. /1m/Iii 1
for our
I most riou dom tic problem we have faced inee
th founding of th public. W are d priving millions of children
of th ir compe n nd moral chara r," ys Bronfenbrenn r.
Renown for hi or in human d velopment and a founder
of th n tional H d Start program for di dvantaged youngste
d their famili .Bronf nbrenner w honored for his contributions
to d lopmen I ien and i applications in policy and practice
t th day ym ium ponsored by Cornell' Life Cou Insti-
tute, Colle of Human Ecology and the American Psychological
iation at Corn 11.
Som 140 rche ga hered to hear more than 15 nior
holars from around the world pent papers on a range of devel­
opmental topi ,such "Nature, Nature and Culture," "The Two
Sex and Th ir Social S em � and "Growing Up Poor: Context,
Risk and Continuity in the Bronfenbrenner Tradition."
"Wb t is at ke i nothing 1 than the next generation of
Americans, particularly American mal ,who in growing up are
pecially vulnerable to such disruptive forces as the devastating
effects of divorce, poverty and unemployment," he noted.
In an analysi that pulls together statistics from many sources in
many countri , Bronfenbrenner finds children of the English- peak­
ing countri (the United States, Au tralia, Great Britain, New
Zealand and Canada) worse off than other industrialized nations,
with American children at great t risk.
RO ENBRE NER reported some of his findings in the book
Child Care in Context: Cr Cultural Perspectives, edited by Mi­
cbs 1 E. Lam and Kathleen J. Sternberg (Lawrence Erlbaum Asso­
ciates, 1992).
, Among som of the findings comparing the developed nations
(U nited Sta ,J pan, Canada and W tern Europe):
Child care - America ranks in the bottom third.
• Legislated I v polici - Despite the new family leave act
allowing up to 12 of unpaid I ve, most other nations offer
paid 1 v .And on ..
by th new act.
Pr h I pr gram - For children younger than 3 years old,
the United Sta . the only nation that has no federal program.
• Governm nt How nces for children - Almost all the other
countri have m hild benefit uch governmental payments
for each child; th United States d not.
• H lth insurance - All other nations offer health services for
children and farnili .
• Family tructure - The United States has the highest divorce
rate in the world, a rate 1.5 times the second highest rate. By far,
more American children, both in number and percentage (25 per­
cent), live in single-pai nt famili than in other developed countries.
.• Economi - The United States has more poverty and a higher
percentage of children living in poverty (almost 25 percent of all
children under a 6) than any other industrialized country.
• T nage pregnancy and birth - The United States has, by far,
the highest rate of teenage birth and an even higher rate of teenage
pregnancies (1 of every 10 girls age 15 through 19). '
Education - Of the nine developed countries studied, the
United Stat w nd in expenditures but seventh in the per­
centage who graduated from secondary school. American students
ranked ixth in the percentage of students who reported spending
two or more hours on homework daily, a measure linked to educa-
tional achi vement. .
When non-whites and poverty are excluded from the analyses,
America still has the highest rate of divoree and is among the highest
for teenage births (the only two m ures for which comparable
statistics are available.
. IN CO AR G the United Sta to lected developing na-
tiona, Bronfenbrenn r and doctoral student Tara White of Rochester
N.�., found that the United States ranks just above the developing
nations on many measures.
"Our findings that American children rank so poorly on so many
indices are hocking, considering our country's wealth," White says.
Bronfenbr nner points out that the nation's focus on individual­
ism may be hurting childr n by k ping the n tional government out
of family i ues. "Am ricans are mostly descendants of those who
could not stand authority, or whom authority could not stand,"
Bronfenbrenner y." As such, Americans traditionally do not want
government interfe nee. .
"As a result, famili a largely on their own trying to cope with
work st and family life. Unlike most other nations, our society
has been slow to introduce work arrangements that are compatible
with the requir m nts of normal family life." .
He continued, "'In th a nce of good support ystems, external
st can m 0 great that v n strong families do not function
effectiv ly nd can ven fall apart. That is exactly what has been
happening. H icn , instability and inconsistency of daily family
live are rampant in all gm nts of our society, including the well­
educated nd w ll-to-do.
"For yea ,I h v n warning that things will have to get worse
before they will t t r. Well,it looks like we may hav made it "
Bronfenbrenner id."It remains to be n, however, whether even
more 'desolation in th quality of the next generation of Americans
is required for our country will act."
J
luted ter, suJOstElll'ial'd
ing nd n
OOt
When they , can
caution them the dan-
of drug and alcohol b
and encoura them to delay
OQA,UCU activity until th y are
mature enough to handl the
respo ibiliti of parenthood
and ible conseque
At any , can begin to
demon trat - nd to teach­
creative conflict re olution
kills that will not enlyequip
et
•
o
In a near unanimous vote, a
prominent Black Democratic
Party district organization sup­
ported the state ban on assisted
suicide that Jack Kevorkian is
trying to overturn.
