Discourse Analysis

Daniel W. Russell, et al. "Predictors and Correlates of Continuing Involvement with the Baby's Father Among Adolescent Mothers." Journal of Family Psychology 12.3 (1998): 369-387. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 22 Feb. 2011.

At Baby Steps women get points if they bring support with them to their classes. They can use these points to go to the store to buy their child diapers, cribs and clothes. According to the article, fathers were more likely to stay involved with the adolescent mother if the couple had an intimate and supportive relationship 6 weeks after delivery. As I read more and more women are more likely to become successful due to the fact that they have assistance and it takes stress off of them to take care of a baby on their own. There is a difference between an adolescent father and father that is old in age. Young boy do not know how to take care of a child according to this article. I find this discriminatory because fathers that bare in old age might not know how to take care of a child also. Young boys have a lack of parenting skills and knowledge of child development. Women reply on men for emotional support, married or not. Men have an impact on a women’s well-being and behavior. Without moral support, I don’t think any women can take care of a baby on their own.

Father’s have a positive impact on children. If he stays around the child is more likely to behave throughout their life. Fathers associated with their baby have advantages where as fathers who are not involved with their child causes problems with mothers and their success. The agency Baby Steps really stress these young ladies to bring support with them. They offer women points which makes no sense. The baby’s father should be involved regardless of the situation. These men are to provide a safe and nurturing environment for their infants. I find it fascinating that men effect women and their success. I find it bias that the articles looks only on adolescent father’s involved but it looks to me that everyone at Baby Steps are under the age of 25.

discourse analysis write up #1-liz white

Elizabeth White
Instructor: Richard Samuelson
English 102
22 February 2001

Discourse Analysis Write-up

Throughout the semester I have been taking all of my reflections and analysis’s into my own hands to find a deeper meaning in these findings. What I found is there are some things worth doing because it is the right thing to do. My first reaction towards my English 102 class was confusion; I was confused as to what service learning had to do with writing in college. Now, being further into the course, I realize that there are valuable lessons that I have learned. Being in college mean being an adult; taking matters into your own hands and being a part of the community. But, what does it mean to be a part of the community, what would a community expect from me? These are questions I never would have thought to ask myself before this class and the answers I’m coming up with are even more surprising. To play my part in my community I don’t have to save a baby from a fire, although I would; or anonymously give a million dollars to a stranger, in which case I highly doubt I ever could. The point is, I’m doing something. Changing the world isn’t about how “smart” you are, it’s about the wisdom you gain from your experiences. I’m proud to say that I feel as though I am well on my way to having many new experiences and sharing them. So, by taking everything that I have learned through my Baby Steps program I have also come up with some questions.
While speaking with Diane, my Baby Steps advisor, she explained that our goal is to be someone that cares. When mothers of the program join in Baby Steps daily meetings it’s my job to check their points list. This points list allows them to be rewarded by redeeming their points for things for their children. They collect these points by doing something that is overall beneficial and healthy to themselves or their babies. So, for example bringing a support system with you gets you points, going to a doctor’s appointment; but the point that struck me as a surprise was not being involved in substance abuse. It hadn’t occurred to me before then that some of these women have struggled or are still with abusing substances such as drugs or alcohol. This is where I got my question. What kind of physiological damage can occur to a child, yet to be born, with a parent involved in substance abuse? To narrow it down a bit more I suppose I should’ve mentioned looking more so at a mother abusing substances as opposed to the father because in most cases there isn’t typically harm to the fetus unless the mother is involved.
To find out more about this problem I decided to start with looking more specifically at an effect of prenatal substance abuse that I was familiar with, but didn’t know much about, fetal alcohol syndrome. I found a fairly recent video online that had snippets of legitimate doctors from a few universities through the nation, and even a couple of adoptive parents that agreed to share their stories, give the facts and spread the word. This is the source I decided to go with. In a very broad sense; the facts are FAS (fetal alcohol syndrome) can occur at anytime of the pregnancy and can be more or less severe dependent upon the mother’s use of alcohol. In latent terms these doctors explained that this syndrome is something that this child lives with forever and cannot be treated. There are many brain abnormalities and even anomalies in physical appearance. FAS is especially hard as the children affected grow to be adults. They have many behavioral problems because they struggle particularly with problem solving skills and aren’t able to understand cause and effect relationships and long-term consequences. This means that a task such as going into a store with $20.00 and knowing what we can and cannot purchase isn’t such a simple task for someone with FAS.
After getting the facts I asked myself if they were legit. In almost every sense of the word, yes, the information I was receiving was legitimate research. However, there is bias in everything, especially in the personal interviews of the adoptive parents. Obviously drinking while you’re pregnant is something that many people frown upon, but I can’t help but think about that news outbreak I heard about maybe last year; about how it can actually be good for you to drink small doses of wine throughout your pregnancy, some doctors even recommend it. So, although a mass majority of people would agree that it is inappropriate to consume any alcohol during pregnancy, there are more and more people gaining a different approach on the matter. Another bias is adoptive mothers. I too would be worried, scared for the child and probably a little angry with the biological parents. But maybe to the biological mother, she did nothing wrong. There may be many women that feel that way. There are always to sides to a story, there are always morals and ethics that contradict a way a person handles or feels about a situation which is why there is always bias. I would like to learn what other people think about drinking while pregnant. On one side of the spectrum we have the doctors and mothers who, without a doubt, believe that by drinking while pregnant the child will very likely be affected by FAS and in their eyes that sacrifice isn’t worth it. But are there people that don’t think it’s that big of a deal?

