Week 8- Putting it all together-Journet

Now what?

I love how this chapter puts everything into perspective.  We have previously learned about development from conception to death.  While learning all about the theories I  have been able to reflect on my own life span development.  I really liked the fact that Fiore says that after we learned about the lifespan it should be the beginning of life for most of us.  We should take our lifespan knowledge and apply it to our life now.  After learning about lifespan I feel encouraged about life and my purpose.  I grew up feeling doubtful, ashamed, guilty and inferior.  Randy Pausch says "We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand." I have come to the positive realization that even though I was dealt a tough set of cards, this just means that I will have to be more strategic(work harder) than others. It doesn't mean we have to settle or fold. I spent most of my youth confused and perhaps just reacting to life as opposed to initiating life plans. It has been very exhausting trying to prove myself to people. I have chosen to just be me and pursue my life goals even if it is not the easiest path.

In lifespan development we are all stakeholders.  We all matter and it affects us all.  Finding out who we are and what we want in life is very liberating.  I am at a point in my life where I know exactly what I want to do.  I learned that there are many jobs related to the field of lifespan development.  I plan on becoming a teacher and I know that everything that I have learned in this class is very beneficial to my future profession.  I will earn my degree in Special Education and middle school math.  I am surrounded by very positive people and some of them may not know it but they are like mentors to me.  I learn so much from them. One of my mentors has recently reawakened my love of technology.  Even though she has no clue that she is my mentor, she has taught me so much about being a teacher and about efficiently incorporating technology in the classroom.  You see my first major was in Computer Information Systems. I did take many classes and even earned a basic certificate in CIS.  Later on in life I switched my major to Education.  At first I thought that I had wasted time and money with the CIS classes.  Now I realize that taking those computer and technology classes was not a waste at all.  Steve Jobs said in his commencement speech at Stanford that we cannot connect the dots looking forward.  We can only connect the dots looking backwards,  He told us about when he dropped out of college he took a calligraphy class because he thought it was interesting.  At that point he didn't know that learning about these different types of typography would be very useful at a later point in his life.  Eventually, he created the mac and incorporated all the wonderful typography that he learned about earlier in life.  In listening to his speech I realized that even though I switched majors I would still be able to combine both my love of technology and my passion of teaching into one.       

Emotional Compensation

Financial Compensation

            VS.              
                         
                                       






In this chapter of Lifesmart we learn about choosing careers based on the financial compensation versus the emotional compensation.  This was my dilemma when I first chose Computer Information Science as a major, I was mainly thinking about the money I could make. When I switched my major to education I realized that I want to make a difference instead of making a lot of money.  When I become a teacher I plan to encourage my students.  I hope to teach them that no matter where you come from you can still achieve your dreams.  I can only teach them this if I become a teacher my self.  I had a tough upbringing and a tough life but it is that experience that I will use to encourage my students to set goals and follow their dreams.  As a teacher it is my duty to be a positive role model for others. Being a minority woman I may be able to reach students that normally do not have role models that resemble them.  Working as paraprofessional I have been able to push students in certain subjects.  I find it emotionally rewarding when I see a student understand something new and apply it right away.  It is also fascinating to see kids faces light up when I tell them that I grew up in the "hood".  They approach me in a different way.  Finding different ways to connect with students whether it is a common interest like a sport, television series, my past experiences, or even having a common dislike like the taste of liver is key in gaining their respect and makes it easier to approach them when they are having a hard time.

I know being a teacher will not be easy.  I have worked in the education field for 8 years now and it has not deterred me from changing my mind.  I'm fortunate to work in a very diverse school where the teachers are very diverse with different backgrounds. I have learned so much from them. I have seen the hard work that goes into it and the challenges that teachers face.  I feel that I am going into this lifespan profession for all of the right reasons and that will make me a great teacher.  Recent research indicates that the impact of strong teachers does indeed last a lifetime(Leonhardt,2010-Fiore 2011) I had strong teachers who encouraged me growing up and now as an adult I have teachers who continue to encourage me here at Trinity. I also have friends and colleagues that are teachers.  I hope to be a  positive influence to my own children and future students.  Once I become a teacher, I will set new academic goals for myself because as we learned in Lifespan development we are always learning and developing in different ways no matter what stage of life we are in.

