UNIT THREE: Exploration One

Following the research I have done for my community analysis essay, a variety of questions, thoughts and curiosities arose, all of which I believe I can find more information about thru extensive library-research in academic articles and books.

1. Is it beneficial for a child to find his/her birth parents?
The most controversial question regarding the adoption process is whether a child should search for his biological parents.

“Since my parents died I have been feeling rootless and lonely; I have nowhere to turn to. I do not belong. My parents had no relatives and they relied too much on each other… something I feel is missing from my life. I must now know about my blood relations and fine my birthmother… I wouldn’t perhaps feel like this if my parents were alive, but this has become very important for me now, too important to stop.” –Male adoptee.

A child must know that the circumstances of his birth do not reflect on the basic worth of either his biological parents or himself. Adoptees fantasize about birth parents. They fantasize about who they are, where they are, how they look, what kind of family and work life they have, and why they gave them up. Adoptees searching for their biological parents may experience a rollercoaster of emotion; is this risk worth taking?

2. How easy is it to say goodbye to a baby?

Not all birthparents are in the same situation. Most tend to make the generalization that all birthparents are unmarried teenagers. This is not always the case. Placing a child for adoption is a loss along with a long-term impact in birthparents’ lives. The grief that birthparents feel is generally not recognized by those around them, most often because of a mistaken belief that the loss is voluntary and therefore insignificant in that the birthparents choose the adoption route. However, it is not an easy task for birthparents to come out of the closet and share their secret. The secrecy and shame of many years make it difficult to find the confidence to accept this and hold the secret in for years.

There is no time frame for experiencing phases of grief that a birthparent may feel. Individuals differ; events in life can either trigger or inhibit them.

3. How the adoption revolution is transforming America: Society’s view of adoption.

Adoption was at once, a process masked in shame. It is rapidly metamorphosing into a radically new process that is both sweeping the nation and changing it. Prior to Roe versus Wade you couldn’t be an unwed mother. Motherhood was synonymous with marriage. A single woman who became pregnant was shunned by family and friends, evicted from school and sent away to maternity homes to have their children alone. They were told that surrendering their children was by far the best solution, and that doing so would allow them to simply move on and forget.

Adoption affects almost all our lives, whether we realize it or not. But negative stereotypes still remain.

Who Deserves a Head Start

1. When comparing “Who Deserves a Head Start” by Erin Collins to Erin Elmore’s “Pursuing an Educated Mind” both pieces include a piece of history and suggestions of what needs to be done. Collin’s essay takes different stances and looks at the current involvement and what children should be served.

“Since 1965 Head Start has helped more than 15 million children to develop the vital skills needed to become productive citizens of the United States. Yet, what about the other millions of children not able to attend Head Start because the government does not fund every child eligible for the program? To service one million children is the goal for the year 2002. However, why only one million and not everyone?”

Collin’s essay includes more prominent numbers as evidence, where as Elmore’s essay’s is more as to what educators observe as the most effective.

“According to Nancy Kole, Principle at Lee School and Coordinator for the district’s ESL program, ‘The need for such programs in Manhattan has always been present – the students have always been there – but formal entrance and exit tests and ESL evaluations did not start until last year, the 2000-2001 year.”

I see the numbers and the used by Collin to be more effective. She poses many questions that keep the reader engaged and make him/her think. Elmore’s use of an introductory story grabs the reader and shares a piece of the past, making it known that she has a connection to her writing.

I think Elmore’s section on specific programs in the Manhattan area is less effective and may be beneficial information to those that live in the area. It may have been more effective to compare two different areas and the programs offered and results.

Pursuing an Educated Mind

3. The essay provides evidence in number and percentages. Erin Elmore also includes information provided by educators and the programs offered. I think the evidence or opinions of educators about what programs are the most efficient is the most persuasive. However, the numbers supplied is an addition of a realization of the truth.

4. Erin Elmore’s section headings give an introduction to the information that follows. A reader is able to find their way to a particular section that he/she only wishes to know about.