In introducing a resolution on
this issue before the 14th district
Democratic Party, representing
portions of Detroit and all of
Highland Park, Ron Seigel, corre­
sponding secretary of the state
party's Handicapper Caucus, re­
minded members that the ban
was a temporary one, in place I
than two years, so the state could
study the issue. If assisted suicide
allow without such a stud ,
warned, patients might tie
D
continued from page A 1
Paige's students, Allison
Hellings and Jill Coloshe, are
learning fabric design and dis­
played their silver and brass jew­
elry.
They met Paige in August at
the Michigan Renaissance Festi­
val and fell in love with his work
and started textile design classes
in October.
Hellings makes clothes and
wants to make a line of clothes
and accessories, including shoes
and handbags.
COLO SHE HAS A degree in
interior design and makes wall
hangings, pillows, and other
. home furnishings in a addition to
her jewelry.
Paige wants to return to de­
signing a line of home fashion,
including pillows, wall hangings,
shower curtains, fans and other
accessories.
Paige Designs will offer Fabric
, Painting Classes starting Decem­
her 4 through January 29 which
will "introduce various tech­
niques for creating images on
cloth, by painting with dyes and
resists. " Paige offers basic and ad­
vanced classes, class f vary,
and class size is limited. For more
information call the studio at 874-
0300.
There is a possibility of a jew­
elry making class during the
week for serious students, call
874-0300 for registration.
Paige Designs is open by ap­
pointment only, and is located at
2679 East Grand Blvd. Loft 303
in the New Center area.
D , N.C. (AP) - The
Clinton health care plan will
hinder treatment of Black pa­
tients who need it the most, said
Louis Sullivan, former secretary
of the Department of Health and
Human Services.
Sullivan told an audience at
Duke University Medical Center
on Monday that the plan's price
controls will degrade the quality
of care offeredby family and pri­
mary care physicians.
killed without proof they wish to
die.
La t year the district sup­
ported passage of such a tempo­
rary ben, when it was discussed
in the legislature.
He added Kevorkian and his
supporters opposed all laws regu­
lations isted suicide, demand­
ing the medical profession be
allowed to regulate itself, which
Seigel warn ,amid "result in a
ma sive cover up of medical
abuse. " Seigel charged there were
reoords of doctors allowing pa­
tients to die, because they were
considered "inferior quality lives"
and indi�ions of prejudice in the
medical prof ion on t e basis of
WE CAN UPPORT t
e�ion of the Head Start
program 80 that every eligible
Marian Wright Edelman i prui­
dmt of tM ChildIYn � �fm' Fund. a
lUltional � for children. and a lerultr
of 1M Black Community CtuMJde for
Children (BCCC).
•
C·
eba
o
both handicap and race.
Th 14th district resolution en­
dorsed 36th District Court Judge
William Lipscomb for upholding
the legislature's right to tempo­
rarily ban assisted suicide, while
the study was going on.
studied, but totally rejected, be­
cause she believed life and death
should be in the hands of God.
Seigel said passage ofhis res0-
lution demonstrated that opposi­
tion to Kevorkian was not simply
"a matter of religious belief", but
concern about ".the equal protec­
tion of the law for the vast major­
ity of people who wish to live" and
concern that "a Kevorkian legal
victory could put organized medi­
cine above the law, which would
be just as bad 'as putting police
above the law."
Present at the meeting were
two Democratic candidates for
governor, Debbie Stabenow and
Lawreri D. n.·;' - .. ,
,
"
IT ALSO URGED the Wayne
County Prosecutors Office, run
by John 0' Hare, to conduct "a
vigorous and fair prosecution"
without "refer nee to political or
media pressures or f r of de­
famatory attacks by his opposing
counsel", Geoffrey Fieger. The
only vote against the resolution
came from a woman who stated
that assisted suicide should not be
and
GOOD 14'B,I4:I4: FOOD!
CARE
for'
0JDeIl (Pregnant or Breastfeeding)
---
nfants
Income Eligibility Guidelines
Err live M reb 1. 1
Family
Size
Weekly
Monthly
Yearly
,hildren (Up to 'age 5)
1
$248
1.075
12.95
2
335
1.454
17.446
3
423
1.833
21.997
4
511
2.212
26.54
5
5
2.592
31.099
6
2.971
35.650
Each
additional
person:
380
4.551
Fbr Information
Call1-800-26-B
or
Call your Local
ealth Department
Women, Infants & Children Program (WIC)
Thl 1 n Equ I Opportunity P
of r c . color. n tion 1 origin.
Nutrrtron rvi