teen persuasion
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Post by teen persuasion on May 31, 2011 8:48:19 GMT -5
It really doesn't take a lot of money to create programs to keep kids engaged. Already existing agencies (like libraries) can think up and run fun programs on a shoestring.
This summer I'll be running our Summer Reading Program, Preschool Story Hour, the Teen Drama club's annual summer play, and I've got 2 different sets of student volunteers planning some sort of new summer offering (a HS level writing group, and an ES book club). The volunteers came to the library with their ideas, we didn't solicit their help, but we are certainly willing to let them use our facilities and encourage more kids to come to the library.
Our library's entire annual budget is ~$80k. That includes wages. We really do work miracles on a shoestring.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 31, 2011 9:26:01 GMT -5
One of the cities in the article was discussing shutting 14 out of 18 libraries.
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whoisjohngalt
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Post by whoisjohngalt on May 31, 2011 9:29:27 GMT -5
Anne, There are plenty of govt subsidies for poor people and poor mothers. The subsidized child care, subsidized housing, subsidized food, subsidized medicine. There is only so much people can keep paying for other people's children. To add summer activities and entertainment to that is just too much. It's just too too much
Lena
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Post by Deleted on May 31, 2011 9:33:49 GMT -5
Lena - those subsidies are shrinking because of the states budget cuts. There are also long waiting lines for those programs, so even if you qualify you may not get in. I don't think keeping libraries open and encouraging poor children to stay academically abreast of their peers is a "luxury" that we can afford to give up.
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whoisjohngalt
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Post by whoisjohngalt on May 31, 2011 9:37:47 GMT -5
Anne, Fair enough. I think I've been going to the library since before I could walk, so believe me, I am all for that. And I do understand the problem, I just wish we could find a solution that would put more responsibility on people who actually choose to have those children. Lena
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Post by BeenThere...DoneThat... on May 31, 2011 12:36:05 GMT -5
Anne, Fair enough. I think I've been going to the library since before I could walk, so believe me, I am all for that. And I do understand the problem, I just wish we could find a solution that would put more responsibility on people who actually choose to have those children. Lena ...understood... and, fwiw, I find any sympathy further zapped when I see some fully-abled neighbors who are fully subsidized by our govt. programs, who get "summer vacation" all year round...
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 31, 2011 15:20:30 GMT -5
Lena - I get frustrated with the situation too. I don't like feeling like I'm over a barrel because of choices other people have been made. It's frustrating to be asked over and over again to fund things. I just try to focus on the kids - it's not their fault their parents are so screwed up.
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on May 31, 2011 15:55:11 GMT -5
It is a bummer that they can't find a way to make the pools budget-neutral. That isn't really a need that even a middle-class family can fulfill for kids. There aren't a lot of private pools that you can buy a membership to. Even if they raised rates to cover the pools, there would still be a lot of people who participate.
I'm also bummed out because we had this great sports facility in a more modest neighborhood. It has 6 basketball courts, 4 tennis courts, 2 volleyball courts and 4 racquetball courts. They were all outdoor courts and they were always busy. They started charging $5 per person to use them, and that is just really prohibitive to most people in the neighborhood. Now they pay a guy to sit there and take the money and kick out people who don't pay. The courts are all totally empty. What a waste of a perfectly good facility. I bet if they charged 50 cents the place would have enough people to cover their expenses. I mean, if the city can't come up with the money to build things, that is one thing - but to not utilize what is already there - that just ticks me off.
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dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on May 31, 2011 20:05:49 GMT -5
It would be nice to see local churches and non-profit groups take up the slack and provide some summertime activities and opportunities if the government is no longer able to fund such things. Do churches no longer do vacation Bible school? Obviously the activities revolve around the Bible which some may be opposed to, but it is full of good, old fashioned fun: singing, activities, art projects, snacks, etc.
