This TribuneStory makes me so sad and mad.
Sad that Doreen Tudela abused her position. Sad that she forgot how important it is to keep personal and professional separated. Sad that our kids, who deserve the best, had a principal who made a big mistake. I'm glad she's paid back what she took, and admitted what she did. I don't doubt that she's used her own money for school things a lot and never kept track, but that isn't an excuse, either. It's just a shame, and it will be hard on the students who must now process that their principal, whom they respected and relied upon, has let them down.
But I'm also mad at the underlying story. That Barney's Pizza pays to put pizza into the schools. We already have an obesity and diabetes problem in the CNMI. We don't need our kids eating junk food like greasy pizza. And Barney's paying to feed it to them is a double corruption.
I'm disgusted.
Showing posts with label Obesity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Obesity. Show all posts
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Thursday, February 22, 2007
32. Redux-#31 Pathway and #27 Librarians
This is showing on the HHS website.
ShrekOnPlaying
So HHS is encouraging children to get out and play. Hooray!
And they're doing it with a popular kid icon and street language that includes the word "booty" as in shake your... Which brings me back to the recent uproar in the kid-lit world about words.
The responses about a dog's scrotum appearing on page one of the 2007 Newbery winner, THE HIGHER POWER OF LUCKY, are fairly well documented here. LuckyScrotumDebate
Here's a link to the criticism that started the whole controversy: HowDoIReadScrotumAloud?
And one of the follow-up criticisms. OneLibrarians'sObjection SORRY-these links do not seem to work anymore.
Author Neil Gaiman's blog post adds a little Brit humor and perspective IN HIS FEBRUARY 20, 2007 POST. He has an update on February 28, 2007 from a Medina Ohio Librarian that is very touching. NeilGaiman
But if a word in a book can arouse such a backlash of prudish fear, I wonder when the censors will get to this HHS / government offering.
ShrekOnPlaying
So HHS is encouraging children to get out and play. Hooray!
And they're doing it with a popular kid icon and street language that includes the word "booty" as in shake your... Which brings me back to the recent uproar in the kid-lit world about words.
The responses about a dog's scrotum appearing on page one of the 2007 Newbery winner, THE HIGHER POWER OF LUCKY, are fairly well documented here. LuckyScrotumDebate
Here's a link to the criticism that started the whole controversy: HowDoIReadScrotumAloud?
And one of the follow-up criticisms. OneLibrarians'sObjection SORRY-these links do not seem to work anymore.
Author Neil Gaiman's blog post adds a little Brit humor and perspective IN HIS FEBRUARY 20, 2007 POST. He has an update on February 28, 2007 from a Medina Ohio Librarian that is very touching. NeilGaiman
But if a word in a book can arouse such a backlash of prudish fear, I wonder when the censors will get to this HHS / government offering.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
31. Heard on the Pathway
Friday evening I was walking along the Beach Road pathway, getting some much needed exercise. When I'm shuffling along at my loser's pace, I feel a kinship with all of the healthy, active folks who jog past me. I'm part of the community enjoying Saipan sunsets and the sound of the ocean. I'm a contemplative person, mulling over the day's events and enjoying other thoughts, both the mundane and the complex. In other words, I'm alive.
At one point, a child raced past me. Then I heard the mother call out, scolding the child for running. "Stop running," she said. "You'll get tired." And I thought, what are you doing to your child? Why shouldn't a child run on the beach path? What's wrong with getting tired, especially after sunset when bedtime can't be all that far away? Is this a child with a heart disease who must guard against over-exertion? There was no indication of this.
And this isn't the first time I've heard parents scold their children for doing normal, healthy activities in an appropriate place. I've witnessed parents I know telling children to stop jumping and leaping from spot to spot when they were playing out of doors. I've listened silently as other parents I know caution their children not to "get dirty" when they are at home on a Saturday afternoon and nothing is about to happen.
What's wrong with some exuberant exertion? (Nothing) What harm does a little dirt cause? (None)
I've also heard praise for the sluggish, the lazy, the apathetic. Puh-leeze. The child who sits still, the child who doesn't wander far, the child who lacks the curiosity to find out what's making that noise, causing that light, creating that smell may be an "easy" child to care for now, but in the long run these are the children who face obesity and boredom.
I don't say anything when these things happen. I feel it would be rude to insert myself unwanted and unbidden into someone else's parenting decision.
