A Funny Thing About Computer Crashes

PHOTO: sevacall.com 

About a month ago, my computer crashed. That is part of why its been so long since my last post. I've been re-grouping.

Computer crashes are a fairly common occurrence, yet one that I have never experienced. I've been in the middle of preparing for a huge workshop, which I rescheduled -(thank you all for being so understanding!) and figured I would just use my hand written notes, my backed up files and Jay's computer for a few days while we got mine back up again. No big deal right? 

And then a funny thing happened.

I found that I could not access the remote vault that my files were supposed to be backed up on, (and still cannot access them due to "indefinite maintenance") and I, foolishly, do not have another back up. 

I started feeling just a little sick to my stomach as I mentally reviewed just how much work I have done, how much information was stored, and how many book drafts, pictures/videos I've accumulated over the last 5 years.

We attempted to fix the issue ourselves, and even with 6 total hours of tech help via phone from Microsoft, we finally had to take it to be fixed and the hard drive pulled. (That was a week ago-they are still working on it.) 

So I received my memory sticks back from the computer guys yesterday-and it does not look good: 6 viruses, (which both Norton and Hitman Pro failed to detect), was the cause of the issue. 

The tech guys (who are fantastic by the way) were only able to retrieve, from what I can see, about 10% of what I had on my computer. The remote (Comcast) vault is still under maintenance "indefinitely" so I can't look and see what has been backed up on there.(I have not been able to access it since this happened-so I will never use a remote backup service again.) I'm most upset over the photos and videos of my daughter and family that were lost, (as well as the book drafts), but its my own fault for not being more attentive to how this information was saved.

And as my sweet and wise friend Maria from Spain pointed out: 

"Burn your last (memory) bridges and start new ideas afresh . Who on earth has a chance to 

reinvent anyway at this stage? And is not your fault. Things happen. For a good reason."

And as another long time friend added: "...and now all those new ideas will reinvigorate your world..."

So, I've sulked enough. I  have to keep moving forward. The August 10 workshop in Mt Laurel will continue as scheduled and an updated workshop schedule will be forthcoming. I will base it on the e-book I sen you all, since I no longer have my own workbook draft, that was lost in the crash.

I am pretty much starting over again from scratch. I'm stalled, but I'm not down yet. Please bear with me as I re-group from re-grouping. 

Since I have lost all of the articles I was working on for this blog-and my books-I've written some new ones and posted a few of them on the newest addition to BodyLogique Health & Learning: "The Free Range Classroom" (Where Every Moment is a Learning Moment)

So, moving forward, BodyLogique is re-committing to Health & Learning-only in a slightly different manner.

From today on, this blog, "S.M.Art Kid/Healthy Kids", will be completely devoted to physical and sensory literacy, including health education, and activities and resources that support the physical aspects of learning. I see which articles interest you guys-and they are time and time again the ones that discuss physical or sensory activities-so I will focus more on that type of information in this blog.

"The Free Range Classroom" (Where Every Moment is a Learning Moment) will focus more on the way we learn-multiple intelligence, neuroplasticity, social & creative literacy, etc.

The "FoodLogique" blog will be devoted entirely to Food Education & Nutritional Literacy.

And the "BodyLogique Books" blog will deal with language, reading & character literacy and will be the new home of "S.M.Art Stories" Interactive Storytelling Program.

Each blog will have some initial posts uploaded and then regularly, one post a week. In addition, if there is a relevant workshop, conference or training, I will post that information as well.

Why separate blogs? Because learning - education - is a multifaceted process. There are so many avenues to take-and the whole point of it all is to not just impose or absorb facts so we can regurgitate them back onto a test paper or inject into a conversation, but to actually understand and form our own ideas- and then to use our new knowledge, our understanding and our ideas to help make the world a better place, in one way or another, either personally, locally or globally. 

There are so many facets to the work I do, as well as to the work you do. Rather than continue to clump it all together, I think each facet needs to be highlighted in its own accord, so that we can better understand how each part relates, fits, supports and works together. I have some new ideas as to how to accomplish this, and will keep you in the loop as they develop. There is so much more to come. 



But now, I need some breakfast. A more detailed explanation will be forthcoming. 

In the meantime, have a wonderful Friday - and enjoy a "Short and Simple: One of a Kind" post for your weekend.

