Is there a specific method of child-upbringing proven to be successful?

Why do our children fail?

This article does not answer the above questions. But it tries to point out to the importance of this matter. It seeks answers by analyzing various psychological approaches to this issue. No doubt, style and methods in child upbringing have been discussed by many. In this article I tried to give an overview of different approaches to early childhood. The article merges early development with education, which I consider as a continuum of child-upbringing. In the second part, I tried to give exposure to character education in early years, that I consider it to be a vital dynamic in healthy upbringing of our children.

to be contd.

Psychological Impact of Discrimination on the Oppressed.

By Jemhur K.

“This negro boy’s entire attitude towards life is a crime! The hate and fear which we have inspired in him, woven by our civilization into the very structure of his consciousness, into his blood and bones, into the hourly functioning of his personality, have become the justification of his existence” (Wright, 367)

Native Son is an exploration of psychological impacts on the oppressed individual, and an accusation of discrimination exercised by the oppressive, dominant white population of America in 1930s. Bigger Thomas, the main character of the novel, was born into, grew up in such racially segregated society that he was no more than, actually indeed, a ‘native son.’

Richard Wright depicts the racial discrimination in an exceptionally rich and professed naturalism, with vivid and symbolic texture. The whole novel is contained in the first few pages when Bigger, in unconscious anticipation of his own fate, corners a huge black rat and kills it with a skillet. Much of Wright’s meaning is conveyed by appropriate “objective correlatives” for Bigger’s inner feelings and emotions. The icy gales and heavy snowfalls of Book One and Two represent a hostile white environment: “To Bigger and his kind white people were not really people; they were sort of great natural forces, like a stormy sky looming overhead.” (Wright, 97) Throughout the Book Two, the red glow of the furnace appears as a projection of Bigger’s guilt. There is a constant play on blindness, focused around the figure of Mrs. Dalton but aimed at both the whites and the reader, who are expected to grope their way to an understanding of Bigger’s life; a life of racial segregation, oppression and hatred.

Native Son is the story of Bigger Thomas predestined to a fate where it was up to the whites to decide the meaning of being black, and what things they can and cannot do. He opened his eyes into a hostile world dominated by the whites, and where twelve million Negroes do not have access even to their “inalienable rights” among which are ‘life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness’. Wright successfully claims the innocence of Bigger, who committed a murder, and accused oppression and discrimination which breeds hatred and violence. Bigger, as well, was a product of this hatred, oppression and the white dominated society. Bigger lived a fate predestined due to discrimination, and he was not guilty because of a life which was out of his control. The social and physical environment has prepared him a life restricted in the prescribed south side of Chicago. He was born into a community where colored people were segregated and forced to live on the other side of the ‘line’. So, from early age he grew up in segregation and oppression; his mind as well, was shaped in the same manner. The Chicago society shaped and melded the character of Bigger Thomas, his thoughts and actions. He became a victim of discrimination

Wright is careful to craft the story so that the events of Bigger’s life seem almost out of his control. His life and he himself is trapped by the frustration and poverty of the Great Depression; he grows up in a society of racism and hopelessness, and ultimately becomes a product of this environment, a ‘native son’. At the beginning of the Book One the author exposes the physical environment of Bigger and his neighborhoods. The novel itself begins with an irritating sound of a clock ringer, a winter morning in Chicago. The scene is no less irritating than the clock sound: in one-room flat, Bigger and his brother avert their faces while their mother and sister dress up, and the mother and the sister do the same while the boys dress. At that moment the tiny room galvanizes into violent action when mother screams pointing her finger to a huge black rat. The scene illustrates how miserable their condition is, killing of rat reveals the roots of violence in Bigger’s character. Bigger frightens his sister, Vera, with a dead rat and makes her faint. His mother gets angry; she also expresses a bitter truth that she wonders why she birthed him. She also calls him “plain dumb black crazy”. (Wright, 12

As the second half of the Book One begins Bigger is leaving for the job interview. When he enters into the barriered white world he feels himself in “a cold and distant world: a world of white secrets carefully guarded”. (Wright, 45) As reaches to high, iron fence of Dalton’s mansion, he grew angry. He even thinks of himself being fool to come to take the job in a world which was not his.

During the 1930’s, blacks were programmed to be afraid of whites. When Bigger is around whites he hangs his head down as if ashamed and he talks only in a mumbling soft, low tone. No one has ever told directly Bigger to do so, yet he does it anyway. Bigger’s character and act reveal this reality during the interview with Mr. Dalton. Bigger hates himself for acting, talking and feeling that way he does. It is as though an involuntary change comes over him whenever he is in presence of whites. “Why was he acting and feeling this way? He wanted to wave his hand and blot out the white man who was asking him to feel this. If not that he wanted to blot himself out” (Wright, 50) These are deep traces of racism in Bigger’s mind and it is the long history of segregation and oppression of black that makes Bigger feel this way. Never in Bigger’s life has he known or seen anything different, but the ethnic diversity between the blacks and whites. As a result, white society has created a group of afraid, confused and angry human beings who were, as Bigger, victims of segregation. “The plot of the novel may be horrifying,” as Rosenblatt mentions, “But its horror is easily dissipated. Once the sociology explanations of Bigger’s behavior have been made neatly and at length, as they are by his lawyer, Max, that particular level of action, disappears because the reader feels free of book’s external events as soon as those events have been cleared up by science.”