Readings

3) When reading this essay I came across a lot of different sources. They ranged from websites to books to personal interviews. One that really hit home for my was towards the beginning of the essay. It was from Double Talk and it gave a statistic that 2.8 million students didn't speak fluent english. That made it so the reader could realize that this really is a problem. I then went on to read and was looking at the personal interview. Since this was coming from an actual person it persuades me to the argument a lot more then research. 

4) The headings make the paper a lot stronger. One way is that you can go through the essay and find exactly what topic you want to focus on reading about. It also shows all the main points that the writer demonstrates throughout the paper. I think this is a very effective and purposeful way of organizing an essay. 

Exploration 1

 

            While doing all the research for my community analysis essay I realized that surgeons really interest me. I had a lot of questions that arose and many things made me want to learn more! One of the main things that really interested me was the definition and study of malpractice. When ever I talked to anyone else about malpractice they thought it just meant being sued. Through research I actually found out that its much more then that. The research that would be most helpful would be research books and academic articles. By using these I can look up the definition and then read different examples of real surgeons who have had this happen to them.

            Another question that I have involves cancer patients. The whole cancer epidemic really does interest me since there are so many people that are affected by this disease. I am very interested in the research part of surgery. I want to learn more about controversial research options for the treatment of certain cancers. Some ways I would do research is again academic articles and some books. I’m not sure that there will be a lot of books on the new techniques but there may be some on what was used in the past and if they are still practiced now.

            The last question that arose when studying was about the surgical nurses. After observing them for two days I was blown away by the way that they were treated. I think that they should been shown a lot more respect. A lot of my research could come from interview nurses and observing them. Also I could research if there was any type of code that gave nurses certain rights and ways that they needed to be treated. 

Unit 3- Exploration 1--> Researchable Questions

After sifting through all of my research, observations and, previous explorations I came up with a few thought provoking questions. For the most part, I decided to stay in the same vein with breast cancer, but reach outside of the survivors and go into the actual disease.

Question #1) Mammograms (other types of screening) for women under 40?

So first of all, what about the women who have a family history but mammograms aren’t recommended until age 40? What about the woman who doesn’t have a family history and she is the FIRST one to get breast cancer, but by the time she had her first mammo, the cancer is already spreading? It seems as though a blanket age for the first mammo should be lowered. Why not get a baseline of your breast tissue? Then if something does develop, you will be able to see what your “healthy” breasts looked like on x-ray! I feel like this question has a few varying answers but ultimately each doctor has his/her own opinion about the age to start mammograms. Also, the library research probably wouldn’t be terribly solid. I would probably find a lot of varying opinions and different “schools of thought” on this one. I think this topic would be extremely interesting to see if there are other guidelines in the works, if a patient does have a strong family history. I would also be curious to see what the ranging opinions are and why doctors and radiologists have those opinions.

Question #2) Lumpectomy or complete mastectomy?

This might sound really strange but I have often thought about this question. If I found out tomorrow that I had breast cancer and was given the option to have the lump removed or have my entire breast removed—what would I do??? Of course there would be instances, because of the advanced stage of cancer, where the doctor would recommend a double mastectomy. My question would be- what if that isn’t the case, and you had to decide whether or not to be conservative or radical? Do you have a breast removed for peace of mind or do you only remove what is cancerous? If you decide to have a lumpectomy and the cancer comes back again, do you beat yourself up over not removing it on the earlier occasion? For the most part, this is a personal choice.

My great aunts, Marla & Karla (who are twins) were both diagnosed with the exact same type of breast cancer, three weeks apart from one and another! Karla decided she would only have a lumpectomy, so she could return to work sooner. On the other hand Marla decided on a double mastectomy. They both recovered and are now cancer free but it just shows how different a treatment path can be. Although this issue would yield discussion, I feel so much of it would be based completely on opinion. I would definitely be able to compare and contrast with women who have chosen different treatment options. I’m sure I could also find library research to back up both sides but I’m not sure how deep I would be able to go with it. Sure, I could argue one side against the other, but the decision ultimately lies with the woman facing surgery.