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dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on May 31, 2011 20:22:40 GMT -5
Boy, have things changed. I grew up in CA and 40-45 years ago the school districts ran summer recreation programs that were AWESOME. Each classroom offered a different activity - singing, dancing, puzzles, physical activities, etc. AND they provided school buses to get you to/from the school AND it was FREE!! That was back in the days (the 60s) when most kids had SAHMs. Moms sent their kids to recreation so that they wouldn't drive them crazy.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on May 31, 2011 20:25:33 GMT -5
Gee, I grew up in the 60's and we played in the neighborhood and entertained ourselves. Mom sent us "outside" to play and we were not to bother her until lunch time or then dinner time. Big treat was the bookmobile coming along. What's with this having to entertain kids all the time? There was vacation bible school but you had to be a member of the church that was putting it on. Rich kids went to camp.
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Malarky
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Post by Malarky on May 31, 2011 20:29:57 GMT -5
Gee, I grew up in the 60's and we played in the neighborhood and entertained ourselves. Mom sent us "outside" to play and we were not to bother her until lunch time or then dinner time. Big treat was the bookmobile coming along. What's with this having to entertain kids all the time? There was vacation bible school but you had to be a member of the church that was putting it on. Rich kids went to camp.
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Post by Deleted on May 31, 2011 21:08:39 GMT -5
Well - I played outside in the 80's and 90's with my friends too. One of the people I hung out with was a 60 year old dude who killed his landlord while I was in 6th grade. The neighborhood boys (including my brother) hung at a friend's house. Turns out the friend's father was giving all the kids weed and molesting a few of them. My friend was playing in the backyard with her siblings when one drowned. Playing outside, unsupervised, ain't all it's cracked up to be.
This was in a small, middle class town.
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midjd
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Post by midjd on May 31, 2011 21:09:56 GMT -5
Well - I played outside in the 80's and 90's with my friends too. One of the people I hung out with was a 60 year old dude who killed his landlord while I was in 6th grade. The neighborhood boys (including my brother) hung at a friend's house. Turns out the friend's father was giving all the kids weed and molesting a few of them. My friend was playing in the backyard with her siblings when one drowned. Playing outside, unsupervised, ain't all it's cracked up to be.
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wvugurl26
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Post by wvugurl26 on May 31, 2011 21:31:02 GMT -5
zib in a smaller town entertaining yourself may be fine. In other areas its not safe for kids to be outside. Just last week a group of kids was shot while hanging out on a front porch watching a NBA playoff game. A 12 year old's dead now. They were entertaining themselves and staying out of trouble when deadly trouble found them. That's why you need programs to entertain them. Its flat out not safe for them to be playing outside in their neighborhoods. And yes, you could make a million arguments that if the parents cared they would move to a better neighborhood but that takes money and some parents don't care.
Lena I get that its an extra burden. I really do understand that and I don't think it should be the public's burden but how do you make parents do something they don't want to? Obviously if they cared about being good parents they would do things differently but so many of them flat out do not care. With the foster system the way it is and few adoptive parents wanting older children what do you do then? I just don't see a good answer.
If we all lived in good neighborhoods and had parents who cared we might not need these programs. Since we have cities like mine where children get gunned down in their front yards, we have to do something else besides send them outside to play. Its not fair for them to be inside all day either. In some areas the nonprofits have tried to fill the gaps but as someone mentioned donations went down the tubes with the economy.
I'd much rather my tax dollars go to programs like this that might give some of these kids a snowball's chance in hell than some of the other things they go to. I've seen some heartbreaking stories in this town, kids who never had a chance from day one. There was a story in the Sunday paper a few weeks ago about a pair of siblings who were retarded, one with the mental capacity of a second grader, as a result of eating lead paint chips in public housing. It breaks my heart that they never had a prayer in the world, never had a chance to grow up and do something with their lives. Maybe I live in a fantasy world but I think these programs being cut could help some of those kids out, help them break the cycle.
And really do politicians care if they cut programs that benefit poorer children? I doubt it. Those with money, influence, and lobbyists will get the money when there's not enough to go around.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Jun 1, 2011 5:51:39 GMT -5
Well, if they ate lead paint is was years ago because public housing is scrutinized like a hawk, way more than a regular landlord-tenant relationship so they ate it when houses were old and painted that way and some of us grew up in those houses. I stopped taking section 8 because the tenants tore out the screens and the housing would make the landlord replace them and deal with the tenant!! years ago, if the tenant trashed the place, they lost housing for 2 years so they BARELY kept the place up. Now they just trash them and I won't have them. My kids grew up in Clearwater, Florida and they played with neighbor kids, rode bikes, and yes, swam because some families had pools. I don't consider a pool in Florida to be an odder than a swing set up north. I grew up in Salem, Oregon and that wasn't LA or NYC but it wasn't PODUNK either. I'm sure there were perverts but then again, there have always been perverts, they just were more careful because the law didn't protect them-or the Catholic Church. There was a rumor that a kid friend of mine was accosted by a family's older and somewhat slow son, don't even know if it was true, but our parents said to stay away from that house and we did.