Week7- Late Adulthood/Death and Spirituality-Journet

    

     In Chapter 11 Late Adulthood, we learn about the key aspects of physical development among the elderly.   The biological changes are easier to identify.  The graying of the hair which by the way I have had gray hairs since my mid twenties.  Thickening of nails and the eye sight starts be affected. Wrinkles in the skin and yellow teeth are noticeable.  The skin also starts looking very different.  Reaction time starts to slow down as people. People in late adulthood start experiencing hearing loss and their bones start becoming brittle.  In this age the effects of disease is more noticeable.  diseases such as heart disease, cancer and stroke are usually embedded in this stage of life.   The way a person reacts to stress is different as we age.  Stress can have a more detrimental affect on the elderly than it does on someone who is in early or middle age.  Many people live with pain and maybe taking many types of medications to regulate their health.  Some become dependent on these medications and or may start using alcohol to deal with depression.  

      Both of my parents are in this stage in life.  My mom is 73 years old and lives pain free.  Thank God.  She does however take different types of medication that help regulate her body.  She has made many healthy changes in the way she eats that the doctor has removed three medications from her list.  She drinks one homemade green juice daily.  We buy her groceries and limit he sugar and fat intake.  Because she has been doing so well she was taken off of her cholesterol, diabetes and high blood pressure medication.  She was never fully diagnosed with diabetes but was placed on metmorfine to help her slightly irregular sugar levels.  Diet has helped tremendously,  She doesn't go out alone because of fear of falling or getting hurt.  She makes simple meals and prepares coffee but no longer make huge meals that involve the stove.  She has been overweight most of her life and isnt very active. She is however very social with the tenants in her senior building and often calls family and friends.  My dad on the other hand has always been fit and ran marathons.  He still suns 5ks and walks alot.  Him and his wife do have a food business in Mexico and are constantly on the go.  He is 72 years old and has not been diagnosed with any major illnesses either.  He is very active and has recently started taking medication for arthritis.  Actually was helping take care of his dad who recently (3months ago) died at the age of 96.   

       

         I believe that the elderly are very important to society.  They are full of wisdom and knowledge.  They can be instrumental in the family.  I didnt have the pleasure of growing up knowing any of my grandparents.  However, i make sure that my kids visit with their grandparents very often.  

      In chapter 12 Death and Dying we learn about the role of death and that there are 4 types of death.

      Their is the clinical death, brain death, biological death and social death.   Death usually happens at the end of late adult hood,  It was not always the case.  Before we had these medical advancements and certain medications.  Death would affect all age groups.  It was common to see children dying of diesase.  Now that we have medications and all of these medical advancements the death rate has gone down.  Children do not die as often here in the U.S. 

  

       When people die the survivors go through a process of grief.  it is important that people find closure following the death of a loved one.  In this chapter we learn that there are different types of grieving.  Delayed grief is when the process of grieving doesn't happen right away.  Later on however something may trigger the grieving process for that person a week, month or years later.  When I was 11 years old my brother Bobby committed suicide when he was only 17 years old.  I don't remember understanding the severity of his death right away.  It took about a few months later for me to realize that he was gone for ever and that I would never see him again.  I remember crying uncontrollably and writing him a letter.

      In distorted grief a person may experience symptoms that the deceased had prior to dying.  If a person died of lung cancer and cough a lot.  The surviving son may experience uncontrollable coughing and ask the doctor to examine him for lung cancer. Complicated grief can last a long time and can trigger an onset of an illness that may result in death.  This is common in widowers.

    

        The chapter touched on death with dignity.  It is becoming harder to see the lines between normal death and suicide with the medically assisted deaths going on.  Isn't it the same if someone chooses not to be resuscitated if they stop breathing or their heart stops beating.  I believe people should have a choice. I am a Christian woman and I know that by saying this I wont always have the popularity vote.  Its kind of when we take our pets to the doctor and they are living with pain.  We sometimes choose to have them put to sleep(death) so they may no longer suffer.  I believe people that are terminally ill should also have the same choice why go through the whole process of pain and suffering and putting our family members through it as well. Just as we saw on the film with Becki Hawkins some people are ready to transition and live pain free.  They choose to not be resuscitated.  I understand that this is totally different than lethally injecting oneself knowing that the only outcome is death.  I feel people should have the choice if they know that they are terminally ill.  Their quality of life should matter and not just the quantity of life.      What changed my opinion on this issue was watching 29 year old Brittany Maynard fighting for her life and death with dignity. Here is a link if you are interested in learning more about her.

     Death with Dignity

     Changing topics, I found it very interested that the top regret that people had right before dying was not pursuing their education.  I guess I'm on a good path so that this will not be one of my deathbed regrets.  I believe that when we face death we don't worry about nonsense as much.  A lot of what we consider important becomes trivial.  Spending time with loved ones is valuable.  Creating good and fun memories even those that may bend the rules seem more significant.  I guess if we all lived as if we were facing death we would make different more meaningful choices in life.  Kind of like what like Rancy Pausch is trying to teach us in "The Last Lecture."