~Barbara

Do Dolls Influence Girl's Self-Image?

PHOTO: thestir.cafemom.com 

This topic fits in well with the series I am working on that addresses girl's self-esteem.

There has been huge debate over Barbie dolls and whether or not they cause an inferior body image in young girls and I'd like to weigh in on this-pun not intended.

Today I came across the article: Artist Creates Barbie with Average Size Body.

First of all I love both of these dolls, but I do question if we really want to encourage our kids-especially our daughters- to be 'average'? I want my daughter to be anything but average. I want her to stand out and excel. With that being said, I think that we are making too big a deal of the doll's influence over our kids brains, thoughts, emotions and body image. We are in charge of shaping a child's attitudes-not the dolls.

We need to keep in mind first, that this doll does not look like a real woman because its not. Its a doll. A toy. Its not supposed to be real. Its supposed to engage the child in creative play, fantasy & spark the imagination.

Secondly, we need to remember that the doll itself, (nor does any toy), has no intrinsic power to influence anyone at all, but as parents, we do. I think we are focused in the wrong direction and missing a huge teaching opportunity. Although our intentions are good, don't you think we do way more damage by bashing the "skinny" Barbie and trying to push a "normal' Barbie? Who is to say and decide what is "normal' anyway? Is this really about our kids well-being or more about the pressure we feel as parents & educators to do what the rest of the herd is doing? Or is it simply about our own body image insecurities? We need to not only ask these questions, but look for the answers.

Think about this: we have gone out of our way to teach our kids to 'include' and 'accept' others as they are...we've ended the 'R' word and put people first; we've raised awareness, and research money for every possible physical defect & learning disability; we've embraced cultural diversity; we've recognized 'bullying' as a National Epidemic and have 'anti-bullying' programs to address it.

Then what do we turn around and do? We judge, bash & essentially bully 'Skinny Barbie' for being 'too thin', 'not normal' and 'imperfect'. Has anyone wondered how confusing a message this must be to kids who have been taught that making fun of someone's appearance is bad?

In our efforts to make a perfectly diverse, safe and politically correct world for our kids, we forget that our own words, attitudes, expectations and most importantly our behavior teaches and influences children & youth more than any inanimate object ever will.

What I'm saying is don't let your own fears project into your child's head, and put a "bad body image" thought there in the first place, where it probably was not until you brought it up. This is a 54 year old toy we are talking about. Girls have played with this toy for decades-and there has been no evidence of any psychological damage because of it. This is an irrational fear that has been placed in us, (because we all want to be good parents) and we need to recognize and overcome it. Give your kids, and your own parenting some credit and stop giving inanimate objects so much power over your child and over your parenting decisions.

The best thing we can do to inoculate our children against poor self-esteem, bad body image, etc. is be there for them-observe them, talk with them, engage with & play with them, and most importantly listen to them. Teach them how to think for themselves, and don't put limiting thoughts into their heads, even if its a fear or concern we have. Teach them how to adapt & overcome outdated paradigms and to see things for what they really are-in this case, a doll.

If you question whether or not this doll (or any toy) is appropriate, then play with your child-use the doll-in-question as a tool- create scenarios in which problems are solved, good values are instilled, and health, acceptance, inclusion, and diversity is embraced. But don't fall into the trap of using a doll-or any toy-as an excuse to perpetuate exclusion based on appearance, just because there is a trend and push for it. By doing this we are reinforcing exactly what we don't want and in addition, teaching children how to conform to a particular way of thinking instead of thinking for themselves. Kids notice when we contradict ourselves, and how on earth can they trust and listen to the advice of someone who sends conflicting messages?

If  you truly feel that this Barbie is damaging to your child's self-image, then why not, instead of insisting they re-design Barbie to look 'real', insist instead that toy companies make dolls of all different shapes and sizes and then ensure your child has one of each? I think this would be a more healthy way to model ways to celebrate all girls-skinny, curvy, and in between, exactly as they are.

I would like to hear from you-especially any licensed psychologists: how do you feel about this issue of body image? Do you think dolls & toys in general have any influence on girl's self-image? Additionally, if you know of any studies that definitively prove that dolls lead to body image problems, please include a link along with your comments below!


Contact: bodylogique@yahoo.com


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