What would have happened if the blind mother had not entered the room and if Bigger had not sought to keep Mary quite with a pillow? He himself did not know. He just admits that he was “feeling that way” when he was with Mary. “He felt that his murder of her was more than amply justified by the fear and shame she had made him feel” (Wright, 108). But what had she really done to him to feel this way? He did not know. “It was not Mary he was reacting to when he felt that fear and shame. Mary had served to set off his emotions, emotions conditioned by many Marys. And now that he has killed Mary he felt a lessening of tension in his muscles; he had shed an invisible burden he had long carried.” (Wright.109). That was how he revenged the white world, a distinct world he had long hated. The crime was not only against an individual, but the whole white world symbolically. Mary stood for white people who wouldn’t let them do anything he wanted to do. In this manner, the crime was a reaction to oppression and segregation.

The novel Native Son draws an exact picture of segregation. For instance, the Book Two in which Bigger is fleeing the police, in the midst of that desperate human drama, Wright finds ways of describing Chicago’s discriminatory housing practices and other social abuses. This section of the Book Two gives a clear view of physical segregation in Chicago. Bessie’s character is a good example for class distinction. In the novel, the character of Bessie allows the author to portray the effects of low-paid domestic work. Book Three presents an even more detailed attack on racism in Max’s questions and speeches. Throughout the novel, the author tries to reveal the ethnic diversity in all aspects of life such as: the housing and real estate industry, the courts, the electoral system, the church, the press, the boys’ clubs, the business and job opportunities, the cinema and the public places, the education and the system of charity. Wright’s portrayal of ethnic diversity throughout the Native Son, especially in the figure of Bigger Thomas, is the novel’s most striking and revolutionary aspect.

In summary, it can be concluded that Wright’s exploration of Bigger’s psychological corruption gives a new perspective, as well as a thought, on the oppressive effect racism had on the black population in 1930s America. Wright, with his unmatchable literary skill, blamed the “whites” for Bigger’s psychological damage and a murder he committed. He alleged the constant barrage and impact of racist propaganda and racial oppression resulted in Bigger’s deviated, psychologically-ill character. His defense was that, Bigger had already been predestined to a life which breeds hatred, and murder, so he was a victim of his destiny. The theme of the novel, motifs and symbols masterly crafted, all point out to this claim. The character Bigger portrayed is an account of typical reaction to oppression. As Wright himself emphasized, Bigger’s violence stemmed from racial hatred. He discussed Bigger’s innocence through the character of Max. Max tried to defend Bigger at court, and it’s his speeches which give us considerable amount of scientific, psychological explanations to Bigger’s character. And, as we read the book throughout, Wright successfully convinces that the racial oppression is to be blamed, not the Bigger. So, I can conclude that the Native Son is an impressive portrait, shocking masterpiece, and a provocative novel on the psychological impact of racial discrimination on the oppressed. Indeed, one of the great strengths of Native Son as a chronicle of psychological impacts of oppression reveals Wright’s extraordinary ability to explore psychology through a literary work.

Geride yasananlari oldugu gibi birakip gidiyorum..

Mazinin tarih sayfalarina emanet ediyorum onlari..

Geriye donup baktigimda birer hos hatira olarak hatirlayacagim;  Sevinc ve huzun gozyaslarimi birakip gidiyorum bu topraklara.

Cok sevdigim arkadaslarimi.. can dostlarimi birakip gidiyorum..

Bir yere gitmiyorum aslinda.. ayriliyorum.

Gercek dostlar, zor gununde ve sevincinde seninle beraber olanlardir.

Dost dost’dur, sahtesi OLMAZ!

Arkadasliklar ve tanidiklar, ictimai hayatin getirdigi insani iliskiler ve iletisimden ortaya cikmis sosyal baglarla tutunur. Arkadaslik ve tanisiklik, dostluk kivaminin cok berisinde bir olgudur.  

Dostluk, bir koprudur. Kalpten kalbe uzanan kopru misali, gonuller arasinda olusmus ulvi, samimi ve duygusal bagdir.

Dostluk akil ve mantik isi degildir.

