Week 4 Consequences of Stress

The stressor I have chosen for this weeks blog assignment is chaos. I currently work in a situation where the children mostly come from chaotic homes, it spills over into the school, and the teacher are expected to maintain an order that counteracts the chaos and gives the student stability and balance.

Chaos can mean a variety of different things depending upon the person giving the definition. When I think of chaos I think of arguments, frustration, unable to settle, confusion, anxiousness, anxiety, and trouble. The home may be chaotic due to extended family living situations, divorce, constant moving, finances, hunger, or an absent parent. Chaos can only be calmed by something or someone grabbing the attention or focus of the individual or group. I believe that this is how many of my students overcome and deal with the chaos stressor. The students are heavily involved in sports, clubs, and organizations. We try to keep them busy with service projects during extra class time as well as after school. The more involved they are in a controlled environment such as school, the less likely they are to find other methods of dealing with stress such as gangs, drugs, or criminal activity. My students are like open books and openly share with me the harsh realities they face. They are happy to be at school because they can feel the acceptance from peers and they enjoy the sometimes tough love from administration and staff. Coping with chaos can be challenging at times especially when it because intertwined with other stress such as finances. Finances can mean no food, no water, no heat, no transportation to make Social Service appointments, which can lead to being cut off from services. This kind of chaos requires intervention and help from outside agencies. Students are the biggest assets to their families in this case. They can return phone calls from school phones, use the computers to look up agencies, and talk with counselors that can provide transportation assistance as well as give them a list of local agencies ready to assist. Persistence is required when chaos interrupts our lives, and we must be willing to help each other achieve balance.

In other parts of the world, others are not so lucky. One stressor that sticks out in mind this time of year is hunger. As we enjoy food in abundance, others across the world may not be be fortunate, hunger is a problem right here in the United States, but for this blog I would like to point out hunger in the horn of Africa. Famine in the Horn of Africa is spreading as the region's worst drought in 60 years continues to worsen, according to the United Nations. Tens of thousands of people have died, and 12.4 million more living across Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, and Djibouti are in serious need of food aid. (ncm.org/africahunger) Children in these regions are dying from hunger and disease. The unsanitary conditions mixed with the lack of food is causing them to starve, and die from disease that we are often protected against because of the many vitamins and minerals that we consume each day. We see the commercials on television that ask for donations to feed and support children and families in Africa, NCM.org is one of many organizations that use our donations to feed the citizens of Africa and improve the living conditions. Children are unable to attend school due to their lack of resources. Physical development as well as social/emotional, and intellectual development are all hindered. Hunger is curable (so says the commercials) and we really should do our best to contribute whatever little we can to protect children everywhere from the stressors than can ruin their life.

EDU 6160 Birthing Experience

I gave birth to my daughter naturally in 2009. I initially was terrified that something was going to happen to me on the delivery table and I would be permanently disabled or I would die. It never crossed my mind to get a midwife or give birth at home. I enjoyed the hospital surroundings; the doctors and nurses made me feel secure and safe. I needed all the comfort I could get, I was terrified of getting an epidural so I lucked out when I dilated from 4cm to 11cm without detection. I had no time to get the numbing medication. During birth I remember being very anxious, and hot. I had the urge to push before the doctor came and my nurse closed my legs! This made me very uncomfortable and I filed a complaint. 6 pushed later with a few words from a nicer nurse I was holding a 6 pound 9 oz little girl. Once it was over and I reflected back on the moment, I was alright and the pain was minimal. If I were at home birthing a baby I would not feel safe because if anything were to go wrong, the proper medical supplies may not be available to the doctor or nurse. Hospitals are the best place to have babies because if anything goes wrong they are trained and ready to handle it. I chose this birthing experience because it is the only one I know. I tried to research the birth of babies in third world and developing countries and came up with very little but I did find one article that was following a Brazilian woman who was to give birth to one baby that may have had two heads. She chose to have her baby ar home instead of at the nearest hospital because of the atmosphere. She wanted to be near friends and family. She did not like seeing the hospital contents and above all else it is very expensive. I can understand the financial concern but our views on the sight of hospital equipment are very different. I enjoy feelig safe and know that if things go wrong, every tool is available. It was the strangest story I ever read.