Research question:

Is there more chance of success if the baby's father is around or if they have some other form of strong moral support? I am interested in looking at this particular topic because I am curious if the baby's father where there maybe they would have more money. These women gets points if they have support there with them. The baby's father should take responsibility of his actions and take care of his child. When I went to the agency most of the women went there alone and had no support with them. I will try and interview the women to see if the baby's father where to be involved would there be success and would they actually be at Baby Steps.

Discourse Analysis of "The Effects of Poverty on Infant's Development"

Gloria Zamudio

“The Effects of Poverty on Infant’s Development.” Livestrong.com, July. Web. 18 Februrary 2011.

            I just read an article on the Livestrong website that takes a very general look at how poverty affects and infant’s development. To find the bias in this article I think it might be important to look at what the website in general supports. The website seems to promote health and fitness for children and adults. It includes topics such as, eating healthy, ways to stay fit, how to keep track of dieting and fitness. It also includes a section on how to stay connected with the community and explains more about the Lance Armstrong Foundation. I believe the information on this website to be honest because it is based on the Lance Armstrong Foundation and because it seems to “genuinely care”, if you know what I mean. I don’t believe any kind of website that has raised so much money for cancer research would pull information out of no-good sources and wants a healthier community.

The author, Lily Medina, has had some background in education, health, fitness, writing and parenting. I think that the information in her article might be partial to information that readers could find on the rest of the website. Not that this was intentional but it covers a lot of the same information found in other article headlines that are listed to the right of the page I was reading. Medina’s article may have been chosen because it correlated so well with what the website is trying to promote and also because it would keep a reader browsing longer if they realized related information was found just a few clicks away. The website is also covered with advertisements so the information would have to appeal to the companies that are sponsoring it.

            I noticed that much of what Medina says leads back to mentioning how the parents are responsible for their baby’s development which makes sense since a baby is very vulnerable and relies entirely on its parents. She doesn’t say that it’s necessarily the parents fault but she mentions a lot of the stereotypes I find while researching this topic. She states that delayed infants in low income families are at greater risk of experiencing injury and illness because of accidents, abuse or neglect. These factors, according to Medina, are caused by stress, physical labor and drug and alcohol abuse. She also says that lower intelligence might be affected by the absence of the father, a mother’s depression or uneducated parents. I understand the reasons behind these stereotypes and research seems to support them but this aspect of the article stood out to me. I believe she probably mentions a parent’s role in this article because she is a mother herself so good parenting would be important to her. Medina also pulled out certain key words such as, malnutrition and mental health, to define and explain exactly why these words are important to a baby’s health. Her background in health and education probably played a role in deciding to focus on these words.

             In general this article did not openly try to persuade and gave very general information about the topic. It does bring up some good topics though that would be useful to pinpoint and research further. Plus, it is in a place where other closely related articles can be found.

Drafted research question- liz

What kind of physiological damage can occur to a child yet to be born with a parent that is involved in substance abuse?

Research Question

I noticed as I was researching there is a lot of bias and stereotyping put on low-income families. I noticed at Baby Steps that mothers recieve points for not resorting to drugs and alcohol and much of the information that I research seems to assume that these mothers are depressed and single. I would like to if things such as drugs and alcohol, depression or other psychological illnesses are a result of living low-income or if they can be linked to the cause of it.

Unit 1 Final

Gloria Zamudio

Professor Samuelson

English 102-Unit 1 Final

February 14, 2011

I was lucky enough to have an English professor my first semester of college that completely changed my perspective on writing. This class allowed me to have more confidence in my writing and also taught me that writing can be used as a tool to explore ideas and make a difference in the world.  I can still improve my writing in many ways but I believe I came into English 102 with the beginning of a strong foundation in academic writing. I have been introduced to some of the skills necessary to be a successful academic writer. These skills might include such things as using a reading as a lens to examine the general cause of an important issue, being conversant with my sources, and finding my role in the conversation. This semester I plan to practice and improve these skills because I believe they are the most important aspects of academic writing.

