Survival

Today was the first meat and potatoes day at my co-ed group of eighth graders. we are meeting weekly this year, but still during a twenty minute advisory period. Last week was canceled and the week before i wound up yelling at the kids because two of the new ones got into it(he called me fat, she told me to shut up, none of you should be talking! i was talking! i will turn this car around without ice cream!) So i went in with minimal expectations...and so they were greatly exceeded! The first half was paperwork catch up and the last ten minutes were "sexuality review." Which basically amounted to a rousing discussion of the changes experienced in puberty. One young lady responded "its when boys start wetting the bed again!" To which I replied "that's not exactly what happens. That is called a wet dream...anyone know what a wet dream is?" a young man, we'll call him Sam, replied "its when a guy ejaculates in his sleep." This may not seem like much to you, but you have to understand that Sam has been suspended 4 times this year(that I know of) and just looks like a baby bad ass. The other boys were doing things like yelling "CUM!" (though i will admit, it was usually yelled as a reasonable response to a question) or making volcanic hand gestures. Or both at the same time. To the point where I got up and closed the door(and apologized to the 6th grader at her locker outside). So when Sam gave this matter of fact answer using accurate terminology, I turned to him, gave him a high five and said "Wow Sam, you could totally run this class!" It was hilarious. And just what i needed. I usually feel pretty freaked out heading to this school because sessions rarely go well(mostly due to the limited time). We're going on a field trip in a couple of weeks, so I needed a boost before taking them out in the community.

Announcement: Human Trafficking Conference

Fifth Annual Social and Economic Justice Conference
"Global and Local Perspectives on Human Trafficking"
Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2008
Rogalski Center on the St. Ambrose University campus

Human trafficking is a human rights crisis that reflects the dark side of globalization. Participants in this conference will explore global and local perspectives on trafficking in order to seek gender-responsive solutions that focus on empowering the survivors and prosecuting the traffickers. The conference goals are to: educate participants on global and local perspectives on human trafficking; assist service providers and others interested in human rights to recognize human trafficking, empower survivors, and refer them to appropriate agencies; and, to continue the dialogue with policy makers to strengthen Iowa's laws on human trafficking and to support international statutes against trafficking to ensure that traffickers are prosecuted.

Conference Schedule

1:30 p.m.
Welcome

1:45 pm
Panel Presentations http://web.sau.edu/socialjustice/awsjspeakers.htm

3:15 p.m.
Break

3:30 p.m.
"Cargo: Innocence Lost" Film Presentation
<http://web.sau.edu/socialjustice/film.htm> or
"How Can Our Community Help Meet the Social, Economic, and Legal Needs of Victims of Human Trafficking?" Workshop Session <http://web.sau.edu/socialjustice/workshop.htm>

5:30 p.m.
Dinner ($15 charge)
or
"Cargo: Innocence Lost" Film Presentation <http://web.sau.edu/socialjustice/film.htm> (second showing)

7:30 p.m.
Keynote Lecture delivered by Ninotchka Rosca <http://web.sau.edu/socialjustice/awsjspeakers.htm>


We would especially like to invite youth to a Student Activist Networking dessert that will be part of the conference from 6-7pm in one of the breakout rooms of the Rogalski Center ballroom.
This will be a great opportunity for young activists to network with other youth in the area about an extremely important human rights issue! For more information, or to register, please contact:

Katy A. Strzepek
Director of Women's Studies
St. Ambrose University
518 W. Locust St.
Davenport, IA 52803
563-333-6113
StrzepekKatyA@sau.edu

Interactive Activity Time

This made me giggle. Anyone know why?

Oh the tangled webs we weave

When creating public policy, even the best intentions often have dire consequences for those we are trying to serve. Here is a great example of the difficulty we have in predicting the outcomes of our actions.

http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/tgr/01/3/gr010305.html


So what do you think? If I have a young girl confide in me that her partner is dramatically older than her, or a teen mom reports that the baby's father is 30, how do I proceed? While a break in trust with me may not prevent these young ladies from receiving reproductive health services, it may help them become a little more distrustful of professional service providers, it may make them a little more ashamed of their relationships and eat away at their self-esteem. If I were to make a report and it were acted on, it will certainly destroy the relationship I have with the victim, who will probably not come to me with confidences in the future. This dilemma is a recurring one in social work, especially for the borderline situations. When do you go to the parents? When do you call someone out on destructive behavior? Where is the line between friend and social worker, listener and teacher?

