Lessons from my 3 year old

I was putting a puzzle together with my 3 year old daughter the other day.  She was very focused on putting on one piece at a time.  She worked real hard at making sure that each piece fit.  In my zeal to help her I tried to add two pieces at a time.  This did not go over well.  I was rebuked and she took the pieces off making sure to put one piece on at a time with the piece she had just removed put right back on but by itself.

She re-introduced me to a lesson that I forgot I had known.  It isn’t always about the outcome.  Often it is about the process.  For her the process of putting each piece on correctly and learning how to do each piece was the key task.  This is a lesson that we as adults should pay attention to and is key in teaching our youth.  There is great learning to be had in the process.  Whatever process.  It is in the moments of figuring out how to do something, how to do it in a specific environment with specific people that teaches us life lessons.  This, in part, is what we are talking about when we tell our kids sports teams, “It is not whether you win or lose but how you play the game.”  It is in how you play the game that you learn how to be with people, how to be on a team, how to gain the skill to do that game.  Sure you may win if the best player on the team gets the ball, the question, the chance... all the time, but then no one learns, including the best player.

My daughter was learning how to put a puzzle together not trying to get the puzzle put together.  A key step in cementing this learning for her, for any one is to reflect on the process.  Asking what happened, what was learned and how does this apply to future experiences.  By reflecting with my daughter I will not only help her learn how to put a puzzle together I will also help her learn how to use process to problem solve.  That is a much more important outcome than a completed puzzle.

So I had to swallow my desire for an efficient puzzle completion and instead revel in my daughters learning through the process.  We had a good time together, also a valuable outcome.

Community comes together to grow local food

                                          

ERIE, PA - Several community members of the East Side Bayfront neighborhood came together to plant blueberry bushes on a chilly Saturday morning.  The project was coordinated by the group called “BluebErie” a partnership between the Episcopal Cathedral of St. Paul and the Bayfront East Side Taskforce with support from individuals and Erie Insurance.

                                         

The Eastside Bayfront neighborhood is diverse and considered to be a food desert in that a significant portion of its households have low incomes and no access to a vehicle in order to get to a grocery store that is over a mile away.  The immediate food options in the neighborhood are slim and not often healthy.  BluebErie’s goal is to bring the community together to grow, care for, harvest and share blueberries.  In order for the neighborhood to have access to healthier and fresher foods, to create community and to learn valuable gardening skills.  BluebErie will follow up with once a month gardening education for the community members who have volunteered to care for the blueberry bushes.

You can help BluebErie plant more blueberry bushes next year by sending donations to:

The Cathedral of St. Paul

134 West 7th Street

 Erie, PA 16501

Make checks payable to Cathedral of St. Paul with bluebERIE on the memo line.

                                        

Poverty and Obesity

Gallop just released its Wellbeing report today (see report) and the city I live in is in the top 10 for most obese in the United States.  1/3rd of the residents of my city are obese (more than a quarter of the adults in the U.S. are obese) .  The CDC defines obesity as someone with a body mass index above 30.  For example a 5 foot 9 inch person would be obese if they weigh over 203 lbs.  The Gallup report also links obesity with poverty.  The 10 cities with the highest rates of obesity have more residents that are less likely to be able to afford to buy food at all times and an annual mean wage that is almost 20% less than the least obese cities.  It seems counter intuitive that people who can't afford food weigh more than those that can.  There is a good reason for this though.  The fast food industry has provided a readily available supply of cheap calories.  Many poor urban and rural areas are food deserts, meaning there are significant barriers for residents in those areas to get to a grocery store that has healthy food options.  Instead residents in those areas often only have access to fast food and convenience stores.  You can get your recommended 2000 calories a day for about $4 at most fast food joints (of course that usually comes in one meal - hence the obesity issue!).  

My top 10 city has a plethora of fast food chains and convenience stores in its small downtown.   Significant portions of my city also qualify as being a food desert (see the USDA map to find your location).   28% of its residents live below the poverty level (87% of cities in the U.S. with a population of more than 65,000 have lower poverty rates).  No wonder we are obese.  My city and the U.S. is getting fatter every year.  The costs come in poor health with higher rates of heart disease and type II diabetes.  We all pay whether it is through our own poor health or through the increased cost of health care.

There are solutions.  One is to bring healthier foods into food deserts.  Starting farmers markets or community gardens in low income neighborhoods for example.  Insisting that our public schools serve our children healthy foods and educating community members about healthy eating are other ideas.  We must do something or pretty soon most of us won't even be able to get up off the couch.

Youth Unemployment can have dire consequences

I recently visited a fast food restaurant and was surprised to find that all the people at the cash register and cleaning the dining room were my age or only a few years younger (some even older).  There was not a single teenager working there.

The Casey Foundation reports (click to see report) that as of 2011 there were 6.5 million teens and young adults that were neither in school or in the workforce in the U.S.  Employment for youth in the U.S. is at its lowest level since the 1950s.  Only 25% of 16-19 year olds are employed (it was 46% just 13 years ago) and only 60% of 20-24 year olds are employed (a 40% unemployment rate as compared to the national average of 8%).   More experienced workers are taking jobs traditionally held by teens.  More often your burger and fries are being served by someone with prior work experience and older than 24 years of age.

Youth unemployment numbers are staggering when you consider the long term costs.  Those who have experienced unemployment at an early age are more likely to face future unemployment, lower earning potential and lower career advancement.  In essence youth unemployment can keep poor youth poor and may even drive youth on the edge to poverty in their adult years.  These bring costs to the community in lost potential and greater use of public services.  The picture looks even bleaker as federal funding issues due to sequestration may put funding to local youth programs at risk.

Although employment opportunities fell significantly for all young people, the ones who struggle the most have less education, come from low income families and belong to a racial or ethnic minority. Fewer than 1 in 6 black and Asian teenagers and 1 in 5 Hispanic teens were employed in 2011, with ratios even worse for black and Asian males.

The U.S. already lags behind most other Industrialized nations in academic achievement.  Are we dooming ourselves to lose even more potential by putting 60-75% of our future workforce at risk?

I met a young man who was on a risky path with drug and gang involvement.  He joined a youth program  where I was working and found his niche.  He worked hard and got paid for his labor.  He found friends and he learned work skills (showing up on time, being prepared, communicating respectfully).  He graduated from high school and was able to go to a local college and get a job.  That young man attributed his success to the youth program.  Really, the program just provided a supportive and nurturing platform for him to realize his potential.

The Casey Foundation says that young people need multiple and flexible pathways to success that combine education, training, supportive services and strong relationships with adults. Young people’s brains are still developing into early adulthood and need positive work experiences in order to develop the self management skills necessary to be successful in the workforce.  In addition, young people who have an adult they can identify as a mentor are more likely to be successful in life.  

There are programs and organizations that address the issue of youth unemployment.  However they are poorly funded and not far reaching.  Every community needs to engage their youth in workforce development using a combination of business, nonprofit and public expertise and funding.  The models for success exist.  It just takes the willingness of a community to put the welfare of its young people at the top of their to do list.