English 102 is a chance to use the rhetorical features of academic writing I learned last semester by participating in service learning and posting my work on a blog.  With the help of service-learning I can join a very real conversation on a topic that is prevalent in the community. In “Service-Learning and First-Year Composition” Haussamen states, “Service learning is not primarily social assistance; it is a pedagogy, one that addresses not only the issue of how best to learn but also the question of the best purposes of learning;” the idea of joining a legit and intelligent conversation has made writing for school more relevant to my learning and life in general (Haussamen,414). Posting my writing on a blog will force me to consider my audience and what I say more carefully. It will also be the most useful way to put my writing out in the middle of an ongoing conversation since so many people post their ideas on the internet as well. Service-learning, researching, and blogging is about finding a “middle ground between developing an idea that is entirely independent of what experts have written on a subject and producing a paper that does nothing but repeat other people’s ideas” to propose the problems and solutions I see in real life situations (Rossenswasser,216).

A good writer must also be a good reader. This doesn’t always mean simply reading an actual text but reading the environment surrounding them. I know a big part of my research will involve reading articles and periodicals of what experts have said about low income mothers and their baby’s health but through service-learning I will also read the environment of the Baby Steps agency and actually see mothers that struggle with finances and raising a child first hand. In order to use reading as a lens then I must first realize that the mothers at Baby Steps are a small portion of a bigger problem. In my research they represent many mothers across Idaho, or even on a much bigger scale, the United States, but that would require much more research than can be done in a semester. The periodicals I read will help me learn just how big this problem really is. There are two steps in using my reading as a lens to get to the roots of this community dilemma. First, I must literally look at the things the reading is trying to say and second, defamiliarize myself with the reading meaning, I need to allow myself the opportunity to see things differently (Rossenwasswer,213). By applying my research to different situations I can pull what I want out of any article or Baby Steps session that I attend. For example, in my research I might decide to focus on how the stress of living in a low-income family affects the development of a child under a year old rather than how agency’s such as Baby Steps help mothers get back on their feet financially. Allowing myself view things from different angles also teaches me to get rid of any bias that I might have toward the issue.

            Academic writing is about joining a conversation with some of the most informed and well researched people of a certain genre. Writing on a blog can be tricky for this very reason. Every time I think about blogging, not just nonsense but, actual informed facts and ideas, I think of the millions of people who have the chance of reading what I write. It’s daunting to realize that my audience has just expanded from my teacher and my peers to an infinite number of bloggers and researchers; some are experts and some most certainly are not. It’s the experts on the issue that make blogging intimidating because nobody wants to look like an idiot on the internet. Someone could just tear apart every piece of information I just researched to ask me a million questions that I will have to back-up with reasonable thoughts and facts. This is why it’s important to make sure I am conversant with my sources. I need to find the “middle ground” that I mentioned earlier because “typically, inexperienced writers either use sources as answers-they let the sources do too much of their thinking-or ignore them altogether as a way of avoiding losing their own ideas (Rossenwasser, 216).” If I use other experts to prove that my ideas are reasonable and not just grabbed out of thin air then it makes my claims seem more educated. I will also have the resources to look back on should someone try to contradict what I say. Through that middle ground I can begin to create my own space in the conversation and perhaps, depending on the genre, might even become an expert myself.

There are specific tools that I can use to help make academic writing easier for me. A lot of time I find that it is difficult to find my place in a conversation when I feel like one of my sources has said everything I want to say, I seem to struggle the most in this area. Two tools that I believe would work well in helping me with this problem can be found in “Writing Analytically”, a very helpful book on writing academically. Rossenwasser mentions “reading with and against the grain” and “uncovering the assumptions in a reading-where the piece is coming from” (205). Using this information I can get a more objective view on the source by finding “what else it believes that is more fundamental than what it is overtly declaring” (Rossenwasser, 209). It would also be important to view the source and what they write as two independent things. I agree with Rossenwasser when he says “written works…are produced by authors but not ultimately controlled by them” (210). If I could just step back and see what the author is communicating without realizing it then it would be easier to uncover something I don’t necessarily agree with. I can sift through the information this way and place myself right in the middle.  

The whole idea of using writing as a way to find my place role in a conversation brings a more relevant feel to English and school too. Too many times people who attend college don’t understand why required courses such as English are necessary but I’ve learned that it’s a very good communicative tool that will be necessary should I ever feel the need to state my stance on an issue which will more than likely happen sometime during my career after college. Last semester I feel that I learned the basic rhetorical features of academic writing and even had the chance to try it out a little bit. No doubt, this semester I am simply taking what I learned and applying it to real life situations and hopefully finding a solution for low income mothers and their families.

Works Cited

Hausseman, Brock. Teaching English in the Two-Year College. 1997. Print

Rossenwasser, David, and Jill Stephen. Reading Analytically. Print.

