2002 Kids View

Kids View is written by kids that would like to share an event or concern about something in or after school. It can be something you would like to change or something positive or negative happening in your life.

To submit your Kids View statement:

Email your submission to:
kidsview@fundandedutain.com
or
Mail your submission to:
Kids View
C/O Fund & Edutain Guide
1042-B N. El Camino Ste. 328
Encinitas, CA 92024

Have a great day being a kid!

tainted tears-
here i am
alone again
several people around me
but no one seems to see me.

i know that i cry
how can they ignore my tears of pain
and just sit there in vain.

i wish i could fly away
away from everything and sway
with the trees, dance with the rain
that will wash away my pain.

young girl, don't cry
you'll be okay, don't give up, don't die
when everything seems to turn dark and dead
don't be afraid little one, rest your head.

i fret to say that girl was me
and as you can plainly see
that girl still lives
and gives and gives
to everyone she loves and meets

so, here i am
alone again
several people around me
but no one seems to see me
no one seems to really care
about the lost, little girl,
standing there.


angel movement-
my eyes changed
my body moved
as though that movement
kept me alive,
the swift of moving movement
across the sky
do you know when mellowness
is in the trees?
while angels spread their wings,
catch those in need

what can change you-
sisterly love will never change
the times when i'm alone,
you're there
i will never be seen a stranger like a widow
taken face to face
i always felt safe
from times i never knew
i always felt safe,
even when things were wrong
you were my heart

tigers in the sky-
you are my flower,
you are my light,
the one who lifts me up,
when things go wrong,
if those could see the
strongness in your eyes,
when you hold me tight,
catch me when i fall,holding my 2 toes
to keep me steady,
as though you were an angel

darkness of others-
the life that interprets others
and can put you in your place,
though the diamond twinkles,
shining through aluminum foil shredding your soul in the darkness of all the mighty in control

life taking it's place-
life ends up being an injustice
things go by,
things never change,
if i could only ask why
then will my heart be in one place?
just tell me why
things have to be the way they are
and i will change the way that they are
as human race grows it's game
to be 1 whole person
if you could see the growth in my hands or
the spirit in my face
don't displease the growth of others
and i will release the womb of my mother

brotherly love-
from time to time do we exit?
do things change?
from the present to the past
you accepted me from the thrust of my heart
to the pain of my ears
you pushed me forward
and let me go
but time never changed
because still till this day,
we remain true friends.

my name is barrett and i just moved to california from alabama.

i had to leave my school and my friends behind. i was scared and sad at first.

i missed my teacher mrs. b. and my principal mr. miller. everyone at my school was really nice. i didn't want to leave but my mom said that we had to go.

soon i will start school in california, and i am really excited. i have met some new friends and i am excited about meeting my new teacher and my new principal.

it was scary being the new kid, but i am not scared anymore. my mom says that change is hard but that even though it is hard it is sometimes good.

if you are a new student, you shouldn't be scared. just be yourself and you will make lots of new friends.

if you have new kids in your class next year remember to be extra nice because they are scared and want to make new friends too.

you can start by introducing yourself and invite them into your group and let them join in your activities. you never know you might become best friends.

i have played sports all of my life. i love everything about sports. i can remember playing with my friends outside my front yard. i loved being with my friends, just throwing the football, or playing baseball, or swinging the golf clubs. throughout my childhood, i have gained an incredible amount of friends through sports. most of my friends are the ones who i would play with in the yards. we grew up together, playing little league baseball, pop warner football, and recreational golf and lacrosse.
these days, golf has been my main priority. i have excelled in golf for many reasons, but the main reason is confidence. i learned confidence through playing with my friends and doing what mostly everyone else hates: practice. i practice whenever i can. if i can't practice with my friends or my teammates from my golf team, i will go by myself.
every time i play on a course or go to a practice range, i am determined to make myself better. i hit every shot as if it's my last. since playing for my high school golf team, i have been able to make more friends and play more golf, thus increasing my confidence level both on and off the golf course. playing for the high school is stressful sometimes, especially in the playoffs, as every stroke can make or break your team's position and standings in the tournament. i have loved to be under pressure, and compete under the microscope. i used to fear the attention that my high school golf team got, but now, because i am more susceptible to it, i am more driven to perform at my highest level for the team, regardless of who is watching me.
golf in high school has been great. it has opened up many doors for me.
when people ask me why i love to play golf, i give them three reasons. the first reason is just because golf is my drug. i am addicted to it. and, i'd much rather be addicted to a game that involves chasing a little white ball around, than hurt my body. the second reason, is because it drives me to perform my best every day. the third reason is because i have made so many friends.
to play this sport, which in my opinion has the richest history and is the best sport in the entire world, is an honor and a true meaning of the word fun. i love playing golf, and i will continue to do so in the future.

