she's walking over the water!

Just like Chris Angel did on TV!

and finally fuck in the pool!

Julie Estelle can walk OVER the water...and fuck over it as well...

Click here to get Julie Estelle FRESH HOT PICTURES to your inbox !

READ MORE - Julie Estelle Walking on the water !

I've spent the last day or two fighting the flu--tiny nucleic acids have invaded my body and taken over the genetic machinery of millions of my cells. Life goes on.

I fished under the moonlight. I felt the bump of a fish gnawing at the clam I shucked last week, then brined. The clam is dead, the fish now fed.

Sand pipers chirped as they worked the beach where I fished, as though I was invisible--each time they truffled through the wet sand with their beaks, they killed a few more tiny lives. Life goes on.

While wading out to cast, I saw a small fin slice through the foamy surf--likely a young striped bass slicing through the current, munching up critters less adept in the swirling currents.

I caught nothing tonight. Skunked. A few hundred years ago, that would be cause for concern, but I can wander over to the Acme Supermarket today. A few hundred years ago, "skunked" did not happen. Life goes on.

I'd take Arne Duncan fishing if he cared to go, without his entourage, and if he promised to pay attention. Not to me, but to life around him. When his house of cards collapses, when the "Race to the Top" falls the way of the "Initial Teaching Alphabet" (ITA), maybe The Scarecrow will have a brain.

My neighbor across the street is a scalloper--he dredges the sea for the scallops you find on your table. He's more useful to our world than the Secretary of Education.

Really. Try eating a white paper on the intricacies of the complexities of the necessities of modern schooling. Then go fishing with someone who knows how to fish.

A full belly trumps a fool's bellow.

The picture of fishheads was taken in Dublin by Leslie this past July.

READ MORE - Skunked, but it's OK

I used to be Oirish Catholic, eventually wandering over to the local United Methodist Church (where my wife and our children worshipped). I left that when my pastor appeared (to me, anyway) to hold the words of Eli Siegel, the founder of the cult-like Aesthetic Realism, on the same plane as the words of The Christ.

Along the way, though, I've found a lot of good things in the Good Book. The things that most interested me were the bits that directly contradicted the words of the folks leading us in prayer.

The Second Commandment takes on a variety of forms--heck, major Christian divisions cannot even agree what the Ten Commandments are--but here's the start of the King James variety:

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

It goes on to describe a jealous God ready to spew all sorts of venom at even the great-grandchildren that dared to cross the line.

Well, we crossed it, and He's spewing venom--welcome to the 21st century.

Well, that cleared the room in a hurry.

***

Arne Duncan believes that education is going to save the economy.

It's the educated folks that got us into it. An MBA from a decent business school was the ticket to riches. We live in an extractive economy, and with the right pedigree, you were once guaranteed a huge disproportionate slice of the pie.

We can give out 300 million advanced degrees in this land, and it will not change how many bushels of corn an acre of land will yield in Topeka this year. It will not change how many billions upon billions of water molecules will seep into the great aquifer below our heartland. It will not affect how many pounds of honey will be produced by the bees in Michigan this year.

The custodians did not screw us. The bus drivers did not blow us. The plumbers did not eff us up. The family farmers (all 17 of them left) did not crap on us. The pump jockeys did not rip us off. The cashiers did not piss on our mothers' graves. The women working the line did not job us. The fruit pickers did not rook us.

We were (and continue to be royally) screwed by the functionally literate, the monied, the educated class.

Yep, I'm part of the problem class--but I am not going to pretend that more people like me are going to solve anything.

If you wonder why a lot of "uneducated" folks get a little rumbly every time someone takes a cheap shot at their official schooling, take a look at who's doing the useful work around here.

***

The Second Commandment was written before the printing press, before the camera, before television.

"Graven" might be the loophole, but "any likeness of any thing" seems pretty tight.

Also seems pretty impossible--but it's not. It's only impossible if you choose to live in our culture.

It was a lot easier when you lived in a nomadic tribe. It was easier to go pick a handful of flowers and toss them back to the ground when they wilted than it was to lug around a painting of the same flowers.

Still, it's unlikely that the commandment was developed as a way to ease your luggage woes. ("Really, Micah, you really have to leave the Dogs Playing Poker behind--Moses says so!")

***

Images have tremendous power. We intellectually know a photograph is not real, but we respond viscerally anyway. If we did not, the gaming industry would collapse in a day. Most of us spend a good chunk of our days living in worlds that do not exist outside our own skulls.

This is a dangerous way to live. The ancients knew that the more we turn away from the world, the less we know.

We've become a nation of educated fools.

***

Our recent economic disaster was entirely predictable by many of the uneducated. If you run up debt beyond what the Earth gives us in a lifetime, it does not matter how you account for the debt--you can inscribed it in stone, write red numbers in a book, or store it as binary language in the soul of a machine. You cannot cash a check the Earth cannot produce.

There are odd exceptions, of course--some people would rather have a lump of gold than a bushel of wheat. So long as most of us fall under the same illusion, the gold holds power.

Me? I'd rather have the bushel of wheat. It's easier on the digestive system.

We are lost--we are lost in a world of graven images, of iPods and monitors and internal worlds that will not matter the moment your neurons stop sending intricate, pointless signals inside your skull.

And yes,I keep fiddling while the world keeps burning. Time to go out and catch dinner--the tide is ebbing, the clams will be waiting.

The stock market dropped a chunk yesterday--the DJIA sank by 250 points. Not one clam bothered to check.

The Earth will feed us if we let it. The clams are eating tiny critters that ate tinier critters fueled by the sun, the closest thing to God we can see.

We have enough sense not to stare at the sun--it will blind us.
Staring at the monitor screen will blind you as well.

Moses with Tables of Law by Rembrandt--he's not available anymore for permission.
The Dogs Playing Poker by C.M. Coolodge.
Both are in the public domain.

Yes, the DPP was part of an ad campaign.
Yes, it's the cultural epitome of tacky.
I like it anyway.

READ MORE - Education, the economy, and the Second Commandment

this is my HOT legs!

Zizi, Indonesian ambassador for failed pornstar contest in some Caribbean heaven actually got tremendous hot legs ! Is there any pornstar using their legs for their profession ? Maybe Zizi is the first one....

Click here to get Zizi FRESH HOT PICTURES to your inbox !

READ MORE - The HOT legs of ZIzi...

Is this for me miss?

I like it this way pls!

AB3, the female vocal groups, has become a pornographic icon since their broken time....And Lusy is the best amongst, as she was a honey-bunny cover girl for some man porn magazine. As a pornstar, how you describe the meaning of her lusty smile ?

Click here to get Lusy Rahmawati FRESH HOT PICTURES to your inbox !

READ MORE - The Lusty Lusy Rahmawati...

One of my last days with Mary Beth ended with her laughing jubilantly on a hill overlooking an old apple orchard in Tipton, Michigan.

Every year the man who made her happier than life itself sends me a box of apples from his orchard, real apples. Northern spies are my favorites.

The aroma of apples fills our home before we open the box. Bees fertilized the flowers back when the sun was still headed towards the solstice. The bees are dead. The apples scream life.

I do not get what this thing called life is all about, at least not when words do not get in the way. I do know happiness even past the grief, and she did, too. She knew.

What's left of her has seeped into that same hill, her dust mixed with our tears.

Wasn't sure I'd ever enjoy eating apples again.
Not sure they ever tasted better than they do now.

In a culture that fears death so much that we pretend it does not exist, rejoicing in the flavor, the texture, the sound of my teeth crunching into a fruit with its own mixed history may seem morbid, and it is.

I eat the whole apple except the stem. The seeds have an amaretto nuttiness, a sweet reminder of death itself--the amygdylin breaks down into tiny doses of cyanide. A few of my mitochondria seize up every time I eat an apple.

Not enough to kill me, of course, but just enough to remind me that I, too, will return to the ground with the bees and uneaten apples and everything else that has known joy.

READ MORE - Tipton apples

Melons and Apples!

Who's the boobs aside Wulan Guritno ? Anybody knows ?

Click here to get Wulan Guritno FRESH HOT PICTURES to your inbox !

READ MORE - Wulan Guritno other boobs...

Suck my Johny Walker!

It's my turn to go crazy!

What ? this is my orange V!

She's mad, she's going nuts in every dugem party ! Free Sex, Hot orgy and drunk for Julia Perez is her daily activities ! This is why her father wanna kill her immediately, as he got a female devil child !

Boys and girls, don't try this at home !

Click here to get Other Julia Perez FRESH HOT PICTURES to your inbox !

