By Kathleen Geiger
Have you noticed that almost everything you buy comes with an owner’s manual? I recently bought a pasta maker and the manual was a 35-page detailed booklet describing the ways to use the equipment and what to do if I wanted a certain “noodle” outcome. In contrast, when we have children there is absolutely no manual, paperwork, leaflet, or website given that tells us how to parent in a way that would enable our children to have a particular outcome. So it’s tough, trying to figure out how to parent when there are so many opinions about what is right and wrong. When asked what we hope for our children, what we want the outcome to be, most parents say they want their children to be happy, healthy, and a functional member of society. But how does that happen?
I believe the healthiest parenting model is one which recognizes the critical importance of the parent-child relationship. The way you relate to your child now sets them up for how they will relate to others in the future. And how we relate to others has everything to do with being happy, healthy and a functional member of society. The way we develop and maintain relationships has to come from somewhere. Who do children spend the most time with during their development? Us! The parent or major caregiver. Through your relationship with your child, you teach them how to relate to teachers, family, and friends. Telling your child how to relate appropriately does very little, but YOU relating to your child, being relational, has everything to do with what his/her future relationships will look like.
A relational parenting approach is one which focuses on the critical importance of the parent-child relationship. It means having a deep desire to be closely connected to your child. Your strength as a parent lies in the relationship. Children who are deeply connected have less behavioral difficulties, less academic failures, and are significantly less involved in substance abuse and sexual risk-taking.
The brain is a social organ—that is, it is constructed and built through experience. From the moment we are born, we begin taking in the world around us. What we experience becomes a reference for how the world works together. Humans have a biological NEED for closeness. Being close to your child may be the most important tool you have for ensuring your child’s overall development. So what are the components of relational parenting?
Developing a Bond – A bond is the connection formed between two people. A bond happens, when over time, parents show a desire to listen to their child’s thoughts and feelings. It means listening more than talking. It means being actively involved. It means having uninterrupted time together. Bonding requires focus and intention. When parents and children are actively engaged the potential for strong connection is powerful. Together parents and children create intimacy – literally, as my grandmother would say, “in-to-me-you-see.” Bonding is something we cultivate. Preoccupation with electronics is the opposite of close connection. There are times when your relationship in person is much more important than the on-line ones. Setting the limit so you can get close in the now means no cell phone, no computer, no Netflix, no Pinterest, no Facebook, no Instagram, no snapchat…at times when being together is more important. When parents desire to know their child’s thoughts, feelings, intentions, wishes, and worries, that child will feel valued and grow to have a strong sense of self-esteem. Together, this creates their ability to form strong relationships with others throughout life. Your child comes into the world wanting a relationship with you….literally needing and hungering for it. You as the parents are the ones that make the decision whether to foster a nurturing relationship.
Being a parent who “gets it” — “Getting it,” means being more concerned with how your child feels than how you feel. A desire to understand your child’s feelings through words, body language, and facial expressions helps you understand your child from the inside out. Being the mirror and reflecting back to your child what you are hearing is powerful. Showing empathy is also important. You can do this by thinking of a time when you felt the same feelings and sharing that experience with your child. You may not understand fully, but you can get close to understanding by seeing the world through their eyes. That doesn’t mean you are in agreement with everything your child thinks, it means that you better understand where your child is coming from – all important for good communication. That’s what being relational is all about!
Having their back – This includes being available, responsive, and reliable. Your child needs to know they can come to you for comfort and support under stress. Feeling safe within the family relationship allows children to take risks to become independent. There is no time when a child should be completely independent and manage things entirely on their own. They need you all along the way. Growing up happens incrementally. It takes many years of trial, error, and practice for children to develop the multitude of skills needed to live independently. An important skill that is sometimes overlooked in parenting is helping a child learn to manage their emotions – soothing sadness, calming down anger, slowing impulsivity, and managing fears and anxieties. Difficult emotions such as fear, anger, shame, and grief become less overwhelming when a child knows they have a secure person at home who will help them feel safe and “regulated” again.
