SPANKING

Spanking is the act of striking the buttocks of another person to cause temporary pain without producing physical injury. It generally involves one person striking the buttocks of another person with an open hand. When an open hand is used, spanking is referred to in some countries as slapping or smacking. More severe forms of spanking, such as switching, paddling, belting, caning, whipping, and birching,involve the use of an implement instead of a hand.Corporal punishment is most commonly used to discipline an infant,child, or teenager.It generally involves an adult – typically a parent, guardian, or teacher – striking the child's buttocks as punishment for unacceptable behavior. Historically, boys have tended to be more frequently spanked than girls.Some countries have outlawed the spanking of children in every setting, but many allow it at least when administered by a parent or guardian. For the legal status of corporal punishment in different countries, see corporal punishment in the  see corporal punishment.

In some cultures, the spanking of a wife by her husband is considered an acceptable form of domestic discipline, though the practice is far less common than it used to be. In other contexts, the spanking of an adult can be considered a playful gesture during a social ritual or as a form of entertainment.
IN SCHOOL:

Corporal punishment, usually delivered with an implement (such as a paddle or cane) rather than with the open hand, used to be a common form of school discipline in many countries, but it is now banned in most of the western world, including all of Europe, and in Japan, Canada, India, New Zealand and South Africa. These bans have been controversial, and in many cultures opinion remains sharply divided as to the efficacy or suitability of spanking as a punishment for misbehaviour by school students.

Formal caning,notably for teenage boys, remains a common form of discipline in schools in several Asian and African countries, especially those with a British heritage such as Malaysia, Singapore, Tanzania and Zimbabwe; however, in these cultures it is referred to as "caning" and not "spanking".

In the United States, the Supreme Court in 1977 held that the paddling of school students was not per se unlawful. The constitutional ban on "cruel and unusual punishment" applied only to those convicted of crime: the common-law stipulation that school corporal punishment be "reasonable and not excessive" was a sufficient safeguard against misuse. However, 31 states have now banned paddling in public schools. Paddling is still common in some schools in the South, where it is often called "spanking".

In India, corporal punishment is prohibited in schools in the Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act (2009). Article 17 states: "(1) No child shall be subjected to physical punishment or mental harassment. (2) Whoever contravenes the provisions of sub-section (1) shall be liable to disciplinary action under the service rules applicable to such person."

SLEEP

                                                                                                            SLEEP

WHY YOU NEED SLEEP
The average kid has a busy day. There's school, taking care of your pets, running around with friends, going to sports practice or other activities, and doing your homework. Phew! It's tiring just writing it all down. By the end of the day, your body needs a break. Sleep allows your body to rest for the next day.                                                                                                                                                     Everything that's alive needs sleep to survive. Even your dog or cat curls up for naps. Animals sleep for the same reason you do — to give your body a tiny vacation.                                                       Your Brain Needs Zzzzzs                                                                                                 Not only is sleep necessary for your body, it's important for your brain,too. Though no one is exactly sure what work the brain does when you're asleep, some scientists think that the brain sorts through and stores information, replaces chemicals, and solves problems while you snooze.

Most kids between 5 and 12 get about 9.5 hours a night, but experts agree that most need 10 or 11 hours each night. Sleep is an individual thing and some kids need more than others.

When your body doesn't have enough hours to rest, you may feel tired or cranky, or you may be unable to think clearly. You might have a hard time following directions, or you might have an argument with a friend over something really stupid. A school assignment that's normally easy may feel impossible, or you may feel clumsy playing your favorite sport or instrument.

One more reason to get enough sleep: If you don't, you may not grow as well. That's right, researchers believe too little sleep can affect growth and your immune system — which keeps you from getting sick.                                                                                                                                           How Much Is Enough?                                                                                                    It all depends on a child's age. Charts that list the hours of sleep likely to be required by an infant or a 2-year-old may cause concern when individual differences aren't considered. These numbers are simply averages reported for large groups of kids of particular ages.

There's no magical number of hours required by all kids in a certain age group. Two-year-old Sarah might sleep from 8:00 PM to 8:00 AM, whereas 2-year-old Johnny is just as alert the next day after sleeping from 9:00 PM to 6:00 AM.

