"Help"... by Jeanine Kemmer

“Help”

Jeanine Kemmer

Craig came from a middle class, working, Christian family. These seem like the things that a child should be lucky to come from. Yet Craig was sexually abused. He was abused by a babysitter that his parents placed him with (Thompson 29-32). How could they not know? Pecola lived with both of her parents and brother. At first glance this family setting would seem ideal. But she was sexually abused by her father (Morrison 127-129). Why didn’t someone figure out what was going on before that young girl ended up pregnant? Theodore Rothke’s unnamed child in “My Papa’s Waltz” endured severe abuse that the mother did nothing to stop; possibly because of fear. Whatever the case, why didn’t someone else notice? Why didn’t anyone do anything for these children? I realize these are characters on paper, and yet I still feel somehow responsible. These children represent the overwhelming numbers of children that face these nightmares everyday. The fact of the matter is that “child abuse is one of the leading causes of injury-related mortality in infants and children.” It CAN be prevented. It CAN be stopped.

Statistics for the Department of Health and Human Services in 2002 revealed that “about 896,000 American children were victims of abuse and neglect. Of all abused children, 60.5% suffered neglect, 18.6% suffered physical abuse, and 9.9% suffered sexual abuse. Some experienced more than one type.” They estimate that “1,400 children died from abuse or neglect, 76.1% of them were under age 4.” Child Welfare Information Gateway corroborates these numbers and adds that “45% were younger than 12 months.” These are chilling realities, and they represent a daunting task in stopping them.

The question becomes who is going to stop them? The burden naturally tends to lean towards doctors who can thoroughly examine these children both in routine physicals and in the emergency rooms to find the signs of abuse. According to the U.S. News & World Report the truth, however, is that:

Doctors fail to diagnose nearly a third of child-abuse cases with head trauma, even when the youngsters are bruised, suffering seizures, or comatose. Researchers reported that abuse escapes notice because physicians aren’t trained to recognize it and may be uncomfortable with casting suspicion. “It’s a lot easier to look for another cause,” said John Leventhal, a pediatrician and medical director of the Child Abuse Team at Yale-New Haven Hospital. Because symptoms such as vomiting and irritability aren’t unique to head trauma, misdiagnoses are especially common in less severe injuries and among children too young to communicate. Doctors are more likely to overlook signs of abuse in white children and kids from two-parent homes. The percentage of misdiagnosed abuse-related head injuries among two-parent families is 40% versus only 19% of single-parent families. 37% of white incidences are misdiagnosed versus 19% of minorities.

We also look to adults who see these children outside the home on a regular basis, like teachers. Despite the fact that teachers are generally considered to be among those best situated to detect abuse symptoms in the classroom, a survey of 440 Illinois teachers revealed very startling information.

[It was] found that most teachers were not able to recognize the symptoms of abuse; only 4% indicated being very aware of the signs of sexual abuse and less than one – quarter said they were very aware of the indicators of physical abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect. Although 60% of those surveyed demonstrated some awareness of their legal responsibilities, only 22% said they would file a report as required, if the parent denied the abuse and the principle wished to avoid the issue.

This data, in my mind, is staggering. We place a great deal of trust in these professions to look after a child’s wellbeing. I believe, however, that we cannot blame them for their lack of knowledge. Instead we need to see to the further training and education of these people. In The Bluest Eye when Pecola came to after her father’s first violation, her mother was standing over her (129). She had some idea of what had transpired, and yet she did nothing. Likewise, the mother in My Papa’s Waltz did nothing to stop the repetitive physical abuse. Craig’s parents and teachers in Blankets just weren’t aware of the babysitter’s offenses (29-32). We, as responsible parents, neighbors, friends, peers, coaches, councilors, youth leaders, family members, and a community as a whole need to come together to help teachers and doctors and recognize the signs ourselves.

