http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091001/ap_on_re_us/us_empire_state_building_china

Whoever made this decision was seriously deprived of sleep if they thought this could occur without controversy, especially without the proper PR to at least attempt to give Americans a reason to support it.

Should people have to earn a license for parenting just as they do to drive a car?

So for my online class, Introduction to Parenting, we have to write on discussion boards and then respond to other people's posts. I found this prompt every interesting to think about and wanted to share my response to those who might find it interesting as well.

The prompt was based on a reading based on this man, David Lykken's, theory that people should have to earn a license in parenting just like we earn a license to drive. One of the most interesting quotes of his I read was this: "For evoluntionary reasons, human beings are reluctant to interfere with the procreational rights of any person, no matter how immature, incompetent, or unsocialized he or she might be. In consequence human beings tend not to think about the rights of a child to a reasonable opportunity for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

Anyways, here was my post on the discussion board.

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My first thought when I heard this discussion prompt, was to compare the reasons for having a license to raise a child to the reasons of licensing someone to drive a car. People must earn their driver’s license to prove they know how to drive correctly, right? To keep everyone safe on the roads: the driver, their passengers, neighboring vehicles and pedestrians. The license proves that they are knowledgeable of the different rules for the varying types of roads and environments in which they will travel on. It says they have studied the more effective tactics of how to react when the unexpected happens while driving, like if your breaks stop working or if your car begins sliding over a frozen patch of road.

Well why would someone suggest that one would need to be licensed in parenting? For the same reasons: protecting all parties involved, mainly the children. Requiring people to receive educational training to earn a license in parenting would prove that each person is knowledgeable of all a baby’s various needs, because obviously a baby can’t tell you itself in a direct way. It would give more confidence that a person could be depended on to make careful and reasonable choices when instinctively, their logic and reason should go out the window, such as 2am bottle feedings or nonstop crying fits keep them from getting enough sleep.

I think the suggestion to require a license logically makes sense, even if it stirs a large emotional reaction and controversy among the public. The emphasis we could place on a society if we had parental education available would be that children are more complex than you think, but that there is a formula to their complex nature that can help make raising them less stressful and impossible feeling at times. However, without requiring a license, it would be very hard to convince the majority of the population to take parenting classes. Even if people wanted to, for some, the priority would probably get pushed aside out of time conflicts or other inconveniences. Therefore, you would have to find another definitive reason for people to find these classes important. If not for the legal purpose, than perhaps a spiritual one. Spiritual communities often promote communal meetings and get-togethers for parents to share and observe the experiences of other couples with their children, usually to learn more about parenting as well as how to keep their own marriage strong in light of all the parental struggles. Whether it was through a faith-based community or not, the best way to reach the large masses is through their shared interests in order for them to discover a common purpose behind something. So I would begin programs or classes through different institutions such as places of worship, the public library, colleges/universities, or even a place of political gatherings, in order to instantaneously provide an understanding and more likely supportive community around them to participate with.

Maneater "Kake" Scene shot in Scottsdale, Arizona

This was taken today, Friday, February 13th, 2009 on the set of the television mini series, "Maneater," starring Sarah Chalk from the television series "Scrubs." The scene was shot inside of a Scottsdale dessert shop called Cup Cakes but was redesigned internally to be referred to as Kake (pronounced "cake"). The show is set in Beverly Hills.



Working on set of this mini-series took about 7 hours for my part as an extra. There were about 50 extras for this scene ranging from customers sitting inside or standing outside with their cupcakes to customers standing in a line that went out the door of the shop.

The Mexican-American Border

This photograph was taken in Nogales, Arizona in July, 2008 in front of a McDonalds just walking distance from the Mexican-American border. This image reminds me of all the man-made walls and borders we as humans build between us and those who are different than us to keep from looking into the eyes of one another and seeing ourselves.

I'll never forget about an interesting parallel my mother told me about the US and Mexico. In the US, it's most common that if you own a house on the top of a mountain, you are very wealthy. However, in poorer parts of Mexico, it is the exact opposite. As many cities in such areas don't have functioning water/sewer systems in place, the wealthy live at the bottom of the mountain where water is more easily accessible. The higher up a mountain a house sits, the less its value, as you will have to carry any water you need up to your residence.