Giving up the need to be “right” – You can win the battle and lose the war this way. Being right is about showing power, demanding your child have your viewpoint, and agreeing with everything you think. This leaves little room for your child to share their own feelings without being judged. Seeing your child’s view as valid does not again mean you are permissive; it means that you allow differences without feeling threatened as a parent. When a parent stops needing to be right, they are able to see the child’s behavior in a broader context. For example, misbehavior is oftentimes about something much bigger – something your child does not know how to communicate appropriately. Holding a respectful limit with your child (the discipline part) while desiring to understand the emotions behind the behavior (the relational part) is a top priority.
A relational parenting approach is your choice. It is hard. It takes time and thought. It takes a lot of energy- especially at the end of the day. But the payoff is huge. It is more fun. Your child wants to spend time with you throughout life. But, most importantly, it is this relationship that gives a child a sense of his/her self-worth, competence, lovability, value, and the ability to continue to have relationships with others and to be a happy adult. And, isn’t that what it’s all about?
Relational Parenting
- Affirm rather than criticize
- Nurture rather than neglect or abandon
- Set limits rather than indulge
Kathleen Geiger has been licensed by the Texas Board of Licensed Professional Counselors since 1990 and has been in private practice in the Central Texas Area for close to 25 years. Kathleen has many areas of expertise and provides psychological services for individuals, children, adolescents, couples, and families. She works with children is play therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and enjoys working with teenagers, adults, and families in various methods of counseling practice. She is trained in Developmental Trauma work by Pia Mellody and has earned her certification as a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner. To learn more about Kathleen, her practice, or to contact her, please visit: www.kgeiger.com.
(During December we will be reprising some of “2017’s greatest hits” from the Act Locally Waco blog. I couldn’t possibly pick my favorites – so I used the simple (cop out?) approach of pulling up the 10 blog posts that got the most “opens” according to our Google Analytics. It is an intriguing collection that gives at least a little insight into the interests and concerns of Act Locally Waco readers. I hope this “Top 10” idea inspires you to go back and re-read your personal favorites. There have been so many terrific ones… If you would like to see the Top 10 according to Google Analytics, here’s the link: 2017 Greatest Hits. Merry Christmas! — ABT)
by Ashley Bean Thornton
I have a cloudy memory from when I was very young, six or seven years old at the oldest, maybe even as young as four or five. I was born in 1961, so this would have been sometime between 1966 and 1968, I guess.
Some adult in my life, a woman, sat me down and explained to me why, according to the Bible, black people were meant to be subservient to white people. I don’t remember who gave me this lesson. I think it was at my grandmother’s house, but I don’t think it was my grandmother. It might have been an aunt or maybe just one of my grandmother’s friends. It doesn’t really matter. Plenty of people would have told me the same story.
The explanation had to do with Noah after the flood. Noah had gotten drunk and was lying naked in his tent. One of his sons, Ham, saw his father in this sorry state and reported it to his brothers. When Noah found out about this, he cursed Ham saying that Ham’s offspring should always be slaves to his brother’s children. So, Ham’s children became black people and the brothers’ children became white people and that is why black people were always meant to be subservient to white people.
Nowadays I’m sure every white person I know would cringe at hearing this story. I imagine most of my friends find it downright offensive. I hope they do. It’s a terrible story. I’m ashamed to even tell it.
The reason I am telling it is because I have thought of it often these last few years as I have watched gay people gain more and more rights and have observed the strong resistance to that progress. I thought of it this morning as I read that two years after the Supreme Court ruled that same sex couples have a constitutional right to marry, gay people still cannot get a courthouse wedding in Waco.
You may be thinking that the woman who sat me down and told me the story of Noah and Ham and black people must have been some kind of mean, ignorant, “white trash,” low-class person. Even though I can’t remember exactly who she was, I can tell you that was not the case. Any adult woman I would have met at my grandmother’s house would have been cut from basically the same cloth as my grandmother: hardworking, educated, church-going, white women who had all endured some hard times, and who, despite that, liked to laugh, tell stories, watch Laurence Welk and talk behind each other’s backs about who had the best pound cake recipe.