unit 1 reflection by: Liz

Elizabeth White
English 102
Instructor: Richard Samuelson
13 February 2011

Unit 1 Final Project
When first entering this class I had a pretty firm grasp of what it takes to write a decent paper. Since high school I have been able to use MLA format and citations, use beneficial vocabulary, write grammatically correct, and enjoy my time while doing so. Throughout my English 102 course I have come across some tribulations that have challenged me in a good way. By writing my first ever extended bibliography, to reading about writing analytically these are all new things to me! I think it’s safe to say that I have grown in my reading comprehension and writing effectively in the short time I have been here in Mr. Samuelson’s course. On another note, after spending some time in my English 102 course there are some valuable techniques I have learned that I think are worth mentioning.
During lecture my classmates and I, along with my teacher, had many discussions pertaining to the quality of the written word and what it means to be a good writer. The most valuable aspect of reading and writing successfully was learning how to better comprehend what I am writing about. Comprehension is particularly important when researching. When doing anything research based it is crucial to be able to take the information you have been given and understand its premise. Just like anything in life, fully understanding something can be challenging. I became aware of my faults in trying to fully comprehend research during the course of this class. I realized that I often skim information instead of taking a deeper look at the big picture, I was cheating myself. I now pay more attention to my reading habits in general and I keep myself in check by taking a quick break every few paragraphs to make sure I’m staying focused. All of these techniques I learned from my class discussions and our readings about academic writing have allowed me to grow in all reading and writing I do now. I really liked the idea from David Rosenwasser and Jill Stephen from “Writing Analytically” of making sure you can take what you have read and be “conversant” with the information. Before now I had never thought of research like that. In the past it was very easy to first skim over the basic ideas then write a mediocre response explaining what I had learned. But, the reason my papers had always been just alright, is because I myself didn’t have much to say on my subject because I still didn’t know much about it. I’m happy to say that this lesson has not only helped me immensely so far with this class, but all of my classes.
Since I have paid more attention to my reading and writing I have been able to really benefit from some of the research I have done in my English 102 class. By researching topics closely related to my service learning project, Baby Steps, I realized that I was more passionate than I thought, about the organization in general. Certain facts throughout the article really captured my attention because I had been concentrating on being conversant with the argument given. It was very rewarding to find out how strongly I agreed or disagreed with the articles because it got an emotion out of me. If I hadn’t been paying attention, like so many times in the past, to my research I never would’ve learned how I felt about the subject or been able to form intelligent observations by putting my opinions into words for my peers to read; by keeping myself in check while researching and then coming to a full understanding of my research so I could tell my classmates or instructor all about the topic without showing any injustice to the piece. I have a feeling this will continue to help me in the future whenever I’m in a situation to try and understand the “big picture”.
Throughout the semester my classmates and I were in a position to choose a service learning organization that would best fit our qualities and passions and then continue to write either about the organization or find sources within that same spectrum of the organization to analyze and reflect on. I learned, while writing my extended bibliographies, how to analyze a source by supplying an “ongoing analysis”. By keeping that analysis momentum according to Rosenwasser and Stephen’s, “ you are much more likely to explain how the information in the sources fits into your unfolding presentation, and your readers are more likely to follow you train of thought and grasp the logic of your organization.” (pg. 221) So, for me, it was very helpful to think about the continuation of my analysis as opposed to writing bits and pieces and running out of things to say. This technique also reminded me of the “so what?” factor I learned in English 101. If I find that halfway through my analysis that I just can’t find the words to explain my source, then maybe I need a different source. When writing it’s a good idea to always make sure that what you’re sharing with your audience is first necessary and something that the readers will be interested in knowing.
In addition to Rossenwasser’s and Stephen’s idea to being conversant with your research I was specifically drawn to the tip to understand that “words matter”. I had never taken into consideration that what I intended for the reader to understand from my writing and what the reader actually took away from it, can sometimes be two completely different things. As a writer, and a reader, I need to be aware of the writing intention. A word can have a million meanings because words are all about perception and the person. For example, I was in a situation where I may not have gotten my point across in my bibliography as successfully as I would have liked because one of my peers had taken my writing in whole other direction than I had intended. At first, it can be almost irritating to see that a reader has made their own assumptions and inferences about your writing, but it happens. This is something, for the most part, that is just uncontrollable. I can do my best as a writer to make sure that I give the facts and my ideas in the best presentable way, but then it’s up to the reader to decide what to make of it. So, like I had stated previously when a classmate had thought I was arguing something different than I had intended in one of my extended bibliographies, all I could do was take that constructive peer review and improve my bibliography. In turn, I revised my writing in the hopes that it is now better to understand and overall better writing.
Lastly, I learned that it is not a weakness to still have questions after analyzing a source, in fact, it’s a good thing. Rasenwasser and Stephen’s mention, “You need to do something with the reading, even with those source that seem to have said what you want to say…As long as you consider only the source in isolation, you may not discover much to say about it.” (pg’s. 221, 222) By raising questions and concerns I can write a better analysis because I’m look at all ends of the spectrum and discovering answers that I wouldn’t have known existed prior to challenging myself. It’s okay to complicate things, turn your sources inside out and look within the context to find many more meanings and questions in itself.
So, by taking all of these techniques into consideration, I practiced using all of these tools. Not only was I in a situation where I had to go back and fix my bibliography so my readers could better understand my argument, but I also had to fix things like my MLA citations and even some grammatical errors. I was amazed to see how many errors were made when I went back and read my work. I believe my errors tied in with how my writing process went about for my bibliographies. Usually I am a huge fan of writing my ideas down before I start. Whether it be some kind of web, list, or brainstorm. But lately I have become accustomed to, unfortunately, doing things kind of last minute with my other work load and my work then results in some errors along the way. After reading my bibliographies I went back and fixed all of the typos and even some sentences that just didn’t make sense. I think from now on I’m going to take into account how important it is to take my time when writing. All in all, I think it has been a very successful first month in my English 102 course and I look forward to seeing what else I learn along the way!