Get your students involved in something bigger than themselves.

Inspire them with a unique humanitarian learning opportunity.

Here is a lesson in civic involvement which you and your students will never forget!

Musician John Tesh, his wife, actress Connie Sellecca, and their children recently traveled to Sri Lanka to aid the tsunami victims. As a way to reach out and help, they provided paper and crayons to the children survivors as a sort of art therapy. Realizing that publishing these drawings with stories from the survivors would be a wonderful way to raise money, the Tesh family has created a miraculous book, Shades of Blue. 100f all proceeds from the sale of the book will be donated to the tsunami victims. Won't you please assist us in organizing the children of your school to share in this heartfelt project? If every child in your school were to sell even a single book, an untold amount of money would be raised to re-build lives to become self-sufficient once again. Shades of Blue is a mission of love whose success relies on the compassion of people, both adults and children, who are prepared to step up and be counted.

http://www.tesh.com or contact: 818.385.3886

www.tesh.com

I consider myself to have been born lucky. I don't have any physical or mental handicaps, I have no deformities, and I wasn't born into an ostracized race or minority.

Many people take for granted the position in society in which they live. One minority becoming increasingly publicized in the world today is the homosexual community. There are many people who do not accept homosexuality because their religious, moral, or personal reasons restrain them.

We are beginning to see more teens coming out of the closet as gay marriage has become legalized in parts of the US. Nowadays, we can flip on the channel and watch Queer Eye for the Straight Gay or Will and Grace as the homosexual scene becomes more exposed. But this does not mean that everyone accepts homosexuality or believes they deserve equal rights.

High School can be a very difficult time in a person's life and when you attach the struggle of discovering homosexuality, the journey becomes an extreme obstacle as well as a period of fear and loneliness.

The highest rate of all suicides today is among homosexual male teens. This is a result of the harassment and isolation they receive from society.

The fear of rejection from society and parents runs across their minds each and every day. Being a heterosexual female, I have not experienced this myself but I do have friends who are homosexual, I have seen the way they are treated inside schools. I've seen harsh verbal harassment and even physical abuse.

Homosexuals are normal people. The heartbreaking stories I hear from my friends and in the newspapers about the gay community make me advocate to other people that homosexuals do not deserve the inhumane torture they receive. Is it fair for homosexuals to be penalized and harassed at schools?

Studies show that sexuality may be genetic and that homosexuals may not be the ones choosing their sexuality. After all, who would choose a life outside of society and a life of loneliness? Once homosexuals do come out, the next step for many of them is to find support among their peers. Many schools in the nation now have clubs for this purpose.


At my school, a club called Gay-Strait Alliance (GSA) was formed as a safe haven for homosexuals, but also a place in which acceptance could be learned and support established.

Still, not everyone believes that homosexuality is right and there are those people who harass and fight against the gay community's human rights. But in High School, where homosexuals are not yet adults and definitely not children anymore, a group like GSA is totally necessary.

I'm aware of parents who don't want this in their schools and think it is not acceptable at all to be discussing homosexuality in schools. Is this really their business and should they have the power to terminate these groups? This might lead to greater isolation and increased suicide rates.

If parents can put aside their beliefs about homosexuality and understand that it is extremely important to discuss these issues in schools, then our schools can become a more secure and comfortable place for all teenagers.

Accepting homosexuality in schools is not a question of whether homosexuality is right or wrong but more a question of generosity to other people's burdens. High School is a difficult time in life for teen homosexuals and by encouraging the establishment of support groups in schools, the isolation might cease and lives could be saved.

