The Council supports the efforts of the citizens of Tallahassee and Leon County Florida to improve the quality of life of the community. This blog will serve to provide information for the public, news on activities and events, updates on initiatives, and general ideas to involve community members. The blog will reflect the views of…
Every parent and grandparent worries about the health and safety of their children. Past surveys reflected parents’ desire for their children to grow up to be happy or financially secure. But more and more caregivers hope their children stay safe during their school, and especially teen years. Safety takes many forms. Obviously, physical safety is…
In a thought for the day from Wordsmith came this quote from U.S. Grant: If we are to have another contest in the near future of our national existence, I predict that the dividing line will not be Mason and Dixon’s but between patriotism and intelligence on one side and superstition, ambition and ignorance on…
Recent research (Chapman, et. al.) has highlighted the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and later negative mental health outcomes, substance abuse, domestic violence and antisocial behavior. It is true that not all children who experience negative events in the home or community develop serious problems as many find help to build resilience and coping strategies….
When seeking community input, often the question asked is “What services do you need?” Without a larger frame of reference, responses tend to be personal and short term. A better way is to provide a frame of reference related to a gap in outcomes identified from a systematic needs assessment. Community input should be solicited…
Ruby Payne stresses the importance of teaching cognitive strategies as essential to help students from poverty be successful in school and life. Her logic goes something like this: If an individual lives in a random, episodic and unpredictable environment, he or she has not developed the ability to PLAN. If and individual cannot plan, he/she…
As suggested by Roger Kaufman, the outcome for any educational system should be a graduate who is ready to be a contributing member of society not under the care, control or custody of any person, place or thing. Simply put, a person who gives back rather than takes from the community and is free to…
Our society, and really most societies, operate with certain unwritten but clearly understood class rules. Most people, however, and especially children, do not realize or understand the rules of classes they do not belong to. Ruby Payne reminds us that many assumptions about individual’s intelligence and approaches to school or work may relate more to…
One of the challenges that children face in school is that the Casual language used in their home is significantly different that the Formal language used at school. Many lower income students not only have a lack of books at home but family members use a casual register with limited vocabulary, many general words, often…
Ruby Payne defines poverty as: “The extent to which an individual does without resources.” The important resources are defined as: FINANCIAL: Having money to purchase goods and services. EMOTIONAL: Being able to choose and control emotional responses, particularly to negative situations, without engaging in self destructive behaviors. MENTAL: Having the mental abilities and acquired skills…
For over 35 years Ruby Payne has been trying to share her observations regarding children and poverty. Here are a few to think about. POVERTY IS REALTIVE Poverty exists in relationship to a desired state. And it is not always related to money. If everyone around you is in the same situation, it may be…