But to my own daughter, I say run, run and run faster. Wear old clothes so you can get dirty. Move, go outside, and have fun.
At one point, a child raced past me. Then I heard the mother call out, scolding the child for running. "Stop running," she said. "You'll get tired." And I thought, what are you doing to your child? Why shouldn't a child run on the beach path? What's wrong with getting tired, especially after sunset when bedtime can't be all that far away? Is this a child with a heart disease who must guard against over-exertion? There was no indication of this.
And this isn't the first time I've heard parents scold their children for doing normal, healthy activities in an appropriate place. I've witnessed parents I know telling children to stop jumping and leaping from spot to spot when they were playing out of doors. I've listened silently as other parents I know caution their children not to "get dirty" when they are at home on a Saturday afternoon and nothing is about to happen.
What's wrong with some exuberant exertion? (Nothing) What harm does a little dirt cause? (None)
I've also heard praise for the sluggish, the lazy, the apathetic. Puh-leeze. The child who sits still, the child who doesn't wander far, the child who lacks the curiosity to find out what's making that noise, causing that light, creating that smell may be an "easy" child to care for now, but in the long run these are the children who face obesity and boredom.
I don't say anything when these things happen. I feel it would be rude to insert myself unwanted and unbidden into someone else's parenting decision.
But to my own daughter, I say run, run and run faster. Wear old clothes so you can get dirty. Move, go outside, and have fun.
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
18. My Other Body-a Review of Sorts
POD-dy Mouth recommended MY OTHER BODY by Ann Pai. I generally steer clear of print-on-demand and other self-published books because there are so many bad ones, but with a recommendation and a story blurb that interested me, I decided to try this book.
On September 11, 2001, when the world focused on the terror attacks on the twin towers and elsewhere in America, Ann Pai focused on her older sister's sudden hospitalization for morbid obesity.
The story weaves in bits of childhood memories with her sister, struggles with weight throughout their lives, and some family dynamics. It also takes us into the hospital, where Ann lives the details of her sister's life, into Ann's workplace, where she finds support from co-workers, and into Ann's internet research, where we get technical information about the medical problems caused by obesity in a user-friendly format.
And we get poetry in the language and imagery of a sister's love.
I felt connected to Ann Pai--I'm the younger sister of a morbidly obese woman whom I love. And I, too, am overweight.
But I wanted more from this memoir than I got.
I was irritaed by Ann Pai's repeated commenting on her parents unpreparedness for her sister Joyce's anticipated death. Her insistent voice that they weren't able to cope, hadn't grasped the fullness of the reality, were in denial, made her an unreliable narrator. There was no other indication that her parents lacked the maturity and capacity to handle the situation. When they proved their mettle by having a ready response for the question about life support, Ann Pai still was unwilling to see her parents as adults. I found this odd, distancing. I wanted Ann Pai to be more respectful by acknowledging the talents and capacities of her parents, and not offering that pseudo-respect that "protects" adults from information and real life.
In this memoir, there is no answer why Joyce became obese, why Ann had weight issues herself. The overall story seems to suggest that it was genetics or just something in the air from her mother's side of the family. The hospital staff are perplexed because Joyce had a job she enjoyed and a family who loved her. The mystery of why Joyce became obese is not answered. My sister is obese and I know why. I gained a lot of weight in a short period of time, and I know why. These reasons may not be common knowledge, but they exist. They aren't a mystery to us. It seemed unbelievable that Ann Pai, with her bravery in writing this memoir, would not at least acknowledge that reasons existed. I wanted that acknowledgement.
And then she could have exploded another myth: the reasons that caused the obesity are totally irrelevant to the solution. I wanted that, too.
Ann Pai did show her own struggle with the solution and her own resolution. Her husband proved to be a remarkable man. And I loved when Ann Pai portrayed her own answer to her weight struggle as a different wanting, as needing, as acknowledging what she really wanted and taking the risk to choose in the moment what she really wanted. But she muddles the message with the information about her own weight loss, her success riding the bike over the crest of the hill, her blending in with "ordinary" people. I think the resolution is the lifestyle you like, one that's healthy and fulfilling, not the outcome. Ann Pai says that, but it gets blurred in transmission.