In other words, I imagine the woman who tried to pass her racial prejudice on to me was a good person by most every measure. I believe she took the time to make sure a small girl understood the lesson about Noah and Ham because she believed the story was true and that it was right and important to pass it on to me.
In the same way, I think that many people who oppose gay marriage and other gay rights believe very deeply that they are correct in their opposition. They believe God’s word is clear. They believe it viscerally. They feel all the way down to their bones that they are right.
This story from my own childhood reminds me that at one time, not so long ago, many otherwise decent people felt the same way about racial segregation and opposing the civil rights of black people. You can see it in the angry faces of the white people in the pictures of the mob scenes when schools were being integrated or black people were marching for their rights. I have heard it in angry words coming out of the mouths of my own family members. These white people who opposed civil rights for black people believed they were right. Being told they were wrong caused a kind of outrage on two fronts. On one front, they were outraged because black people were demanding to “rise above their rank” and were “disrupting the natural order of things.” On the other front, they were outraged because other people, black and white, were judging them for standing up for what they believed was right.
They felt viscerally, to their bones, that they were right.
But, they were wrong.
Thanks to legislated integration, my grandmother, by the time she retired, had taught many African-American second graders and worked with at least a handful of African-American teachers. She realized, at least partly, that she had been wrong about black people. Her attitude changed. Not as much as it should have, perhaps, but it changed some. My mother’s attitude has changed even more. Mine has changed even more. We’ve changed enough that I feel ashamed of a story that at one time was accepted and defended among my kin as “what the Bible says.”
I believe a generation from now we straight people will feel just as ashamed at having tried to deny gay people the right to marry as we white people feel now at having tried to deny black people the right to vote and to be treated equally and fairly.
I’m not sure what I would have done if I had been born in my grandmother’s generation or my mother’s generation instead of my own. I don’t know if I would have recognized the way black people were treated as being wrong, or if I would have gone along with the prevailing beliefs of most white people in the South at the time. But, living here and now, and having learned from that example, I will say that I would be proud for gay people to be able to get married in our courthouse in Waco. I am sorry that we have not reached that point already. I hope we get there soon.
This Act Locally Waco blog post is by Ashley Bean Thornton, she has lived in Waco almost 20 years now. Far longer than she ever lived anywhere else. She likes to walk. If you see her out walking, honk and wave and say “hi!”
The Act Locally Waco blog publishes posts with a connection to these aspirations for Waco. If you are interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco Blog, please email [email protected] for more information.
A picturesque limestone bluff situated high above the Bosque River, Lovers’ Leap is as dangerous as it is beautiful.
On June 28, 1917, the Cameron family purchased a tract of sixty acres featuring the cliff area known as Lovers’ Leap. Though it had been the site of many picnics and romantic excursions, Lovers’ Leap had yet to receive formal designation as a park site. The Camerons originally leased the land to the federal government with the understanding that when Camp MacArthur troops no longer needed it as a recreation space, it would be added to Cameron Park. On September 3, 1920, the Cameron family acquired the remaining 191 acres between Cameron Park and Lover’s Leap, thereby ensuring the bluff would remain a central attraction in one of Texas’ largest municipal parks.
Associated with the cliff is a folktale involving two star-crossed Native American lovers. As recounted by Decca Lamar West in her popular 1912 booklet The Legend of Lovers’ Leap, Waco Indian maiden Wah-Wah-Tee secretly accepted a marriage proposal from a handsome Apache brave despite the enmity between their tribes. The two hoped to elope but were thwarted in their effort to run away quietly at night by Wah-Wah-Tee’s father and brothers who objected to the union. Cornered at the edge of a steep cliff above the Bosque, Wah-Wah-Tee and her brave chose to embrace one another and leap into the swollen river below rather than face a lifetime apart. The bodies of the two, still holding tightly onto one another, found a final resting place on the banks of the river close to the site of their first meeting. While stirring, no historical basis exists for the tale. It is most likely a byproduct of late-Victorian romanticism and efforts to promote one of Waco’s natural wonders to outsiders.