READ MORE - Julia Perez, Hot Drunk Sex and Orgy !

This past Saturday my daughter caught a decent sized fish--I clubbed it, knocking it out with the first blow, then hit it again to be sure. A quivering fin assured me the priest had done its job.

I lifted up it gill cover, then sliced at the gill arch with my knife. A fine stream of blood shot a couple of feet into the air, staining my shorts with blood the same deep red color as my own.

My daughter and I filleted the fish together 3 hours later, celebrating life, mourning death. Then we feasted.

I showed the picture of my daughter holding the fish to a fellow teacher--"looks like she can take care of herself" was her reply.

Yesterday we had a memo from the state of New Jersey waxing eloquent on the needs of the 21st century, on the need to prepare a child (the same child) for vocational school, college, and careers. I wondered how many folks on that committee ever saw the arc of blood pumping out of a dying animal.

I've seen it in fish, I've seen it in humans.

In 1714, back when Ben Franklin was still a wee lad, Stephen Hale tapped the artery of a horse to measure its pressure--Hale was immortalized, but the horse, of course, died.

We all eventually follow the horse.

***

I am not suggesting that someone needs to watch the arc of blood shoot out of a dying beast in order to qualify for whatever committee comes up with standards like this:

Work in collaboration with peers and experts in the field to develop a product using the design process, data analysis, and trends, and maintain a digital log with annotated sketches to record the development cycle.

I am suggesting, though, that someone who has even a twinkle of an idea connecting this thing called life to a curriculum worth the attention of child, someone who knows that food is not just a bag of Doritos, someone with a sense of what matters beyond a corporate board room might see the above standard as, well, ridiculous.

A committee of well-educated professionals thought it was inspiring.

Maybe we need a different committee. Maybe a degree that gains you entrance into powerful committees but blinds you to the obvious does not deserve respect.

A degree will get you into some boardrooms, and it might even get you some cash if the current economic shenanigans don't end with the hunter-gatherers among us superseding the white-collared executives.

We don't need more folks with college degrees on these committees--we need folks with knowledge.

Here are my minimum requirements for participating on any committee that makes any rules directly affecting the lives of our lambs dragged into our schools under the threat of law:

1) You must know how to change a tire, replace a faucet washer, or do any of myriad chores "relegated" to blue collar workers. Doing any these things for a living should make you chair of the committee. If you cannot take care of minor day-to-day maintenance, you have no business telling me how to teach.

2) You must know how to grow food. Outside. In dirt. Reading a book on how to do this counts for nothing. Books matter because they help us live. They become poison when they replace living.

3) If you eat meat, you must have slaughtered an animal that you ate. If you drink water, you must drink from an outside source--a spring, a creek, rainwater in a cistern--at least once a year. If you shit, you must shit in the woods in a mindful way. (No, I' m not talking about spiritual ommmmm and a prayer nonsense--I'm talking about knowing how far from the water, how deep in the soil to do your business so you do not foul your nest.)

4) You must have taught in a school within the last 5 years. This one is negotiable, but somewhere along the way you need to have a clue what can work, and what will not work, in a classroom.

5) You must be a parent. This one is negotiable, but somewhere along the way you need to have a clue what a child can, and cannot, do.

Some of the current standards in New Jersey are laughable.
What the standards do to kids, however, is not.

READ MORE - The NJCCCS ideal committee

The fish, the angler, and the dinner.



A 30" blue from the surf, basil from the garden.
Beats watching the news.

READ MORE - Follow-up to yesterday's post

Many Fort Collins parents are using a story filled with drama and deceit to teach their children about the perils of lying.

"Parents using Heene incident as teaching tool"
Today's Fort Collins Coloradoan

This is like using Arnold Schwarzenegger to teach the dangers of anabolic steroids.

Mommy and Daddy watched the balloon boy story for hours. They're pissed that they were duped. The story fell apart--See what happens when you lie?

If I'm six, not nearly as sophisticated as my parents who watch CNN News for hours, I see this--another little boy got lots of my parents' attention for stretching a pretty cool story.

As for teachable moments?

If you have a 6 year old, show them how to make a hot air balloon--either spring the $50 for a kit, or use a few garbage bags to make one of your own. Dry cleaner bags work, too.

(I do not recommend letting them go free--
keep them tethered to some fishing line--
I remind my classes every Friday to practice safe science.)

If you're child is a senior in high school, this would have been a fine teaching moment about volume, air mass, and density--just how much lift can you get from a Heene-style balloon?


If your child is a senior in college, this would be a fine teaching moment about life:

"Look, son, I just let myself be duped by a 6 year old, a nutty family, a hyperactive media, and my own inability to live a life more exciting than the vicarious thrills of a news story. Get a life. A real one."


I really dislike the phrase "teaching moments"--as though our time is split into little packets of commodities, to be spent judiciously.

Children are curious. Curiosity gets killed in our schools, in our culture.

Children learn what they see. If I were a kid, I'd have started collecting garbage bags by now.

If our kids were truly curious, this is what the lead line would have said:
"Many Fort Collins parents are using a story filled with drama and deceit
to teach their children about the perils of flying."

READ MORE - Up, up, and away

A disturbance over the Rockies a few days ago resulted in a storm developing over us in the next few hours.

A 23 pound striped bass just ate some sand eels a few hours ago--she's hungry, and she knows she's about to make a long journey south. She knows nothing of North Carolina, but she will spend the winter off its coast.

In another universe, the weather would be grand tomorrow, and the 1st Annual Doyle Striped Ass Bass Bash would go on as scheduled, and the she-bass above would be caught, clubbed, bled, then eaten with much joy and beer.

But she will live.

And because she lives, a few thousand more sand eels will die while wriggling in her belly.

That's how it works. Really.

***

Yesterday I mentioned Hansel and Gretel in class--a lot of my lambs did not know the story.



Today I mentioned Tithonus--he was granted immortality, but forgot to ask for youth. I was messing around with the class, talking about some technological "advancement" that was likely to occur after I die. I welcome death. Not today, but someday.

Hey, it's biology class.

I have to be careful--I do not want to frighten children. I do not want them to cower in a corner. Still, this is biology. Organisms live. Organisms die. We have plenty of people selling immortality. I'd be remiss if I failed to mention death in a class studying life.

We are afraid of what we know to be true.

***

Getting older is weird--I am shocked every time I look in a mirror.

As strange as it is, though, the biology is fascinating. Death is fascinating. It's scary when you focus on the "you" in you, less so when you focus on life in general. Still scary, though.

I am charged by the state of New Jersey to teach biology, the study of life. Our culture assumes immortality.

Religion has no place in the science classroom, but I think death does, at least in biology class. Death cannot be approached without religion in its most basic sense.

What to do, what to do? Do what's in the best interests of the children.

So I teach death.

***

So a sand eel survives. On Sunday, a day it does not recognize as the Sabbath, it will eat plankton. Or rather, it will eat thousands of tiny, individual organisms lumped as "plankton" because we, humans, see tiny organisms in the sea as insignificant.

Each organism matters, or it does not. Life matters, or it does not. Pure logic.

That we, humans, choose to lump individual organisms in a category such as "plankton" or "algae" or "animal" to reduce groups to something less than us may be one of the characteristics that defines what we are.

I have no idea why we are here or why, but I spend most of my moments in bliss, happy to be alive.

Two days ago, as I was walking to school, I was steaming about some hypothetical situation, and a crow flew overhead.

It cawed. In joy. (My evidence? Little, I know, but I recognize joy--if you cannot recognize joy, you'd have stop reading my words long ago.)

A mid-October morning, about 65 degrees Fahrenheit, and I get a needed kick in the ass from a crow.

***

You are not special. You will die, too.

So live.

READ MORE - Connections

8.2.12.B.2

Design and create a prototype for solving a global problem, documenting how the proposed design features affect the feasibility of the prototype through the use of engineering, drawing, and other technical methods of illustration.

8.2.12.D.1

Reverse-engineer a product to assist in designing a more eco-friendly version,using an analysis of trends and data about renewable and sustainable materials to guide your work.

8.2.12.E.1

Develop a cure for cancer in an ecologically sound way and run a clinical trial using androids developed using recycled matrials in an economically sound model.

OK, I made the last one up--the other two are real.
You could look it up....

READ MORE - NJCCCS: Oh, really?

It's all well and good for the scientific sort among us to rant and rail against the infringement of superstition into science class.

There are few scientific theories more firmly supported by observations than these: Biological evolution has occurred and new species have arisen over time, life on Earth originated more than a billion years ago, and most stars are at least several billion years old. ...To deny children exposure to the evidence in support of biological and cosmological evolution is akin to allowing them to believe that atoms do not exist or that the Sun goes around the Earth.

