each night. It also discussed the hormonal changes that conspire against them. When puberty hits, the body's production of sleep-inducing melatonin is delayed, making an early bedtime biologically impossible for most teens. At the same time, the report notes, external forces such as after-school sports and jobs and early school start times put the squeeze on a full night's sleep.

Melatonin? That's right. Brown University Professor Mary Carskadon, director of sleep research at E.P. Bradley Hospital in Rhode Island, believes teens are really "out of it" in the early morning. Carskadon and her researchers measured the presence of the sleep-promoting hormone melatonin in teenagers' saliva at different times of the day. They learned that the melatonin levels rise later at night in children than they do in adults -- and remain at a higher level later in the morning.

(Valerie Strauss, "Schools Waking Up to Teens' Unique Sleep Needs," Washington Post, January 10 2006)

What is the result of these findings? Mostly common sense understandings, really. Too little sleep produces a "profound negative effect" on mood, school performance and cognitive function. Also with sleep deprivation, adolescents tend to become heavily caffeinated, practice poorer eating habits, and perform functions with slower reaction time. In addition, studies show that young people between 16 and 29 years of age were the most likely to be involved in crashes caused by the driver falling asleep.

"Some of our kids are literally sleep-walking through life, with some potentially serious consequences," Dr. Millman said. "As clinicians and researchers, we know more now than ever about the biological and behavioral issues that prevent kids from getting enough sleep. But the National Sleep Foundation did something powerful: They asked teens themselves about their sleep. The results are startling and should be a wake-up call to any parent or pediatrician."

Who needs to take responsibility? Millman believes students, parents, and schools should face the need. "The kicker in this," he said, is that changing school start times “is not a license to have kids go to bed later. They need to go to bed at the same time. It’s worthless if they go to bed later.” (William Rupp, "Barrington Studies Later School Start Time For Teens," East Greenwich Patch News, January 27 2012)

This is where the parents have to take control to help their children maximize their potential, Millman said. “This is one piece to make kids better functioning,” he said.

Millman believes that schools should set later start times, but he believes this only works if students get more sleep. He thinks moving the schedule back only 15 to 20 minutes isn’t "worth it." He would push for an hour, a significant amount of extra sleep for teens.

But, Isn't Changing School Start Times to Later Just Mollycoddling the Kids?

(A) One-half Hour Delay

One study involving a later starting time was conducted at St. George's High School in Rhode Island in 2010.The school delayed its start time from 8 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. for two months (the winter term). Here are the results of the one-half hour delay in morning start time.

Among the positive findings:

• Sleep time on school nights increased by 45 minutes. This was due to both earlier bedtimes and later waking times.
• The percentage of students getting at least eight hours of sleep increased from 16.4 percent to 54.7 percent.
• The percentage reporting less than seven hours of sleep decreased by 79.4 percent.
• Fewer students reported feeling "unhappy or depressed," (65.8 percent initially compared with 45.1 percent after the change).
• Fewer students visited the health care center for symptoms of fatigue (15.3 percent initially vs. 4.6 percent after)
• Absences and tardies to first period decreased by 45 percent.

(Judy Owens MD, "New Study Confirms Positive Effects of Delayed School Start Times," Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent, July 2010)


(B) One Hour Delay

In 1996, the suburban school system of Edina, Minnesota, changed its start time for 3,000 high school students from 7:25 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Two years later, Minneapolis followed suit for more than 50,000 teenagers.

The Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement (CAREI) at the University of Minnesota conducted a study on the impact of changing school these start times on academic performance, behavior and safety in Minnesota urban and suburban schools. The research was led by Kyla Wahlstrom, interim director of CAREI. Here are the results of the one hour delay in morning start time.

Teachers reported that students were more alert while the research showed a range of benefits to students and teachers -- and it also contradicted some of the biggest fears about the change: that after-school sports and jobs would suffer.

With the later start time, teenagers were less depressed, and it turned out that employers did not have big problems with students getting out of school later, Wahlstrom said.

Although student grades did not rise significantly, the trends have been upward, she said. Researchers noted that it was difficult to assess changes in grades due to differences in school schedules, course names, grading policies, student transience, and the subjective nature of grading by teachers.

And some sports practices were shortened, but Edina and Minneapolis teams have played just as competitively as they had before

Results from three years of data from both Edina and Minneapolis also showed:

• Improved attendance
  
• Increase in continuous enrollment
  
• Less tardiness
  
• Students making fewer trips to the school nurse

In suburban districts, students reported:

• Gaining an average of about one hour of sleep per night, since their bed times stayed the same even after the start time change.
  
• Eating breakfast more frequently
  
• Being able to complete more of their homework during school hours, because they were more alert and efficient during the day.

Suburban teachers and principals reported:

• Students seemed more alert in class.
  
• Improvements in student behavior, with a calmer atmosphere in the hallways and cafeteria.
  
• Fewer disciplinary referrals to the principal.

Suburban counselors reported:

• Fewer students seeking help for stress relief due to academic pressures.
  
• Fewer students coming to them with peer relationship problems and difficulties with parents.
  (Backgrounder: Later School Start Times, National Sleep Foundation, 2011)

My Take

Why fight it? I guess many parents of younger children might say that a delayed start might not coincide with their morning schedules of work and other commitments. True, many parents would have to arrange some type of supervision for their children. Any consideration of a school start time change should take into account the impact on families, including transportation, dependence on teens’ income, chores and other family responsibilities, and teens’ mood and behavior at home

Changing a school’s start time involves a wide array of people--parents, teachers, students, principals, school boards, superintendents, counselors and healthcare professionals, among others. We all know how difficult it is to institute any new idea in education, especially one this drastic. But, let's remember the old battle cry for improvements in schools: “It's all for the betterment of the kids.”