As we saw in our class readings Blankets, The Bluest Eye, My Papa’s Waltz, Maus I and II, and Night, I found an article in The Exceptional Parent written by Jennifer Graham, echoing the belief that “any child from any socioeconomic, racial, and cultural background is at risk.” “Considering the horrifying statistics about the frequency of abuse, we all must see perpetrators every day, although we don’t always recognize them as such. They’ve got all kinds of personalities and politics and values, and they come from all kinds of classes, genders, sexual preferences [and] races.” (Mitchell 5) So if we can’t immediately recognize the potential victims or the abusers, what is it we are looking for? Depending on the type of abuse, and the temperament of the child, experts agree the child may display a few or many of these signs:

• Unusual fear of parents or adults
• Aggressive behavior; acting out
• Withdrawal or a “blank” effect
• Poor self-concept
• Repetition of negative or manipulative behavior to elicit attention
• Unexplained bruises; unexplained injuries
• Compulsive masturbation or sexualized play; sexually inappropriate behavior
• Nightmares; sleep disturbances
• Suicide attempts
• Deterioration of health and personal hygiene
• Failure to thrive (emaciation)
• Fear of a particular person or place
• Regressive behavior
• Fear of abandonment
• Poor performance in school
• Truancy

In Blankets, Craig was withdrawn from his parents, classmates and teachers. He did poorly in school, and drew pictures that were sexually inappropriate for his age (203-205). Pecola in The Bluest Eye was withdrawn, feared people in general and ultimately ended up pregnant. The signs were there.

If you suspect that a child is being abused, it is your moral obligation to report it. To do so, or to learn more about child abuse there are nationwide agencies to help you. Nursing offers these helpful tips:

• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Children’s Bureau [offers] assistance to states in the delivery of child welfare services. Hotline counselors can provide phone numbers for reporting abuse by state and other referrals. Childhelp USA’s National Child Abuse Hotline: 1-800-4 A CHILD. [Its] web site: http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/cb/
• Prevent Child Abuse America [is] a national organization dedicated to preventing all forms of child abuse that provides access to hotlines, family resources, self-help groups, publications on abuse prevention, and volunteer opportunities. 1-800-CHILDREN. Web site: http://www.preventchildabuse.org
• National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information provides professionals information on prevention, identification, and treatment of child abuse and neglect and related child welfare issues. You can get in-depth information on your state’s definitions of child abuse and neglect as well as its reporting procedures. 1-800-394-3366. Web site: http://nccanch.acf.hhs.gov

We can HELP these children. Together, we can change their fate.

Works Cited

Couzin, Jennifer. “Missing the Signals.” U.S. News & World Report. Washingon:

Mar 1, 1999. Vol. 126, Iss. 8; p 61

Ennis, Charles. “Twelve Clues That Could Save a Child.” Law & Order Wilmette: Jun 2000. Vol. 48, Iss. 6; p 92

Graham Jennifer. “An Unacceptable Risk.” The Exceptional Parent. Boston: Jul. 2000. Vol. 30, Iss. 7; p 32

McDonald, Kelly Colleen. “Child Abuse: Approach Management.” American Family Physician. Leawood: Jan 15, 2007. Vol. 75, Iss. 2; p 221

Mitchell, Pam. “The Abusers Hidden Among Us.” Gay Community News. Jul 28, 1990. Vol. 18, Iss. 3; p 5

Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. 1970. Holt, Rinehart and Winston. New York, NY

Mulryan, Kathleen, Patricia Cathers, Alane Fagin. “How to Recognize and Respond to Child Abuse.” Nursing. Horsham: Oct. 2004. Vol. 34, Iss. 10; p 32

Olson, Beth. “Framing Abuse: Media Influence and Public Understanding of Sexual Violence Against Children/Violence in the Media: A Reference Handbook” Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly. Columbia: Summer 2006. Vol. 83, Iss. 2; p 439

Rothke, Theodore. My Papa’s Waltz

Thompson, Craig. Blankets. 2005. Top Shelf Productions. Marietta, GA

Tite, Rosonna. “Detecting the Symptoms of Child Abuse: Classroom Complications.” Canadian Journal of Education. Toronto: Winter 1994. Vol. 19, Iss.

Midsummer Character Progression

I was naturally drawn to the progression of the "Rude Mechanicals" within Midsummer. They start out as sort of simple, working class people. Shakespeare writes their lines with no meter or rhyme, unlike the poetry that the "noble" characters speak. They almost all seem timid with the exception of Bottom. They have a sort of stage fright, and seem to lack understanding not only of the play they are to perform, but of theater itself. By the end they sum up their courage, and unconventionally portray their piece with odd side speeches and the like. Bottom remains unchanged despite having the most traumatic experience. He is still the same outspoken, self centered person.