Since its establishment as an official outlook, Lovers’ Leap has presented a genuine safety concern. In an effort to safeguard the public from the cliff’s edge while not obstructing the splendid view of the surrounding countryside, park authorities constructed short stone walls. However, select visitors in pursuit of a better vantage point sometimes ignored these barriers, leading to personal injury or in certain cases death. In order to improve safety at the outlook and spruce up its appearance in time for the park’s centennial, the city of Waco constructed new fences in 2009 and removed foliage on the cliff face to enhance the view from the designated overlook plaza.
For close to one hundred years, Wacoans and tourists alike have been drawn to the dangerous beauty of Lovers’ Leap.
Waco History is a mobile app and web platform that places the past at your fingertips! It incorporates maps, text, images, video, and oral histories to provide individuals and groups a dynamic and place-based tool to navigate the diverse and rich history of Waco and McLennan County. It is brought to you by the Institute for Oral History and Texas Collection at Baylor University. This post: Prisca Bird, “Lovers’ Leap,” Waco History, accessed June 21, 2017, http://www.wacohistory.org/items/show/38.
The Act Locally Waco blog publishes posts with a connection to these aspirations for Waco. If you are interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco Blog, please email [email protected] for more information.
By Craig Nash
Through the No Kid Hungry Campaign of Share Our Strength, the Waco Regional office of Texas Hunger Initiative has had the benefit of two Baylor Students serving as Youth Ambassadors (YAs), charged with the task of providing support for and increasing participation in the Summer Food Service Program. This summer’s YAs are Keyanna Taylor from San Antonio and Steven Kuipers from Reading, Pennsylvania. Both Keyanna and Steven have hit the ground running and are providing tons of creative energy to summer meal sites. I wanted them to have an opportunity to share with the Act Locally Waco community about themselves and what they are learning this summer.
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Keyanna Taylor
My name is Keyanna Taylor. I am from San Antonio, Texas, and a sophomore at Baylor University studying Public Health on the Pre-Medical track. I am passionate about learning how hunger and overall poverty impacts the health of communities and the individuals that make up these communities. I love being a part of the Texas Hunger Initiative and Share our Strength’s No Kid Hungry Campaign, because it allows me to make a difference towards improving the health of children, adults, and whole communities from a unique angle.
Since being a Youth Ambassador, I have been exposed to a lot of different parts of Waco, and I have learned about many different organizations and efforts that work for the community. It has been so eye opening to truly see how big and diverse Waco actually is. Before this experience, I thought it was a tiny town with not much going on. But I have learned that it is very large and active. This intrigued me and made me even more excited about my role this summer, because now I feel a calling to give back to this community.
More specifically, we recently visited the YMCA of Central Texas to see what its meal sites look like and to propose implementing some of the programs Steven and I are creating to increase meal site attendance. While visiting the YMCA, I got to see how many kids participate in the different camps and programs over the summer, and I was amazed. I was surprised to see how many kids they have in different summer camp programs, and it got me thinking. Would these children make it to meal sites if it weren’t for these programs here? Would they still be involved in physically and mentally engaging activities without the YMCA? This stood out to me as interesting and formed a connection in my thinking of how summer meal sites work alongside other organizations to impact the overall health of children. The children in these programs have access to healthy breakfast and lunch. They have access to games and activities that keep their minds stimulated, and they are being physically active to also keep their bodies healthy. I now see hunger being directly related to the holistic health of individuals.
After this experience at the YMCA, I realized how excited I was to be doing this work with the Texas Hunger Initiative. It is a way for me to explore the connections between hunger and mental and physical health of individuals and their communities. I would like to encourage others in the community to actively seek out ways they can learn more about different organizations in Waco. I believe that efforts from all different avenues must work alongside each other to improve the health of all citizens. So whether it be volunteering at the YMCA, Caritas of Waco or visiting a summer meal site, there are many ways to improve the health and quality of life for all here in Waco.