Speaking of betterment, according to Brookings Institute economists, children will likely earn significantly more money as adults when school begins at “roughly” 9 A.M. (“Organizing Schools to Improve Student Achievement: Start Times, Grade Configurations, and Teacher Assignments, Brookings Institute Education, September 2011)

Policymakers may eventually decide when the school day begins. Until then, at least during the school year, adolescent sleep sufficiency, a point of concern for the Center for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health, will substantially be determined by the whims of local school boards.

Note to parents with adolescent children:

Letting them “sleep in” is better than having them “drop out.”

"Given that the primary focus of education is to maximize human potential, then a new task before us is to ensure that the conditions in which learning takes place address the very biology of our learners."

-Mary A. Carskadon, Ph.D., Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior


“Their biological rhythms are set in such a way that they really can’t wake up earlier. It’s like telling a person they have to jump eight feet. They just can’t.”
 
-William Dement, M.D., Sc.D., Ph.D.

English Usage on the Democrat Net News

 

 

The following examples were taken from the latest online edition of the "Scioto Democrat Net News." One excellent way to teach usage is to use published writing as opposed to "canned" textbook examples.

 

In this simple blog, I offer you some actual content from the Net News. With the help of the highlighted areas, can you correct usage mistakes and improve content in the edition? Call me a "picky old English teacher" but someone must edit "important" public communication.

 

 

1. This is a free subscription internet news media.

 

2. Paid for by Scioto County Democratic Party, Ann Bobanich, Treasured.

3. Members of the Central Committee are encouraged to attend and invite your families and friends.

 

4. I am Glad to Report that our friend and Senator Sherrod Brown is still standing regardless of the fact that over 18 million has been spend to try to bring hime down.

 

(The Senator is still upright?)

 

5. Don't allow special interests decode this election.

 

6. I will represent your endrosement with honor during this campaign. (And, only during the campaign?)

 

7. Imagine what America will be like when our rights to pursue liberty and happiness is gone and we are subject to the ruling 1%.

 

8. Imagine when only a few of the priviledged can get an education in this country.

 

(So, is the intent only a few of the "privileged" in this country or "get an education" in this country? Wow, this is a  ridiculous statement either way you look at it.)

 

9. Imagine what America will be like when blacks, latinos and women can no longer vote. (Imagine what America will be like when you can no longer vote.)

 

(Isn't the proper term "African-Americans"? Is "Latino" an umbrella term for people from many different countries? Again, the content makes a ridiculous statement any way you look at it.)

 

10. Imagine Mitt Romneys finger on the button to release an Atomic War.

 

11. Imagine Mitt Romney deciding the fate of 47% of American who he calls moochers off the government, 47% who he has written off as a drag on the economy.

 

(And, Mitt will decide their "fate"?)

 

12. There is a Revolution going on in our country. We must call it what it is and react before it is to late.

 

(What is the "revolution"?  And we must react "before it is too late" to do what?)

 

13. They (the Republican Party) have proved this with their say NO to everything in Congress and their filibuster in the Senate.

 

(To "everything"? Isn't that a gross exaggeration?)

 

14. Does this have any resemblance of Patroitism.

15.  Get out and vote in this election. We are going to need everyone to vote to overcome the loss of te voters purged from the rolls of 26 states.

 

("Get out" of where?)

 

16. President, Emilys List

 

17. Scioto County Democratic Party Central Committee Meeting will meet September 27, 7PM, at Scioto County Democratic Headquarters.

 

18. ROMNEY 47% of Americans are MOOCHERS--DEPENDING ON THE GOVERNMENT

 

(Are 47% "moochers" depending on the government, or are 47% "moochers" depending upon which "government" rules? Unclear)

 

19. Snippets of the video of Mr. Romney were posted online Monday afternoon by Mother Jones, a liberal magazine, which said it had obtained the recording and had confirmed its authenticity. The magazine said it was concealing the identity of the person who had recorded the video and the location and time of the recording.

(Is the material really "confirmed" for the public when the magazine is concealing the identity of the person recording the video?)

 

20. Sherror remains ahead in the polls.

 

21. Imagine what America will look like when Mitt Romney and the Tea Party takes us back 100 years.

 

(Woodrow Wilson, a Democrat, was elected in 1912 - a hundred years ago.

 

22. "An of 9:30 this morning, we're still $412,750 away from our $1 million goal. Rove and the Chamber are spending nearly $2.2 million this week. If 4,586 of you give $10 in the next 9 days, we will obliterate our goal. Can you contribute today. And that's why we're going to crush this $1 million goal before the FEC deadline on Sept. 30th.

(They want to "obliterate" and "crush" their goal?)

 

23. And the special interests aren't going to stop pouring money into this race. Because they want to win.

24. The other side is practically shoveling dark money into Ohio.We can't keep up with that kind of spending -- but we don't have to.

(Is the intention they want to "keep up" with "dark money" or undisclosed spending if they can?)

25. Scioto County's Drug Problem. Can you think of a better reason to elect Steve Goins for Sheriff.

 

(The "drug problem" is a reason to elect a sheriff?)

