Reading Under Siege!

Polls keep showing that more and more people in today's world read less and less. Some recent polls estimated that about 25% of United States families did not read a book in the last year. I have even seen some studies put the number as high as 80%. 

Many factors contribute to the lowering reading rates. I will list some of the most major ones. 

Television - Though television may seem simple in comparison to more elaborate technology, it did not even become commercially available until the 1930s. Nowadays, you can find televisions all over the place. Almost every householdin the developed world has one or more. Families eat dinner in front of them instead of at a table. Time put towards television has replaced time put towards sports, family games, study, and of course reading. The addictive television appeals to our laziness, sloth, and short-sightedness. Instead of stimulating our mind with books, we choose to rot our minds in front of a television. Ironically, in the long-term, the reader often feels more fulfilled and happy than the TV addict. 

Faster-Paced Lifestyle - Our culture now centers around a constantly faster-paced lifestyle. People work longer hours and then rush through their stressful lives, with credit cards, fast-food, and speeding cars. When we do take a break for fun, we look for the impulsive thrills of drugs, alcohol or TV, rather than calmer, longer-running pleasures like reading. 

Misplaced Values - We do not value education and intellectuality much anymore. Instead, we value entertainment and athletics. Perhaps it is because technology and development have eliminated a great deal of our need for intelligence. Perhaps we feel secure that our needs have been met and feel that we no longer need to work as a society towards major goals. As a result, we just want to lay back and gossip about Paris Hilton and cheer for our favorite sports team. 

Whatever the reasons, most people in our society have given up on reading for the most part. If you don't already, I encourage you to consider reading more. Also, consider slowing your life down, giving up television, and reassessing your values. Consider giving up unhealthy and short-term pleasures like television for long-term pleasures like reading. In 5 years, will you wish you watched more television, or will you wish you read more? 

Whatever you do, good luck and have fun! 

NO SECRET

For me, nothing secret, I keep my future writings right up here inside my  head, there is no other better place to keep and track of what I write, a place where i can always find what I need, if and when I need too. I love them all, finding the time to work on everything can be a little tricky.A writer is what I am. I would like that placed on my tombstone.

What!!

If the Rev. Johnny Banks Sr. had his way, parents would be financially responsible for the misdeeds of their children.

The minister said he plans to lobby state lawmakers to create legislation that would make parents financially responsible for their children under age 18. Such a law, he said, would help reduce crime and truancy.

"I cannot understand why society does not hold parents responsible for the actions of their children," said Banks, a father of six and executive director of the nonprofit A Knock At Midnight.

Imagine how the number of shootings in Chicago could drop "if parents [of the shooter] had to pay the medical expenses for the victim and reimburse the city for police man hours," he said.

Parents attending a Monday workshop at the organization's headquarters, 400 W. 76th St., had mixed reactions about Banks' idea.

"I really believe that that would be a good thing because parenting should come from the home and not the streets. I think if parents were held accountable all this crime out here would stop," said Lisa Wilson, a 51-year-old Englewood resident and mother of three adult children.

She added that such legislation would also push parents to make sure their teenage children go to school.

But James Johnson, a 45-year-old Auburn Gresham resident and father of five, said Banks' suggestion is "ridiculous."

"You cannot control some teenagers. You can only teach your children so much and go so far with them," Johnson said. He added that parents may not have the means to pay for their children's mistakes.

Banks had an answer for that, saying that if parents did not have the means, their wages should be garnisheed, a lien placed against any property they own or their tax refunds intercepted.

"This debt should be treated like any other debt owed. I guarantee you parents would police their children more if they were the ones paying for their mishaps," Banks said. "And that old argument that parents are too poor to pay is not true. There's a difference between being poor and broke."

Banks said any parents needing fresh ideas on how to better monitor their children should attend his organization's free parenting classes from 6:30-8 p.m. every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Most of the parents who attend the classes are young mothers, although Banks said about 20 percent are men. Among the things taught at the classes are the difference between "modern" and traditional parenting,conflict resolution, time management, relationship-building between both parents and anger management.

In March, Banks attended a meeting at William Harper High School for parents whose children were truant and offered every truant student who improved attendance a job.

Only one student took him up on his offer, and that student is working at Harper as an assistant in the athletic department, Banks said.

"I should have made the job offer to the parents instead. I'll bet that would have produced better results," Banks said.

For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:

Again, it is Homelessness

There are more than 1.6 million homeless children living in the United States, says The National Center on Family Homelessness. That's one in every 45 American kids who goes to sleep at night without a bed to call their own. Families with young children now account for about one third of the homeless population. And in case you are wondering why, the recession caused a 50 percent jump in the number of students identified as homeless in school districts throughout the country. Here are seven things about being a homeless kid that you probably didn't know:

1. Making friends is harder when you're homeless.
Carey Fuller, who lives in her car with her 11-year-old daughter Maggie Warner in the Pacific Northwest, said she "cringed" when she recently took Maggie out to play in a park. Things were going fine until "someone asked her where she lived," Fuller explained. It's the death knell question, the one that throws the wet blanket on the playdate and it's usually just a matter of seconds before the other kid takes off in the direction of someone else.

