CITIZEN
Vol. 30 No. 6
IMPACT
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Gwinnett’s Lanier High School honored for going “green” By Staff Reports
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Lanier High School has been named a U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon School. Lanier High is one of 46 schools from around the nation awarded the Green Ribbon designation, which recognizes schools and districts that exercise a comprehensive approach to creating “green” environments by reducing environmental impact, promoting health, and ensuring a high-quality environmental and outdoor education for students. Lanier High has implemented a number of “green” initiatives that focus on reducing solid waste, water and energy usage; improving the health and wellness of students and staff, and extending its environmental stewardship efforts. Dr. Christopher Martin, Lanier’s principal, says, “Since our school’s beginning in 2010, Lanier’s students and teachers have
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Teens today
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Shhhh. Don’t The village is changing By Carole Townsend touch me. That itches. GwinnettCitizen.com Do you smell that? There’s an old African proverb that claims, “It takes a village to Sensory Processing Disorder. raise a child.” The proverb is of-
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Figure 1 Photo Credit given to www.thesensoryspectrum.com By Carla W. Youmans GwinnettCitizen.com Everyday Matters because Every Day Matters
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This story is one that is close to my heart, supported with much research, and extremely personal. While I am not a doctor, I have lived the journey of Sensory Pro-
cessing Disorder (SPD) in the most intimate way when our son, Charlie (our only and miracle child) was diagnosed in Kindergarten. As an educator (and nerd), I research everything. Being informed in doctor’s appointments so that we are a team is key to me. I have been
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ten attributed to Hillary Clinton’s 1996 book titled It Takes a Village, but Clinton actually borrowed the phrase and the concept from the African continent. The wise claim is expressed in several different languages there, and while the premise seems perfectly clear on the surface, some have put forth the idea that Clinton meant that the state can raise your child better than you can. That’s a conversation for another day. Personally, I prefer to believe that the African people and (hopefully) Ms. Clinton mean to say that the upbringing of a child is done best when the entire village (community) participates. In that context, I agree 100 percent. When children are raised in a family but also as integral and important members of a community, I believe that they grow up to be adults who care about their communities. I also believe that the proverb means that, if parents aren’t around, the people of the “village” have a responsibility to step in and redirect a child who might be wandering off the straight and narrow path.
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Carole Townsend
At least, that’s what I believe would happen in a perfect world. I’ll give you an example. When our youngest daughter was about 12 or 13 years old – that age at which a child yearns for some independence and a parent reluctantly doles it out in small portions – she invited some friends for a sleepover. We have a swimming pool (for this very reason), and anytime the kids had friends over, they often hung around outside well into the night. On this particular evening, our daughter and her friends decided they’d walk up to the neighborhood grocery store. I have no idea why they decided that, and no idea what they intended to buy once
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VILLAGE on page 16