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Steven Kuipers
Hello! My name is Steven Kuipers, and I am from Reading, Pennsylvania. Currently my studies revolve around Economics, Chinese, and Religion during my time as a student at Baylor University. I am also a community leader at Arbors apartments and a proud member of the Baylor Men’s Choir!
This summer I had the opportunity to travel with the Men’s Choir to sing and minister in Kenya. While there, I was taught a valuable lesson that I hope to bring to my work here in Waco. I learned it after we finished serving in the Pokot Village: a remote area about seven hours from Nairobi. Immediately after we arrived, we worked tirelessly to improve the living condition for the people there; we built water irrigation systems, painted classrooms, planted gardens, and even opened a medical clinic to treat the ill and infected. For nine hours, we served until the sun set and it was time to go home.
During our dinner at the hotel, we shared some of our feelings about the day. Surprisingly, there was a common feeling among the group: a sense of helplessness. We felt that even after all the time we spent working, we didn’t even scratch the surface of the problems there: hunger, illness, and poverty were still going to be present in the village after we left. After hearing this, our choir director stood up and gave us some encouragement. He explained to us that attacking something as big as third-world poverty could not be done in a single move. He explained that this kind of thing takes time and consistency, and that we did our part faithfully. He concluded by saying, “You cannot do everything, but you can do something.”
Those words resonated with me as I thought about my work here this summer addressing hunger. A lot of hunger in our community stems from the multi-rooted tree of poverty, and trying to chop down the tree by myself is an impossible goal. That is why it is not my responsibility to obliterate poverty in its entirety because, “I cannot do everything. But I can do something.” For me, my “something” is addressing hunger. I find great contentment in doing my part here at the Texas Hunger Initiative, because I realize that my work is part of a bigger picture of our community effort. Our organization focusing on hunger allows other groups and organizations in Waco to specialize in their own areas. And everyone chipping in to do their part will be the effort that makes a serious impact on our city.
That is why I want to encourage you, the reader, that when you want help your community, you alone don’t have to take down poverty. All you have to do is something. It can be anything, big or small, to address the cause. And when we have a community that collectively chips in to do its part: serious change happens in our lives and in our communities.
Craig Nash has lived in Waco since 2000. Since then he has worked at Baylor, been a seminary student, managed a hotel restaurant, been the “Barnes and Noble guy,” pastored a church and once again works for Baylor through the Texas Hunger Initiative. He lives with his dog Jane, religiously re-watches the same 4 series on Netflix over and over again, and considers himself an amateur country music historian.
The Act Locally Waco blog publishes posts with a connection to these aspirations for Waco. If you are interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco Blog, please email [email protected] for more information.
By Trey Crumpton
Did you know that people have always loved living in Central Texas?…and I mean ALLLWAAAYS! There are archaeological sites in the Waco area which appear to have been continuously occupied by humans for at least 12,000 years. One of those is a rock shelter on the banks of the Brazos River in Bosque County. Naturally carved out of bedrock by the river, the Horn Rock Shelter contained one of the most completely preserved records of human habitation ever discovered. From roughly 1966 to 1989, avocational archaeologists and locals Frank Watt, Al Redder, Robert Forrester, and L. T. Francis accomplished the huge task of excavating and mapping the site.
The Smithsonian has taken a keen interest in artifacts associated with two skeletons found at the site, and much of the material is now under the care of the Division of Physical Anthropology in Washington, D.C. The burial of an adult male and a teenage girl appear to be some of the oldest documented remains in North America.
For a worthwhile daytrip out of Waco, visit the Bosque Museum in Clifton. They have a great exhibit on the Horn Shelter, and also focus on the vibrant Norwegian settlement and heritage in this area. This facial reconstruction (see picture at left), displayed at the Bosque Museum, was derived from a reproduction of the adult male’s skull discovered at the Horn Shelter by Al Redder and Frank Watt in 1970. Examination of features of the skull establish that the Horn Shelter Man could not be related to the American Indians. A date has been determined for the site of approximately 11,200 calendar years ago. This makes the adult male skeleton found at the Horn Shelter the first known inhabitant of Bosque County.