I also found the repeated internal monologues focusing on food, size, and weight to be disproportionate to reality as I know it. This obsessive repetition disgusted me. When Ann Pai talked about being a size 18 and described herself as practically immobilized by obesity, never forgetting for a moment that she was huge, I couldn't believe it. Life doesn't stop. There are so many wondrous and happy moments, fulfilling and exciting times, and women size 18 can share those--we're not locked in a depressed state of mind constantly consumed by our eating habits. I don't want readers to think that anyone who isn't the perfect size is therefore incapable of thought beyond their own imperfections, incapable of living and enjoying life. One could come away with that impression from reading this book. I wanted a more balanced picture.
And what I wanted most was a better understanding of my own relationship with my sister. I was hoping for some spark, some insight, some nuance I'd overlooked. I can't fault Ann Pai for not providing me with my personal need. But I wanted it, and didn't get it, so for me the book is a good read, but a bit of a let down. I'd recommend it. But like life, it's not perfect.
On September 11, 2001, when the world focused on the terror attacks on the twin towers and elsewhere in America, Ann Pai focused on her older sister's sudden hospitalization for morbid obesity.
The story weaves in bits of childhood memories with her sister, struggles with weight throughout their lives, and some family dynamics. It also takes us into the hospital, where Ann lives the details of her sister's life, into Ann's workplace, where she finds support from co-workers, and into Ann's internet research, where we get technical information about the medical problems caused by obesity in a user-friendly format.
And we get poetry in the language and imagery of a sister's love.
I felt connected to Ann Pai--I'm the younger sister of a morbidly obese woman whom I love. And I, too, am overweight.
But I wanted more from this memoir than I got.
I was irritaed by Ann Pai's repeated commenting on her parents unpreparedness for her sister Joyce's anticipated death. Her insistent voice that they weren't able to cope, hadn't grasped the fullness of the reality, were in denial, made her an unreliable narrator. There was no other indication that her parents lacked the maturity and capacity to handle the situation. When they proved their mettle by having a ready response for the question about life support, Ann Pai still was unwilling to see her parents as adults. I found this odd, distancing. I wanted Ann Pai to be more respectful by acknowledging the talents and capacities of her parents, and not offering that pseudo-respect that "protects" adults from information and real life.
In this memoir, there is no answer why Joyce became obese, why Ann had weight issues herself. The overall story seems to suggest that it was genetics or just something in the air from her mother's side of the family. The hospital staff are perplexed because Joyce had a job she enjoyed and a family who loved her. The mystery of why Joyce became obese is not answered. My sister is obese and I know why. I gained a lot of weight in a short period of time, and I know why. These reasons may not be common knowledge, but they exist. They aren't a mystery to us. It seemed unbelievable that Ann Pai, with her bravery in writing this memoir, would not at least acknowledge that reasons existed. I wanted that acknowledgement.
And then she could have exploded another myth: the reasons that caused the obesity are totally irrelevant to the solution. I wanted that, too.
Ann Pai did show her own struggle with the solution and her own resolution. Her husband proved to be a remarkable man. And I loved when Ann Pai portrayed her own answer to her weight struggle as a different wanting, as needing, as acknowledging what she really wanted and taking the risk to choose in the moment what she really wanted. But she muddles the message with the information about her own weight loss, her success riding the bike over the crest of the hill, her blending in with "ordinary" people. I think the resolution is the lifestyle you like, one that's healthy and fulfilling, not the outcome. Ann Pai says that, but it gets blurred in transmission.
I also found the repeated internal monologues focusing on food, size, and weight to be disproportionate to reality as I know it. This obsessive repetition disgusted me. When Ann Pai talked about being a size 18 and described herself as practically immobilized by obesity, never forgetting for a moment that she was huge, I couldn't believe it. Life doesn't stop. There are so many wondrous and happy moments, fulfilling and exciting times, and women size 18 can share those--we're not locked in a depressed state of mind constantly consumed by our eating habits. I don't want readers to think that anyone who isn't the perfect size is therefore incapable of thought beyond their own imperfections, incapable of living and enjoying life. One could come away with that impression from reading this book. I wanted a more balanced picture.
And what I wanted most was a better understanding of my own relationship with my sister. I was hoping for some spark, some insight, some nuance I'd overlooked. I can't fault Ann Pai for not providing me with my personal need. But I wanted it, and didn't get it, so for me the book is a good read, but a bit of a let down. I'd recommend it. But like life, it's not perfect.
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