To Change or Not to Change?...

The opening scene of Shakespeare's Hamlet: The Manga Edition by Adam Sexton and Tintin Pantoja was interesting to me. I am fairly familiar with Hamlet and I think that this staging in the opening scene helped the audience see the true fear and vexation in the words of the characters.
I also found a brilliant adaptation on page 62(?). While not necessarily a famous dialogue from the play, I was fascinated by the infusion of DaVinci's art to further illustrate the word's meanings and the general idea of the lines. I like that two different works were paired to strengthen the thoughts.

Preserve Dear Mr. Shakespeare!

Without a doubt Shakespeare's classic works should be preserved as they were written, and performed with integrity. They hold within their lines history, and lessons that apply throughout the ages. How can you understand these works without first understanding the original within its intended context. The saying "lost in translation" can apply to this. You might lose some of the original meanings.

Midsummer Madness...

While looking for Midsummer Nights Dream on Google, I came across this odd adaptation... What does it have to do with Shakespear's original?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3_YNRSPW44&feature=channel

It comes in several 10 minute clips... I'd have to watch it all. It's a good example of how too much liberty can be taken in the "interpretation" of certain classics. But it's in a great animated form whatever it is...

Maus I

Without a doubt, my favorite book to date in this class has been Art Spiegelman's "Maus I". What I found particularly compelling was the amount of symbolism and where we find it in his drawings. I'm not just talking about the "cat and mouse" theme, which was certainly brilliant, but at the more subtle hints within the book.
The fact that the Polish were represented as pigs and therefore our Jewish characters and others like them were depicted literally putting on pig masks when they were pretending to blend in as Polish citizens. To see the strings at the back of a characters head showed us somethig that the picture might not otherwise have been able to show us; how else might someone portray a Jew in hiding?
On page 80 I found a particularly moving picture. Vladek is frightened and unsure of how to escape the soldiers. He considers what will happen if he moves away slowly and if he moves away quickly. In the picture he is surrounded by the Star of David, and it symbolizes how consumed he is with his identity. He feels like his creed is being broadcast for all to see and that it is blatantly obvious to everyone.
My favorite drawing is on page 125 when Anja and Vladek are looking for a new place to go. They come to a crossroads and the roads are in the shape of a swastika. To me, it says that no matter where they go, they will only find more of the same, that all roads hold the same story, and who TRULY controls those paths.
I think that by making the characters these animals, Art Spiegelman made a very harsh story easier to read for the more "faint of heart" audience, like myself. This story; this message... They are important to pass along to new generations, and this format does so brilliantly.

Ideas for Research Paper

I am excited about the opportunity to be creative in our research and presentations. At first I had a hard time with choosing a topic, so I thought about what most captivated my attention through our readings, positively or negatively. I realized a theme that continually has me outraged while reading these, and that is the topic of child abuse. We see it with Pecola in "The Bluest Eye", the poem "My Papa's Waltz", with the babysitter in "Blankets", and I'm sure there will be plenty of inhumane treatment within the holocaust stories we will be reading. I have children whom I adore, and was abused myself; this subject makes my blood boil, and I think that this project has the power to be cathartic for me.
I have no way to convey the true power of this message in a traditional paper, so that's most certainly out. I love photography, and would love to incorporate some pictures that way. The media is littered with heartbreaking stories every day about children who have been mistreated and even killed. There is music about the love of children and probably quite a few older songs about abuse. I can't think of exactly how the layout will be. I'd love to do something high tech, but I'm going to have to learn a program, which I'm up for.

Craig's Relationships...

Craig's relationships are all very different. Up to page 224 his relationship with Raina can be summed up on page 172. Not a word is said in this panel, but you can feel the mutual love, trust and comfort between the two.
His relationship with his parents are a bit more complex. It seems on page 157 that he and his parents are at least comfortable with each other. They occupy the same room without confrontation. Up to this point I wasn't terribly clear about that. His father appears to be little more than an authority figure, where there seems to be more dialogue with his mother.
His relationship with God isn't clear for me. He makes it a point to read his bible every night, but seems to be uncomfortable every time he thinks about his faith.

Blankets Close Read...