"Maggie smiled and I changed the subject and off they went to play until it was time to go just before sunset," said Fuller. A happy ending, this time. Yes, it has happened more than once. Not to state the obvious, but you can't have kids over to play or have a friend sleep over if your home is the car.

Fuller became homeless after losing her job in the financial services sector in Seattle. Initially, the family downsized to a smaller apartment, but when that still proved too costly, Fuller bought an RV and moved into it with her two daughters. Maggie was a toddler at the time. The family has since downsized to a minivan. Fuller, who takes whatever part-time work she can find, is well-known as an advocate for homeless kids and writes about her life as a homeless mother living in a van.

2. Birthdays can be disappointing for a homeless kid.
Forget having a big party with lots of friends coming over. Sure you can have a party in the park if it's a nice day. But who is going to pay for the pizza and cake and if people give you presents, where will you put them anyway?

This year Birthday Dreams brought over a cake and a gift when Maggie turned 11. For the past five years, Birthday Dreams has been providing birthday parties to homeless children in the Puget Sound area. A lot of homeless kids have never seen their names on a birthday cakes, notes the Birthday Dreams website. And yeah, they get pretty thrilled.

3. Canned food drives don't actually make much sense.
"Where are homeless people supposed to cook all those cans of food you collect?" asks Maggie Warner. Homeless people have no kitchens, she points out.

Gift cards or a credit to the grocery store where they can buy fresh fruit and pre-made meals makes more sense. But some donors are reluctant to do this because they think homeless people will use the money for beer or alcohol.

4. Homeless kids aren't as healthy as kids with homes.
The National Center on Family Homelessness says that homeless kids have four times as many respiratory infections, twice as many ear infections and five times more gastrointestinal problems. They are three times more likely to have emotional and behavioral problems than non-homeless children.

Being homeless is stressful and practicing good hygiene is harder when you don't have ready access to bathrooms, sinks and showers. Homeless kids are also exposed to the weather and elements. Homelessness is connected to poverty and when you are poor, you often must rely on free clinics for health care; seeing doctors is not a regular thing.

5. Homeless kids may try hard but are more likely to struggle in school.
Of homeless elementary students, only 21.5 percent are proficient in math and 24.4 percent in reading. It is even worse among high school students, where just 11.4 percent are proficient in math and 14.6 percent in reading.

Try as they might, getting good grades is just harder when you are a homeless kid. For one, your parents -- and statistically speaking, you likely live with just your mom -- are probably busy trying to find food and safe shelter each night. There's no dining room table around which to gather, spread out your books and notes and do homework together. A lot of homeless kids rely on the public library as the safe, warm place to do homework -- you can even use a computer there. But budget cuts have reduced library hours and, by extension, study time. You can't study if there are no lights on in your car. Not having a place to study matters a lot. If the teacher gives the class a project, you and your project partners will need to meet in the library or at their house. Same is true for study groups.

Agnes Stevens, a retired teacher, began tutoring homeless kids in a park in Santa Monica, Calif., encouraging them to stay in school and participate in school activities.In 1993, she founded School on Wheels, a program that tutors homeless kids in six Southern California counties. The organization also provides backpacks, school supplies and school uniforms for homeless kids and helps their parents navigate school resources. The group runs two learning centers too.

6. Homeless kids put up with a lot of daily indignities, small things that you probably don't realize.
They appreciate getting your used clothing donations, but once in a while they'd like to wear something without some other kid's name written in it. They also don't feel great sneaking in the school bathroom before class to brush their teeth, but it's often the only place available. Maybe there's a way to issue them a free lunch card that looks like the lunch card everyone else uses? If their family doesn't have a post office box, it's hard to mail home their report card. They don't want everyone to know if the PTA paid for them to go on the class field trip. School projects that involve a trip to the crafts store for supplies pose a special burden on their families who can't afford it. Participating in sports sounds great, but soccer cleats and baseball uniforms aren't exactly in the budget. A lost textbook is a problem for a regular kid; a lost textbook is a catastrophe for a homeless kid.