Still, sleep is very important to kids' well-being. The link between a lack of sleep and a child's behavior isn't always obvious. When adults are tired, they can be grumpy or have low energy, but kids can become hyper, disagreeable, and have extremes in behavior.

Most kids' sleep requirements fall within a predictable range of hours based on their age, but each child is a unique individual with distinct sleep needs.

Here are some approximate numbers based on age, accompanied by age-appropriate pro-sleep tactics.

SIBLING RIVALRY

                                                                
                                                             SIBLING RIVALRY

sibling rivalry is a type of competition or animosity among siblings, whether blood related or not.
Siblings generally spend more time together during childhood than they do with parents. The sibling bond is often complicated and is influenced by factors such as parental treatment,birth order,personality, and people and experiences outside the family.Sibling rivalry is particularly intense when children are very close in age and of the same gender, or where one child is intellectually girted.
According to observational studies by Judy Dunn,children are sensitive from the age of one year to differences in parental treatment. From 18 months on siblings can understand family rules and know how to comfort and be kind to each other. By 3 years old, children have a sophisticated grasp of social rules, can evaluate themselves in relation to their siblings, and know how to adapt to circumstances within the family.
Sibling rivalry often continues throughout childhood and can be very frustrating and stressful to parents. Adolescents fight for the same reasons younger children fight, but they are better equipped physically and intellectually to hurt and be hurt by each other. Physical and emotional changes cause pressures in the teenage years, as do changing relationships with parents and friends. Fighting with siblings as a way to get parental attention may increase in adolescence. One study found that the age group 10 to 15 reported the highest level of competition between siblings
Sibling rivalry can continue into adulthood and sibling relationships can change dramatically over the years. Events such as a parent’s illness may bring siblings closer together, whereas marriage may drive them apart, particularly if the in-law relationship is strained. Approximately one-third of adults describe their relationship with siblings as rivalrous or distant. However, rivalry often lessens over time. At least 80 percent of siblings over age 60 enjoy close ties.
Causes:
According to Kyla Boyse from the University of Michigan,each child in a family competes to define who they are as individuals and want to show that they are separate from their siblings. Children may feel they are getting unequal amounts of their parents’ attention, discipline, and responsiveness. Children fight more in families where there is no understanding that fighting is not an acceptable way to resolve conflicts, and no alternative ways of handling such conflicts. Stress in the parents’ and children’s lives can create more conflict and increase sibling rivalry.
   Other Psychological approaches:
Alfred Adler saw siblings as "striving for significance" within the family and felt that birth order was an important aspect of personality development. In fact, psychologists and researchers today endorse the influence of birth order, as well as age and gender constellations, on sibling relationships. However, parents are seen as capable of having an important influence on whether they are competitive or not.
David Levy introduced the term "sibling rivalry" in 1941, claiming that for an older sibling "the aggressive response to the new baby is so typical that it is safe to say it is a common feature of family life." Researchers today generally endorse this view, noting that parents can ameliorate this response by being vigilant to favoritism and by taking appropriate preventative steps. In fact, say researchers, the ideal time to lay the groundwork for a lifetime of supportive relationships between siblings is during the months prior to the new baby's arrival.
Prevention:
 Parents can reduce the opportunity for rivalry by refusing to compare or typecast their children, planning fun family activities together, and making sure each child has enough time and space of their own. They can also give each child individual attention, encourage teamwork, refuse to hold up one child as a role model for the others, and avoid favoritism.Teaching the children positive ways to ask for attention from parents when they need it can also make it less likely that they will resort to aggressive attention-getting strategies.Eileen Kennedy-Moore notes that this remedy also requires that parents "catch children being good" by responding to children's kind, helpful, and creative bids for attention.

However, according to Sylvia Rimm, although sibling rivalry can be reduced it is unlikely to be entirely eliminated. In moderate doses, rivalry may be a healthy indication that each child is assertive enough to express his or her differences with other siblings.
Weihe suggests that four criteria should be used to determine if questionable behavior is rivalry or sibling abuse.First, one must determine if the questionable behavior is age appropriate: e.g., children use different conflict-resolution tactics during various developmental stages. Second, one must determine if the behavior is an isolated incident or part of an enduring pattern: abuse is, by definition, a long-term pattern rather than occasional disagreements. Third, one must determine if there is an "aspect of victimization" to the behavior: rivalry tends to be incident-specific, reciprocal and obvious to others, while abuse is characterized by secrecy and an imbalance of power. Fourth, one must determine the goal of the questionable behavior: the goal of abuse tends to be embarrassment or domination of the victim.