Did you find the errors? I am not writing this entry to belittle anyone or any political party. I am writing it in an attempt to make people aware of publishing material that contains mistakes and aware of the confusion and embarrassment these errors may cause. I hope to emphasize the importance of using correct English. Revision is a necessary step in the writing process. Unless writers practice it, their communication skills suffer. 

 

 

 

Poor Girls' Dilemma: Poverty Leads to Teen Pregnancy

Are you ready for some good news and bad news?

Let's look at the good news first:

The rate of U.S. teenagers becoming mothers is declining rapidly, according to a new report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The average teen birth rate decreased 9 percent from 2009 to 2010, reaching an all time low of 34.3 births per 1,000 women aged 15 to 19. That's a 44 percent drop from 1991 to 2010. There were less teenage mothers in 2010 than any year since 1946. (Michelle Castillo, “U.S. Teen Pregnancy Rates at an All-time Low Across All Ethnicities,” CBS News, April 10 2012)

Now, let's swallow the bad news:

But the fact remains the United States’ teen-pregnancy rate is still the highest in the world among developed nations.

For years, scholars and social scientists have wrestled with this question regarding teen pregnancy: Which came first, the baby or the welfare check?

Conventional wisdom had it in that order; a teenage girl has a baby young and out of wedlock, and it becomes the event that starts her slide into poverty. Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney even told the graduating class at Liberty University this spring that "for those who graduate from high school, get a full-time job, and marry before they have their first child, the probability that they will be poor is 2 percent. But, if those things are absent, 76 percent will be poor." He was giving voice to that conventional assessment.

But more studies show that

 it's existing poverty that

leads to childbearing,

not the other way around.

Melissa S. Kearney and Phillip B. Levine, whose paper on the subject in the Spring 2012 Journal of Economic Perspectives drew attention for its conclusion that the conventional wisdom that teen childbearing causes young women to slide into poverty has the cart before the horse.

They argue that a lack of economic prospects leads teens to pregnancy.

“Teen childbearing is a symptom of underlying circumstances,” said Kearney, a professor at the University of Maryland. “Young, non-marital childbearing is certainly something that perpetuates poverty generation to generation,” but poverty is often the goad to childbearing in the first place. “If you’re poor and live in an unequal place, you’re more likely to wind up pregnant,” she explained.

(Melissa S. Kearney, and Phillip B. Levine. "Why Is the Teen Birth Rate in the United States So High and Why Does It Matter?" Journal of Economic Perspectives, 26:2 2012)

Kearney and Levine provide some statistical examples of “unequal places.” Consider that U.S. teens are two and a half times as likely to give birth as compared to teens in Canada, around four times as likely as teens in Germany or Norway, and almost ten times as likely as teens in Switzerland.

Then, consider that a teenage girl in Mississippi is four times more likely to give birth than a teenage girl in New Hampshire—and 15 times more likely to give birth as a teen compared to a teenage girl in Switzerland.

Their research examines teen birth rates alongside pregnancy, abortion, and "shotgun" marriage rates as well as the antecedent behaviors of sexual activity and contraceptive use. The findings demonstrate that variation in income inequality across U.S. states and developed countries can explain a sizable share of the geographic variation in teen childbearing.

Kearney continues:

"Our view is that teen childbearing is so high

in the United States because of underlying

social and economic problems.

It reflects a decision among a set of girls

to "drop-out" of the economic mainstream;

they choose non-marital motherhood

 at a young age instead of investing

in their own economic progress

because they feel they have

little chance of advancement.”

 

“Choice” is this case does not mean all teen girls actually do carefully consider life choices before picking non-marital motherhood. Instead, the economists' view of “choice” is that all people make groups of choices every day – say, choices about exercise and calories consumed – that make certain outcomes more likely.

 

Decisions that are not well-considered, or that raise the risk of undesired side effects, still have a large ingredient of choice. For example, we typically view those who drive drunk as having made a "choice." And, this is a very bad choice made by many every day that can have catastrophic consequences.

 

Yet, what happens when these girls take the risk to have babies? Kearney says evidence shows that teen childbearing is explained by the low economic trajectory but it is not an additional cause of later difficulties in life.

Surprisingly, teen birth itself does not appear

to have much direct economic consequence.

Asenath Andrews, 27 year veteran principal at Catherine Ferguson Academy, a Detroit charter school, agrees. Lots of girl from all levels of society get pregnant as teenagers, she said, but the poorest ones are most likely to bear children.

"The best prevention model is certainty of opportunity," she said. "The people who are best at contraception are women, 22-35, in career-path jobs." But, she added, longitudinal studies have shown that girls in the same family, one of whom gives birth as a teen and the other doesn’t, don’t have radically different outcomes, which discounts childbearing alone as a poverty driver. (Nancy Derringer, “Poverty, Then Pregnancy for Teen Mothers,” Bridge Magazine, August 9 2012)

(Click to enlarge.)

 

Kearney said it makes more sense to think of teen childbearing as "a symptom of underlying circumstances," i.e. inequality."

"If girls perceive their chances at long-term

economic success to be sufficiently low

even if they do ‘play by the rules,’

then early childbearing is more likely to be chosen,"

 Kearney and Levine speculate in their paper.

Could it be that teen girls suffering from social and economic problems need “reason” for a better life, and this lack of belief in their capability of breaking out of an impoverished lifestyle makes the risk of having babies during their teen years more acceptable?