7. Homeless kids are a pretty resilient lot.
When The Huffington Post asked Maggie what she wanted to say to our readers, this is what she said: "Never give up and never stop hoping things will get better even when you feel like you're at the bottom."www.amazon.com/author/gwilder

It came from his room/excerpt

The house was big and beautiful and nothing like we had ever experienced and lived before. The children emerged from the car and ran towards their new and gorgeous home with glee.  My wife and I railed at their excitement. Actually we were all excited with giggles about our new home. And it was about time, that I finally owned something that no one could take away from me. It was located in South Peterson, Illinois, with a population of only a few thousand. We wanted to get away as far as we could from Chicago. This was a suburb where nothing exciting ever happened and after Chicago, that was the way we wanted it to be. It had everything but the white picket fence out front. We could always erect one later. My wife, Lisa Thurman and I, Mark Thurman had pooled our hard earned resources over number of years along with some long term savings to buy this house that could be best described as being out in the middle of no where, however, we loved it.  It was a wonderful ranch style home, however, without the horses.  This was a single family home of about two thousand and four hundred square feet with three bedrooms and two bathrooms.  The exterior included a two car garage and a fantastic driveway. No more of living on top of and right next to rowdy and noisy neighbors. Wooden and pine oaked floors almost in every room of the house.

The interior could only be explained as immaculate. There was central air, a fireplace, glossy hardwood and tiled floors even in the bathroom. We loved it. The furniture had arrived about an hour ago before we had come. As mentioned, our children Amy eleven and Jeffery twelve, quickly darted and ran to claim their rooms which were located on the second floor of our new home. Once inside, I immediately claimed the den. My wife was sold on the spacious bedrooms. I had been recently promoted at the employment agency where I worked now as an assistant district manager. My wife Lisa was a Chicago Public School teacher and she was pulling down the big bucks. So, therefore, we would have no problems paying the monthly high mortgage as long as they did not lay her off as was being talked about. I was the district manager of Shelby’s Park District.  As a family, we were all smiles.

The city life had really taken its toll my wife and I. We wanted a safe place for our children to play and grow up and to have good and solid friends. We all knew that there was no real escape from crime and that it could hit anywhere, anytime, and anyone.  However, we knew that in South Peterson, Illinois deadly crime was not an everyday occurrence. After a few weeks, as the family had become so attached to the house it was so unbelievable. I could not wait to get our children out of public schools, in my view; they have become some of the worse in the nation. With all the noise locally and nationally, I knew that I wanted my kids in a safer neighborhood and a school where they could learn without the media sticking a microphone up in their young faces. I believe we had found that.

My wife and I always enjoyed a clean house, and this house deserved nothing less. She had learned it from her parents, and so did I learn from my own, parents. After a few weeks, Amy’s room could have stood some improving; however, on the other hand, Jeffery’s room was always a colossal mess. His clothes were hanging half way out of his dresser drawers. Half eaten hamburger sandwiches and French fries were located way under his bed now with mold. His rotting manure was slimed upside the walls. Urine covered the beddings. We figured with plenty of input coated with immense threats from the both of us, would do the trick.  We wanted the entire house to be one as it pertains to cleanliness. This was going to be hard work for my little Jeffery.  

This was the life. We had a nice car, a house, lovely children, and we were finally away from Chicago, a beautiful city but just not for my family. On this wonderful Saturday morning I wanted to step out and see the neighborhood and try and meet some of our new neighbors. I’m sure that someone saw us moving into the house. However, they did not bother to come over and introduce themselves. I finally had a real house to call home. It was exciting, my wife and I had worked very hard for this day. As I walked around, Peterson, Illinois, it was a very quiet place not many people were out and...

                                                IT IS HERE

www.amazon.com/author/gwilder

They Are Our Children

Just Released  through Amazon "They are our Children."

This is a parenting book unlike any other. It is about the innocent children being preyed upon by predator parents. The book mostly talks about how not to be an extremely bad or a disengage parent of small and teenage children. It talks about how children who are born into this world knowing nothing at all about their parents, their environment, and the up bringing that will tell the entire story whether it’s good or bad. It talks about how to prevent the child from becoming a bad girl or the bad guy, and soon to hurt another child. Key points will be stressed again and again throughout this book

This can take place in any inner city within the United States. The author's main goal here is to try and save innocent children from the mean streets. There are thousands and more parenting books out there; however, this is the first to hold the parent’s feet to the fire in such a dramatic fashion. Most young children bad their actions can come from just plain awful parenting. The parents maybe drug addicts, they may be illiterate, or they may not have the mindset to be good parents, and they may be thugs teaching their children to be thugs. They are so many parents who do not love their children. There are so many parents who let their children rule their households. There are some parents who refuse to talk to their children. There are so many parents who just throw their children away and the child join gangs and sometimes it end up even worse. There are good parents everywhere; however, there are too many awful ones. What are we, if we can’t help a great child survive to discover his or her potential? This one is very interesting...

www.amazon.com/author/gwilder

http://www.amazon.com/They-Are-Children-George-Wilder-ebook/dp/B00IQUVH08/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1393797347&sr=1-7&keywords=George+Wilder+Jr