Question #3) BRCA 1 & 2- Genetic Testing

Honestly, this topic intrigues me beyond belief! I have personally been researching this topic for almost two years and I am continually discovering new and fascinating information. I am so interested by the many facets this controversy/ issue has to offer. If either the BRCA 1 & 2 genes are found in women, this means they are predisposed to developing breast cancer in their lifetime. If a patient has the BRCA 2 gene, the chance that she will develop breast or ovarian cancer goes up to 85%! What makes me so interested in this is—what do you do with that information? Some women who are testing positive for this particular gene mutation are having prophylactic double mastectomy before they show any sign of cancer. This is highly controversial and rightfully so. I know that I can find many academic sources and can even get a personal interview with a woman who has the BRCA 1 & 2 gene mutation. It has also been in the news, with Christina Applegate, recently having a prophylactic double mastectomy after her BRCA genetic testing. This topic reaches far and wide on a personal level and on a scientific level. There is also the debate about if the genetic testing is ethical, because some Christians believe that a woman shouldn’t alter “God’s plan”. This topic is extremely intriguing and I feel as though since it is relatively new, I will be able to write a good, informative paper.

WCA Reading & Responding

Pursuing an Educated Mind

3) There are several types of evidence used throughout the essay. Personal experience/ observations, reliable print sources a news program "Double Talk", websites and interviews were all used to create a backbone for the essay. In my opinion the personal interview with Nancy Kole is the most persuasive because first hand information proves a point to me in the best, most direct way. Although the "History of Bilingual Education is definitely an important aspect of the essay, it doesn't serve to persuade me to either side of the issue.

4) The bold faced sections heading serve several purposes. It seems to me that the titles draw the reader's attention into the main points. They also help to see the ideas being discussed in the essay, at a glimpse. I also feel as though it adds to the argument, almost like having a table of contents right at your finger tips throughout the essay. Perhaps someone reading the essay disagreed with only one aspect of the argument, that reader could quickly locate the area of interest. It seems the headings are multipurpose.

Who Deserves a Head Start?

1) In comparing the two essays, "Who Deserves a Head Start" and "Pursuing an Educated Mind", I felt as though both did a good job in getting the point across. One specific area where I felt as though the text was rather ineffective in getting the point across was in the "Head Start" essay pg. 325- 3rd paragraph. The author goes into great detail about the hypothetical situation of- "If the government was now to spend an additional 7.37 billion a year....". I felt as though the information was only very slightly important. It didn't seem to matter in the grand scheme of things. In the other essay "Educated Mind", there were many effective points but one that stood out to me was on pg. 283- 3rd & 4th paragraph. The author is focusing on the types of programs that have been implemented, "If students can first understand a concept-- such as the idea of writing....". I felt this was a great way to really break down what the actual program was aiming to do. The way the author described each point, made for a better, well rounded essay with a personal touch added.

Unit Three: Exploration One

Sarah Watzke

Researchable Questions

During my study of Single College Mothers many questions arose, some of which I would like to learn more about. These topics are not directly associated with my topic, but are relatively close and spark my interest. The topics I chose were: Two parent home vs. One parent home, Negative connotation towards single college mothers, and Son needs a Father- Daughter needs a Mother phenomenon.
One of the questions I came up with through some guided prompts in class were: Are two parent homes looked at differently then one parent homes are? And what are the long term affects on the child/children? This interest me because I want to see if having one or two parents living with you has a different effect on your upbringing. Obviously it does in some way, but in what ways a person wouldn’t think of. Like maturing faster. I think children in one parent homes are forced to grow up faster. But to prove this and learn more about other influences I need to use some appropriate types of research. I think that maybe a psychology book would be really effective in this case. Another thing that interest me is to see if there are any differences in the class room between children with one parent in the home, versus two. For this I think that maybe academic websites might be a good research choice to use. Maybe a blog of parents talking about their children in school? I also really like the article “Who Deserves a Head Start,” that we read for class in the WCA. I think it will really help me with this researchable question.
Another question I would like to answer is to see if there is a negative connotation associated towards single college mothers or single mothers in general. Many do not receive child support and are living close to the poverty line, on it, or under it. Are these single mothers looked down upon because many of them use government programs, are there stereotypes associated with them? What are the affects on the children because of this? Does this affect their schooling? Lots of questions to be answered. I also think the article “Who Deserves a Head Start,” will help with this question to. Also I think that academic articles and some books will help with the research of this question.
The last question I came up with is the Son needs a Father, Daughter needs a Mother phenomenon. Does a son really need a father and a daughter really need a mother? Biologically yes, but a physical presence is what I am talking about. What are they affects if the same sex parent is not present with in the home or in the child‘s life? I would like to see the difference of the affects during different phases in the child’s life: childhood, teens, and adulthood. I think there are different stages in a persons life where they need that same sex parent. Also if your mother or father gets remarried, what affects can that have on a child’s life? What difference does it make if the biological parent isn’t there or someone new tries to step in? I think psychology books, academic articles, and other books would be good to use researching this question.