Reading Craig Thompson's "Blankets" I was visually struck by two panels in particular. The first was on page 32. I would call it a "Splash Page". The picture takes up the whole page but holds multiple ideas; the incidents with the babysitter, the tension between Craig and the teacher, the tension between Craig and his fellow students, Craig's shame about the memory as well as his shame in school, and the bell ringing the end of class. It is a particularly painful page with all of its heavy subjects, but impressive in that it can fit so much meaning together. The black around his "thought bubble" sets a depressed tone for the memory and separates it from the buzz of what is going on around him.
The most interesting panel for me is another full page picture on page 158. The story progresses through where he meets Raina, goes to church camp, visits more memories, struggles with his faith, school, and authority figures until your head is swirling with all of these troubles and events and then this panel lands in front of you and everything stops while you take in this heavy piece of information; Raina's parents are getting a divorce. There are times in life that that really happens, time sort of seems to stand still. Craig Thompson effectively illustrates that moment in this story. The empty space around Raina helps clear your mind of all the distractions and focus on the "stunned" feeling one gets with such news.

A particularly poignant sentence that caught my eye from Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson is on page 132 when she says "I lay for a long time watching the oranges. They were pretty, but not much help. I was going to need more than an icon to get me through this one." For some reason that sentence struck me instantly. I couldn't help but wonder if she wasn't talking about oranges at all at that point, but rather Jesus Christ and the fact that He is the icon for her faith and religious beliefs. She seemed to be saying that she used to lay all her faith in His taking care of the situation, but that it was different this time; that she was going to have to handle things differently, that she was seeing things differently. My suspicions seemed to be confirmed as she slowly comes away from her church through the rest of the book. I don't really have much more to say about it, just that it was particulary jarring for me. I don't usually take to reading into words too much, and symbology interpretation isn't my strong point, so it was odd that it stuck out like it did.

Responding to Peggy

I'm going to have to admit that I'm having trouble with most of these statements. It's not that I can't open my mind to how other races might have trouble with these issues, because certainly there are these troubles, but just as many white people have troubles like these. I think that this goes beyond white people, or black people. Even hispanics are having an easier time of finding themselves in the media; Dora the Explorer and Diego are mainstream children's shows. What if we extended it to gender? Even then, I have a hard time because I don't see too much in the way of sexism. I can disagree with quite a few of them when I look at it from a class standpoint. A lot of these could be hard for a person with less money.

Gender, race and class figure into every part of every day life. We like to think that we are not biased towards races or genders or how much money someone makes, but every time we look at someone we subconsiously, and automatically appraise them, at least to the extent of "this person is male, or this person is female", and "this person is *enter ethnicity*, or what ethnicity is this person?". We then attach our stereotypes and preferences before anything is ever said by that person. Often our opinions change after we have gotten to know that person, but as humans, we have to have a place to start.
Discussing these issues help us to identify our biases and evaluate them. We can decide if there is something we need to learn more about or confront. Sometimes the bias is against us, and we can extend our views to other people who might not understand where we are coming from.
I tend to read everything at least once without letting outside influences into what I'm reading. Inevitably, however, one or more of these issues will creep into my mind. I think about whether it is a male or female writing the piece, what sort of background they might have...

Multimodal McCloud...

Here's another attempt at getting this blog posted now that I'm back in the states! (As if I don't have enough trouble trying to figure this blogging thing out in my OWN country!)

Greetings from Grand Cayman!

“Multimodal” simply means to have more than one mode. In context, “multimodal” refers to the many different ways in which our society is communicating. I absolutely encounter multimodal communication in my everyday life. I am raising two small boys right now, and the perfect example arose the other day when I was teaching the word “soft”. I was referring to our cat, and so I used long, broad strokes as I pet the cat, and changed my voice to a “soft” quality as I repeated the word soft over and over as I helped the boys feel what I meant by having them pet the cat. Likewise right here on the cruise ship most of the crew is from different countries all over the world, and in foreign ports we all use hand gestures, common words, and vocal expression to communicate with each other.

Is McCloud’s text multimodal? That’s kind of hard for me to answer definitively. Certainly it is linguistic, visual, and spatial. Is it actually gestural or audio though? I can argue either way. Really it is only ink on paper, and not making actual gestures or sounds. But it conveys gestures and sounds in a way that our brains process them as if we really were hearing or seeing them, and if we are experiencing the gestures and sounds in the same way, isn’t it about the same?