Hello again

Well its been awhile. I haven't written in quite a while and, more to the point, I haven't done much introspection in a while. This summer has been a strange thing. I've been less busy and felt more frantic. I've once again realized that my mental well being is tied closely to my level of "accomplishment" and when I let myself get behind on things, it has a massive impact on how I deal with life. I have a line by George Bernard Shaw taped up in my cubicle at work "A man learns to skate by staggering about making a fool of himself. Indeed, he progresses in all things by making a fool of himself" I try and try to remember that its ok to be imperfect, but it sure is hard. And more to the point, that realizing I'm imperfect should be a catalyst for working harder, not giving up and taking a nap.

So anyway, now that the school year is starting up, I'll be posting more and going back to write some previously posts that I started but didn't complete. Good luck to me.

Reducing the Stigma

I had a thought about STIs recently. During our presentations, we use a little bit of scare tactics when discussing STIs. We talk about symptoms(You know cold sores you get on your mouth? Yeah, its a similar idea...on your genitals. Anybody ever have a wart on their hand? How'd the doctor remove it? Freezing, burning, cutting? Yep, that's how they deal with genital warts too...on your genitals. neat huh?), living with an STI(how would you like to explain to your mom how you got gonorrhea of the throat?) and long term consequences(picture telling your partner that you have to use a condom for the rest of your life because of a one night stand). Now we aren't making any of this stuff up, its all based in fact. And the theory is that if kids actually think about STIs in these terms, they'll hopefully take the whole thing more seriously and AT LEAST use a condom if they chose to have sex.

But here's my concern: By overemphasizing how awful STIs are and how appalling it would be to explain that diagnosis to a parent or partner, are we increasing the stigma associated? I have had the humbling experience of accompanying someone to the emergency room when they found out they had an STI on more than one occasion. In addition to the awful pain experienced with the symptoms, these young women had a really difficult time coming to terms with the phrase "I have an STD." Realistically, STIs are just infections. they are just infections by bacteria or viruses in people's bodies, the same as strep throat or ear infection. But there is still a HUGE stigma associated with them, largely because we all believe the myth that only "certain kinds of people" get them. Of course this isn't true and most of us know that intellectually. But you hear that someone has an STI and instantly question their morality, who they are.

I am concerned that I am perpetuating this stereotype that causes people with a disease to be treated badly. The purpose is to protect kids, but at what cost?

Fluff

WARNING: THERE IS NO INTELLECTUAL MATERIAL IN THIS POST!

Unfortunately, there has not been much going on in my life that has led me to think many thoughts beyond my own superficial life. So stop reading now if you are looking for anything thought provoking.

Now then. Last Thursday I visited my friend Katie, (now known as MRS. Katie)who, being an avid reader, sent me home with an enlongated reading list. I started with the book Twilight, by Stephanie Meyer, which apparently is the first in a best-selling series. I stayed up reading until 5:30am that night and have now completed the 3 books in the series that have been released, as well as spent hours on the internet reading as much as I can about author, series, movie that is coming out, etc.

I LOVE THIS SERIES! I have a confession to make. I adore fantasy novels. I always feel a little ashamed of that, like I should be reading nonfiction, or at least the classics. But I love reading fiction, it's my way to escape the world(hey, I don't drink, watch soap operas or play video games, a girl's gotta have some fluff somewhere!) Last summer I tried to read some more traditional fiction. I picked up one of Judy Blume's novels geared towards adults, which I had heard good things about, but returned it within a couple of days. The story was all about a divorced woman hooking up with the ex of one of her friends, and I found myself stressing out about the emotional trauma she was doing to her kids. I deal with enough drama at work, I can't handle it as entertainment. But if the character who is treating her man badly is also a vampire, or her partner himself is a werewolf, or they are all humans who live in a world that doesn't really exist, somehow I don't get so caught up in trying to fix their mistakes. In fact, these may be the only people I interact with that I don't have to constantly fight my compulsion to fix or help. wow, that's a scary realization.

So anyway, I wanted to write about this because I have been noticing how obsessive I become when I am reading a new series that I really like. It is almost like being in high school and having a crush on someone...I find my thoughts returning to the story constantly, I find little pockets of time to devour a few more pages. When I finish a book I get online and talk to other people about the books for weeks. I can't concentrate on or get excited about anything else until I've finished the story. It is just really interesting to me how I continue to experience that thrill of excitement, it is just the focus of the obsession that has changed. It happens with other things too, occasionally a project at work or something will light a little fire, but I only get crushes on fantasy novels these days. weird.

Ah, so much to look forward to. I have Laurell K Hamilton's latest release to read next, then Stephanie Meyer's last installment comes out in August and Anne Bishop, my all time favorite author, comes out with a new Blood novel in March that I am already agonizing over. sigh. I am nerdy.