Unit One Reflection Essay

At first, I knew that this English 102 course would be hard knowing that English 101 class was difficult for me. My academic writing was rocky in 101 so I knew I had to step up my game in writing not only grammatically speaking but analytically too. To be honest I knew nothing about the depth of research and source. As discussed in class, we went over using the databases in the Albertsons Library. For the bibliographies I used the databases in the library which was my time using it. After finding my articles I realized those sources were reliable and true to believe. I learned that “if you find that you have nothing to say, this is a surefire way to know either that you haven’t found a good source or that you need to reconsider what they’re saying.” You must be able to talk about a source and rely on it. If you have nothing to comment about finding a better source is the answer. Some articles such as wikipedia is not dependable because people can go and edit anything on that website making it skeptical to me. I also got a lot of feedback which helped me with the Unit One project. These comments changed my understanding of research and sources being used. For the first peer review, my peers read and added their comments about my bibliography. She graded it as if she was a tough teacher and told me I need sources to back up my argument. She also told me to research a different topic such as “why so many families don’t have insurance in the first place.” I felt that that topic didn’t have any relevance to Baby Steps so I just stuck to my initial research topic of low-income pregnancy families. For my second and third sources I researched topics in the databases which was quite easier than looking for a topic on google.

My understanding of the values and rhetorical features underlying academic writing and inquiry have developed by researching articles and analyzing them using the six strategies for analyzing sources. For my first bibliography, I took your comments into account. You said “I had a bit of a hard time getting a feel for what your source was all about because you dive straight in. Also, I think you could dig a little deeper on some of your sections: I would be interested in what specifically showed their bias.” I dived straight in and it was hard to get a feel for it. I added and showed how the article was bias towards. I made it more clear to understand. I added question about the piece and information they did not include which may have been helpful. “I believe this source is bias because they aimed towards single low-come women. Women who are pregnant in general need help getting money to raise a baby. Baby Steps and this article are similar due to the fact that the organization do help women out by distributing diapers, clothes and cribs.” For my second bibliography, I took Alex’s comments into account. I changed my summary around. She said,” the summary was worded very well and was a great start but felt more like an intro rather than a summary. Adding a little more information about what goes in the article after jesseca is interviewed.” I added how my source is credible by adding this, “The credibility of this article is legitimate due to the fact that I did get it from the library website. The University only post valid information which makes this source reliable.” I added into my reflection how the article connected to my thoughts and arguments. “This article connected with my argument that teen moms can go back to school and live above the poverty line because if Jesseca can do it, anyone can. The benefits of joining a low-income pregnancy organization is that they help moms abundantly.” For my third bibliography I revised the summary because it felt like it was all over the place. “This article takes you inside the lives of two black single male parents and what they go through on the daily basis-with dating, day care and financial needs. Alfonso Morrell and Dr. Forrest King Jr play the role of being a father and mother. They cook, clean, wash clothes and discipline while providing a masculine role model for their son.” This sounded more better because before I felt like I was rambling on. I also added to my questions. I figured that men and women should be equal. Everyone should get the same treatment with these agencies that are trying to help low-income pregnancy families.

That was some of my revision made. The experience I had with this Unit One was that it was confusing at first but then I got the hang of it. The reading is long and confusing. Sometimes I don’t know what they are talking about so I feel like why should I read more if I don’t comprehend it. I like the fact that we do peer editing because I will know what I need to fix and work on in my paper. Being able to receive feedback is better because you can learn and grow from your mistakes. My experience with blogging for the first time was frustrating at first. I need to get used to working with technology because that’s what I’ll be doing in the next units. My overall experience was good. I walked out learning more than what I expected. I learned how to research a topic and know weather it’s a reliable source. I learned how to analyze and reflect on a source. Also asking questions and becoming a better writer by intaking other’s comments. I also learned a lot from reading chapters 13 and 14 from Writing Analytically, from reading about the six strategies about analyzing sources, applying a reading as a lens and begin about to identify the pitch-what the piece wishes you to believe, the compliant-what the piece is reacting to or worried about and the moment-the historical and cultural context within which the piece is operating. Overall, I got a lot out of this unit!

Bibliography #1

“Help For Low-Income Pregnant Families Women And Families.” babycenter.com. BabyCenter. n.d Jan. 2011.

In this article, Judy Meehan states that “getting medical care in pregnancy, and keeping all of your doctors’ appointments, is essential to your health and baby’s development. Eating healthy foods is important. Help is available, and government programs can connect you to care.” The article also talks about various organizations locally dedicated just to low pregnancy income families to improve infant and prenatal care. Some families do not have enough money for health insurance so they can apply for Medicaid or call the low-cost medical care for help.