I also think it's important to educate our youth about diversity and accepting all differences in people, no matter what that difference is.

Tolerance programs in schools may benefit our future society if we address these matters early, possibly in elementary schools. I know that one program at my school called Community Day is an absolutely appropriate way to thrust tolerance into motion.

Hopefully one day teen homosexuals will receive the respect in their schools that they deserve and in the future maybe they will get the same human rights as those who are not homosexual.

For more information on accepting homosexuality I would encourage you to read A Mother Looks at the Gay Child by Jesse Davis. I anticipate seeing the day in which homosexuals do not feel isolated and everyone comes to realize that all men and women deserve equal rights.

As you're heading back from town on your daily routine of buying some chewing gum at the store, a strange car with tinted windows slowly pulls up next to you while crossing the intersection. A man behind the wheel instantly holds you at gunpoint ordering you to get in the car or to get shot. What would you do in this situation?

This is the shocking but true incident that happened to 13 year old Okwudili Ugwoke just last November. While he was repairing the car, he had an argument with the mechanics. It was then that I quietly opened the car door, sneaked out from the car and ran away, says Ugwoke. This victim of child abduction was able to escape from this risky situation, but kids all over the world are still finding themselves in countless dangerous situations everyday such as rape, kidnap, and harassment. What can we do to help protect our children who find themselves in these situations?

There are many ways that we can take action today to help prepare us for risky situations that might appear. We might never fully be ready for a dangerous situation; however we can still prepare ourselves for them. One way we can take action is by participating in a self-defense activity such as Karate or Tae Kwon Do. By physically preparing yourself, you will be more capable of performing any necessary action required to escape.

Other ways you can prepare yourself for dangerous situations may include keeping yourself surrounded by others at all times, or even by taking a psychology course that may help your mentality skills in a dangerous situation. Even though many kids don't believe they will find themselves in any dangerous situations in their lifetime, it is always important to be prepared for what may not be seen foreshadowed.

I posed a few questions to my friends about their thoughts on protecting themselves in dangerous situations and here are the results: 15 Currently are taking an art of self-defense, 5 Have taken an art of self defense but quit, 64 know self defense techniques they would use in a dangerous situation, 75 would call 911 first when having a chance to use the phone during a kidnap, 25 would call home first when having a chance to use the phone during a kidnap, and 10l ways make sure they are around other people when out of their house.

It was interesting to see my friends' viewpoints on this subject, but it made me realize how lucky we are to be growing up in a society whose technology is increasing. Technology today is helping rescue kids and catch criminals who have put kids into dangerous situations.

Currently you can see the Amber Alerts posting information about abducted children and even the nation's largest Internet service, America Online, is soon instigating Amber Alerts onto the screens of computers, pagers and cell phones of over 26 million subscribers in dozens of states and cities. As technology increases in today's society, we will be able to protect children universally and be able to witness more children escaping from these preventable crimes.

Today there are many crimes that have not been solved involving abducted children, rape, and harassment. We must always be prepared to deal with dangerous situations and we must always help others in these situations when given the chance in order to maintain a stable society today. We can always be prepared for the next dangerous situation that may occur. Please remember after reading this article that safety comes first and although we cannot foreshadow the innocent victims who may come next, we can still be on the lookout for others in need of help.

Ethan Sims- grade 9 New Jersey

9/11/01 was a very strange day for me. I remember sitting in the classroom when my teacher walked in and asked "does anyone have a radio on them?" I said "yes, I do." He then told me to turn it on. So I turned on the radio and the DJ was talking about how the Twin Towers had just been attacked and he was watching them collapse right in front of his eyes.

I was shocked! I could not believe it, living in New Jersey I would see the towers all the time. I was thinking about it and I just couldn't imagine looking at the New York skyline and not see the WTC. So a few minutes later my teacher decided to take the class outside and look at the skyline, It looked like the whole city was on fire! I could not believe my eyes. I felt really bad about the whole thing. For about a few weeks I just felt really weird, it's so strange to me that the Twin Towers were just gone. New York seems to be recovering from it. I think that they're going to build new Towers that are even bigger, and better than the last ones.