In other words, adults can preach to these young girls all they want about abstinence, contraception, religion, and all the horrors of teen pregnancy. These methods might work with those on the margin, but certainly, according to statistics, they aren't working for all. In the case of many teen girls, the words fall on deaf, hopeless ears because these teens are “blind” to future success. Their state of poverty leads to childbearing; childbearing does not necessarily lead to poverty.

Some Ideas For Improvement

Kearney says all girls need to see a path to a better life. But, for large numbers of teenagers living near the bottom of the income ladder, “They don’t really see a cost to becoming a mom. They don’t plan to go to college. The odds of finding a good man to marry are very bad.”

Complicating this is the fact that teen childbearing runs in families.

One strategy is to place these at-risk girls with support groups containing other teenagers who understand the tough road the girls must follow

Carrie Terry, adolescent and school health manager at the Michigan Department of Community Health points to PREP, the Personal Responsibility Education Program, as a promising source of preventive information in areas where the problem is more acute, mostly larger urban areas.

PREP is part of the Affordable Care Act of 2010. It offers a new opportunity—federal funding for science-based sex education that includes information on abstinence and contraception. Until 2010, the only dedicated federal funding for sex education was for abstinence-only-until-marriage programs. These programs censor vital information from young people, who have the right to complete, accurate information that will allow them to make informed decisions about their sexual health. PREP includes the following stipulations:

• Programs should target young people between the ages of 10-19.
  
• Programs should have as their goal the prevention of unplanned pregnancy and STIs, including HIV.
  
• Programs should teach about abstinence, contraception, and condoms as ways to prevent unplanned pregnancy and the transmission of STIs.
  
• Programs must include content on at least three adult preparation subjects, including healthy relationships, adolescent development, financial literacy, educational and career success, and healthy life skills.

Terry repeats a mantra among those

who work with at-risk teenagers:

"The best contraceptive for kids is hope."

To conclude, please read these words from Laurie Schwab Zabin PhD., the founding director of the Bill and Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health and a professor of Population, Family and Reproductive Health:

“In the U.S. today—as in most Western countries—sex in mid-teens is almost universal. It is common in all economic, social, ethnic, racial and geographic sectors and across most religious groups. Here, more than 70 percent of youth are sexually active by age 19....

“In many pockets of poverty and deprivation, sex starts even younger and teen motherhood is common. It's not just that services are lacking in the neediest neighborhoods. For many adolescents, even the best sex education and medical service are only a start. These girls may not actively want to have a child—they tell us they don't—but pregnancy happens if you don't care enough, or feel empowered enough, to prevent it. Without hope for their futures, too many young people have nothing to lose.

“If they see no future, they see nothing at risk. High aspirations are characteristic of youth. It's adolescents' realistic expectations—not their dreams—that we need to change. Programs can only alter their vision of the future if they're powerful enough to change that reality—and to give our young people a credible reason to hope.

“After a lifetime in the field, I see family planning playing an exciting role in meeting this challenge. In urban ghettos at home or in the rim cities of the developing world, adolescents—in fact, women of all ages—have limited control over their lives. Into that circle of frustration, control of their own reproduction can bring a sense of empowerment that may, and often does, spill over into the rest of their lives.

“Knowing that hope provides such empowerment keeps those of us in the field going strong. Maybe, hope is our best incentive.”

(Laurie Schwab Zabin PhD., “The Best Contraceptive,” John Hopkins Public Health Magazine, Special Issue, 2008)

The Anxious American: "I'm Going To Be Happy If It Kills Me!"

 

 

“The search for happiness

is one of the chief sources of unhappiness.” 

-Eric Hoffer

Ruth Whippman says that as a Brit living in the United States, she is acutely aware of the cultural difference between attitudes to happiness here and at “home.” In this New York Times editorial she explains what she perceives as the American's search for happiness.

"As soon as an American baby is born, its parents enter into an implicit contractual obligation to answer any question about their hopes for their tiny offspring’s future with the words: “I don’t care, as long as he’s happy” (the mental suffix “at Harvard” must remain unspoken).

"Happiness in America has become the overachiever’s ultimate trophy. A vicious trump card, it outranks professional achievement and social success, family, friendship and even love. Its invocation can deftly minimize others’ achievements (“Well, I suppose she has the perfect job and a gorgeous husband, but is she really happy?”) and take the shine off our own.

"This obsessive, driven, relentless pursuit is a characteristically American struggle — the exhausting daily application of the Declaration of Independence. But at the same time this elusive MacGuffin is creating a nation of nervous wrecks. Despite being the richest nation on earth, the United States is, according to the World Health Organization, by a wide margin, also the most anxious, with nearly a third of Americans likely to suffer from an anxiety problem in their lifetime. America’s precocious levels of anxiety are not just happening in spite of the great national happiness rat race, but also perhaps, because of it."

(Ruth Whippman, "America the Anxious, " The Opinion Pages of The New York Times, September 22 2012)

Read Whippman's entire article: http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/22/america-the-anxious/?ref=opinion

When the great French social critic Alexis de Tocqueville traveled in the United States way back in the 1830s, he, too, was struck by Americans' restlessness, even in the midst of their prosperity at the time. He thought a "cloud" darkened many American faces. This sadness, he believed, was explained by the fact that Americans are constantly thinking about the good things they might be missing.

De Tocqueville wrote:

"A native of the United States clings to this world's goods as if he were certain never to die; he is so hasty in grasping at all within his reach that one would suppose he was constantly afraid of not living long enough to enjoy them. He clutches everything, he holds nothing fast, but soon loosens his grasp to pursue fresh gratifications.... Death at length overtakes him, but it is before he is weary of his bootless chase of that complete felicity which forever escapes him.