This author is making an argument to help those families with low incomes to help pay for their newborn’s necessities. By placing baby pictures and videos on the website which gives us a reputable feel of the work. The website is effective but then again I feel like they should strictly focus on one key element which is the low-income pregnancy families. The audience is women who are having trouble coming up with money to feed their newborns due to low income or no health insurance. I intentionally thought that the topic was “low-income families” but it veered off. This ties into the agency because Baby Steps focuses on low income pregnancy families. The author is making a pitch about helping families out.

I believe this source is bias because they aimed towards single low-come women. Women who are pregnant in general need help getting money to raise a baby. The article also aimed more towards “advertisement” rather than strictly sticking to talking about Baby Steps. There was a picture of advertising a car at the top of the page and at the bottom of the page, they were advertising credit cards. This made me kind of skeptical because it was jumping from various topics on the page. The credibility also makes me leery because there was a comment box at the bottom so people can add their opinions about anything on the page-cars, credit cards or even the topic “low-income pregnant women.” Baby Steps and this article are similar due to the fact that the organization do help women out by distributing diapers, clothes and cribs.

I had a more better understanding of the source as a whole because I wasn’t reading it for the gist of getting the blog down but I actually thought of the material. I feel that I need to learn why they must put other advertisements on the website. I also want to learn why there is other subjects on the website such as baby shower tips, best celebrities, girl scouts and some other things which are irrelevant to low income families. I want to know why there is a list of other pregnancy topics on the side of the page. The information they should have included which would have been helpful were to discuss why women have no money in general and is the government really helping these low-income families out.

Bibliography #2

Rinaldo, Denise. "The Touch Life Of A Teen Mom." Scholastic Choices 25.4 (2010): 4-7. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 7 Feb. 2011.

In this article, “The Touch Life Of A Teen Mom” Denise Rinaldo describes how United States has the highest teen birth rate in the industrialized world. Every year the number of teen pregnancies increase. Rinaldo also discuss the downfalls of teen moms. Teen moms are likely to drop out of school and experience poverty. In this article, 16 year old Jesseca Heatherly talks about her story about being a teen mom. She did the opposite of any typical mom does in life. She went to school and got money from her job.

This article is aimed towards teen moms. Jesseca talks about her struggles and what she went through to overcome those struggles. Between school, work, and caring for her daughter, Bella, Jesseca has no free time for herself. She is extremely happy with an organization called The Children and Family Resource Center. She relied on them for help such as food, diapers and everything a baby might need. I think that this article is a little bias due to the fact that it only aims to teen moms instead of pregnant moms in general. All mothers need help regardless if you’re single or not. Raising a baby is money. As for credibility, there is pics of Jesseca and her baby reading a book and eating cake which makes the story seem true. The credibility of this article is legitimate due to the fact that I did get it from the library website. The University only post valid information which makes this source reliable. “I would always say I wasn’t going to get married or pregnant until I was 30 years old,” was a motto Jesseca lived by. I found this interesting because she did the exact opposite. She got pregnant at 16 and quickly realized her life would be difficult.

This article applies to Baby Steps because just as in the article Jesseca used a program called The Children and Family Resource Center. The group helped her get medical care while she was pregnant just as baby Steps does with women of low income. The program also helped Jesseca enroll in an alternative high school with an on-site-day-care center. Teen moms as well as single moms are steadily increasing. Jesseca is raising awareness that teen moms can graduate from high school. That is a big accomplishment because most teen moms give up on their education. The program helped her get a job from day care and she applied to college. I agree with everything the Family Resource Center does because it parallels with what Baby Steps tries to aim. This article connected with my argument that teen moms can go back to school and live above the poverty line because if Jesseca can do it, anyone can. The benefits of joining a low-income pregnancy organization is that they help moms abundantly.

I feel like why do single teen moms have to rely on an organization to get through their problems. Jesseca couldn’t rely on a family member to help her out financially? As I went to orientation the women there are in the same predicament as Jesseca is. Most of them are teen moms with no spouse and have no money coming in. Baby Steps is a good program to help with low income families.

Bibliography #3

Jeffers, Glenn. "Single Dads: Fathering And Mothering." Ebony 57.8 (2002): 88. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 7 Feb. 2011.

This article takes you inside the lives of two black single male parents and what they go through on the daily basis-with dating, day care and financial needs. Alfonso Morrell and Dr. Forrest King Jr play the role of being a father and mother. They cook, clean, wash clothes and discipline while providing a masculine role model for their son.