Akil ve mantik cercevesinde ancak: menfi ve cikar (karsilikli yardimlasma, destek olma) dusunceli, suura dayali ve her iki tarafin bir-birlerine karsi bir-birlerinden bekledikleri ve hemfikir olduklari bu beklenti ve nedenlerden dolayi olusmus bir nevi sosyal ve insani pakt/uzlasma diyebilecegimiz arkadasliklar ortaya cikar.

Bu anlamda dost, her ne kadar dostunun zor gununde yaninda hazir bulunamazsa dahi, dostunun acisini kalbinde hisseder ve paylasir. Onun icin dua eder, yapabilecegi her ne varsa da yapar.

Bu anlamda dost, dostunun en sevincli gununde dahi beraber olamayabilir. Ancak manen kendini orada hisseder ve dostunun sevincine ortak olur, dostunun mutlulugunun devami icin dua eder.

Oyle dostlar da vardir ki, belki de bir birilerini yillarca goremezler. Dosta kavusma ve bir birlerini gorme arzusuyla dostluklarini hasret yumagiyla orerler.

Oyle dostlar vardir ki, bir birini her gun gorur de konusamazlar. Kalbler konusuyordur, soze ne hacet. Onlar zaten bir birlerini cok iyi anliyorlar.

Allah en buyuk Dost’dur! Hem de, En Iyi Dost!

 Anti-social character developed through years.. lack of will and troubled self drove me away from people and usual life.

 It was not just some sort of life or just another life of sorts; it was my life. A life spent in captivity of pessimism. A selfish life withdrawn into personal space and self constructed world-view.

 Gene bir gece vaktiydi..

Gec saatlerde biten mesaiden sonra gunun yorgunluguyla beraber yatagima uzanmistim. Masumane “Soyle bir uzanayim da, biraz kendime geleyim” diye dusunmustum.

 Koca binanin zemin katinda benden baska kimseler yoktu. Eskiden boylesi durumlarda sessizlik dahi beni bogar, yalnizlik girdabina birakirdi. Ama simdi nedense birkac haftadir tek kaldigimi dahi farkedememistim. Daha sonra bu durumu yeni tasinmis olmama baglayacaktim.

 Uzanmistim.

(Insanin mesguliyet esnasinda o anda ugrastigi mesele uzerinde kafa yormaktan pek dusunmeye firsati olmuyor. Ancak soyle bir ara verin, bos-bos oturun, o zaman da akliniza ne fikirler gelecek ayan ve beyan bicimde farkedeceksiniz)

 Ve dusunmeye basladim.

 Son uc ayi tek basima gecirmistim. Uc ay gibi kisa bir zaman diliminde cok sey degismisti etrafimda. Ancak ben butun bu olgulara seyirci; kendi dunyamda belirsizliklerle bogusuyordum. Uc ay sonra hala, ayni belirsizliklerle, basedemedigimi farketmistim. Bildigim tek sey vardi; olaylar benim irademin disinda gerceklesiyor, hersey kader yorungesinde cereyan ediyordu. Bu durumda yapabilecegim en makul davranisin bekleyip gormek oldugunu dusunuyordum. Tek korkum, kader deyip de, cuz-i irademin hakkini verememek idi.

 Uzanmistim. Uc ay oncesine ve simdisine.

 Ruh halimin pek degismedigini farketmistim. Hala insanlardan kaciyor, yalnizligimi seviyordum.

Not: “simdisine” tabiri o an icin uydurdugum, aklima gelen kelime oldu. bu sekilde kullanimi dogrumudur, bilemiyorum.

Ayriligin her turlusu acilidir, ancak bu gidis ayriliktan ote bir seydi.

Adeta bir yalnizliga yolculuk yapacakti..

Burada gecirdigi yillar.. beraber oldugu insanlar, kurdugu arkadasliklar.. gezip dolastigi ve butunlestigi bir sehir kalacakti geride..

Hepsi birer hatira olarak kalacak, kimileri de belki unutulup gidecekti.

Butun bunlarin acisiyla ayrilacakti sevdigi sehirden. Ve sevdiklerinden..

Hayatinin onemli bir parcasi olarak yad edecekti burda gecirdigi yillarini.

Adeta hayati burda ogrenmis, kendini yendiden kesfetmisti burada.

Hayata burada atilmis, ilk vazifesi burada takdim edilmisti..

Burada ask ve sevkin tadini yasamis, adanmislik ruhunu daha yakindan tanima firsati omustu..

 Acilarla yogrulmus, umit ve askla beslenen bir yasam tazriyla tanismisti burada.

 Ayriligi burada tadacakti..

Yeni yolculuguna buradan baslayacakti..

 Ayrilik ve yolculuk.

Geride biraktigi iki hikayesi olacakti.

Life was a sort of story for him.. A never ending story.. If only he could knew what would be the end of his own story.