AAPT Statement on the Teaching of Evolution and Cosmology
April, 2005

Alas, "exposure" hardly makes a dent in anyone's mind, never mind a child forced to endure whatever comes her way in a curriculum designed by committees of adults living in far away cities, many of whom could not pass a sophomore's biology test given this past Friday.




If I were the Education Czar, I'd focus on helping kids get a grasp on what a "billion" means before exposing them to anything more daunting than making observations at the edge of a pond.

I'm make sure that they even realize that hundreds of critters can be found in a few drops of water from that same pond.

Instead, I am pounding macromolecules into the skulls of 15 year old children a year before they take high school chemistry.

(A science teacher bleating "just be able to recognize the structure..." is just plain pitiful.)

(By the way, gentle reader--just how long does it take for a billion seconds to pass?)

READ MORE - I'd settle for less

Charles Darwin wrote On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection almost 150 years ago. Most people who debate its merits have never read it, and here in the States, his work has been reduced to whether one "believes in" evolution, as though it falls in the same category as astrology, elves, and Santa Claus.


To understand Darwin's work, you need to understand his reluctance to acknowledge his own conclusions. Evolution per se was not the difficult part--heck, Darwin's grandfather Erasmus published that decades before Darwin's work, and it wasn't original then.

If you grasp why Darwin was so torn by his own words, then you get the controversy.

***

We make connections, even (or maybe especially) when we're children. The universe revolves each of us.

Rally caps, inside-out pajamas, horoscopes, and sidewalk cracks--all have power. We spend our time living in supernatural universes that do not yet (nor ever will) exist.

Starfish were designed to eat clams, alas....

We look at creatures, and of course they were designed--the dolphin has flippers to swim, the bee has a stinger to sting, humans have brains to think and thumbs to grasp tools. Every species alive today fits very neatly in its niche, as though designed just to do so.

Any child paying attention can reasonably conclude that organisms as complex as lightning bugs and robins and catfish were designed to be a part of the world, a specific part of the world.

That much is true. No matter what side you fall on, critters are obviously designed for their environments.

You can know this and not believe in the supernatural.

***

The crux of Darwin's theory, the crux of the controversy, is this--natural selection reasonably and completely explains the diversity of life here on Earth.

This upset Darwin. It upsets a lot of people. It's a big deal.

You cannot fully explain Darwin's importance if you do not understand what the fuss is all about. Most of my students enter their sophomore year believing that Darwin formulated the theory or evolution.

He did not.

He developed a reasonable explanation for the diversity of species through natural selection alone. Others had similar ideas, but his work was cogent, concise, and readable.

On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection reads as though it was written by a man trying very hard to convince himself he was mistaken, but failed to break through the chains of rational thought. The man Darwin was trying to convince was himself.

The theory of evolution removes the need for any other explanation for the diversity of life here--supernatural or otherwise. It requires no further layers to explain how species form.

***

On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection does not, however, preclude a Creator. It does not explain how life began, nor makes any attempt to do so.

One of the first people to read the book was the Reverend Charles Kingley, a writer and a Protestant priest, who sent a note to Darwin congratulating him on his treatise. In the letter the Rev. Kinsley noted:

I have gradually learnt to see that it is just as noble a conception of Deity, to believe that He created primal forms capable of self development into all forms needful pro tempore and pro loco, as to believe that He required a fresh act of intervention to supply the lacunas which He Himself had made. I question whether the former be not the loftier thought.

The Reverend Charles Kingsley
Letter to Darwin, November 18th, 1859

***

As for the "controversy," the attempt by a few folks with a perverse interpretation of the Gospels to create a scientific curriculum that includes Intelligent Design, well, I present the thrust of their argument--that organisms clearly designed for their environment require some sort of intelligence behind the design--without presenting their motives.

It's the way my sophomores think anyway--they're still children. Heck, it's how we all think.

The whole point of Darwin's work is that it demolishes the need for a designer. The Intelligent Design hypothesis is not a scientific alternative to the theory of evolution--it is that very idea that Darwin destroys in his book.

Calling Intelligent Design a scientific alternative to evolution is like recognizing the Flat Earth Society as a reasonable alternative to a round Earth.

I wish Darwin was wrong. I wish Santa Claus still brought me presents. I wish people would start thinking.

And I still wish upon stars....just not in science class.

*Even more important, you can know this, believe in the supernatural, and still accept,
indeed embrace, the theory of evolution, without any appeal to the supernatural.


Oh, my thoughts on a Creator? On cosmological origins? On energy? On mass? All great mysteries.
Let the mystery be--once you try to explain a mystery to me, you're no longer dealing with a mystery but a myth.

READ MORE - Teaching the controversy

Watch your filthy ass Tukul !!

OK, She gives all she got !!

AA Jimmy : "Can I have some ?"

She looks innocent, but who knows what's in her mind ? She always looks nasty and naughty everywhere she may go. Before millions Indonesian peoples, she gives tukul and all, her secret area for being a noble girl...

Enjoy or curse ?

Click here to get Dinda Kanyadewi FRESH HOT PICTURES to your inbox !

READ MORE - The Dinda Kanyadewi peeping Experiences...

let'em cry for jealousy!

Anybody wants to kiss Sandra Dewi ? looks like you are late, above bastard is really a lucky shit ! Wonder how he can kiss our beloved Sandra...black magic ? Photoshop ? Or Is he her relative ?


Click here to get Sandra Dewi FRESH HOT PICTURES to your inbox !

READ MORE - Kissing Sandra Dewi...ahhh!

Let me be clear on this--teaching requires skills and commitment that a few of us do not have, and the few of us that do not have both skill and commitment need to be shown the door. (I am excepting, of course, the steep learning curve for beginning teachers--new docs kill a few patients, new teachers kill a few NCLB scores--it's all part of the social contract.)

Judging teachers by their students' test scores, however, shows a misunderstanding of metrics.

In our culture of binary thinking ("you're either with us or against us"), useful conversation has gone the way of the Princess telephone. Oh, we can namber on about the Super Bowl, the don't-call-it-swine flu, and stocks we don't own, but any discussion involving thought violates the binary social code.

When practicing medicine, docs and nurses knew who the good ones were ("I would send my mother to her"), and who to avoid ("I wouldn't send my dog to him). In between lies a huge class of decent docs doing a reasonable job in a very difficult profession. We had boards to pass, but they were a minor (if expensive) inconvenience that did not reflect our clinical abilities.

Here's a quote from Wendell Berry, a farmer and a writer--it is a long one in our world of sound bites and binary battles:

The fact is that farming is not a laboratory science, but a science of practice. It would be, I think, a good deal more accurate to call it an art, for it grows not only out of factual knowledge, but out of cultural tradition; it is learned not only by precept but by example, by apprenticeship; and it requires not merely a competent knowledge of its facts and processes, but also a complex set of attitudes, a certain culturally evolved stance, in the face of the unexpected and the unknown. That is to say, it requires style in the highest and richest sense of that term.

from "Discipline and Hope,"
A Continuous Harmony: Essays Cultural & Agricultural

Change "farming" to "teaching" and read it again.

A farm today is judged by its output, its profit margin. Farming has become industrialized for a few good reasons, and a few bad ones. If you want to eat a good apple, a good tomato, a good eggplant, you'd best find a farmer who has abandoned industrial farming (and a few exist), or grow it yourself.

Do we want industrialized teaching, measured by tests that quantify a child's factual knowledge without assessing her lifetime value as a citizen in our American experiment? Do we want to judge teachers by their ability to produce such a child?

Historically, public education's priority has been to create a functioning citizenry; the current trend is to produce careerists. The two have critical, but subtle, distinctions. A citizenry that cannot grasp subtle but critical distinctions will ultimately fail as a republic.

Or you can take the easy way out--call me a union-bashing right-wing nut job, or call me a namby-pamby anti-capitalist left-wing flake. It's becoming the American Way.

I may have made up the word namber.

READ MORE - Teaching, farming, and the American Way

I've mentioned this before in context of drug screening in high school students, but Bayes' theorem holds when analyzing tests that assess teacher performance as well.

Suppose your district buys into Edumegacorp's teacher rating system, the Assessment of Holistic Learning Environments (the AssHoLE test). The test is 95% sensitive--it will detect bad teacher 95% of the time. It is also 95% specific--"good" teachers will pass 95% of the time. Sounds like a great tool, no?

Let's further suppose it's used in a district that uses the best teachers in the universe--99% of them are competent. 1000 of them are tested. Hey, a good teacher has nothing to fear, eh?