SHYNESS

                                                SHYNESS

Identify the nature of your child's shyness. Children are shy in different ways for different reasons. Understanding the nature of your child's shyness will help you develop a program geared towards your child's specific needs. Is your child shy in groups? At parties? Meeting new people? In novel situations? Or, pretty much everywhere? Does your child have trouble eating in public? Playing with other children? Making phone calls? Or, is your child only shy when s/he has to make a presentation in front of the class at school? Knowing the nature of you child's shyness will help you identify the specific skills your child needs to be more at ease in social situations.
Sometimes, though, children struggle with more than shyness. There are a number of conditions that masquerade as, or can lead to, shyness---many of which require professional attention. Some children struggle with non--verbal learning disabilities or Asperger's Syndrome which interfere with their ability to read social cues and understand how to enter and exit play or answer questions at an appropriate level), other children struggle with extreme anxiety,while still others have difficulty establishing emotional bonds with other people. The good news is that most of these conditions benefit from supportive structured environments that emphasize the development of social skills,strategies for managing anxiety, impulses and the ability to both read and relate to other people on an emotional level. The specific nature of the social skills and treatment strategies, however, is likely to vary with your child's needs. When in doubt seek professional help from someone who has a track record of experience in this area.
      Role model confident social behavior:  Children learn by watching the people around them. Parents that means you! With time, your ability to approach others and put them at ease can help to put your child at ease, too.     
 Do . . . 
         Go first in social situations. Be the first person to say "Hi," to introduce yourself or to strike up conversations.
         Make a list of the kinds of things you would like your child to feel comfortable doing (e.g., talking with other children, asking for help from store clerks, making phone calls, etc) and make a point of doing these things in front of your child.
         Be friendly. Routinely smile, say high and greet the people you see as you go through your day.
Compliment others often. Notice what you like about people (friends, family and strangers alike). Tell a stranger you like their hat or a friend how wonderful their dinner was.
         Make an effort to help other people when you see they are in need. Open doors for people, pick things up when people drop them or offer to carry things for friends.  
         Role model taking risks and learning from them. Help your children learn by making positive comments about how you felt while you did things. Things like: "I thought that would be harder than it was." "That wasn't much fun, but I'm glad I did it and got it out of the way. At least now I don't have to worry about it." Or, "That didn't go as well as I thought it would, but at least I know what to do next time."
          Enroll in social skills classes and let your children know that you're going. Bring back the things you learn from class and share them with your family and friends.I routinely encourage parents (shy or not) who take my social skills classes to practice their new found handshake, conversation and introduction skills with their children,friends and family.Don't be surprised if your new skills make great party conversation, too.     Most people struggle with social skills and are eager learn what you know so they can try it out themselves. Show your children that learning new skills from a class is a good thing.

 Don't . . .
         Cross the street to avoid people you are too nervous to see.
        Embarrass your child in public.
        Criticize people in public.
        Berate yourself for having failed when you try things and they don't turn out the way you would like.
        Berate your children when they make a mistake.
        But what if you're shy yourself? And there's a good chance you are--an almost 50/50 chance. Given that nearly 50% of adults in the United States are believed to be shy, it stands to reason that nearly 50% of children have at least one shy parent and somewhere in the neighborhood of 25% of children have two shy parents. It's hard to role model socially confident behavior for your children when you're struggling with shyness yourself. All you can do is your best.
        Start by modeling little things for your children like opening doors for other people when you go to the store or into restaurants.
        Take advantage of opportunities to practice being assertive in front of your children by asking how much longer it will be before you're seated at restaurants or asking sales clerks how an appliance works.
         Make an extra effort to practice social skills with your children at home.There's a good chance that teaching handshakes, introductions and conversation skills to your children will enhance your skills as well.

Fortunately, role modeling social skills for your children--even if they're in the privacy of your own home-- can help your child improve his/her social skills and is likely to improve yours, as well. 