Reading and Responses

Pursuing an Educated Mind.

3. The author uses many kinds of evidence in this essay. He uses observation, personal interviews, and many scholarly books and articles to provide him with evidence. I personally think that his observations and personal interviews are more persuasive then the books and articles. I think when you see the information first hand it is easier to write about. So it is easier to get your point across when you make it personal.

4. The section headings are very purposeful. First they show what he is going to focus on, which that means it is important. And second, he starts of broad and then narrows it down. He starts with the history, to types of programs, to a specific area, effectiveness, and suggestions to increase the effectiveness. This also helps him get his point across.

Who Deserves a Head Start?

1. Comparing this essay with “Pursuing an Educated Mind,” I thought both essays were very persuasive and used multiple resources that provided awesome evidence. But I thought this essay was more effective in telling what needs to be done, “Pursuing an Educated Mind” just said that something needs to be done. I thought that “Pursuing an Educated Mind” did a more effective job at making it personal by using a personal observation. “Who Deserves a Head Start,” used mostly statistics, no really personal examples besides the one in the beginning. “Pursuing an educated mind kept coming back to the personal story through out the essay.

Exploration 2

Exploration 2:

On Febuary 28^th I got the privilege of going home again for a second time. I thought that this was the perfect opportunity to do another observation. This time instead of going to a hospital I decided to go to a private practice and follow the surgeons there. I met with a surgeon Dr. Erin O’Rouke. She was a bubbly really out going lady, much different then my uncle. The office was set up a lot different then that in a hospital. She had her own receptionist and personal nurse. They had a team of four doctors each with their own specialty. She happened to be in orthopedics. This meant that she was a foot surgeon. She wasted no time and we got right to work.

I noticed that this environment was a lot less stressful then that of a hospital. She talked to each of her patients in many appointments before she operated on them. Even after she operated she had follow up appointments. There was a lot more interest in the patient then at the hospital. I saw that there was a surgeon who wanted to know who the person she was going to operate on really was.

After observing her a lot of questions come to mind. I want to find out what makes a surgeon want to be in a private practice rather then in the hospital. Also what are some stressful things that happen in a private practice that don’t occur in the hospital? Also do surgeons think that patient-doctor relationships are important? And last how do they not get emotionally attached to each case?

This community continues to fascinate me. I really would like to learn more about the technicalities of the surgeries that surgeons perform. I am so interested in exactly how they live their lifestyle. I feel like it would be hard to separate work from personal. They invest so much time into what they do that it would be hard to not live through surgery. I think that the more observations I do the more I can figure all of this out. They say practice makes perfect and I think this is the perfect way to test this out.

This community doesn’t fail to surprise me every time I see or read about a new thing. I thought a lot about this community before researching it. Im in shock that I was so wrong. There is so much more to these people then what meets the eye. I cant wait to see what other learning opportunities are thrown my way! 

Exploration One

When conducting my observation I was looking for family stories – the struggles and joys they experienced during the adoption process. I looked at the stories shared by individuals via Facebook. I read shared experiences by all members of the adoption triad – birth parents, adoptee and adoptive parents. The woman, who created the group, did so for people to share their experiences, knowledge and opinions about adoption.