Ongoing DNA analysis could reveal a lot about our collective history, and our assumptions about the first Americans. Artifacts from the site, including stone and bone tools, and human-modified remains of several animals, can tell us about the landscape before our memory. We learned through this excavation that giant armadillos roamed along with bison, beaver, deer, badger, coyote, hawk, and giant tortoises (yes, they lived here too—maybe not as big as the Galapagos ones, but still pretty huge). Humans hunted and used many parts of these animals to survive in their harsh environment.
Come visit the Mayborn Museum and the Bosque Museum to see artifacts from the Horn Shelter, and you might learn a little more about yourself!
Trey Crumpton is Exhibits Manager for the Mayborn Museum Complex at Baylor University, where he has been on staff for 11 years. He has lived in Waco since 2001, is working on his Ph.D. in Leadership Studies, and has two energetic kids who help him discover. His beautiful wife Ashley is an early childhood educator, and together they are proponents of all things enriching and fun. Trey loves family, friends, the outdoors, the lake, pizza, good books, and good film.
By Caitlin Giddens
(photo credit: Rae Jefferson)
You can hold a piece of Waco in your hands. Creative Waco has released a deck of playing cards called “Waco 52.” Each card captures the spirit of Waco and McLennan County by featuring a piece created by a local artist. The Waco 52 cards are currently for sale, and each purchase supports new arts and cultural initiatives in our community.
Waco 52 began as an art exhibit displayed in the lower rotunda of the Texas State Capitol Building in May. This exhibit served as part of the celebration of Waco’s designation as a State Cultural District and resulted from an invitation from State Representatives Charles “Doc” Anderson and Kyle Kacal. The project united different parts of the community by featuring the original artwork beside quotes from local businesses and leaders who support the arts.
To compile the exhibition, Creative Waco called for submissions from local artists at the beginning of the year. Then, Martha Peters, vice president of public arts at the Arts Council for Fort Worth, and Sarah Derrick, head of learning at Dundee Contemporary Arts in Scotland, judged and selected the pieces over the course of several months. The judges looked for high-quality art that depicted Waco and conveyed the power of its growing creative sector.
(photo credit: Rae Jefferson)
The deck of cards features a diverse cross-section of the many cultures, generations, and perspectives that enrich our community. It also serves as an offering of hospitality that conveys all are welcome here. Within the deck of cards, each suit reveals a different aspect of Waco’s “personality.” The hearts speak of our passions; the clubs tell the story of our town’s history and landscape. The spades depict the earth and the work to be done; and the diamonds reveal some hidden gems that locals will love to see.
As Fiona Bond, Executive Director of Creative Waco, says in the introduction to the exhibit catalogue:
“Waco 52 marks with pride the launch of Waco as one of the State of Texas’ newly designated Cultural Districts, and it is symbolic of a community that has come together to support the growing identity of Waco as a vibrant hub for artistic and cultural excellence.
Behind every one of these artworks is a story that captures something of the distinctive spirit of our remarkable community. Here you will find celebrity photographers; rising stars of the international art world; educators dedicated to inspiring the next generation of creative minds, young artists and designers just starting their careers; master craftspeople bringing relevance to ancient skills; and the only US-based artist who designs for the Paris fashion house, Hermes. They represent the diversity, passion and talent that characterize Waco at this time.”
Click here to browse the exhibit catalogue and see pictures of the pieces in the exhibit.
Waco residents will have an opportunity to see the full exhibition and meet the artists when it opens in Waco in August. In the meantime, learn more about the artwork, the stories behind the art, find local vendors, or purchase a deck of cards, by visiting creativewaco.org/waco52.
Caitlin Giddens is a local English teacher and writer. She graduated from Baylor University’s Honors College in 2013. When she’s not teaching or writing, she enjoys leading yoga and barre classes at Yoga Pod Waco.
By Ashley Weaver, Director of the SmartBabies Initiative, Waco Foundation
In McLennan County, approximately 45% of women have their first child at age 21 or younger. Research tells us that children born to young mothers are at higher risk for low birth weight and infant mortality, have fewer skills and are less ready to enter kindergarten than their peers. They are also more likely to give birth as teens.
