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Saturday Shakespeare: Titus Andronicus • K — Santa Cruz City High School District Bond Measure • Strike Out Against Cancer
COMMUNITY NEWS
Saturday Shakespeare: Titus Andronicus
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The rarely staged “Titus Andronicus” will be the focus of Saturday Shakespeare Club’s next series of gatherings beginning Oct. 8, all at 10 a.m. via Zoom.
Titus is a Roman general who returns from a 10-year war, having lost 21 sons and feeling betrayed by his nation. He and Tamora, queen of the Goths, engage in a series of horrific events that produce one of Shakespeare’s bloodiest plays.
The first speaker will be Michael Warren, professor of literature emeritus at UC Santa Cruz, textual consultant to Shakespeare Santa Cruz and continuing this work with Santa Cruz Shakespeare.
Oct. 15: Sean Keilen, UCSC professor of literature, founding director of the Shakespeare Workshop on campus, and author or editor of books and essays about early British literature.
Oct. 22: Julia Lupton, who teaches English and comparative literature at UC Irvine, has written extensively on Shakespeare and Renaissance literature and is co-director of the New Swan Shakespeare Center, which partners with UCSC’s Shakespeare Workshop.
Oct. 29: Abigail Heald, lecturer in UCSC’s literature department, whose focus covers Shakespeare, Renaissance literature, tragedy, gender, literary and film.
Nov. 5: The group will view a film of “Titus,” at 10 a.m. via Zoom.
To join the Saturday Shakespeare Club and obtain the email link to the gatherings, go to saturdayshakespeare@gmail.com.
In pre-COVID era, the Shakespeare Club asked members for $2 per session, which it used to rent a church for the lectures. Now it suggests all who participate send $2 (or more) to Santa Cruz Shakespeare, at https://www.santacruzshakespeare.org/donate/ Donors are asked to indicate the gift is on behalf of the Saturday Shakespeare Club. n
K — Santa Cruz City High School District Bond Measure
Measure K’s Ballot Description
To repair/upgrade local middle and high school classrooms/facilities to support achievement in science, math, technology, arts, and skilled trades; build affordable teacher-staff rental housing; install solar/ reduce environmental impacts; fix deteriorating roofs, plumbing and electrical; remove asbestos/lead; shall Santa Cruz City High School District’s measure authorizing $249 million in bonds at legal rates
be adopted, levying an estimated 3¢ / $100 assessed value ($12 million annually) while bonds are outstanding, with citizen oversight and all money staying local? n
Strike Out Against Cancer
Saturday October 22 • 1-2:45 p.m., Boardwalk Bowl, 115 Cliff St., Santa Cruz
WomenCARE’s 26th Annual Strike Out Against Cancer Bowling Benefit returns to the Boardwalk Bowl. The goal is $70,000.
This year marks WomenCARE’s 30th anniversary. Organizers look forward to a fun day of bowling and raising money and awareness, adhering to COVID-19 safety protocols for the inperson event.
A virtual option is also available.
There are several ways you can support this year’s event: Bowl, sponsor pledge or donate. n
See https://www.bowlathon.net/event/ strike-out-against-cancer-2022/
“Kirby” from page 10
Our water rates have been increasing at least 9% per year every year, year after year and are still going up.
Even while we all conserve and pay attention to our water usage, our bills go up and up to pay for the project and give bonuses to management, etc. We need financial responsiblity.
The district seems to not care how they are putting people in financial peril while they spend and supposedly get grants and “free” money for this project. They have forgotten that Soquel Creek Water District is a municipality and they work for the rate payers. The Board meetings are still only on Zoom and they’ve reduced the public input time from 3 minutes to 2 minutes. They don’t seem to care about hearing from rate payers.
I’m running for the Board position to bring financial responsibility, honesty, common sense and safety to our local water district. n
See: https://scwdboard.com/ “Neurodiversity” from page 18
The CDC estimates that approximately 9.8% of children in the United States have been diagnosed with ADHD, with boys roughly twice as likely to receive the diagnosis compared to girls*. An evaluation (or educational testing) with a specialist is generally the first step to supporting a student with ADHD. Comprehensive evaluations lead to the creation of effective treatment plans that make sense for the student.
Fortunately, there are many effective interventions for ADHD, including classroom behavior management strategies, parent training, physical exercise, dietary changes, good sleep hygiene, social skills training, coaching, and targeted therapies. Medication can be a game changer for some students, but it is certainly not for everyone. There is no “one size fits all” approach — different children will respond to different treatments.
The classification of ADHD is in many ways a double-edged sword, on one hand necessary for obtaining treatment and school services, while on the other hand a potentially stigmatizing label.
At a young age, children begin to construct narratives of themselves based on the messages they get from the world around them. The reality is kids with ADHD receive significantly more negative messages than their peers (“You’re just being lazy. Can’t you try harder?”). Over time, these disproportionately negative messages lead to narratives of failure and inferiority. I know I suck is just one example.
We need to help children with ADHD tell different stories about themselves. We can start by challenging the misconceptions. ADHD is not caused by bad parenting, moral failings, or playing too many video games; nor is ADHD a reflection of willful defiance or laziness on the part of the child. ADHD is a brain-based phenomenon with genetic underpinnings — we have unquestionable evidence from decades of research.
ADHD can be a highly disabling condition. At the same time, it is also a reflection of neurodiversity in the human population.
We need to balance our language to reflect the facts about ADHD, as well as support children in developing healthy images of what it means to live in the world with this condition.
So let’s change the narrative. No, you do not suck. You were born with a brain that processes, learns, and behaves in different ways than most children, ways that make boring and repetitive tasks quite difficult. You have many unique talents and strengths, including creativity, intelligence, curiosity, and energy.
You have many ideas all at once, which can make it hard to focus on just one. Boredom is your nemesis, and you need stimulation to stay on track. Sometimes this can get you into trouble with teachers and adults who don’t understand you. But we understand you. And we are here to support you in getting what you need to be successful.
It’s all in how you frame it. n •••
Dr. Kevin Comartin is a Licensed Educational Psychologist (LEP #3861) serving students and families in Santa Cruz County. He can be reached at drkevincomartin@gmail.com. More information at: www.drcomartin.com