ADJUSTMENT

                                                                  ADJUSTMENT

About the Disorder
             Adjustment disorder is a change or regression in behavior or emotions in response to a specific environmental change in a child’s life. A child struggling with this disorder will respond to the stress of change in a way that is excessive when compared to what is considered normal for that child. This disorder may also appear in children who are going through a change in placement. For example, a child who moves to a new foster home or is adopted into a new home—even the most wonderful, loving home ever imagined—may
experience an adjustment disorder. Adjustment Disorder can manifest itself as anxiety, depression, or it may be indicated by behavior that is uncharacteristic for specific a child. There is not a specific type of event that will necessarily lead to an adjustment disorder, and not all children will respond to unsettling events in the same way. For example, an unsettling event could happen to several children—even children in the same family—but only one of the children may experience an adjustment disorder. The way a child responds to an unsettling event may also be affected by a child’s cultural background and everyday experience. Adjustment disorders occur in both males and females and can occur in children of all ages.

             What You May See Children who are fussy and act out for a week when their parent returns to work are not showing signs of an adjustment disorder. They are experiencing new rules, new hours, and possibly a new feeding schedule and may, predictably, seem unsettled. A child who develops intense separation anxiety or is noticeably sad and/or withdrawn for an extended period of time after a significant family change, however, may be experiencing an adjustment disorder.

             Infants and young children have little control over many aspects of their daily life. They do not, for example, decide where to live, which childcare they will attend, or how long they will stay at childcare. Changes in these areas, as well as stressors such as major illness, parental divorce, birth of a sibling, and excessive marital conflict, can lead children to develop an adjustment disorder. In response to these changes, a child who usually plays happily may become aggressive; a child who often plays alone may begin to engage other children in a negative way; a child who typically is very good natured may become upset easily and begin to have tantrums; and a child who has mastered a developmental milestone, such as toileting, may regress.
           Children are wonderful observers of their world, however, they are not always accurate interpreters. When a child begins to appear stressed, parents and caregivers often find clues to the child’s behavior when they are able to see the world from their child’s perspective. Events that may not seem disturbing to adults, such as the birth of a new child, may affect children differently. It is often not the change itself but the child’s
perception of the environmental change that causes the stress and, sometimes, a subsequent adjustment disorder.

Symptoms
A child with Adjustment Disorder may exhibit one or all of the following:
• Appear subdued, irritable, anxious, or withdrawn
• Resist going to sleep
• Have frequent tantrums
• Regress in the ability to toilet independently
• Have increased separation anxiety
• Exhibit acting-out behaviors that are uncharacteristic for
the child such as hitting or biting

SECURITY FEELING

                                                             SECURITY FEELING

               What do children need in order to grow into happy adults? There are lots of theories about this, and recent research supports some of these theories. We often learn lessons more easily from extreme examples. We know, for example, that child abuse can cause many different problems later in life. Work with adult children of alcoholics has also demonstrated that growing up in an alcoholic family can often cause problems later in life. Many mental health problems, of course, have very little to do with the environment that a person grew up in. Genetic factors and other biochemical problems are sometimes the primary culprit. Other problems appear to involve a combination of genetics and environment.

             What factors are associated with good mental health? If all other factors are equal, the following ingredients in the early family environment appear to influence positive mental health:

• A sense that we are all in this together. Children seem to naturally feel this way unless taught otherwise. Some parents teach their children that they are better than other children. Other parents berate their children as being inferior to others. Racism, for example, is a learned behavior. It is probably just as destructive to teach a child that they are 'special' - meaning better than other people - as to teach a child that they are lacking in some way. Help your children cultivate their innate sense of belonging to the human family and you will be contributing to their mental health. 
• A belief that the world is a safe place (or at least that home is a safe place). To feel secure inside children need to first feel secure in their world. If the family feels safe, then the child feels secure. As they grow up this sense of security is then internalized. 
• The knowledge that our parent(s) love us unconditionally. This is closely related to the sense of security described above. We first develop the knowledge that our parents love us no matter what. Over time this matures into a knowledge that we are basically 'okay.' We internalize out parents' love and learn to love ourselves in a healthy way.