This articles is aimed towards black single fathers that play the role of a father and mother. These two men are breaking the barriers that all black men are unwilling or unable to take care of their children. “Thousands of fathers are stepping up and taking care of their responsibility,” quoted by Jeffers. Morrell and Dr. King are primes examples of this quote. Some dads out here in the world, make a baby and don’t take up for their responsibility. This article is bias because it looks at single fathers from one aspect of the spectrum-racially. It also leans to single mothers and how men need to remarry so that their child can have a mother figure in their life and to share their responsibility with. As for credibility, the source is true because it’s a real life account of two single male fathers trying to provide for their children. Dr. King is financially independent and that’s a plus in his case. As for other fathers like Morrell he has help from his sisters. I also got this article from the University library databases. They only post and publish valid information which makes this article reliable and true to believe.

This article ties in with Baby steps because when I went to orientation there were single parents everywhere in that agency. Women who came with a support system gained points. At the end of the orientation, the women can take their point booklets to the baby store to buy diapers, clothes, cribs and other baby necessities with their points. This article ties in with me because my grandfather raised me and he was a single father with 5 kids. My grandpa was also like my mother when she was away for a bit. I agree that men can play the role of both father and mother because I know a lot of parents that are doing it right now. My uncle is a father of two kids and he’s a single parent. He resembles the life of Morrell and King.

These two men had a goal of raising their children to be confident, strong, and responsible men which they lead by example. I want to learn why organizations don’t help single fathers out. Baby Steps only help women who are pregnant. I see a discrepancy between the two. Shouldn’t the agencies be able to help men too? I also think that men should be rewarded just are women are in Baby Steps. They get free diapers, clothes and cribs just by going to doctor appointments and attending the classes at the organization. Single fathers should be treated the same as women do regardless of gender.

“Helping Women to be able to work.” http://views.washingtonpost.com. Avis Thomas-Lester, September 27, 2010. Web. Feb. 2011

In the article “Helping Women to be able to work” Avis Thomas describes a report released by the Women’s Economic Security Campaign (WESC) in September or last year. He says this report was to draw attention to the fact that low-income women cannot afford quality and reliable child care. With this problem at hand, low income women have a low chance of finding a good job and keeping it because of their fluctuating work schedules. They argue that this problem would eventually come around to affect businesses as well since “Disruptions in child care for working parents cost U.S. businesses approximately $3 billion each year.” Low income families also typically lack the resources necessary to the development of young children including books, music and other brain-stimulating materials.

This article expressed the need for help and attention when it comes to low-income mothers and their children. Thomas recognizes that these parents might not always be able to obtain the resources or the knowledge of raising a child and that it usually isn’t their fault. Thomas explains that parents will most likely take care of their children before worrying about work so if businesses don’t want to feel this pressure then something needs to be done so that child care for low-income families is affordable. This article seems to lean more toward single, low income mothers rather than families, which might include a father.

This article is expressing the need for programs such as Baby Steps. Baby Steps offers free child care given by graduates of the program. This allows parents to receive the kind of education they need to raise a healthy child without having to chase their kids around the whole time. The issue of low income mothers and reliable child care seems to be a nationwide problem that is quickly grabbing the attention of many people. I believe that it is important for researchers to point out to businesses that the affects of low income mothers without child care will come back around and cost them a lot of money. Unfortunately, that’s usually what it takes for people to start paying more attention. 

Chavis, Selena. “Lower Access to Care for Low-Income Mothers with Depression.” Psych Central September 2 2010. Web. 6 Feb. 2011.

            The Urban Institute did a study that revealed a scary statistic: “more than half of infants living in poverty are being raised by mothers suffering from depression (Chavis).” Low-income parents usually don’t have insurance to cover the cost of mental health treatment. This article explains that mental health services should be offered for mothers who cannot afford it since they are most likely already receiving WIC or food stamps. Problems with depression do not only affect low income parents in fact “Findings revealed that 41 percent of mother across all age and income brackets reported some symptoms of depression, and 7 percent reported severe symptoms.”

            This article was not only looking at low income mothers with depression but they were the main concern. Mothers who suffer from depression but receive more than low income wages have more of an opportunity to obtain treatment. The results from this study were very alarming and public health services are aiming to find more help for low income mothers with depression.

             During my orientation for Baby Steps, Diane, who is the coordinator of the program, mentioned a lot of different issues low income mothers face. She mentioned drug abuse, missing doctor’s appointments, and unreliable child care. The classes offered are not only to help a mother raise a healthy baby but also to help her stay healthy as well. I wondered at the time if the mothers participating in Baby Steps were ever tested for depression or other psychological illnesses because even after they graduate from the program mental illness will be a persisting problem that could get in the way of them advancing toward living successfully on their own. I would like to know more about the affects of depression and stress on a developing child and how those things make programs such as Baby Steps more necessary.

