Game One National Anthem

Keni Thomas a former Army Ranger, fought in the battle which is chronicled in the book and movie Black Hawk Down.

He did an awesome job!

And while we are one the subject of it, I wonder why no one has said ONE thing about College Gameday being on the air and talking during the National Anthem before the Red River Rivalry….

Tree Sculpure Update!

http://www.the-press-news.com/news/simple_article/4693722

What do we do!?!?!

What do/would you do if Facebook, Myspace or a message board you visit regularly was down?

I got online last Monday morning and NOTHING would open! Firefox would open but display blank pages on the websites.  I couldn’t check email or anything until I got to work.  I honestly felt kind of panicked, like something would happen in the world and I wouldn’t know about it right away or someone needed something from me and wouldn’t be able to wait (or find me by text or a phone call)…

What does that say about me? What does that say about our society?

Conestoga Lake Park

I found a great place a few miles from Lincoln to hike! I have missed having that outdoor place to go and regroup with my thoughts.  They also have some campsites so I look forward to doing that next spring/summer.

Fall Conference

1:30am Wednesday morning, 1:30 Thursday morning, 2:30 am Friday morning….glad that Friday was the last day at Fall Conference…it might have been more amazing! I love the time spent in the hospitality room!

I think this year fall conference for me went better.  I don’t feel as confused or overwhelmed with things to do or to think about.   Some things didn’t go better, some went worse, but overall, it was a good time.   I think that staying by myself helped give me some alone time (although I wasn’t in my room much) and made me more alert and not so overwhelmed.

I have many more ideas of things I need to do, people I need to get involved in those things and really an idea of how to do some of those things. Last year I was just so overwhelmed by meeting so many new people, trying to figure out how to write my goals, and what I needed to do to get there.

Rest in Peace Emma

Fall Conference

Off to Fall Conference this morning….be back on Friday!

LET THE WILD RUMPUS BEGIN!!

Happy 73rd Birthday!

Script Ohio!

Why I don’t like Wisconsin….

10/11/03

We all knew the streak had to end…no one can go through 4 years of college football undefeated…but it hurt like my first loss after two summers of undefeated t-ball and softball teams…

I remember sitting in my apartment watching this game…and after it was over, promptly throwing my jersey in the washer…and washing it, even though it was the only thing in the washer…and so started my tradition of washing the jersey after a loss and not after a win.

GO BUCKS BEAT THE BADGERS!

Positive Youth Development

Tuffs University recently released a report which included data from 18 land grant universities, including the University of Nebraska.  This report focused on the first five waves of research in the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development. Many early researchers in the field of adolescents based their theories and observations of the assumption that youth are inherently ‘at risk’, were ‘broken’ and needed to be ‘fixed’.  Because of this premise, that is a largely what they saw.

Some features of Positive Youth Development (PYD) include traits known to researchers as the 5 C’s.  These C’s include competence, confidence, connection, character and caring/compassion.

• Competence – a positive view of one’s actions in specific areas of life.  These areas include social, academic, cognitive, health and vocational.
  • Social competence refers to interpersonal skills,
  • Cognitive competence refers to cognitive abilities or decision making,
  • Academic competence refers to school performance as shown in part by grades, attendance and test scores,
  • Health competence includes using nutrition, exercise and rest to keep oneself fit,
  • Vocational competence includes work habits and exploration of career choices.

• Confidence – an internal sense of overall positive self-worth and self-efficacy.

• Connection – having positive bonds with people and institutions that are reflected in exchanges between the individual and his or her peers, family, school and community in which both parties contribute to the relationship.

• Character – respect for societal and cultural norms, possession of standards for correct behaviors, a sense of right and wrong, and integrity.

A 6^th C exists but can only be obtained when the other 5 have been or are being met. The 6^th C encompasses contributions to self, family, community and the institutions of a civil society.

The relationship between PYD and risk behaviors is not perfectly simple or uniform.  Because youth each have a unique background also aiding in their development, not all those who are from environments full of resources and support stay away from the many troubles of life.  Studies have indicated that there is a link between PYD and programs that go beyond simple extracurricular activities and actually focus on promoting youth development.  Creating a program which effectively serves the youth population with programming and activities holds three traits.  Those traits include positive and sustained relationships between youth and adults (youth/adult partnerships), activities that build on important life skills and opportunities for children to use these life skills as both participants and as leaders in valued community activities.

This is only a small introduction to the Tuff’s report and we will continue to explore it over the next few months.  But ask yourself this… If fostering the 5 C’s is the only way the 6^th C, ever occurs, what are we currently doing or not doing to foster the growth of those 5 traits in our youth today?