                What happens when these factors are not present? Children who internalize a self-image of being 'different from other people' often carry that image into adulthood. Life is a roller coaster. When they feel good about themselves they easily feel superior to others, but they also often feel inferior to others. These two states share the common assumption of being basically different from other people in some way.

                If the child grows up without feeling loved unconditionally by parents, he or she may seek out such love from others. This is a natural consequence of their childhood, and it sometimes works. Other times this need for unconditional love may lead people into unhealthy relationships as they seek to fill this need that was unmet in childhood.

               Children who grow up in a family that does not feel safe also have difficulty feeling secure inside. They often develop defenses that work very well within their dysfunctional family, but do not work as well in the real world. If life gets too dull and predictable they may create some turmoil in order to use these defenses that they are comfortable with.

               We can't choose our families. What can we do as adults do to develop a healthier sense of security? Often this occurs naturally as we interact with others in healthy relationships. These relationships can become "corrective emotional experiences" if we take the sense of security that develops and internalize it. Long term psychotherapy works in a similar way. A person often tells a therapist things about themselves that they are very uncomfortable with. If the therapeutic relationship has developed well, then the client begins to internalize a sense of security based at least partly the fact that their therapist still has respect for them and cares for them as a person. It is possible to build a future that is better than the past.

SCHOOL

                                                                   

                                                                           SCHOOL

                    A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students (or "pupils") under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory.In these systems, students progress through a series of schools. The names for these schools vary by country (discussed in the Regional section below) but generally include primary school for young children and secondary school for teenagers who have completed primary education. An institution where higher education is taught, is commonly called a university collage or university.

                  In addition to these core schools, students in a given country may also attend schools before and after primary and secondary education.Kindergarten or pre- school provide some schooling to very young children (typically ages 3–5). University, vocational school, college or seminary may be available after secondary school. A school may also be dedicated to one particular field, such as a school of economics or a school of dance.Alternative schools may provide nontraditional curriculum and methods.

                    There are also non-government schools, called private schools. Private schools may be required when the government does not supply adequate, or special education. Other private schools can also be religious, such as Christian schools, hawzas, yeshivas,and others; or schools that have a higher standard of education or seek to foster other personal achievements. Schools for adults include institutions of corporate training, Military education and training and business schools.

                    In home schooling and online schools, teaching and learning take place outside of a traditional school building.

SAVING

                                                                            SAVING

            Saving is income not spent, or deferred consumption. Methods of saving include putting money aside in a bank or pension plan. Saving also includes reducing expenditures, such as recurring costs. In terms of personal finance,saving specifies low-risk preservation of money, as in a deposit account, versus investment,wherein risk is higher.

          There is some disagreement about what counts as saving. For example, the part of a person's income that is spent on mortgage loan repayments is not spent on present consumption and is therefore saving by the above definition, even though people do not always think of repaying a loan as saving. However, in the U.S. measurement of the numbers behind its gross national product (i.e., the National Income and Product Accounts), personal interest payments are not treated as "saving" unless the institutions and people who receive them save them.

         "Saving" differs from "savings." The former refers to an increase in one's assets, an increase in net worth, whereas the latter refers to one part of one's assets, usually deposits in savings accounts, or to all of one's assets. Saving refers to an activity occurring over time, a flow variable, whereas savings refers to something that exists at any one time, a stock variable.

          Saving is closely related to investment. By not using income to buy consumer goods and services, it is possible for resources to instead be invested by being used to produce fixed capital,such as factories and machinery. Saving can therefore be vital to increase the amount of fixed capital available, which contributes to economic growth.

          However, increased saving does not always correspond to increased investment. If savings are stashed in or under a mattress, or otherwise not deposited into a financial intermediary such as a bank,there is no chance for those savings to be recycled as investment by business. This means that saving may increase without increasing investment, possibly causing a short-fall of demand (a pile-up of inventories, a cut-back of production, employment, and income, and thus a recession) rather than to economic growth. In the short term, if saving falls below investment, it can lead to a growth of aggregate demand and an economic boom. In the long term if saving falls below investment it eventually reduces investment and detracts from future growth. Future growth is made possible by foregoing present consumption to increase investment. However savings kept in a mattress amount to an (interest-free) loan to the government or central bank, who can recycle this loan.