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swamp
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Post by swamp on Jun 1, 2011 8:09:51 GMT -5
It is a bummer that they can't find a way to make the pools budget-neutral. That isn't really a need that even a middle-class family can fulfill for kids. There aren't a lot of private pools that you can buy a membership to. Even if they raised rates to cover the pools, there would still be a lot of people who participate. I'm also bummed out because we had this great sports facility in a more modest neighborhood. It has 6 basketball courts, 4 tennis courts, 2 volleyball courts and 4 racquetball courts. They were all outdoor courts and they were always busy. They started charging $5 per person to use them, and that is just really prohibitive to most people in the neighborhood. Now they pay a guy to sit there and take the money and kick out people who don't pay. The courts are all totally empty. What a waste of a perfectly good facility. I bet if they charged 50 cents the place would have enough people to cover their expenses. I mean, if the city can't come up with the money to build things, that is one thing - but to not utilize what is already there - that just ticks me off. Our municipal pool charges $1 for each visit, a season pass for a kid is $20, and a family pass is about $35. The police and fire unions donated the money to cover the cost for kids and families who can't afford it.
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Jun 1, 2011 13:56:05 GMT -5
We did that in the 70's when we lived in the northeast, but when we moved to Phoenix, it was just too hot to be outside all day long. 118 degrees does not inspire you to play baseball, or whatever. Plus, I'm so white, the sunburns were terrible. When my Mom worked, I remember a lot of television watching. It was basically a waste. When I got a little older, we use to go to my friend's house where everyone smoked pot, even older, I remember one house being a favorite because they had porn. I'm hoping my kids have the opportunity to do something better with their time.
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Jun 1, 2011 13:57:20 GMT -5
That is probably pretty close to what they were charging here. I don't think it was enough to cover the cost of the pool. I say raise the fees to make them break-even. It would reduce the number of visits by some, but at least it would be available to others.
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happyscooter
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Post by happyscooter on Jun 1, 2011 15:18:29 GMT -5
Sorry, but if I knew the pool cost $1.00 per visit, I would be rolling my pennies from January until school was out.
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wvugurl26
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Post by wvugurl26 on Jun 1, 2011 18:07:49 GMT -5
These people in the article about lead paint were 19-20 somewhere in that range. Not that much younger than me. MD's got a disclosure requirement now but I'm not sure if it is outright banned in public housing. And the rules were probably a lot different in 1990.
I work with a guy who used to be a HUD auditor. There are plenty of landlords who didn't follow the rules at least in this city in those years. Not sure about now.
I've been to Clearwater twice in the past year and will go again in July. I feel much safer there than I do back here. I walked the beach at night, no problems. Much different area than Detroit, DC the places in the article that are losing the camp slots.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Jun 1, 2011 19:34:44 GMT -5
Yeah, well, Clearwater has changed- A LOT, so be careful.
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wvugurl26
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Post by wvugurl26 on Jun 1, 2011 20:02:31 GMT -5
I will be careful I think we stay in a better part of Clearwater. Was there last July and December going again in July. Either way I don't go doing stupid stuff. Its just nice to be able to walk around after being cooped up in a hotel meeting room all day.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Jun 1, 2011 20:29:44 GMT -5
Doing the beach? Or Clearwater proper? Have you been to Dunedin? FUN little town. Try Strachans ice cream.
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wvugurl26
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Post by wvugurl26 on Jun 1, 2011 21:00:02 GMT -5
We stay oceanfront on the beach. I'll have to find someone with a car and suggest. Oh the training coordinator always gets one and I am friends with her.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Jun 2, 2011 6:16:56 GMT -5
You'll be fine. The ones that cause trouble are more downtown and just east of the downtown area.
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