In the most recent posting a man writes, “I think adoption is a really noble cause – to give your love to someone who is not your own blood, just like the way you fall in love with someone and get married. If everyone started adopting instead of having their own kids, the world would be such a better place. Because after all we are all related and Father is one, the Lord.” A very powerful statement! Adoption is a miracle experience for all those fortunate to come in contact.

Many people wrote on the wall attempting to find their birth child after adoption placement, some of these parents clarify their reason for adoption. They pray each day that they made the right decision in giving their child a chance for a better life. To give a child the chance to be happy, to have the life that a parent may not have been able to provide shows a great deal of selflessness and belief. I cannot say what I would do if I was in this situation, but I do know it would be the most difficult decision I have ever had to make in my life.

One woman shares her luck, “My husband and I have been blessed by the miracle of adoption. We brought our son home two and a half years ago; he was only a month old. I cry tears of gratitude when I think of the young woman who helped this miracle happen in our lives. I wonder how scared she must have been, not knowing what to do, how she would feel, etc. She could have taken another road, but she didn’t and I think her each day for making our house a home – a family.” This story is very touching. How fortunate and how blessed this family is.

Couples wishing to adopt will go to large extents to “sell” themselves as adoptive parents. A family may create a website to express how committed they are to the process or create “want-ads”. So many families are ready to share their home filled with unconditional love, acceptance and support with a child. This may be for reasons which are out of their control or just the thought of parenthood without experiencing pregnancy – the importance is the step a couple is taking when considering opening their home and sharing their life with a child who they do not share blood.

Exploration Two

When leaving A New Beginning Adoption Agency I was inspired to adopt a child. The time I spent at the agency listening to couples share their decision to adopt and learning the details of adoption was very moving. I walked out of the agency thinking that I need to adopt!

Christy, a caseworker greeted me immediately when I walked through the door. The entire building smelt stale – like an old folk home. But, a non-profit agency does not have the ability to pay for high-class office space, right? The room where the seminar was held was a very relaxing setting.

A New Beginning Adoption Agency offers many benefits for all members of the adoption triad – birth parents, adoptee, adoptive parents. The agency offers free counseling services, trainings and support groups. The staff at the agency is very dedicated to their work. Their number one goal is to introduce adoption to the community.

Prior to the seminar I knew adoption was an expensive undertaking. Christy, filled the group in on the approximate costs involved:
Application Fee = $225
Home Study = $800
INFANT ADOPTION
- Networking Fee = $700
- Placement = $10,000
· The placement payment is due at the time a family leaves with the child.
FOSTER CARE ADOPTION
- All Fees - $1,500 to 2,000
INTERNATIONAL ADOPTION
- Varies depending on the agency.

Not only is payment important but time and commitment. There is a list of forms that must be filed, including background checks, financial statements, medical records and housing floor plans. After the forms are processed a family can wait an upwards of five years! This must be a very difficult for a family, waiting for a miracle. However, a majority of families say that the wait is worth it.

Exploration 2

As I completed the second half of my observations, and did my interviews, I was able gather more information about my community from a different perspective. After immersing myself within the group, I was able to come across some things, and a few facts that are honestly surprising to me.

As I joined the breast cancer survivor group to observe their group and interactions, I was first struck by the varying ages of the women. The youngest woman was thirty-four, and the oldest woman getting close to her seventies. As far as the women and their appearances- I was surprised to see that even though a battle for their lives, they still all looked relatively healthy and poised. They all wore big bright smiles and gave warm, inviting hugs to me, a complete stranger to the group.

As the group’s moderator (a friend who is a counselor and a former colleague of mine) started the group by introducing me, and also explaining what my purpose was during the meeting. The next few topics were to discuss when the next meeting would be held, and also if anyone had anything new to add since the last time they had gathered. One of the women had just had blood work drawn, and everything had come back normal. The moderator then talked about a news article she had come across, and she felt as though the women could benefit from a brief discussion about it. During this part of observation, I was picking up on the body language of the women, and noticed how comfortable they seemed in this particular environment.