         In a primitive agricultural economy savings might take the form of holding back the best of the corn harvest as seed corn for the next planting season. If the whole crop were consumed the economy would deteriorate to hunting and gathering the next season.

         Within personal finance, the act of saving corresponds to nominal preservation of money for future use. A deposit account paying interest is typically used to hold money for future needs, i.e. an emergency fund, to make a capital purchase (car, house, vacation, etc.) or to give to someone else (children, tax bill etc.).

         Within personal finance, money used to purchase shares,put in a collective investment scheme  or used to buy any asset where there is an element of capital risk is deemed an investment.This distinction is important as the investment risk can cause a capital loss when an investment is realized, unlike cash saving(s). Cash savings accounts are considered to have minimal risk. In the United States, all banks are required to have deposit insurance, typically issued by the Federal Deposit insurance Corporation or FDIC. In extreme cases, a bank failure can cause deposits to be lost as it happened at the start of the Great Depression.The FDIC has prevented that from happening ever since.

        In many instances the terms saving and investment are used interchangeably. For example many deposit accounts are labeled as investment accounts by banks for marketing purposes. To help establish whether an asset is saving(s) or an investment you should ask yourself, "where is my money invested?" If the answer is cash then it is savings,if it is a type of asset which can fluctuate in nominal value then it is investment.

RORSCHACH TEST

                                                            
                                                             RORSCHACH TEST

          The Rorschach technique, sometimes known as the Rorschach test or the inkblot test, is a projective personality assessment based on the test taker's reactions to a series of 10 inkblot pictures.
           The Rorschach technique is the most widely used projective psychological test. The Rorschach is used to help assess personality structure and identify emotional problems and mental disorders. Like other projective techniques, it is based on the principle that subjects viewing neutral, ambiguous stimuli will project their own personalities onto them, thereby revealing a variety of unconscious conflicts and motivations. Administered to both adolescents and adults, the Rorschach can also be used with children as young as three years old, although the commonly used Exner scoring system (discussed below) is appropriate only for test taker five years or older.
Purpose

            The Rorschach technique is used to elicit information about the structure and dynamics of an individual's personality functioning. The test provides information about a person's thought processes, perceptions, motivations, and attitude toward his or her environment, and it can detect internal and external pressures and conflicts as well as illogical or psychotic thought patterns.

           The Rorschach technique can also be used for specific diagnostic purposes. Some scoring methods for the Rorschach elicit information on symptoms related to depression, schizophrenia, and anxiety disorders. Also, the test can be used to screen for coping deficits related to developmental problems in children and adolescents.

        The Rorschach technique is administered using 10 cards, each containing a complicated inkblot pattern, five in black and gray, two in black and red, and three in various pastel

colors. Subjects look at the cards one at a time and describe what each inkblot resembles. They are instructed to look at the shape, shading, and color of the inkblots. After the subject has viewed all 10 cards, the examiner usually goes back over the responses for additional information. The subject may be asked to clarify some responses or to describe which features of each inkblot prompted the responses. Actually, there is no one correct response to any inkblot card, although there are certain common responses to some cards.

           The test taker is given a lot of flexibility with how to respond to the inkblots. If a test taker asks if he or she is allowed to turn the card upside-down, the test administrator.

SANTA CLAUS

SANTA CLAUS

                           The man we know as Santa Claus has a history all his own. Today, he is thought of mainly as the jolly man in red, but his story stretches all the way back to the 3rd century. Find out more about the history of Santa Claus from his earliest origins to the shopping mall favorite of today, and discover how two New Yorkers–Clement Clark Moore and Thomas Nast–were major influences on the Santa Claus millions of children wait for each Christmas Eve.

