Severely handicapped class arrives - The Lowell
Severely handicapped class arrives - The Lowell
Severely handicapped class arrives - The Lowell
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•><br />
<strong>The</strong> Unit October 5.19M, Pf 13<br />
.FHTURE<br />
*BQBLEMSJ>EOPLE HAVE<br />
,;—••• ""''Me- •*«• Unified School LHslrkt<br />
Insecurities<br />
BylounePark<br />
. Mon people today are insecure<br />
abtul some aspects cf their Ures.<br />
Whether they we unsure of their<br />
appearances, personalities, or InteDectj.<br />
wry few people are completely<br />
selfconfident.<br />
Ill normil to fed insecure it<br />
lines, but U you nod yourself fedlog<br />
luaoequau: most of the lime.'<br />
yoor insecurities may be geltlcg<br />
tbe belt of you.<br />
Do you continuously put<br />
Child abuse<br />
by Michael Let-<br />
According to Ana Horu. administrator<br />
of pupil services in the<br />
San Frandscn United School<br />
District the finelinc between<br />
dbciplinc and abuse b that<br />
discipline b meant to correct,<br />
even U it means a slap in the face,<br />
but abtne b conducted to satisfy<br />
the abuser's gratification.<br />
la mast child abuse cases, the<br />
child become, an object of<br />
parents' frustrations. <strong>The</strong>se<br />
fnmrations may originate from an<br />
apparent source such as a rough<br />
d*y at work, drunkedncss, an<br />
economic crcts at home, or from<br />
•obeoDSdous forces such as !g-<br />
'.*«.«*» u]d abuse from one's own<br />
parents earlier In life.<br />
;. Abuses include many<br />
crtegorks: sexual, physical, verbal,<br />
and ncjkct.<br />
'-i'A report. Homeless VoulA la<br />
jkn.Frucnxo. submllted by tbe<br />
Sibyor's Criminal Justice Council<br />
:ia;Mareh. 1984. retads. "Three<br />
ont d 6ie youths (from local S«n<br />
f noebco families) had been vietbshed.<br />
Girls and women in the<br />
study were particularly likely to<br />
-Sure been serurlly aoused."<br />
ft' Abttstd children often ronaway<br />
"(roycars-old. She left home<br />
due to conflicts with her father<br />
Jeanna hung around the<br />
Western Addition projects, got in*<br />
Unicated. did dmgt and hustled.<br />
She became pregnant but lost the<br />
baby alter being liealen badly.<br />
Three friends of r«n had been<br />
murdered in drug related in*<br />
docuts...fortunately she managed<br />
to make a connection with a<br />
counselor at the Community Street<br />
Work Center in the Mkston<br />
District<br />
<strong>The</strong>re are hotline senices which<br />
youths can call in for help. One<br />
tuch organization is the Children<br />
Emergency Service<br />
Last year, the Children<br />
Emergency Service handled 236<br />
cases of sexual abuse, 788 cases of<br />
physical abuse, and 1.225 case* of<br />
.neglect<br />
Counselors -t the service try to<br />
resolve these problems instead ol<br />
dragging the whole tituatfon to<br />
co wi Cul If no other alternatives<br />
THs disorder U mat often -<br />
ternal and not physically y<br />
parent. It h most susceptible c r*<br />
ing adolciccnt yean when t> ns<br />
are going through turmoil tryb to<br />
find out uVlrown Identity.<br />
<strong>The</strong> adolescent Inlertu tzci<br />
frustration and has no self esteem.<br />
Wha> ve tome uf the cautn ot<br />
these disorders?<br />
Parental criticism for one thin*.<br />
Sometimes out ol Ignorance or out<br />
of the best intentions, parent*<br />
over-crttkuc their child.<br />
Critical rriends or <strong>class</strong>mates<br />
may ahocontribute to insecurities.<br />
With constant peer criucH''<br />
and insults. It becomes easy to<br />
dt-elop a feeling of insecurity.<br />
A penou may tiring the problem<br />
upon himself by setting unrealistic<br />
goals. No matter how well rounded<br />
a person h. there are some thing*<br />
he will never accomplish. People<br />
have to face this fact.<br />
One cure for Insecurity b to Tint<br />
acknowledge the problem and<br />
ihcn develop a poUltve outlook<br />
and attilude. One should try to improve<br />
selMmaje by pinpointing<br />
one's asMts and working on<br />
changing llie negative aspects of<br />
one's life that he thinks are<br />
changeable.<br />
curable, vmtc cases lead to ex*<br />
ireme depression and. at the<br />
wont, suicide.<br />
are possible, the case «ill go In<br />
court, wllch l''cn leaves the judge<br />
with ihrte options 1 tend the child<br />
home, send the child to a relative's<br />
house, or place the child in the<br />