Elizabeth White
Intsructor: Richard Samuelson
English 102
5 February 2011
Extended Bibliography 3
Unit 1
1. Hoch, Charles. "Sheltering the Homeless in the US: Social Improvement and the Continuum of Care." Housing Studies 15.6 (2000): 865-876. EconLit with Full Text. Web. 7 Feb. 2011.
2. This article discusses the very reasons why the United States is struggling so much with homelessness, and what needs to be done to prevent from happening anymore. Hoch states: “Instead of fostering social improvement, housing policy should increase shelter security. National welfare to work policy in the US supports and rewards labor force participation. Local residential housing markets require similar efforts. As the poor receive more income, they do not escape poverty if local affordable housing choices remain few and costs high.” (Hoch, pg 866) So, why do these things need to change? How do these people end up homeless in the first place? Hoch takes a deeper look at stereotypes of people without a home. Many people different opinions of what the homeless “deserve” because of our previous misconceptions of why they’re homeless. Granted, statistically it is proven that many people are homeless because of things the majority of the population has no sympathy for. Whether it be drugs and alcohol, or are ex convicts; homelessness is still something to fix, even if we don’t think the human being “deserves it”. What many people do not consider are those with disabilities, or a foster child. Many disabled and previous foster children are homeless because they don’t have close family ties. When you’re in trouble you go to a family member or a close friend for help, but what is a person expected to do if they don’t have a family or close friends?

3. This source is credible because Hoch points out numerous statistics as far back as the 1980’s proving that how homelessness is being dealt with needs to anny up a little. What Hoch’s arguing is that yes, shelters are providing a service, but are they giving the homeless a means to succeed. Are shelters preparing these people to go back into the world, get a job, and be a contributing citizen? More likely than not, most shelters are there to do just that; to provide a shelter of someone’s head and give them some food. Now, this isn’t the shelters “bad doing” by any means. How are they supposed to help a major portion of the population when they have very little money circulating in?

4. I agree and disagree with this source. Hoch does make valid points that what’s being done to prevent homelessness is not enough, but what can we do? Where does that money come from? I believe it’s important to help those in need, but to what cost? Are people willing to risk their own financial security for the sake of a stranger that could very well be in the position they because of their own decisions? I would like to think that people of a community could put all accusations aside and help a person in need. Unfortunately, my general faith in humanity has squandered slightly over the past couple of years. But I still have hope!

Elizabeth White
Instructor: Richard Samuelson
English 102
5 February 2011
Extended Bibliography 2
Unit 1
1. Choi, NG, and J Jun. "Life regrets and pride among low-income older adults: relationships with depressive symptoms, current life stressors and coping resources." Aging & Mental Health 13.2 (2009): 213-225.Web. 6 Feb. 2011.
2. According to Choi, “Regrets are both counterfactual thoughts (cognition) and negative emotions related to unattained or unfulfilled goals, unintended consequences, and regretful events, actions, or commissions, and inactions or omissions.” (Choi pg. 213) Throughout this article researchers studied the effects of early indication of depression and anxiety. The study of depression brought up many key points of how and why we’re seeing more and more adults struggle with overall mental health and happiness. Some interesting points were made about the effects that money has on a person’s well being. Unfortunately, money holds the same kind of value it did so long ago. If you have money, you have status and you have everything “you ever wanted”. Now, of course these are all thoughts that people have at one point and time, but what people don’t realize that this envy and regret among people who do have money is causing some serious damage to our psyche just because we don’t have enough money to do everything we want. This also falls under the great depression of; if you don’t have money to do what you want then you go the rest of your life never accomplishing your goals. These are some major depressants for younger people today, and the longer that money stays important, the more depressed people we’re going to see in the future.

3. I noticed a lot of similarities to Baby Steps in this article. It made me think of struggling parents and what they might feel like when first entering the program. Would they feel embarrassed, defeated, or eve proud? I know I would feel a little uncomfortable. It’s not a comfortable thing, asking for help; especially when it comes to your own family, your own child. Many of the parents that come through the program are people that probably do suffer from some form of depression, all they want to is to be a role model and give their child what they need. After looking through Baby Steps I read a couple of “success stories” from women who did feel lost, who had no money, and their goals and expectations had not been met. Baby Steps, for these women, is the answer. Baby Steps will make these parents feel better about not having all of the money they want but having the money they need. The program slowly, but surely, points these parents in the right direction for success in meeting their goals and having a happy family! I know that this source is authoritative because, well, I got this article from the universities library for one. The university only posts valid and published work on their article and database page, so it make researching much easier because I know I’m looking at a reliable source. Secondly, if I had found this source on Google, I would’ve credited it reliable because of the context of the article. Most everything stated was based off of in depth studies and research and the authors and publishers of the article are professors from a couple of universities in Texas.

4. I feel very strongly about the points that this article is proving. It’s important to me that not only I reach my goals in life, but that everyone has a chance to experience something amazing. It’s disheartening to know that more and more people are sitting idle in their own aspirations and that is continually leading to things like anxiety and depression later on. I believe everyone deserves a chance to reach their goals; Baby Steps helps people do that. Like I stated earlier, many if the people entering into the program are struggling with the same things; no money, no education, and a baby. Sadly, those who do not seek counsel when in tough spot never reach those goals and fall into a lack of mental health, and it’s very usual for the child to fall into the same pattern. It’s important for everyone to be aware of the struggles we share, some greater than others, but we as a community, can all reach our goals together.

Dustin Murphy