THE LEGEND OF ST. NICHOLAS

The legend of Santa Claus can be traced back hundreds of years to a monk named St. Nicholas. It is believed that Nicholas was born sometime around 280 A.D. in Patara, near Myra in modern-day Turkey. Much admired for his piety and kindness, St. Nicholas became the subject of many legends. It is said that he gave away all of his inherited wealth and traveled the countryside helping the poor and sick. One of the best known of the St. Nicholas stories is that he saved three poor sisters from being sold into slavery or prostitution by their father by providing them with a dowry so that they could be married. Over the course of many years, Nicholas’s popularity spread and he became known as the protector of children and sailors. His feast day is celebrated on the anniversary of his death, December 6. This was traditionally considered a lucky day to make large purchases or to get married. By the Renaissance, St. Nicholas was the most popular saint in Europe. Even after the Protestant Reformation, when the veneration of saints began to be discouraged, St. Nicholas maintained a positive reputation, especially in Holland.                                                                                                      SINTER KLAAS COMES TO NEW YORK                                                                                                    St. Nicholas made his first inroads into American popular culture towards the end of the 18th century. In December 1773, and again in 1774, a New Yark newspaper reported that groups of Dutch families had gathered to honor the anniversary of his death.                                              The name Santa Claus evolved from Nick’s Dutch nickname, Sinter Klaas, a shortened form of Sint Nikolaas (Dutch for Saint Nicholas). In 1804, John Pintard, a member of the New York Historical Society, distributed woodcuts of St. Nicholas at the society’s annual meeting. The background of the engraving contains now-familiar Santa images including stockings filled with toys and fruit hung over a fireplace. In 1809, Washington Irving helped to popularize the Sinter Klaas stories when he referred to St. Nicholas as the patron saint of New York in his book, The History of New York. As his prominence grew, Sinter Klaas was described as everything from a “rascal” with a blue three-cornered hat, red waistcoat, and yellow stockings to a man wearing a broad-brimmed hat and a “huge pair of Flemish trunk hose.”

ANXIETY DISORDER

                                                        ANXIETY DISORDER 

          Anxiety disorders are a group of mental disorder characterized by feelings of anxiety and fear. where anxiety is a worry about future events and fear is a reaction to current events. These feelings may cause physical symptoms, such as a racing heart and shakiness. There are various forms of anxiety disorders, including generalized anxiety disorder,phobic disorder and panic disorder. While each has its own characteristics and symptoms, they all include symptoms of anxiety.

            Anxiety disorders are partly genetic but may also be due to drug use including alcohol and caffeine, as well as withdrawal from certain drugs. They often occur with other mental disorders, particularly major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder,certain personality disorders, and eating disorders.The term anxiety covers four aspects of experiences that an individual may have: mental apprehension, physical tension, physical symptoms and dissociative anxiety.The emotions present in anxiety disorders range from simple nervousness to bouts of terror. There are other psychiatric and medical problems that may mimic the symptoms of an anxiety disorder, such as hyperthyroidism.

Common treatment options include lifestyle changes,therapy, and medications. Medications are typically recommended only if other measures are not effective. Anxiety disorders occur about twice as often in females as males, and generally begin during childhood. As many as 18% of Americans and 14% of Europeans may be affected by one or more anxiety disorders.

Generalized

            Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a common, chronic disorder characterized by long-lasting anxiety that is not focused on any one object or situation. Those suffering from generalized anxiety disorder experience non-specific persistent fear and worry, and become overly concerned with everyday matters. According to Schacter, Gilbert, and Wegner's bookPsychology: Second Edition, generalized anxiety disorder is "characterized by chronic excessive worry accompanied by three or more of the following symptoms: restlessness, fatigue, concentration problems, irritability, muscle tension, and sleep disturbance". Generalized anxiety disorder is the most common anxiety disorder to affect older adults.Anxiety can be a symptom of a medical or substance abuse problem, and medical professionals must be aware of this. A diagnosis of GAD is made when a person has been excessively worried about an everyday problem for six months or more. A person may find that he/she has problems making daily decisions and remembering commitments as a result of lack of concentration/preoccupation with worry. Appearance looks strained, with increased sweating from the hands, feet, and axillae, and he/she may be tearful, which can suggest depression. Before a diagnosis of anxiety disorder is made, physicians must rule out drug-induced anxiety and other medical causes.

In children GAD may be associated with headaches, restlessness, abdominal pain, and heart palpitations. Typically it begins around 8 to 9 years of age.

Phobias

         The single largest category of anxiety disorders is that of phobic disorder, which includes all cases in which fear and anxiety is triggered by a specific stimulus or situation. Between 5% and 12% of the population worldwide suffer from phobic disorders. Sufferers typically anticipate terrifying consequences from encountering the object of their fear, which can be anything from an animal to a location to a bodily fluid to a particular situation. Sufferers understand that their fear is not proportional to the actual potential danger but still are overwhelmed by the fear.