Do the math. The ten incompetents will be correctly identified--it's a sensitive test. 5% of the remaining 990, however, will also be identified as incompetent. About 50 teachers will fail their assessment. Only 10 of the 60 who fail the AssHoLE test are truly incompetent.

It gets better though. The tests being used to judge teacher performance were not designed to test teacher performance, they were designed to assess student performance in very limited tasks.

This is like biopsying your brain to see how your liver is doing.

Just saying....

The brain biopsy is via Wikimedia commons, with a share alike CC license--
I hope they asked the patient who's brain has been splayed open to the internet universe.

READ MORE - On brain biopsies and teacher assessments

this is from aa Ipul!

We had a good time here...a lot!

You can join if you would...

In this case, we can not blame on who's on who...Who's using who ?

Saipul Jamil is a piece of shit, that'll be approved, and how's this Melinda ? We think she's bitch either...so, it just a bunch of shits using each other...

Click here to get Melinda FRESH HOT PICTURES to your inbox !

READ MORE - Melinda Saipul Jamil in Hotel HOT scenes....

The leaf above is the registered trademark of Applebatch.

Except for when I mention certain buzzwords (fluoride, vaccines, and fetuses), my blog has a steady visitor rate--I get a few dozen a day, usually the same people. I visit a couple dozen blogs a day, mostly those of folks who read mine. It's a hobby, it's fun, and it's cheaper than the local bar.

It burns me to get responses from folks posing as interested parties just to plug some website.

I understand someone who comes in on a flaming rocket and screams VISIT MY WEBSITE LOTS OF VIAGRAPORN--I don't like it, but I understand it. I delete the message, then move on.

What irks me is when someone poses as a teacher, then casually lists a drops the name of a website that makes their professional education life better.

First year teaching sucks. It's hard, hard, hard, and it takes some time to find one's voice in a classroom. Predators seek the weak, and first year teachers are vulnerable. Every now and then I will get a response to a post that exists just to plug a website.

Don't play me for stupid.

The latest offender is "Devin," though sometimes he poses as "Marissa." He is plugging Applebatch.com.

Here's a list of sites (besides my "Devin") that have had an Applebatch plug the few months (and this does not include folks who deleted the poseurs):

Reflections on teaching: Devin
TeacherLingo: Terri C.
Bellringers: Marissa
Teachers at Risk: Jessica Baker (and Molly in August)
Shrewdness of Apes: Devin (and Mick back in August, but Mick did not hide.)
The Blue Skunk Blog (highly recommended, btw): Kim
Newly Ancient: Molly again
Edweek: Mick is working as hard as Molly
Hey Jude: Kim
Discovering Biology in a Digital World: Mick, again not hiding
Bit by Bit: Marty does a good job here; would have fooled me, but again, the anonymity is a clue
Human for Fellow Teachers: Kim again
Teaching in the Inner City: hhutchinson--clever!

Hipteacher got hit, but she apparently deleted the message. She's earned her monicker.

The CEO of Applebatch is George Hammer III (no, really!). If you're a blogger, and you've been hit, drop him a line.

Any others I've missed?
How many other bloggers out there have been hit by disguised plugs?

READ MORE - An edublogger poll on fraudulent responses

In one of my many previous lives, I was a math person. I had done well on the SAT's, the University of Michigan gave me some change, and I was plonked into a high level calculus course with four other freshmen who had shown some aptitude for math.

The course was taught by Professor Piranian, a lively man who was interested in everything, but bled mathematics.

After a couple of weeks, I was floundering. It would take me an hour or two to solve a problem, and we had several to solve each week. I did not have that kind of time. (There were Frisbees to catch, philosophies to be debated, beer to drink.)

I went to visit him.

When I walked in, he was sitting behind a massive desk, intently reading. He had some classical music playing on the radio. I came to talk math, and he immediately asks me who the composer was.

I had no idea.
Uh-oh.

Once he settled down from his absolute consternation that a student of his might be a complete imbecile in matters of real music (he never asked me about the Ramones), we got to my concerns.

I told him I was obviously unqualified for the class (as much as I truly enjoyed his teaching), that it was taking me an hour or two to solve his problems.

He stopped me immediately.

"An hour or two?"
"Um, yes, sir, it takes that long...."

He blew up.

"An hour or two , an hour or two?! You are solving this in AN HOUR? I am not challenging you enough. You should be drinking math, you should be breathing math! You should be...."

This went on for some time. In retrospect, I think he meant well, and had I gotten to know him a little better, I may be teaching high school math now instead of high school biology.

One thing was clear, though--I was never going to be a professor of anything if it meant that kind of monomaniacal passion.

So I quit.

I went on to practice medicine in the projects and eventually teach high school, and John Savoie, one of the 4 students left, became a poet, though he subsidizes his income as a full professor in English. I'd love to know what happened to the other three.

I was going to write about testing metrics today, but in the process learned about Professor Piranian's recent death, and his wonderful life.

I am a madman in the classroom. I think maybe Professor Piranian had something to do with that.

Thank you, Dr. Piranian--I even know who Beethoven is now.

(Hey, he was the Unabomber's professor, once, too--the things you learn on the internet!
Sometimes monomania leads to undesired results.)




(Dr. Piranian's photos are from his website, used with permission.)

READ MORE - The passion of Professor Piranian

Have you read me?

Is she Wiwied Gunawan or just similar ?

Click here to get Wiwid Gunawan FRESH HOT PICTURES to your inbox !

READ MORE - Wiwid Gunawan, a playboy cover !

(Kode KEBIDANN-0019) : Karya Tulis Ilmiah (KTI) D-IV Pengaruh Masa Trotzalter Terhadap Status Gizi Balita Di Posyandu X

BAB I
PENDAHULUAN

A. Latar Belakang
Gizi masih merupakan masalah serius di Indonesia. Berdasarkan data Badan Pusat Statistik (BPS) Indonesia tahun 2004, prevalensi status kekurangan gizi relatif tinggi yakni 28,47%. Angka ini akan cenderung meningkat pada tahun 2005-2006. Masalah gizi ini terjadi di 77,3% kabupaten dan 56% kota yang beriringan dengan angka kemiskinan, namun masalah gizi sendiri sebenarnya merupakan masalah yang kompleks karena berhubungan dengan berbagai aspek termasuk sosial budaya dan stabilitas negara (Nency dan Arifin, 2003).
Pertumbuhan anak sangat berkaitan dengan nutrisi yang dikonsumsi. Kandungan gizi pada makanan yang dikonsumsi setiap hari menentukan status gizi anak. Status gizi yang baik mampu meningkatkan daya tahan tubuh yang baik pula, sebaliknya status gizi yang buruk memudahkan timbulnya penyakit. Oleh karena itu makan bukan hanya kebutuhan fisik utama semata namun juga diperlukan sebagai faktor penunjang pertumbuhan, sedangkan pertumbuhan itu merupakan langkah awal bagi perkembangan (Soetjiningsih, 1998).
Salah satu kelompok umur dalam masyarakat yang paling mudah menderita kelainan gizi (rentan gizi) adalah anak balita (bawah lima tahun). Pada anak balita terjadi proses pertumbuhan yang pesat, sehingga memerlukan zat gizi tinggi untuk setiap kilogram berat badannya. Anak balita justru paling sering menderita akibat kekurangan gizi (Sediaoetama, 2004).
Kekurangan gizi berdampak terhadap pertumbuhan dan perkembangan. Efek malnutrisi sangat buruk jika terjadi pada masa golden period perkembangan otak (0-3 tahun) dan kondisi ini akan sulit untuk dapat pulih kembali (irreversibel). Dampak terhadap pertumbuhan dan perkembangan otak menjadi vital karena otak adalah salah satu organ yang penting bagi anak untuk menjadi manusia yang berkualitas (Nency dan Arifin, 2003).
Keluarga adalah lingkungan pertama bagi anak dan ikut berperan dalam menentukan tumbuh kembang anak, namun peran utama terletak pada ibu sebagai orang yang mutlak berinteraksi dengan anak (Soetjiningsih, 1998). Pada penentuan status gizi anak tentunya ibu pula yang mempunyai proporsi besar, sehingga bekal pengetahuan dan keterampilan maupun waktu yang cukup bersama anak seharusnya dimiliki oleh seorang ibu (Khomsan, 2003).
Periode kritis pada anak balita dikenal dengan masa trotzalter yang dialami anak usia 2-4 tahun. Masa ini terjadi setelah anak mengalami ketergantungan (dependensi) yang mutlak pada ibunya. Timbulnya kecenderungan untuk menentang dan memberontak maupun ingin melakukan segala kemauannya pada masa ini merupakan transisi untuk melepaskan diri dari pengaruh luar. Apabila masa kritis ini tidak disikapi dengan bijaksana oleh orang tua dapat berbahaya bagi pertumbuhan dan perkembangan anak. Oleh karena itu dalam pengasuhannya menuntut kesabaran dan kebijaksanaan orang tua, terutama ibu (Kartono, 1995).
Sifat anak pada masa trotzalter mengarah pada ketidakstabilan emosi sehingga seringkali orang tua mangalami kesulitan mengendalikan anak dalam segala hal termasuk makan. Makan dapat menjadi masalah yang serius jika anak cenderung memilih makanan sesuai kemauannya tanpa memperhatikan nilai gizi maupun frekuensi makannya. Masalah dalam makan muncul karena anak cenderung tidak mau diatur oleh siapa pun. Keadaan berbeda dijumpai pada kelompok umur lain pada balita. Pada anak kurang dari 2 tahun sifat ketergantungan mutlak pada ibu sangat nampak. Sifat tersebut memudahkan orang tua dalam mengatur dan mengontrol anak sehingga memudahkan pemenuhan gizinya disamping pada usia ini anak masih menyusu ibu (Sediaoetama, 2004). Demikian pula pada anak umur 4 tahun ke atas akan lebih mudah pengasuhannya karena sifat egois dan meledak-ledak yang semula mendominasi sudah mulai berangsur menghilang (Kartono,1995).
Data yang diperoleh dari Dinas Kesehatan Kabupaten X pada bulan Mei XXXX, wilayah kerja Puskesmas X menduduki peringkat terendah untuk prevalensi kurang gizi dari 21 puskesmas yang ada yaitu sebesar 4%, sedangkan untuk wilayah Puskesmas X yang menduduki peringkat balita kurang gizi terbanyak adalah Desa X yaitu 7,57%. Adapun Posyandu X adalah salah satu Posyandu yang memiliki jumlah balita terbanyak yaitu 88 anak balita di desa tersebut.
Dari uraian diatas, peneliti tertarik untuk mengetahui adanya pengaruh masa trotzalter terhadap status gizi balita. Penelitian ini akan dilakukan di Posyandu X Desa X Wilayah Kerja Puskesmas X Kabupaten X, Propinsi X.