An Almost Comical Understanding...

I've never really read much past the Sunday comics in the newspaper... I think I can honestly say that I've never opened a TRUE comic book. I've always thought them to be simple ideas, nothing with very deep plots, nothing I could really relate to, I mean, after all, I can't fly, sling webs, or create laser beam or storms from my eyes. So I guess to be completely honest, I kind of looked down on them and saw them as kind of geeky and childish. Reading McCloud's book has changed my thoughts on comics... I mean the very fact that an informative book was written/drawn in comic book fashion shows me that complex ideas CAN come from such pages. Likewise, we can take complex or serious thoughts, and with this medium add a bit of humor to what could otherwise be kind of dry. For example on page 5 in the lower right corner, he simply says "But to DEFINE comics, we must first do a little AESTHETIC SURGERY and separate form from content!" What makes the statement hilarious is that he is holding a double bladed ax. :)

Bang's Big Theory... :)

I looked at La Guernica and was immediately struck by the picture. I was able to apply Bang's thoughts on shapes and colors and height of pictures without any struggle. The colors of various blues, whites, blacks and grays lend a cool (read "not comfortable") feeling. Going beyond the angst on the faces, we look at the different body language to see feelings of alarm and distress. At the very left of the picture there is a person looking strait up, giving me the idea that they were crying out to a higher being, like God. After I had that initial conclusion, I looked closer and realized that it was a person holding a smaller, limp being (baby? child?). Then I noticed the hair on the person and was able to view it as a mother mourning the death or sickness of her small child. Upon second inspection, I further see her palm facing up, outstretched, indicating a question or confusion. People on the right are looking on with suprise, etc. indicating that this isn't an everyday occurance. The jagged lines around the light at the top of the page don't make us feel like this light is warm or soothing, but like Bang says, it creates a feeling of uneasyness. Reading into what she says about things at the top of the page being more spiritual, I wonder if this "light" might represent a diety, and the jagged lines might represent anger or discontent which is what causes the strife in the picture below?...

I love the comical Calvin and Hobbes! They remind me of my everyday life!

Calvin On The Art of Writing...

I love the comical Calvin and Hobbes! They remind me of my everyday life!

My Fave Poem...

Everybody's Free to Wear Sunscreen
Luhrmann Baz

Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’99.
Wear Sunscreen.
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be
it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by
scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable
than my own meandering experience…
I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth;
oh never mind; you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded.
But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself
and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before
you and how fabulous you really looked….
You are not as fat as you imagine.

Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as
effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum.
The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that
never crossed your worried mind;
the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing everyday that scares you

Sing

Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts,
don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss

Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind…
the race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself.

Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults;
if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters; throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch

Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life…
the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives,
some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t.

Get plenty of calcium.

Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone.

Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t,
maybe you’ll have children, maybe you won’t,
maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary…
what ever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either –
your choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s.
Enjoy your body,
use it every way you can…
don’t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it,
it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own..

Dance…even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.

Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them.

Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents; you never know when they’ll be gone for good.

Be nice to your siblings;
they are the best link to your past
and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you should hold on.
Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle
because the older you get,
the more you need the people you knew when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard;
live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths,
prices will rise,
politicians will philander,
you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize that when you were young
prices were reasonable,
politicians were noble
and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don’t expect anyone else to support you.
Maybe you have a trust fund,
maybe you have a wealthy spouse;
but you never know when either one might run out.

Don’t mess too much with your hair,
or by the time you're 40, it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but,
be patient with those who supply it.
Advice is a form of nostalgia,
dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off,
painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen

What is an American?

An American is anyone within the United States (which include "American soil in foreign countries) either natural born or made a citizen, or someone from these areas who upholds the Constitution of the United States and her laws as their own before ANY OTHER country. Past that, there are as many kinds of Americans as there are kinds of cheese! :) Americans have many religions, opinions, political views, hair colors, eye colors, music preferences, diets, and names.

Hello Fellow Bloggers!

So, the very fact that you can read this is a HUGE accomplishment in my life!  Welcome to the world's very first blog by Jeanine Kemmer!  I don't even have a MySpace page... I know, I know, how is that possible?  But, I'm on now... so watch out World Wide Web!  :)