"At first sight there is something surprising in this strange unrest of so many happy men, restless in the midst of abundance. The spectacle itself, however, is as old as the world; the novelty is to see a whole people furnish an exemplification of it." 

(Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, Volume 2, 1840)

In my writing, I return to the theme of searching for happiness quite often. I am, quite frankly, amazed about the way so many people attempt to pursue this state. I, too, think the pursuit is a "rat race" that produces few lasting results.

The simple word, happiness, can have many connotations, and I confess I do struggle with my own understanding of this fortunate state of well being. I believe I am "happy" even though I don't know exactly why. I do know that my happiness does not depend upon how many dollars I have accumulated.  And, I realize my personal attainment of a happy mental or emotional state can be characterized by pleasant emotions ranging from simple contentment to intense joy.

What totally comprises happiness in the mind of one person certainly doesn't apply to anyone else. Reported happiness is very subjective. Yet, today, a general consensus of how everyone might attain it seems to be something most readily agree upon, especially in this material-worshipping culture of "give me it all the time" America.

Despite the emotional happiness money might "buy," I do not equate my happiness with economics. Philosophers and religious thinkers often define happiness in terms of living a "good life," or "flourishing," rather than simply as an emotion prone to change and influence largely by possessions.

Happiness economics is actually a quantitative study of happiness, and it suggests that measures of public happiness should be used to supplement more traditional economic measures when evaluating the success of public policy. It typically treats such happiness-related measures as well-being, quality of life, and life satisfaction, rather than wealth, income or profit, as things to be maximized. (Carol Graham, The Economics of Happiness,  2005)

Of course, happiness economics still depends upon sufficient individual income as a measure of happiness. I would not disagree. Yet, what is "sufficient"? Some researchers have found that even if money does correlates with happiness, the rate diminishes with more money. In 2010, Daniel Kahneman and Angus Deaton found that higher earners generally reported better life satisfaction, but people's day-to-day emotional well-being only rose with earnings until a threshold annual income of $75,000. (Bob Holmes, "Money Can Buy You Happiness – Up to a Point," New Scientist, September 7 2010)

Other determinants for happiness economics include relationships, children, freedom, control, leisure, and health. Here is a look at some important happiness concerns in different countries:

1. Happiness for Asians with strong oriental influence is strongly linked to home ownership.
 
2. Dutch sociologist Ruut Veenhoven, contend self-reported happiness is combined with life expectancy.
 
3. Bhutan’s index has led that country to limit the amount of deforestation it will allow and to require that all tourists to its nation must spend US $200. Allegedly, extensive tourism and deforestation lead to unhappiness. (Andrew Revkin, "A New Measure of Well-Being From a Happy Little Kingdom," The New York Times, October 4 2005)
 
4. Canada released the Canadian Index of Wellbeing (CIW) in 2011 to track changes in well being. The CIW has adopted the following working definition of well being: The presence of the highest possible quality of life in its full breadth of expression focused on but not necessarily exclusive to: good living standards, robust health, a sustainable environment, vital communities, an educated populace, balanced time use, high levels of democratic participation, and access to and participation in leisure and culture. (The First-ever Canadian Index of Well Being Composite Index, Faculty of Applied Sciences, 2011)

The Anxious American Rat Race

Today, America is a very "anxious country." That cannot be denied. A great number of people simply are not happy, at least in emotional terms. Instead, in terms of their mental health, they live in a state of unhappiness and disorder.

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the United States. They include panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and phobias (social phobia, agoraphobia, and specific phobia). Anxiety disorders develop from a complex set of risk factors, including genetics, brain chemistry, personality, and life events.

Anxiety disorders are highly treatable, yet only about one-third of those suffering receive treatment. Even though the majority remain untreated, the costs for help are high. Anxiety disorders cost the U.S. more than $42 billion a year, almost one-third of the country's $148 billion total mental health bill, according to "The Economic Burden of Anxiety Disorders," a study commissioned by ADAA. (The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 60:7, July 1999).

More than $22.84 billion of those costs are associated with the repeated use of health care services; people with anxiety disorders seek relief for symptoms that mimic physical illnesses.

People with an anxiety disorder are three to five times more likely to go to the doctor and six times more likely to be hospitalized for psychiatric disorders than those who do not suffer from anxiety disorders.

Here are some other facts we do know about anxiety disorders in America according research from the National Institute of Mental Health.

• Approximately 40 million American adults ages 18 and older, or about 18.1 percent of people in this age group in a given year, have an anxiety disorder.
• Anxiety disorders frequently co-occur with depressive disorders or substance abuse.
• Most people with one anxiety disorder also have another anxiety disorder. Nearly three-quarters of those with an anxiety disorder will have their first episode by age 21.5.

So, What Would Make More Americans Less Anxious?

Could it be that Ruth Whippman is saying "forget about it"? In other words, why should people put undue pressures upon themselves about being consistently happy?  Psychologists like Scott Lilienfeld believe happiness is mostly determined by external circumstances.

So, many people believe if they can change those circumstances, they can make themselves much happier. But, Lilienfeld says this is one of the biggest myths in popular psychology, not the least because in the past decade many people have become obsessed by the subject of happiness.