B. Rumusan Masalah
“Apakah ada pengaruh masa trotzalter terhadap status gizi balita?”

C. Tujuan Penelitian
1. Tujuan Umum
Mengetahui pengaruh masa trotzalter terhadap status gizi balita.
2. Tujuan Khusus
a. Mengetahui perbedaan status gizi balita masa trotzalter dan non trotzalter
b. Mengetahui faktor-faktor yang mempengaruhi status gizi balita.

D. Manfaat Penelitian
1. Aspek Teoritik
Diharapkan penelitian ini dapat memberikan informasi tentang pengaruh masa trotzalter terhadap gizi balita.
2. Aspek Praktis
Penelitian ini diharapkan dapat dijadikan acuan bagi peneliti lain.

READ MORE - Karya Tulis Ilmiah (KTI) D-IV Pengaruh Masa Trotzalter Terhadap Status Gizi Balita Di Posyandu X

(Kode KEBIDANN-0020) : Karya Tulis Ilmiah (KTI) D-IV Hubungan Tingkat Pengetahuan Tentang Osteoporosis Dengan Asupan Kalsium Pada Wanita Premenopause Di Desa X

BAB I
PENDAHULUAN

A. Latar Belakang
Di Indonesia masih dijumpai masalah kesehatan reproduksi yang memerlukan perhatian semua pihak. Masalah-masalah kesehatan reproduksi tersebut muncul dan terjadi akibat pengetahuan dan pemahaman serta tanggung jawab yang rendah. Akses untuk mendapatkan informasi yang benar dan bertanggung jawab mengenai alat-alat dan fungsi reproduksi juga tidak mudah didapatkan (Bambang, 2005).
Secara garis besar periode daur kehidupan wanita melampaui beberapa tahap diantaranya pra konsepsi, konsepsi, pra kelahiran, pra pubertas, pubertas, reproduksi, menopause/klimakterium, pasca menopause dan senium/lansia (Manuaba, 2002). Satu hal yang paling terlihat dan pasti terjadi pada wanita dewasa pada masa penuaan adalah terjadinya menopause atau berhentinya menstruasi (Kuntjoro, 2002). Proses menuju menopause terjadi ketika fungsi indung telur mulai mengalami penurunan dalam memproduksi hormon. Pada saat mulai terjadi penurunan fungsi ini gejala-gejala menopause mungkin mulai terasa meskipun menstruasi tetap datang. Saat itu mulai nampak ada perubahan pada ketidakteraturan siklus haid.
Gejala-gejala lain yang menandai datangnya masa menopause atau sindroma menopause seperti hot flushes (semburan panas dari dada hingga wajah), night sweat (keringatan di malam hari), fatigue (mudah capek), kekeringan vagina, penurunan libido, dispareunia (rasa sakit ketika berhubungan sexual), perubahan pada kulit, kegemukan badan bahkan osteoporosis (keropos tulang) pada jangka panjang (Kuntjoro, 2002).
Menurut Menkes Dr. dr. Siti Fadillah Supari, Sp.JP (K), berdasarkan sensus penduduk tahun 2000 jumlah perempuan berusia diatas 50 tahun baru mencapai 15,5 juta orang atau 7,6% dari total penduduk, sedangkan tahun 2020 jumlahnya diperkirakan meningkat menjadi 30,3 juta atau 11,5% dari total penduduk. Jawa Tengah yang jumlah penduduknya mencapai 35 juta, sekitar 60% nya adalah perempuan artinya jumlah wanita menopause di Jawa Tengah sekitar 1,5 juta orang (Supari, F, S, 2005).
Dari hasil studi pendahuluan diketahui bahwa jumlah wanita usia 40- 60 tahun di Desa Banjarsari Kulon mencapai 385 orang (23,66%) dari jumlah penduduk wanita yang berjumlah 1.627 orang. Dari usia tersebut wanita usia 40-48 tahun berjumlah 136 orang (8,35%). Diketahui juga bahwa belum terdapat program kesehatan yang terkait dengan menopause. Program kesehatan yang ada masih terbatas pada pemeriksaan kehamilan, pertolongan persalinan dan pelayanan KB. Dari hasil wawancara terhadap beberapa wanita premenopause diketahui bahwa mereka masih belum mengetahui tentang menopause dan gejala-gejala yang menyertainya sehingga mereka tidak mengetahui penyebab dari keluhan-keluhan yang mereka alami. Untuk itu sangat penting dilakukan suatu usaha untuk mempersiapkan diri menghadapi masa menopause melalui program kesehatan reproduksi.
Menopause memang sangat berhubungan dengan terjadinya osteoporosis. Pada perempuan yang sudah menopause terjadi penurunan produksi hormon estrogen. Perubahan hormon ini menurunkan kemampuan tubuh untuk menyerap kalsium secara drastis, sehingga penyerapan kalsium menjadi tidak efisien (Anonim, 2002). Osteoporosis menjadi salah satu ancaman bagi wanita menopause. Menurut penelitian Badan Litbang Depkes pada tahun 2005, 1 dari 3 wanita memiliki kecenderungan menderita osteoporosis (keropos tulang). Tingginya angka resiko osteoporosis tersebut, dikatakan Menkes Siti Fadillah Supari dalam acara pencanangan Bulan Osteoporosis Nasional dan Tulang Kuat di Jakarta, Kamis 22 September 2005, salah satu penyebabnya yaitu meningkatnya angka harapan hidup masyarakat Indonesia. Pada tahun 2005, angka harapan hidup masyarakat Indonesia mencapai 67,68 tahun. Faktor lain yang tak kalah penting adalah kurangnya kesadaran masyarakat untuk mencegah datangnya penyakit itu sendiri. Hal itu ditandai dengan rendahnya konsumsi kalsium rata-rata orang Indonesia, yakni hanya 254 mg per hari (Supari, S,F, 2005).
Selain beberapa faktor diatas, pengetahuan seorang wanita premenopause juga sangat berpengaruh. Pengetahuan khusus sangat diperlukan, terutama pengetahuan mengenai osteoporosis dan asupan kalsium untuk mencegahnya di masa menopause. Wanita premenopause akan lebih mudah mengurangi kecemasan dan mampu melalui masa menopause tanpa banyak keluhan apabila mereka mendapatkan pengetahuan yang faktual dan akurat mengenai osteoporosis dan asupan kalsium (Mustopo, 2005).
Guna mengetahui hubungan mengenai tingkat pengetahuan wanita premenopause dengan asupan kalsium, penulis tertarik untuk mengadakan penelitian “ Hubungan Tingkat Pengetahuan Tentang Osteoporosis Dengan Asupan Kalsium Pada Wanita Premenopause di Desa X “.