custody of a (enter home. When<br />
the child h placed in a foster<br />
home, the counselor at Children<br />
Emergency Services work to<br />
reunify the child with the parents.<br />
"Brandy." who had been sex*<br />
ually and physically abused by her<br />
father between the ages of eight<br />
and twelve, was placed In a foster<br />
home until she ran away. She<br />
stayed at a group home for a while<br />
but wu returned to her family<br />
where she was abused again.<br />
That b when Brandy" fled to<br />
San Francisco. **here she ga»e up<br />
"...her body in exchange for favors<br />
and necessities,..she did not want<br />
lo contact local social service agenda<br />
because they would contact<br />
her parents again...Shc found a<br />
much older man to care for her<br />
and bore his child. And she con*<br />
tint'ed to be victimized by him and<br />
by others."<br />
Evea though a typical case of<br />
child abuse may not be as serere as<br />
- those of -Jeanna'* or "Brandy."<br />
all abased children live in fear<br />
and/or sbime. <strong>The</strong>y might fed<br />
that they are the cause of their<br />
parents' frustrations or that it b<br />
.wrong to tell anyone that their<br />
parents are hurting them. Usually,<br />
abuses never surface until a severe<br />
crisis occurs.<br />
CHARING GROSS ROAD<br />
previously read books<br />
fT6S7 riaight* San Francisco .552-4122<br />
Single parent families<br />
By Vivian Loulo<br />
"When you lute • parent either<br />
through divorce or death, you<br />
can t just ilt back and* mourn.<br />
<strong>The</strong>re** nothing Wt IP do but get<br />
on with your life," i latex senlw<br />
Maria Paulino.<br />
F<br />
Several <strong>Lowell</strong> students who<br />
have experienced the km of a<br />
parent spree with Paulino in<br />
responding to the question, "How<br />
rio you feel abcut living In a single*<br />
parer.t family?"<br />
"Great." said an anonymous<br />
junior, "my father jutt suddenly<br />
kit us one day. In the past, ne<br />
would take some money and leave<br />
for (our or five days. <strong>The</strong>n one day<br />
last year, he look our (the<br />
children'*) college fund and never<br />
came back.**<br />
<strong>The</strong> clcrmth grader says lh*t he<br />
still feeb Intense anger toward his<br />
father. "Though my life bn't<br />
perfect it's a lot better than it wms<br />
before. My mom and I lived in fcr<br />
whenever he was around. We<br />
couldn't siy or do uiylhlng<br />
without him yeltiug at us."<br />
-1 don't miss having two parents<br />
at all because it seems 1 was alwa>«<br />
thing «Iih one adult and one kid<br />
who never grew up." he noted.<br />
Senior Gloria Ng feels different*<br />
ty. "Sit*e my father died when I<br />
was s-.-ien years old. I don't miss<br />
him that much: but I do miss hav><br />
Ing two' parents. Everybody<br />
around me has two parents. Even<br />
on television, there's this concept<br />
cc T. ^<br />
5/ .<br />
/<br />
/<br />
I<br />
ot the Idea) family: a mother, a<br />
taihcr. the kids, and a dog."<br />
Ng said she knew wha» •=*> hap- .<br />
pening when her fa't^r died, but<br />
"...Just didn't remZie that he'd be<br />
'**! guess living with only one<br />
parent makes you tougher. You<br />
leaf» lo cope willi problems faster<br />
than the average kid.** she<br />
reflected.<br />
In tbe preceding cases, the<br />
students admired their mothers<br />
tbe most. <strong>The</strong>y were the ones who<br />
pulled through and ntscd a family<br />
by themselves*<br />
Divorce, on the other hand, may<br />
havr resulted from constant<br />
disagreements between the<br />
parents. <strong>The</strong> child can grow to fed<br />
insecure about his/her relation<br />
ships with members uf the opposite<br />
sex and withdraw.<br />
Alter the death of a parent, a<br />
child goes through * temporary<br />
period of adjustment He/she<br />
gradually becomes a stronger and<br />
mon independeo*. perron.<br />
Chics teacher Robert Jow. who<br />
has counselled students from<br />
single-parent families, says,<br />
"<strong>The</strong>re b a major difference between<br />
death and divorce. One b<br />
permanent while the other holds<br />
the hope of reconciliation.*'<br />
^ ^ HAPPY<br />
yA~A "SWEET 16"<br />
\l )X BIRTHDAY<br />
•MV#A TO<br />
L*3$5\ \ Alaina<br />
•S5ij- Hom<br />
^y~K ' ^o* 0 toyau. always<br />
>y^ y l\- from four friends<br />
X* •/ \ ' CuH.VkU.MuK.<br />
J-y^ • \ Mjkct.OriaiK.ua.<br />
/ \ 1 ' TbayutfRaicnaric