    

    

      

      

Week6-Early&Middle Adult-Journet

   

       Chapter 9 is all about early adulthood.  It is very hard to tell in the U.S. when someone has transitioned from adolescence to early adulthood because it is not to clear.  In other countries young people are initiated perhaps in a ritual of some kind but in U.S we have many rites of passages into adulthood..  There are religious types like bar/bat mitzvah or confirmation in the Catholic religion.  Some physical rites of passage are menarche, wet dreams for males, first sexual encounter or beginning to shave.(208) Social rites include a quinceanera or sweet sixteen, getting married or becoming a parent. In college, the young men and women are initiated in a fraternity or sorority through hazing which can be dangerous.  Other forms of initiation in the U.S. can come in the form of a gang initiation. 

   

            For me personally, my rites into adulthood included getting a job, graduating form highschool, marriage, becoming a parent , along with the physical rites into adulthood.

      Young adults are considered to be in peak physical condition.  They have reached their maximum height hopefully their weight if the stay fit.  Their muscle structure is at the greatest potential.  Tinking back to this point of my life, I did not care about my nutritional needs and I ate what ever I wanted.  I was also a young mom so I didn't focus on any exercise for health benefits.  I appeared healthy and at a good weight range prior to 27.  

    

          Young adults between the ages of 18-25 are most likely to binge drink than any other life span group. Also, smoking seemed to be cool and gave young individuals a sense of being grown up.  Young adults are most likely to face things like sexual harassment, date rape and the book says that 1in 4 women are victims of rape in college.  This is very alarming to me.  I never experienced the whole college dorm thing but i have seen it on the news or from friends.  It does concern me because I have 3 children who I have encouraged to attend college and this tells me that i have to really talk to them about things to look out for in highschool and in college.  
    
           Growing up i had a hard time with gender roles and accepting them as a part of me.  My dad would expect my sister and I to clean his apartment when we visited and he would take my brother to work on construction.  I rebelled and said that i would not lift a finger if my brother was not expected to do house chores. As a young adult in my own marriage I had a hard time with this because I could not understand why women still took on the extra house chores if both the husband and the wife worked full time jobs.  
      Because of this in my home we all do our share of house chores.  My husband, my self and my 3 children regardless of gender will take on different house responsibilities.  We try to stay away from gender roles in my home.

     One thing that really caught my attention was when I read the following "Some researchers suggest that mothers influence the developments of their daughters' gender role attitudes in early life, whereas daughters may influence the development of their Mothers' gender role attitudes as they both mature."(Balsam & Fischer,2006)
     I believe this 100 percent.  My daughters have influenced me and my perspective on gender roles as we continue to mature. 

    I also enjoyed reading about Levinson's concept of Individuation and the novice phase into adulthood.  I do feel that I have chosen certain people in my life to serve as mentors for me.  Some of them are aware that they are like mentors to me.  Some are not aware that I consider them as mentors in my life.  In my arsenal of mentors I have older and wiser friends and professionals that I admire and I also have younger friends/professionals in the group as well because they remind me not to take life too seriously.  I am also at the age where I am considered a mentor to others as well.
  
   

          In chapter 10 we learn that middle adulthood in many countries an individual is considered to be in their "prime of life" or in "full bloom."  The book quotes a tshirt that says " aged to perfection."  I agree with this because I have just entered this period and I do feel "aged to perfection."  I have made many changes in my life such as healthy eating and exercise because I am aware of the benefits.  
   
           Erikson's Theory of Generativity Vs.Stagnation covers the ages of 25-65 years old.  Generativity is when an individual is productive and a contributing member to society.  On the other hand you may have an individual that is stagnant who has become bored , self absorbed and is not contributing anything to society.  It says that those individual who reach Generativity are more likely to achieve integrity in the last stage of life instead of despair.  

     In middle adulthood many people really think about their lives and the things they have achieved or not achieved.  Many make changes at this point.  Some changes include divorce, career change, health changes among other things.  For individuals it can be very stressful especially if they are sandwiched between caring for an aging parent and caring for their children.  The book refers to it as Sandwich Generation which I am currently in.  It is very stressful.  Being married and caring for an elderly mom,children, and attending to my own school in addition to working full time and trying make some time for myself.  It is important to have a support system in order to not become overwhelmed with the demands of everyday life.