During the second part of observing the meeting, the group of women meeting could have been mistaken for a different group of women meeting for a night out downtown. This group was celebrating so much more than just a night out, they were celebrating their lives! They shared stories about their treatment, what they were doing to maintain their health and what they thought about their oncologist during their treatment. I found it interesting that although this group has been meeting for quite some time, they still had so much to catch up on. They flowed from breast cancer topic, to mom topics, to family topics and back again to breast cancer topics. Something that I definitely noticed was that these women were discussing life events and along with that, comes the looming topic of breast cancer.

Throughout the explorations and interviews one thing that was a common thread was the strength of all the women. In one of my interviews, the woman was still in recovery, just having a double mastectomy only three short weeks ago, yet she was still willing to provide answers to my questions for the interview. One thing I found in another one of my interviews was a breast cancer survivor explaining that she had not taken part of any breast cancer support groups, and relied on her family, friends and church congregation for support. Going into this project, I had anticipated that all of the women would be active in breast cancer support groups. That was not the case at all though! A surprisingly large number of the women I spoke to leaned on their family and friends as their only support group. One of the women commented while she was going through treatment, she didn’t want to have to put her energies into supporting another stranger. If this time was going to be close to the end of her life, she wanted to be with people she knew, and loved- not trying to make new friends and support other cancer patients. When I first heard this it struck me as a bit odd, but the more I thought about it, the more I understood it. I have come to realize that each woman seeks what she needs for that time in her life. Each survivor’s path is different and each follows their own unique needs.

The thing that continues to surprise me about this community is the copious amounts of versatile information available. Each person has so much information to offer, which is seemingly endless. I am really looking forward to putting all this information together, and to share with everyone else who is an outsider looking in.

Lateral Research

I was fortunate to stumble upon the book PARENTING THE HURT CHILD: HELPING ADOPTIVE FAMILIES HEAL AND GROW. This book explains how parents can help adopted or foster children who have suffered neglect or abuse. The book states that foster or adoptive parents need to claim the role of parent in the child's life. Among the resources listed by the authors I discovered ATTACHING IN ADOPTION: PRACTICAL TOOLS FOR TODAY'S PARENTS. This book provides technical explanations of challenges such as self-esteem, child-hood grief and limit-testing. As well as defines proper attachment, the most fundamental issue in a successful adoption. The use of lateral research helped me discover another resource that may assist me in writing my paper.

Lateral Research

On Sunday March 1st i went to the albertsons library to do some lateral research. I did a book search at the front desk with the keyword Surgeons. I found a book titled Idaho Surgeon an Autobiography by Robert Smith. This book will help me because it is showing all aspects of a surgeons life and not just the surgery part. As I was looking around this same section where i found this book i came across a book titled Master Surgeon which was a book by Ferdinand Sauerbruch which would also be a great source for research because it has give inside information on the life of a general surgeon. 

Exploration #2

Sarah Watzke
ENGL 102.048
Melissa Keith
3/1/09
Exploration #2
On February 20, 2009 I observed the Single Parents Club. It was a very eye opening experience to see all of these different women come together because of one common life event. They are single parents going to college. Each there for different reasons, and each have different situations. Each of these women have a different amount of children and sex of children, each got pregnant at different ages, each have different jobs and work different amount of hours per week, each are going to school for different things, and are each taking a different amount of credits. But even with all of these variables these women get together and talk about their lives. They talk about good days and bad days, dates they have gone on recently, children’s birthday parties, and about their babies father’s. They even told me that their meetings where more of a chat session. I think these women need this time to talk to people who are going through the same things in life.
I really liked the fact that these women are organized together to fundraise money and do activities with their children. Things they mentioned were a concert, ice skating, an ice cream social, walking dogs, and going to movies. I just liked the fact that they were getting together and spending time with their children and friends.
I also found that these women are very serious about school. They don’t have time to joke around. And if it comes to studying for a test or taking their children to a movie, they study. They said that school comes before fun.
But don’t get me wrong these moms are just and other moms, but have been through some tough time and have had to grow up fast. They are involved with their children, and have rules like all other moms. Staying up late on a school night is not allowed. And they are very very passionate about their kids. One of the women in the group had a tattoo of a flower on her foot, with her son’s name, another had a bag with picture of her son on it. These kids have changed their lives and everything they do they have them in mind.
During this meeting I was immersed with some specific terms related to their community two of which were Sperm Donor, and the Six Month Rule. These women use Sperm Donor with a negative connotation. It is used to describe a father that isn’t involved in the child’s life. Also the Six Month Rule is how long they wait for their children to meet a guy that they are dating. This is very important to them because they don’t want their children to get attached to early into a relationship they have. I wonder how many woman use this rule. I think it very considerate of them to think about their children.
I have found out these women are very unpredictable, and very protective. Their hard situations have made them stronger human beings. They are very independent and their children come first. They only want the best for them. They are full of advice for others, and are willing to talk about their situations, and share with others.
I wonder what happened to make them realize what was going on around them? And if these experience has make them stronger?