Waco Foundation is committed to improving quality of life for all McLennan County residents. In 2009, the Foundation’s Board of Trustees recognized a deep need to focus efforts on improving the community for our youngest residents, so they commissioned an early childhood study to better understand quality of life for children ages 0-3. The study found the average early childhood quality of life measured at 41.67% on a scale of 0 to 100 and was significantly lower than the average found in some neighborhoods. Those results, coupled with Waco Foundation’s goal to engage in more proactive and strategic grantmaking, laid the groundwork for the launch of the SmartBabies Initiative.
SmartBabies works to facilitate cross-sector collaboration with professionals who provide direct services to parents and families. Waco Foundation provides fiscal resources, staff time and neutral facilitation to ensure the success of this community-wide initiative. Many times, organizations have similar goals but lack the capacity to engage with each other because the work is vast and time is limited. SmartBabies is designed to bring these organizations together to collectively address early childhood quality of life.
One of the great things about our community is the willingness to participate in this type of collaboration. Often times, this means setting aside agendas to work on something that may not be in direct relation to an organization’s goals but will ultimately benefit the entire community. As a native of Waco, I was eager to be a part of this because I want to see change happen in my community for families and children — somewhat like LeBron James has been for Cleveland and basketball (if you’re not a basketball fan you can contact me for clarification). My work allows me to engage with the organizations that want to see real change happen, and early childhood is the best place to begin a successful trajectory for children in Waco.
Our community is in the perfect position for initiatives like SmartBabies. The size, willingness and commitment to see change from so many individuals and organizations are strengths we must continue to build on. While we are primed for this type of work, it’s important for everyone to understand the length of time it takes to fully understand the skillset needed to see the change we want. This is truly a marathon, not a sprint.
We’ve learned a great deal since we officially launched the SmartBabies Initiative in 2011. Through the extensive research we’ve conducted through partnerships with many local, state and national organizations, we’ve learned that preventing an unhealthy environment is the key to improving quality of life for our children. While this may not seem surprising, it confirms that we have to continue to look at a woman’s health and quality of life before she ever gets pregnant if we truly want to impact the life of her children. This means focusing on things that we may not have thought about initially, such as the importance of well-woman exams, access to affordable birth control for women
and families to plan their pregnancies and teen pregnancy prevention, to improve life for our children.
We’ve experienced many successes along the way, including collaboration with the Healthy Babies Coalition and the launch of Nurse Family Partnerships and Healthy Outcomes through Prevention and Early Support (HOPES). These partnerships serve as examples of how effective collaboration works for the benefit of our entire community. In fact, Nurse Family Partnership and HOPES will bring in $3 million of outside funding to the Waco community, specifically for the purpose of improving quality of life for our children. For women and families who are planning to become pregnant, are pregnant or have small children, I highly recommend looking into these programs for fantastic resources about raising children. You can visit their websites here:
Waco Foundation has also learned many lessons from the SmartBabies Initiative that will help us continue to best serve our community. Our Board and staff have developed a deeper understanding of our role as a strategic grantmaker. We now know the longevity necessary to see long-term success, and we’ve gained a better understanding of the pace of this type of work. As the community foundation for McLennan County, Waco Foundation believes this type of work is necessary to accomplish our mission. In addition, the Foundation has invested in Prosper Waco, which has helped us achieve continuous collaboration for the long-term. Our hope is to be able to replicate the SmartBabies model to address other pressing community challenges.
Waco Foundation’s SmartBabies Initiative is directly tied to long-term objectives and goals. The work is difficult as there is no exact prescription for how we can produce real change, but we’ve proven over the last few years that progress can be made when we focus our efforts as a community. I’m excited to see the continued impact of our work and am grateful to the Waco community for embodying the work of SmartBabies, so we can create meaningful change in the place we all call home.