Thomas Jefferson used the words "pursuit of happiness" to mean good government but today happiness is strictly personal and many Americans feel deprived if they're not in a state of permanent exhilaration. (Scott Lilienfeld, Steven Jay Lynn, John Ruscio and Barry Beyerstein; 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology; 2010)


According to Lilienfeld and others, each person is born with a genetically determined "set point" of happiness, a baseline from which he or she bounces up and down in response to short-term life events - even major ones such as winning the lottery or becoming a paraplegic. But usually people usually return to that baseline in a surprisingly short period.

Lilienfeld uses this proof:

"One of the main pieces of research into happiness was conducted by behavioural geneticist David Lykken and colleagues, who established the importance of genetics by looking at the happiness of a large number of identical twins. They found that 'the reported well being of one's identical twin, either now or 10 years earlier, is a far better predictor of one's self-rated happiness than one's own educational achievement, income, or status.' In other words, if twins are separated and end up in very different circumstances, their happiness levels will probably be much closer than the levels of unrelated people in similar circumstances.
 
"So it appears that most happy people are that way because they're born like that, which, of course, is terribly unfair - another reason many of us would rather believe happiness can be acquired through effort. Lykken's brutal conclusion after looking at twins was that 'trying to be happier is like trying to be taller.'"  
 
(Michael Duffy, "Life’s Journey Is a Myth-Busting Affair," National Times, March 15 2010)

Is there anything that contributes to happiness? Lilienfeld says, “Life experiences can do that. Enjoying quality time with friends and loved ones, memorable trips with people we care deeply about, special nights out with romantic partners.” These things involve pretty typical engagement with other people and often occur extemporaneously.

Then, why should people be obsessed with getting more happiness? Perhaps, in truth, they shouldn't. Instead, they should accept that being unhappy some of the time can be OK and is just part of being a human being.

Dan Gilbert discusses This Emotional Life, a PBS program he hosted. Gilbert offers an answer to the question “What causes happiness?” He points out that there is a set point for happiness, despite good or bad experiences. Humans are good at adjusting to their circumstances, and no matter what they experience they are likely to have a general level of happiness, independent of their experiences.

Gilbert suggests that people should be more skeptical when considering what causes happiness. Much of what they think they know about happiness is wrong. In This Emotional Life, Dan Gilbert says there are three key findings on the science of happiness:

1. We can’t be happy alone.
2. We can’t be happy all the time.
3. We can be happier than we are currently

Humans are social animals that need to socialize. Gilbert says the biggest predictor of happiness is the extent of people's social relationships. A primary reason that our brains have evolved in the manner they have is so we can be social.

Gilbert claims “friendless people are not happy.” It is not realistic, nor is it desirable to be happy all the time. Negative emotions are natural. When considering negative emotions, what is important is learning to appropriately regulate those potentially damaging thoughts. Being happy all the time implies epistemic irrationality (holding beliefs that are not commensurate with available evidence).

"Your Daddy Can't Dance": Gender Discrimination in Public Schools

 

 

A school system in Cranston, Rhode Island

has determined that traditional father-daughter

and mother-son activities put on by the school

are in violation of the state’s gender discrimination law.

Yes, that's right. Title IX, the federal legislation banning gender discrimination in schools, evidently has no rational exemptions to the rule even though events like these are meant to encourage and support children.

I beg to disagree. I think schools are allowed certain exemptions under Title IX.

The ACLU claims that, under Rhode Island law, there is no exemption for any gender-based activities in schools. In fact, the Rhode Island law can be interpreted to be broader than the federal law. So, the school district is scared about racking up big attorney’s fees in defending a lawsuit on this. Hence the ban. (Lis Wiehl, "Daddy and Daughter Dances Banned -- What's Next, No Apple Pie?" Fox News, September 21 2012)

 

Cranston Superintendent Judith Lundsten said the move was triggered by a letter from the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of a single mom who had complained that her daughter had not been able to attend her father-daughter dance.

The ban only affects gender-specific events held at school. An all-inclusive "parent-child dance," for example, would not be a problem, school committee member Janice Ruggieri told the Associated Press.

 

Why is the ACLU defending this single mom when the Department of Labor clearly says the following?

 

 

 

Title IX, Education Amendments of 1972

 

Section 1681. Sex

 

(a) Prohibition against discrimination; exceptions. No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance, except that:

(8) Father-son or mother-daughter activities at educational institutions

"This section shall not preclude father-son or mother-daughter activities at an educational institution, but if such activities are provided for students of one sex, opportunities for reasonably comparable activities shall be provided for students of the other sex."

Doesn't this wording mean that Cranston can, indeed, offer (1) a father-daughter dance if it also provides (2) a mother-son dance? Is there something I am not reading in the Title IX language? After all, male and female are still considered the two sexes under Title IX, right? Two dances, one provided for each sex = even Steven, tit for tat.

My Take

Why does the government continue to rip and tear at the fabric of American life just because somebody is going to get his or her feelings hurt? Father-daughter dances or Mother-son dances are held by a public institution to strengthen parental ties and provide opportunities for sensible, positive recreation and family entertainment.

Section 1681 (a) Paragraph 8 of the Title IX text clearly provides for such activities at school. But, no, now we are losing every stitch of the exclusion just because a person's daughter cannot attend one such event.

Into the fray steps the ACLU to deal with "feelings" and not with "law and equality." Can't the girl in question go to the event with an "adopted" father if she wishes to dance? Or, for that matter, can't she just feel happy for those who have a father who will take them to the dance instead of insisting the event is a personal affront?