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

                                                           RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

                   In India, there are a number of private schools run by religious institutions, especially for Hindus, Muslim, Christians, Jains and Buddhists.During the era of British rule,Christian private schools were quite prominent and widely attended by both UK (British) and Indian students. Many of the schools established during this era, especially in areas with a heavy Christian population, are still in existence today.

                  In modern-day schools, Hindu students are typically taught the Bhagavad Gita, which explains the ethics and duty of a person, as well as one's relationship with Krishna,God. This is taught in Vaishnavism, the Hindu sect for which the Gita holds the most importance. Students are also taught the Sanskrit language, and Vedic ) philosophy. Other Hindu religious texts, including the Upanishads and ltihasas , are studied in these contexts, in both religious and secular schools.

                  The International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), has set up a number of schools - gurukulas, as well as modern day schools - which concurrently provide a traditional material and spiritual Vedic education.  Sri Mayapur  International School, perhaps one of the best known of these day schools, is a school for primary and secondary students; the school teaches academic education according to the standard UK curriculum, alongside devotional subjects of bhajan/kirtan singing and instrumentation and also Gaudiya Vaishnava philosophy.ISKCON has instituted a number of seminaries and schools of tertiary higher education. In addition to typical formal education, ISKCON also offers specialized religious/spiritual instructional programs in scriptural texts, standardized by the ISKCON Ministry for Educational Development and the GBC committee on Vaisnava Training & Education, categorized by level and difficulty; in India, they are primarily provided by the Mayapur Institute for Higher Education and Training and the Vrindavan Institute for Higher Education. ISKCON also offers instruction in archana, or murti worship and devotional ceremony, through the Mayapur Academy.

                 In addition to regular formal education, a number of religious institutions have instituted regular informal religious/spiritual education programs for children and adults. ISKCON temples have established a number of such programs.

                 Religious Education in the Catholic school is distinctive because of its focus on the faith development of children and young people within the context of a faith community.  Its central purpose is to assist learners to make an informed, mature response to God's call to relationship.

                 The invitation of Jesus Christ for all people to live life in all its fullness is the challenge that lies at the heart of Religious Education within a Catholic school. Religious Education can respond to this challenge by facilitating regular reflection upon the impact of the message of Catholic Christian faith on learners’ understanding of life and on their personal response to their life circumstances.

                  Religious Education in the Catholic school endeavours to promote the relevance of the Catholic faith to everyday human life and experience. Understanding that God’s grace is at work in all people’s lives, Religious Education makes explicit what has already been experienced to varying degrees in the lives of all learners.

                 Teachers in Catholic schools will be aware of the spectrum of faith commitment among learners. For all learners, Religious Education can contribute to a personal search for meaning, value and purpose in their personal response to the revelation of God and, as such, should be central to their educational development.

faith development

          The development of faith through Religious Education in a Catholic school is understood to be an event of grace, realised in the encounter of the Word of God with the experience of the person.

In showing fidelity to God, Religious Education places stress on the following aspects of Catholic Christian faith:

• the Mystery of the Trinity
• the person of Jesus
• the revelation of God
• the mystery of the risen Christ
• the Church’s liturgy
• the importance of prayer
• the moral life
• witness to Christian values
• the universality of God's presence in life.

In showing fidelity to the person, the religious education of young people takes cognisance of:

• their religious and spiritual situations
• their stage of development in searching for meaning
• the pace and direction possible for them in their spiritual and religious development
• the respect due to their own developing consciences and convictions
• their individual characters and personalities
• their own language, symbols, experience and subcultures
• the questions and issues that arise in their lives.

journeying in faith

       Fidelity to God will always mean being faithful to the fullness of Divine Revelation in Jesus Christ. At the same time, fidelity to the person will require that religious education be presented in ways which enable young people to recognise Divine Revelation as Good News precisely because it offers authentic meaning to the experiences of their lives.

      A person matures in faith through a journey of unfolding encounter with God which takes place within the context of a person’s total experience of life. One of the functions of Religious Education in the Catholic school is to provide learners with structured opportunities to experience this kind of encounter.