Hayata tutunmak kadar anlamsiz bir sey olamazdi. Neye tutundugunu bilmeden kaptirmisti kendini hayata. Bir cikis yolu ariyordu. Kalbi butun duygulariyla baglanmisti. Sanki bu kalb kendinin degildi. Olsaydi niye hiyanet etsin ki? Niye izdirap versin, cile cektirsin? ortada bir sorun vardi ancak bir turlu anlam veremiyor, cozum yolunu bulamiyordi. caresizlik sonucu kendini hayatin akisina birakmisti.

Hikayenin devam etmesini istemiyordu artik.. Olaylar kendi iradesinin disinda gerceklesiyor, ama mutlaka birsekilde ona kadar uzaniyordu. Hayatta olmak idi tek sucu.

Indeed, that was the question I asked myself recently. I had an account on Facebook which i remembered after several months and decided to give a try. I kinda liked facebook for its novel concept. Tough I was hardly into it, and much before I became a regular visitor on Facebook just to watch funny videos shared by friends, a 35-million strong Twitter had emerged as the-next-big-thing.

One morning, I found myself reading an article from Guardian about Twitter. Tough I knew what the Twitter was all about, I read the article just for a reason: the style. It was not about this and that sort of common articles here and there rather, it was an insightfull description of not-so-hasty and humble atmosphere the author had experienced at Twitter office in San Francisco, and an admirable introduction of Biz Stone, one of co-founders of Twitter.

“What’s the most strange about the calm in this office is that it is such a polar opposite to the frenzied activity on the website they created.” read the sentence in a paragraph.  I re-established my faith in the fact that ‘there is no way going back from democracy, only way is going forward and strengethening it futher’ as I read about little known news that the US  State Department pleaded with Twitter to make sure their site stays online during the protests which took place aftermath the Presidential Elelctions in Iran.

As I read the article, it reminded me of an another fact that we are living in the age of speed not the technology. Time runs faster than it used to go about. I was late to get on Facebook wagon, I might have missed the Twitter train.

“We’ve just entered an era where things are happening faster, and as a result we need tools to help us make decisions faster. Twitter is one of those tools.” says Biz Stone.  Yup, we can not let the things (technology, science, etc) define our future. We need to control and shape our future with these tools not vice versa.

I googled ‘Twitter’ and found co-founders Jack Dorsey and Biz Stone posing in a photo for USA Today, each holding a sign that replicate Twitter concept. The signs read “I am being photographed by USA Today.” and “I will ‘tweet’ about this in a minute.”

So, once again, the question is To Tweet or Not to Tweet..

Here I did. I did tweet too.

Please excuse my style and language, for this piece didnot seem much inspirational to write in the first place.

George W Bush was the perfect match with his uncommon personality to fit in the bill. The neo-con stronghold in the US capital could not have found a better person than him to execute their New World Order plans. And he just did that.

Yet the time had come for the Mr Bush to vacate the Oval Office. And it was time to bring in a new player..

The Game Had to Go On.. But the circumstances had changed. Neo-cons could not have continued the way they used to run the affairs in US as well as around the world. The game needed new plans.. new startegies.. and a new name.

Here is the name of the game and the new player: President Barack Husein Obama!

Daha dogrusu, sozkonusu “Obamania” psikolojik bir hastaligin ta kendisi. Bir ‘ilk’ dememden kasit ise anormalligin kaynaginda bir ‘insan’ olmasi. Evet, tahmin ettiginiz gibi, Birlesik Devletler Baskani Barack Huseyin Obama.

Psikologlar yeni olusumu farketmekte bayaki geciktiler kanaatindeyim. Hiz caginda yasiyoruz. Olaylar, olusumlar, hemen hemen hersey cok hizli gelisimekte artik. Iste bu nedenden dolayi da psikologlarin daha farkedemedigi bir yeni olusumun ismi bu ‘Obamania.’ Yeni bir psikolojik hastaligin adi ve ozu.

Benim kendi teshizlerime gore “medyatik bir hastalik” bu Obamania dedigimiz olgu. Medyanin sebep oldugu, medyanin yaydigi.. ve medyanin adini koydugu ‘yeni cag’ hastaligi.

Belki de mevsimlik bir hastalik dersek daha uygun ve isabetli olur gibime de geliyor. Ama her hastalik daimi olmak zorunda degil. Artik gunumuzde gorulmeyen ama varligini bildigimiz bircok hastalik var tip ilminde. Obamania da bu kategori de degerlendirilebilir.

Psikoloji’de “mania” ve “obsession” olarak bilinen abnormal davranislarin sentezinden olsuan bir yeni anormallik turu.

En son, en yaygin bicimde 21 Ocak 2009 tarihinde, soguk bir kis sabahi gozlemlendi bu anormal davranis bicimi.

Ilerleyen yazilarimda Obamania ile ilgili yeni tespit ve teshislerimi sizlerle paylasmaya devam edecegim..

Saglicakla kalin..