I am sick of every tradition value being scrutinized under the government microscope until one very minuscule speck of protest is discovered that destroys its entire worth. If people want to organize decent alternative events in public schools, let it happen, but denying established activities, clubs, and observances that build character is much more harmful to the community than bowing to isolated, perceived injustices. (And, yes, I believe in the right to pre-game or after-game prayer, but that's another related topic for another day.)

For example, would schools be required under Title IX to buy equal numbers of magazines for their school libraries that advocate a gay life style over traditional marriage and courtship? Would one gay publication be enough or would equality reign? In truth, how many genders or sexual preferences constitute the realm of fair exposure? Maybe schools should just ban all publications and "dummy down."

Or, instead, would schools be required to scour the contents of all magazines to be sure every edition that deals with traditionally female domestic skills such as cooking and sewing or traditionally male skills such as auto mechanics and hunting provide complete sexual equality in coverage?

Already I read articles about male homecoming queens. Does this mean the government bans the traditional kiss of the queen because the football fullback escort chooses not to kiss another male? I mean this kind of thing does work both ways. I wouldn't kiss another male in public. So, instead, does the ACLU recognize my wishes and protect my rights under traditional values? Here it comes... no, they just ban the kiss altogether.

In the world of equality, nothing is simply understood; however, that doesn't mean that Title IX applies to every situation in question. I am my daughters' father, and I am my sons' father. Attending an event that celebrates fatherhood in a healthy, wholesome way causes damage to no one.

Oh, I know what you're saying. Why doesn't Cranston just replace tradition with a parent-child dance and cave into the ACLU interpretation? Because the traditional dances are already covered in law under the 1681 (a) 8 exception. Thank God people in 1972 had the sense to see the reason instead of overreaction.  

Hell, require Cranston to have a father-son dance and a mother-daughter dance and a legal guardian-son/daughter dance and a provider-pet dance. I don't care. I just don't want to see something worthwhile go down the tubes because it upsets a single mom and her daughter. I feel that the mom should handle her daughter's displeasure without selfishly causing displeasure for countless other fellow parents in the district. What is wrong when things get this picky? You tell me.

 

“At issue is not the Title IX statute itself, which simply outlaws discrimination in educational institutions on the basis of gender. The problem is the way in which Title IX has been applied. Feminists have used Title IX as their all-purpose vehicle to advance a radical agenda in our schools, and have imposed this agenda on a willing bureaucracy and the federal courts. As a result, current Title IX enforcement has demeaned the legitimate athletic and academic accomplishments of women and institutionalized discrimination against

boys and men in schools.”

 

-Allison Kasic, Kimberly Schuld

 

Sounding Off About the Columbia Music Arena

The Columbia Music Arena Squawk

This is a political drama of four acts set at City Hall in Portsmouth, Ohio, the scene of intense arguments over important city issues such as public parking in private spaces, the correct operations of city traffic lights, the legal possession of the unconfirmed famed landmark Indian Rock, the quandary over the city ownership of the empty Martings Building, the plight of the homeless Portsmouth Police Department, and now the BIG NOISE DOWNTOWN!


The Players


Jim Kalb - former Portsmouth Mayor; current Fourth Ward City Councilman; operator Columbia Music Arena

Lee Scott - owner of Columbia Music Arena

Local citizens - people concerned with disturbing the peace

Local business operators - people concerned with disturbing the peace

Mike Jones - City Solicitor

Portsmouth City Council - local governing body

State of Ohio - state governing body

Plot Summary


ACT I “The Noise Begins”


1. City's Noise Ordinance Broken:

Former Portsmouth Mayor and current Fourth Ward City Councilman Jim Kalb, who operates Columbia Music Arena, receives a disturbing the peace charge for violating the city’s noise ordinance at the music arena.

2. Portsmouth Court Date For Fighting the City Noise Ordinance:

Kalb wants a resolution, so he has a court date for October 3 in Portsmouth Municipal Court.

3. Late Night Crowds Want Loud Music After 11:00 P.M.:

Kalb, irate about the city intrusion into private enterprise, claims the high-volume-seeking crowds at the Columbia Music Arena begin arriving around the same time they have been having to close, which has drastically hurt “the business.”


ACT II “To Charter Or Not To Charter”


4. Owner Says the Resolution To the Noise Problem Is To "Do Away With the Portsmouth City Charter" and Let the Music Play:

Meanwhile, Lee Scott, owner of the Columbia, is meeting with legal representation to formulate the wording for a ballot issue that would do away with the Portsmouth City Charter. He wants to revoke the charter and all ordinances that have been set up under the said charter and, instead, use the Ohio Revised Code for deciding the legality of everything in question.

5. The Locals Say the Resolution To the Noise Problem Is To Install a Roof on the Columbia:

In opposition, several citizens and business operators believe that Scott is breaking the city noise ordinance since the part of the facility where the bands perform has no roof. The citizens have brought forth allegations of loud, amplified musical volume and vulgarities that they consider “disturbing the peace” emanating from the music venue.

6. Scott Wants To Operate the Music Arena Under A-5 State Law and Continue Late Night Loud Noise:

Scott maintains he has obtained all permits, and was cleared by the city in constructing the building following a fire in 2007. Currently, under the state law, he has an A-5 arena, meaning he has the same rights as “a football field” in the same area of the city.