My Lateral Research

I was able to find a wealth of results when researching laterally. I started with my Facebook account, and searched for breast cancer support groups. In this group, there was a forum. In the forum, another member of the group had posted about a book about breast cancer and nutrition that they were preparing to write. I looked into this particular post and found a breast cancer survivor had posted a response. In her response, she left a link to her own blog that she had kept during her journey through breast cancer. I was thrilled to find such an extraordinary well of information.

One of the reasons I felt this was such a great resource, was because it was someone's personal journey. Not someone's version of what they had "heard" surviving breast cancer would be like. I have found that information and resources are out there, it just takes thinking outside the box to find them.

(Here is the link to the woman's blog: http://www.susanweberdesigns.com/blog/)

Lateral Research!

I actually found two on Thursday. After English I went to Sociology 102,which is social problems. We happened to watch a movie called, Waging a Living. It was a profile of 4 people who are living on low wages. Three out of the four people were Single Mom's. And two out of those three were Single College Mom's. This gave me a new perspective being that these Single College Mom's were living on the east coast.
Also I did an interview on Thursday. I interviewed a single mom. One of my interview questions prompted her to say something about a single mom's group that she gets together with, so that linked me to another part of this Single College Mom's community.

Exploration One

Sarah Watzke
ENGL 102.048
Melissa Keith
2/21/09
Exploration One
In my first two hours of observation, I went to an apartment to visit a single mother and her son in their home. I kind of found out how parents talk to their children, when it is only the two of them. When the mothers are the only ones raising them, I have seen that they really try to implant good manners, habits, and morals in their children.
The single mom that I was observing said sayings such as: “hush, we are talking,” “please don’t play with your food,” “please take three more bites,” “make sure you wash your hands,” “what do you say after you burp?,” and “I want everything pot away now.” I really got a sense of a single mom and her son in their normal environment a normal night just the two of them.
I noticed that the son and mom have a great relationship. He had an understanding that this is his mom and this is how things are, he never argued back. But they look like they have a lot of fun together. The mothers have to be very good at explaining, they don’t want their children have the wrong understanding of why things are the way they are.
I noticed a couple things around the two bedroom, one bathroom apartment. It was in a very nice neighborhood, very safe and pretty. Also, there were school books on the counter, a laptop on the couch, her son’s pictures and school work and art all over the apartment. It looked like before I got there she was working on her homework because the blackboard web page was on the screen. As I got there she was running around the kitchen making dinner. She made chicken, green beans, and mashed potatoes. It was really good, and not to hard, but nutritious. As the mother was making dinner, the son who was playing in the living room grabbed my attention. He wanted to show me all of these things he made. He had quite the imagination, using paper towel rolls, construction paper, cardboard boxes, tape, and other things. I think he plays by himself a lot being an only child, and I think that contributes to his creativeness. Also I know his mom has school work to do, but I know they have a lot of fun when the get the chance to play together.
She did mention something about her son having more chores then other kids, one because he is an only child, and two he doesn’t his parents are divorced, so the parents can’t tag team it. Him and his mom split the chores, and he folds his laundry when it is done in the dryer. They have to bargain a lot, but it works for them. I think that with single college mothers they have to find a system that works with them and their children. And it takes a lot of patience and understanding.