B. Rumusan Masalah
“Apakah ada hubungan antara tingkat pengetahuan tentang osteoporosis dengan asupan kalsium pada wanita premenopause di Desa X” ?.

C. Tujuan Penelitian
1. Tujuan umum
Untuk mengetahui hubungan tingkat pengetahuan tentang osteoporosis dengan asupan kalsium pada wanita premenopause di Desa X.
2. Tujuan Khusus
a. Mengidentifikasi pengetahuan wanita tentang osteoporosis dan asupan kalsium.
b. Mengidentifikasi pengetahuan wanita tentang hubungan antara osteoporosis dengan asupan kalsium.
c. Mengidentifikasi sumber bahan makanan yang sering dikonsumsi sebagai sumber kalsium.

D. Manfaat Penelitian
1. Aspek Teoritis
Penelitian ini diharapkan dapat memberikan informasi mengenai hubungan tingkat pengetahuan tentang osteoporosis dengan asupan kalsium pada wanita premenopause.
2. Aspek Aplikatif
a. Diharapkan dapat memberikan informasi kepada masyarakat khususnya ibu-ibu agar lebih memperhatikan kesehatannya terutama osteoporosis dan asupan kalsium pada masa premenopause.
b. Diharapkan dapat memberikan masukkan kepada Dinas Kesehatan Kabupaten X dalam membuat kebijakan tentang pentingnya pencegahan osteoporosis dan asupan kalsium pada masa premenopause, serta memberi informasi mengenai faktor-faktor yang harus dihindari dan yang harus diperhatikan.

READ MORE - Karya Tulis Ilmiah (KTI) D-IV Hubungan Tingkat Pengetahuan Tentang Osteoporosis Dengan Asupan Kalsium Pada Wanita Premenopause Di Desa X

(Kode KEBIDANN-0018) : Karya Tulis Ilmiah (KTI) D-IV Pengaruh Anemia Terhadap Motivasi Belajar Siswa Di SMP X

BAB I
PENDAHULUAN

A. Latar Belakang
Pembangunan nasional merupakan suatu kegiatan yang dilaksanakan secara terus menerus untuk meningkatkan taraf hidup yang lebih baik. Untuk mewujudkan cita-cita pembangunan diperlukan sumber daya manusia yang berkualitas. Pembangunan kesehatan bertujuan untuk meningkatkan kesadaran, kemauan, dan kemampuan hidup sehat bagi setiap orang terwujud derajat kesehatan masyarakat yang optimal melalui pendekatan pemeliharaan, peningkatan kesehatan, pencegahan penyakit, penyembuhan, dan pemulihan kesehatan yang dilaksanakan secara menyeluruh, terpadu dan berkesinambungan (Depkes RI, 2002).
Akan tetapi masih banyak masalah kesehatan masyarakat di Indonesia, salah satunya adalah anemia. Anemia adalah penyakit yang ditandai oleh rendahnya kadar Hemoglobin (Hb) dalam darah sehingga mengakibatkan fungsi dari Hb untuk membawa oksigen ke seluruh tubuh tidak berjalan dengan baik. Di Indonesia, kasus anemia umumnya terjadi karena kekurangan zat besi. Persoalan zat besi masih menjadi persoalan serius bagi Indonesia karena kekurangan zat besi memainkan andil besar terhadap rendahnya kualitas sumber daya manusia Indonesia. Diperkirakan 20% sampai 80% anak di Indonesia menderita anemia gizi besi.
Berdasarkan survey kesehatan rumah tangga di Indonesia tahun 2001 prevalensi anemia pada remaja sekitar 26,5%. Jenis dan besaran masalah gizi di Indonesia tahun 2001-2003 menunjukkan 3,5 juta remaja dan WUS menderita anemia gizi besi (Sutaryo dalam Republika, 2006).
Dampak yang ditimbulkan anemia gizi besi ini, terutama pada anak sekolah antara lain adalah kesakitan dan kematian meningkat, pertumbuhan fisik, perkembangan otak, motorik, mental dan kecerdasan terhambat, daya tangkap belajar menurun, pertumbuhan dan kesegaran fisik menurun serta interaksi sosial kurang. Bahkan anemia dapat menurunkan produktivitas kerja hingga 20%. Keadaan ini tentu memprihatinkan bila menimpa anak-anak Indonesia yang akan menjadi penerus pembangunan (Depkes RI, 2005).
Berdasarkan latar belakang diatas, peneliti tertarik untuk mengetahui lebih jauh bagaimana pengaruh anemia terhadap motivasi belajar siswa di SMP X.

B. Rumusan Masalah
Seberapa besar pengaruh anemia terhadap motivasi belajar siswa di SMP X?.

C. Tujuan Penelitian
1. Tujuan Umum
Untuk mengetahui pengaruh anemia terhadap motivasi belajar siswa.
2. Tujuan Khusus
Untuk mengetahui seberapa besar prosentase motivasi belajar siswa kelas 1 yang mengalami anemia di SMP X.

D. Manfaat Penelitian
1. Manfaat Teoritis
Menambah khasanah ilmu pengetahuan tentang pengaruh anemia terhadap motivasi belajar siswa.
2. Manfaat Praktis
a. Sebagai masukan bagi institusi sekolah agar dapat lebih memperhatikan siswanya yang menderita anemia.
b. Sebagai masukan bagi orang tua agar dapat lebih memperhatikan kesehatan anaknya.

READ MORE - Karya Tulis Ilmiah (KTI) D-IV Pengaruh Anemia Terhadap Motivasi Belajar Siswa Di SMP X

(Kode KEBIDANN-0016) : Karya Tulis Ilmiah (KTI) D-IV Hubungan Antara Harga Diri Dan Prestasi Belajar Pada Mahasiswa Semester III Akademi Kebidanan X

BAB I
PENDAHULUAN

A. Latar Belakang Masalah
Sumber daya manusia merupakan modal utama pembangunan. Pembangunan yang berhasil membutuhkan manusia yang berkualitas, yang memungkinkan pembangunan dilaksanakan dengan baik dan bertanggung jawab menuju pada keberhasilan pembangunan.
Salah satu aspek kepribadian yang penting adalah harga diri. Harga diri yang tinggi akan mempengaruhi kepribadian seseorang, yaitu sikap optimis, kemampuan mengendalikan hal-hal yang terjadi akan dirinya, mempunyai pandangan yang positif, dan mempunyai penerimaan terhadap diri sendiri. Hal ini akan membuat seseorang mampu melanjutkan kehidupannya meskipun dia menghadapi kejadian-kejadian buruk dan masa lalunya yang buruk (Robinson & Shaver, 1990).
Seseorang yang mempunyai harga diri tinggi akan mempunyai pikiranpikiran positif, dan orang yang mempunyai harga diri rendah biasanya mempunyai pikiran negatif tentang upaya dan masa depannya. Seseorang yang mempunyai harga diri tinggi akan sedikit mengalami kecemasan, mau menerima banyak resiko dan mau meningkatkan usaha mereka untuk meraih sukses (Antony & Miles, 1996). Disamping itu seseorang yang mempunyai harga diri tinggi akan lebih termotivasi untuk menambah kemampuan mereka, sedangkan yang harga dirinya rendah akan termotivasi untuk melindungi diri mereka dari kegagalan dan kekecewaan (Baumuster & Huthon, 1994).
Masa remaja adalah masa persiapan dalam memasuki dunia kedewasaan. Pada masa ini seorang remaja akan mengalami perubahan fisik, sexual, psikologis maupun perubahan sosial. Hal ini terjadi pada umur 12-21 tahun. Perubahan itu kemudian menyebabkan remaja berusaha mencapai kematangan dan mencoba menggunakan kesempatan seluas-luasnya bagi pertumbuhan kepribadiannya sendiri (Hurlock, 2002).
Masa remaja menuntut pemenuhan kebutuhan harga diri, kasih sayang, dan rasa aman. Jika kebutuhan itu tidak terpenuhi akan menyebabkan gangguan kepribadian. Pemenuhan kebutuhan merupakan pembangunan seutuhnya, pembangunan lahir batin, dan yang paling penting adalah kebutuhan harga diri (Coopersmith, 1995).
Harga diri merupakan aspek kepribadian yang pada dasarnya dapat berkembang. Kurangnya harga diri pada remaja dapat mengakibatkan masalah akademik, olah raga, dan penampilan sosial. Selain itu dapat juga menimbulkan gangguan pada proses pikir dalam konsentrasi belajar, dan berinteraksi dengan orang lain, terutama yang masih mengikuti pendidikan sehingga berpengaruh terhadap proses dan prestasi belajar (Elliot & Littlefield, 2000).
Belajar merupakan suatu perubahan dalam tingkah laku yang lebih baik, tetapi juga ada kemungkinan mengarah kepada tingkah laku yang lebih buruk (Ngalim. P, 2004).
Proses belajar akan berhasil bila seseorang mampu memusatkan perhatian pada pelajaran, tetapi apabila pada dirinya terdapat masalah kejiwaan, seperti kecewa, malu, sedih, dan kurang percaya diri maka dengan sendirinya akan mempengaruhi prestasi belajar (Warsiki, 1993).
Prestasi belajar merupakan penampakan dari hasil belajar. Prestasi belajar dapat diukur dengan evaluasi belajar, antara lain tes sumatif yang dapat menentukan indeks prestasi (Winkel, 2005).
Mahasiswa semester III Akademi Kebidanan X tahun 2007 ada 63 mahasiswa. Hasil evaluasi mahasiswa semester III Indek Prestasi (IP) antara 3,51-4,00 (1,59%), indek prestasi antara 2,75-3,50 (36,51%), indek prestasi antara 2,00-2,74 (61,90%). Berdasarkan hasil yang didapat maka prestasi yang dicapai mahasiswa masih tergolong rendah. Adapun hasil wawancara yang dilakukan penulis terhadap beberapa dosen di Akademi Kebidanan X menyatakan bahwa sebagian besar keaktifan mahasiswa dalam proses belajar mengajar cukup baik, walaupun ada beberapa mahasiswa yang kurang dan tidak aktif.
Sehubungan dengan uraian di atas, maka penulis tertarik untuk meneliti ”Apakah ada hubungan antara harga diri dengan prestasi belajar pada remaja mahasiswa semester III Akademi Kebidanan X?”.