ACT III “Nobody Likes Me”


7. Scott Says Locals Are Against Him, No One Else, and a Roof Won't Necessarily Solve the Loud Noise Problems:

Scott says this about his problem: "It’s all local. I can’t do anything. I can’t go over their head. They’ve put their own restrictions on us and everything, and if we are under the Ohio Revised Code, we have the same rights as Columbus, Cincinnati, and all the other places that have arenas just like mine."

Scott continues, “Only certain people are complaining, for the most part, on my noise. It’s not about the noise. It’s about me.” Scott says, “They’re trying to impose their charter on me with their noise limitation for what they want. They won’t do it to anybody else.” He contends, "When I put a $300,000 roof and everything on this place, what kind of assurances do I have that I’m not gonna have the same problem? - I get none - no assurances whatsoever.”

8. Scott Complains to City Solicitor Mike Jones But Claims Jones and Others Don't Want to "Give Him Anything" and, Instead "Force Their Little City Ordinance On Him:

Scott says he attempted to talk to City Solicitor Mike Jones about the problems at the Columbia. He claims Jones did invite him to come to his office and talk with him about the problem.

“But he doesn’t want to give me anything,” Scott says. “They want us closed by 11 (p.m.) o’clock. And if we have state rule in here, then they can’t force their little city ordinances on me. They can’t revamp them. They can’t remake them and interpret them to mean what they want them to mean, because then it means what the state wants it to mean.”


ACT IV “The 'Special' Vote For the Volume”


9. Scott Vows to Begin Petitions Process Monday To Put the Issue on a Special Election:

Scott says he hopes to begin the petitions process by Monday. Scott contends it is probably too late to get the issue on November’s ballot, and will probably be brought up at a special election.

The City Ordinance

Radios, phonographs, etc. The use or operation, or permitting the placement, use or operation of any radio receiving set, musical instrument, phonograph, stereo, CD player, cassette tape player or other machine or device for the production or reproduction of sound in such manner as to disturb the peace, quiet and comfort of the neighboring inhabitants or at any time with louder volume than is necessary for convenient hearing for the person or persons who are in the room, vehicle or chamber in which such machine or device is operated and who are voluntary listeners thereof. The operation of any such set, instrument, phonograph, stereo, CD player, cassette tape player, machine or device in such a manner as to be plainly audible at a distance of fifty feet from the building or structure, or six feet beyond a vehicle in which it is located shall be prima-facie evidence of a violation of this section. This section shall be waived for those persons who have obtained a permit through the Police Department for organized functions during hours listed on the permit. Public safety and service vehicles are exempt.

Stay tuned for further updates. What will happen as wheels turn and deals progress? Your guess is as good as mine. Only the players know their true intent and purpose. Rumors and innuendo continue to add flames to the controversy. And, the public waits with baited breath to discover the true protagonists and antagonists of the drama.

Will the open air of late nights continue to reverberate with pounding drums, screaming guitars, and gruff mofo vocals as fines continue to accumulate in the office of Mr. Kalb? Or, will someone or some office pay for a new roof and allow sweet silence once again to descend upon the sleepy city streets of Portsmouth?

And how about the laws? Will the city maintain the right to restrict unwanted, noisy behavior? Or, will the Ohio Revised Code be allowed to supersede the will of the offended locals? Perhaps the voting public will ultimately decide the proper volume levels.

And, perhaps most pertinent, will Mr. Scott, with permits and all, continue to feel he is the object of some local conspiracy to quell his musical noise and limit his essential assurances? Or, will his connections to city council sway the city government to rule in favor of operations unrestricted by local ordinance and public concern?

You can be sure that whatever transpires will bring new twists and turns to city government and local business operations. In the meantime, some themes have already developed. The wise audience surely understands the wisdom revealed thus far. Lessons to be learned include the following:

 

1. If it's loud, roof it.
2. If it's not roofed and loud, don't legally approve it.
3. If it's roofed and not loud, no one will mind.
4. If it's not roofed and not loud, few will likely mind. 

Through this drama based on real-life situations, we are able, once again, to explore the lengths of human endurance and the need for cooperation between business and government as private motivations displace the demands for common good.

 

The entire conflict reminds me of a scene from my distant teenage years. I believe I was seventeen at the time. It went something like this...

I entered my room, and I plugged my guitar in my Fender Deluxe Reverb. Next, I turned the volume knob way up and stepped on the Fuzztone hoping to get that Hendrix “thing” just right. I put my hands on the neck of my Gibson SG and grabbed that crazy E flat diminished something weird chord and hit the strings. As my bedroom walls began to shake a little, I started to sing, "Purple Haze, all in my brain..."

Just then I heard my dad yell from the front room, “Turn that shit down!” And, since I knew better in the first place and since my dad would likely kick my ass if I ignored his displeasure for classic rock, I quickly spun the volume level that read '7' back to '2.'

In my house the local noise ordinance was enforced at my father's discretion. And, he didn't buy any of that "you're picking on me and my budding musical career" bullshit. There was no voting on contested issues and no state law that usurped his authority.

Dad wasn't into loud and rowdy. In fact, he and Mom watched Porter Wagoner and Lawrence Welk every Saturday night to get their musical entertainment for the week.

I played a little more, turned off my amp, and put my guitar back in its case. I opened my door and began walking down the hall to the living room. There, I saw my father sitting comfortably in his chair reading The Portsmouth Times. Just about the time I reached the back door, he noticed me and said with a grin, "And, don't forget to get a haircut this week, too."

I knew I wouldn't get away with letting my hair grow longer. I chuckled a little to myself and quietly shut the door.