B. Perumusan Masalah
Berdasar latar belakang di atas, masalah dalam penelitian ini dapat dirumuskan:
Apakah ada hubungan antara harga diri dengan prestasi belajar pada remaja mahasiswa Akademi Kebidanan X?

C. Tujuan Penelitian
Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui hubungan antara harga diri dengan prestasi belajar pada remaja mahasiswa Semester III Akbid X.

D. Manfaat Penelitian
1. Teoritis
Mengetahui bahwa harga diri yang baik akan diikuti dengan peningkatan prestasi belajar.
2. Praktis
a. Diharapkan penelitian ini dapat memberi masukan pada dunia pendidikan dan orang tua akan pentingnya harga diri terhadap pencapaian hasil belajar.
b. Memberi masukan pada remaja mengenai hubungan antara harga diri dengan prestasi belajar.

READ MORE - Karya Tulis Ilmiah (KTI) D-IV Hubungan Antara Harga Diri Dan Prestasi Belajar Pada Mahasiswa Semester III Akademi Kebidanan X

(Kode KEBIDANN-0017) : Karya Tulis Ilmiah (KTI) D-IV Hubungan Pengetahuan Tentang Imunisasi Tetanus Toksoid Dengan Status Imunisasi Tetanus Toksoid Wanita Usia Subur Di Desa X

BAB I
PENDAHULUAN

A. Latar Belakang
Indikator dalam mengukur derajat kesehatan masyarakat diantaranya adalah Angka Kematian Ibu dan Angka Kematian Bayi. Hal ini disebabkan karena ibu dan bayi merupakan kelompok yang mempunyai tingkat kerentanan yang besar terhadap penyakit dan kematian. Dalam rencana Strategi Nasional Making Pregnancy Safer, target dari dampak kesehatan untuk bayi baru lahir adalah menurunkan angka kematian neonatal dari 25 per 1000 kelahiran hidup (tahun 1997) menjadi 15 per 1000 kelahiran hidup. Hasil SKRT 2001 (Survei Kesehatan Rumah Tangga) di Indonesia kematian neonatal kelompok umur 8-28 hari tertinggi adalah infeksi sebesar 57,1% (termasuk tetanus, sepsis, pneumonia, diare), proporsi kematian karena tetanus neonatorum yaitu 9,5% (Depkes RI, 2003).
Berdasarkan hasil laporan bulanan kesehatan ibu dan anak (LB3–KIA) di kabupaten X, selama tahun XXXX jumlah kasus kematian maupun kesakitan akibat tetanus neonatorum yaitu 5 kasus, sedangkan pada periode Januari hingga Desember XXXX ada 1 kasus. Dilihat dari hasil laporan Imunisasi periode Januari sampai dengan Oktober XXXX, Puskesmas X cakupan Imunisasi TT1 sebesar 17,83%, TT2 sebesar 83,09%, TT3 sebesar 7,13%, TT4 sebesar 0%, TT5 sebesar 0% dengan sasaran WUS (Wanita Usia Subur) 3365 jiwa, maka cakupan Puskesmas X masih rendah (Subdin P2P Dinkes X, XXXX).
Penyakit Tetanus adalah penyakit menular yang tidak ditularkan dari manusia ke manusia secara langsung. Penyebabnya adalah sejenis kuman yang dinamakan Clostridium Tetani, kuman ini terutama spora atau bijinya banyak berada di lingkungan. Basilus Clostridium Tetani, tersebar luas di tanah dalam bentuk spora, binatang seperti kuda dan kerbau bertindak sebagai harbour atau persinggahan sementara. Kuman tetanus dalam kehidupannya tidak memerlukan/kurang oksigen (anaerob). Tetanus timbul akibat masuknya spora Clostridium Tetani masuk lewat pertahanan alamiah tubuh, seperti kulit, mukosa, sebagian besar lewat luka tusuk, luka bakar kotor, patah tulang terbuka dan tali pusat (Achmadi. U.F, XXXX). Meskipun Tetanus Neonatorum terbukti sebagai salah satu penyebab kesakitan dan kematian neonatal, sesungguhnya dapat dicegah, pencegahan yang dilakukan diantaranya adalah pemberian Imunisasi Tetanus Toksoid (TT) serta perawatan tali pusat yang memenuhi syarat kesehatan. Imunisasi TT seharusnya diperoleh wanita usia subur sebanyak 5 kali, kenyataannya masih belum optimal, hal ini dipengaruhi faktor perilaku (Behavior Clauses) manusia dari tingkat kesehatan, ditentukan oleh pengetahuan, sikap, kepercayaan, tradisi orang/masyarakat yang bersangkutan disamping lingkungan fisik, ketersediaan fasilitas, (sarana-sarana kesehatan) sikap dan perilaku para petugas kesehatan (Notoadmodjo, S. 2003).
Dengan adanya kejadian kasus TN (Tetanus Neonatorum), tahun XXXX sebanyak 5 kasus dan tahun XXXX sebanyak 1 kasus di kabupaten X, khususnya di desa (daerah pedesaan), merupakan masalah yang sangat kompleks. Data sensus penduduk kabupaten X tahun 2000, rata-rata pendidikan sangat rendah yaitu 354.208 jiwa tidak tamat SD, tamat SD sebanyak 198.458 jiwa (BPS dengan Badan Perencanaan Pembangunan Kabupaten X, XXXX), sehingga informasi tentang Imunisasi Tetanus Toksoid sangat terbatas.
Oleh karena itu dengan adanya kasus Tetanus Neonatorum (TN) di kabupaten X, serta cakupan Imunisasi di Puskesmas X periode Januari sampai dengan Oktober XXXX yang rendah, maka penulis ingin meneliti mengenai hubungan pengetahuan tentang Imunisasi TT dengan status Imunisasi TT di daerah Puskesmas X, sebagai sampel WUS (Wanita Usia Subur) di desa X.

B. Perumusan Masalah
Berdasarkan data dan latar belakang dapat dirumuskan sebagai berikut: “Apakah ada hubungan pengetahuan tentang imunisasi tetanus toksoid dengan status imunisasi tetanus toksoid wanita usia subur di desa X Puskesmas X Kabupaten X ?

C. Tujuan Penelitian
1. Tujuan Umum
Untuk mengetahui apakah ada hubungan pengetahuan tentang imunisasi tetanus toksoid dengan status imunisasi tetanus toksoid wanita usia subur.
2. Tujuan Khusus
a. Dapat mengidentifikasi pengetahuan WUS tentang pengertian imunisasi Tetanus Toksoid (TT).
b. Dapat mengidentifikasi pengetahuan WUS tentang jadwal pemberian dan masa perlindungan Imunisasi TT.
c. Dapat mengidentifikasi pengetahuan WUS tentang manfaat imunisasi TT.
d. Dapat mengidentifikasi pengetahuan WUS tentang reaksi Imunisasi TT dan efek samping.
e. Dapat mengidentifikasi pengetahuan WUS tentang indikasi kontra Imunisasi TT.
f. Dapat mengidentifikasi pengetahuan WUS tentang penyakit Tetanus.
g. Dapat mengidentifikasi status Imunisasi TT pada WUS.

D. Manfaat Penelitian
1. Aspek Teoritik
Sebagai dasar sebagai peneliti selanjutnya untuk melakukan penelitian mengenai Wanita Usia Subur (WUS) terhadap status Imunisasi TT (Tetanus Toksoid).
2. Aspek Aplikatif
a. Bagi Petugas Kesehatan
Dapat memberikan masukan dan dapat digunakan sebagai bahan pertimbangan dalam meningkatkan hasil cakupan Imunisasi TT WUS sampai status TT5, menurunkan angka kesakitan dan kematian bayi akibat Tetanus Neonatorum, dan meningkatkan ketrampilan, pengetahuan tentang Imunisasi TT.
b. Bagi Masyarakat
Dapat memberikan informasi tentang imunisasi TT, sehingga masyarakat, khususnya Wanita Usia Subur (WUS) mendapat pelayanan Imunisasi TT secara lengkap (TT5).

READ MORE - Karya Tulis Ilmiah (KTI) D-IV Hubungan Pengetahuan Tentang Imunisasi Tetanus Toksoid Dengan Status Imunisasi Tetanus Toksoid Wanita Usia Subur Desa X

(Kode KEBIDANN-0015) : Karya Tulis Ilmiah (KTI) D-IV Hubungan Antara Kecerdasan Emosional Dengan Motivasi Belajar Pada Mahasiswa D IV Kebidanan Universitas X

BAB I
PENDAHULUAN

A. Latar Belakang
Deskripsi kecerdasan emosional sudah ada sejak dikenalnya perilaku manusia. Didalam berbagai kitab suci, didalam filsafat Yunani, karya-karya Shakespeare, Thomas Jeffernon dan di dalam psikologi modern, aspek emosi sebagai bagian dari pemikiran sudah didiskusikan sebagai elemen fundamental dalam sifat dasar manusia. Mereka yang mengasah kecerdasan emosionalnya memiliki kemampuan unik untuk berkembang disaat sebagian lain terlalu sibuk menggelepar. Kecerdasan emosional merupakan “sesuatu” yang ada dalam diri setiap kita yang sedikit sulit diraba.
Awal tahun 1918, sebuah gerakan muncul untuk mencari sebuah cara mengukur kecerdasan intelektual (IQ). Ilmuwan-ilmuwan awal pada masa itu mengeksplorasi IQ sebagai metode cepat untuk memisahkan pelaku yang memiliki kualitas rata-rata dengan pelaku yang istimewa. Ada banyak orang yang demikian cerdas namun dibatasi oleh kemampuan mereka dalam mengelola perilaku dan hubungan sosial mereka. Barulah pada awal tahun 1980-an muncul istilah kecerdasan emosional (EQ). (Travis Bradberry & Jead Breaves, 2007: 54)
Memasuki abad 21, legenda IQ (Intelligence Quotient) sebagai satu-satunya tolok ukur kecerdasan yang juga sering dijadikan parameter keberhasilan manusia, digugurkan oleh munculnya konsep Kecerdasan Emosional atau EQ (Emotional Quotient) dan Kecerdasan Spiritual atau SQ (Spiritual Quotient). Kecerdasan manusia ternyata lebih luas dari anggapan yang dianut selama ini. Kecerdasan bukanlah merupakan suatu hal yang bersifat dimensi tunggal semata, yang hanya bisa diukur dari satu sisi dimensi saja (dimensi IQ). Kesuksesan manusia dan juga kebahagiaannya, ternyata lebih terkait dengan beberapa jenis kecerdasan selain IQ. Menurut hasil penelitian, setidaknya 75% kesuksesan manusia lebih ditentukan oleh kecerdasan emosionalnya (EQ) dan hanya 4% ditentukan oleh kecerdasan intelektualnya (IQ). (www.cakrawala.com)
Konsep kecerdasan emosional menjelaskan mengapa dua orang dengan tingkat IQ yang sama bisa saja memiliki tingkat keberhasilan hidup yang berbeda. Kecerdasan emosional merujuk pada elemen fundamental dalam perilaku manusia yang berbeda dengan intelektualitas.
Kecerdasan inteligensi (IQ), kepribadian dan kecerdasan emosional (EQ) adalah tiga buah kualitas berbeda yang dimiliki semua orang. Perpaduan dari kualitas-kualitas tersebut akan menentukan bagaimana kita akan berfikir dan bertindak. Mustahil bagi kita untuk menentukan sebuah kualitas berdasarkan kualitas yang lain. Seseorang bisa saja cerdas secara intelektual namun tidak secara emosional, dan semua orang dengan segala bentuk kepribadian sama-sama bisa memiliki skor EQ dan atau IQ yang tinggi. Ketiga kualitas tersebut, hanya kecerdasan emosional yang merupakan kualitas yang fleksibel dan bisa berubah. (Travis Bradberry & Jead Breaves, 2007: 56)
Menggunakan ungkapan Howard Gardner, kecerdasan emosional terdiri dari kecakapan, diantaranya intrapersonal intelligence merupakan kecakapan mengenai perasaan kita sendiri yang terdiri dari :
1. Kesadaran diri, meliputi : keadaan emosi diri, penilaian pribadi dan percaya diri
2. Pengaturan diri, meliputi : pengendalian diri, dapat dipercaya, waspada adaptif dan inovatif
3. Motivasi, meliputi :dorongan berprestasi, komitmen, inisiatif dan optimis.
Motivasi membentuk cara pandang manusia terhadap dunia. Seseorang cenderung memberikan perhatian secara selektif, maka yang dianggap penting olehnya otomatis menjadi yang paling dia cermati. Seseorang yang termotivasi untuk berhasil lebih jeli menemukan cara-cara untuk bekerja lebih baik, untuk berusaha, untuk membuat inovasi atau menemukan keunggulan kompetitif. (Daniel Goleman, 2005: 178)
Berdasarkan keterkaitan kedua hal tersebut diatas maka peneliti tertarik untuk melakukan penelitian tentang hubungan antara kecerdasan emosional dengan motivasi belajar pada mahasiswa D IV Kebidanan Universitas X.

B. Rumusan Masalah
Berdasarkan uraian dalam latar belakang maka dapat dirumuskan permasalahan sebagai berikut “Adakah hubungan antara kecerdasan emosional dengan motivasi belajar pada mahasiswa D IV Kebidanan Universitas X?”

C. Tujuan Penelitian
Berdasarkan rumusan masalah diatas, tujuan yang ingin dicapai dalam penelitian ini adalah:
1. Tujuan Umum
Mengetahui ada tidaknya hubungan antara kecerdasan emosional dengan motivasi belajar pada mahasiswa D IV kebidanan Universitas X.
2. Tujuan Khusus
a. Mengidentifikasi tingkat kecerdasan emosional pada mahasiswa D IV kebidanan Universitas X.
b. Mengidentifikasi motivasi belajar pada mahasiswa D IV kebidanan Universitas X.
c. Menganalisis hubungan antara kecerdasan emosional dengan motivasi belajar pada mahasiswa D IV kebidanan Universitas X.

D. Manfaat Penelitian
Penelitian ini diharapkan dapat memberikan manfaat teirotis untuk mengembangkan ilmu pengetahuan lebih lanjut dan manfaat praktis dalam rangka memecahkan masalah aktual.
1. Manfaat Teoritis
a. Menambah pemahaman serta pengetahuan tentang hal-hal yang dapat mempengaruhi dan meningkatkan kecerdasan emosional dan motivasi belajar.
b. Mendukung teori yang berhubungan dengan masalah yang dibahas dalam penelitian ini.
c. Salah satu sumber bagi penelitian berikutnya.

READ MORE - Karya Tulis Ilmiah (KTI) D-IV Hubungan Antara Kecerdasan Emosional Dengan Motivasi Belajar Pada Mahasiswa D IV Kebidanan Universitas X