Ashley Weaver, a native Wacoan, brings to her position as Director of the SmartBabies Initiative extensive knowledge, background and passion. She holds a Bachelor of Science from Texas State University in Elementary Education as a certified teacher. She continued her education at Brown University where she received her Master of Arts in Urban Education Policy. Having served as project coordinator for the Greater Waco Community Education Alliance, Ashley gained valuable knowledge about the successes and challenges of this great community. She has extensive experience with community-based projects at a local and national level, bringing together stakeholders to achieve a goal. Ashley’s experience make her uniquely qualified for this most pressing position as we strive towards a community of SmartBabies.
By Fallon Bain
Having graduated from Waco High School hardly a week ago, I have yet to entirely wrap my head around what I just completed. Whoever told me that senior year would be simple assumed that I would not gleefully overcommit myself and would, instead, slow down to enjoy the ride. That was far from the case. If you can look beyond the heaps of college applications, financial aid forms, scholarship essays, and existential crises, yes, this past year was a breeze. It was a breeze in the sense that a never-ending tornado is a breeze – it was an incessant whirlwind of events, deadlines, and activities. Even so, I would not change the past four years for anything. I learned more in my high school career than I ever anticipated, and for that, I am very grateful.
More than any other lesson, high school impressed upon me the importance of finding a healthy balance between my different obligations and commitments. It was only after several years of overcommitting myself that I realized I could not participate in everything I wanted to. On the other hand, some activities, like theatre, were well worth the investment of time and energy. Anyone who has been involved in theatre knows that it entails countless hours of rehearsals and workdays often lasting several months. At the outset of every new production, my instinct was to become as heavily involved as possible. It quickly became apparent that this was unreasonable, and that I would have to restrain myself to a practical amount. It was important to remember that although I had committed myself to the shows, I needed to carefully manage my time to keep up with my school work, responsibilities at home, and wellbeing. Sometimes I failed to maintain a workable balance, but theatre was always well worth the struggle. The joys, fellowship, and pride from every show are some of my favorite memories from high school. I now feel prepared to manage my time adequately in college because my high school teachers had much more understanding and leniency than I expect from my professors, and I learned my limits in a lower-stakes environment.
One of the most difficult lessons I learned in high school, and am still struggling with, is not comparing myself to others. There will always be someone better (and worse, for that matter) than me in any realm I can imagine; there will always be someone prettier, someone smarter, someone more approachable, more talented. It’s hard to not compare my successes and my life with those of others around me when all I see on social media are highlights and carefully curated experiences. It’s natural to want to be the very best, but unrealistic to make it a primary goal. Any competition served as a healthy reminder of that; only one person could be in first place, and more often than not, it wasn’t me. It helped me take inventory of the many positives in my life, and not base my personal worth on the values of others.
In the halls and classrooms of Waco High, I interacted with others with whom I shared very few qualities or interests. Coming from a school filled with diversity opened my eyes to other cultures and family dynamics; I learned empathy for other’s situations and struggles with which I had no personal experience. Developing an understanding of other cultures reminded me that the real world is not homogenous, and I need to be able to communicate effectively with my roommates, classmates, and peers in college and beyond.
From a very young age, Baylor had a large presence in my life. I grew up visiting many homecoming parades, attending Lady Bears’ basketball games as often as possible, and possessing almost as much Baylor gear as the university bookstore itself. When I began applying to colleges, I made sure that I applied to as many as possible, as I wanted to thoroughly explore all my options before making a final decision. I deliberated for months, officially choosing Baylor the week before the enrollment deposit was due. This indecisiveness has carried over into my selection of an academic major; while I know that I want to study science, I have not been able to narrow my interests down to a specific discipline. My dream is to work in some capacity as a researcher, but I will defer my decision until I have had time to formally study within my fields of interest. Very frequently when I tell others I am still undecided, I hear the same words of reassurance: “You have more time to decide.” While this may technically be the case, it seldom feels like it. For this reason, I often wish that I had thought about what I had wanted from my education prior to my graduation.
It is important to be mindful of the lessons you will not learn in school. Therefore, it is important to make an effort outside of the classroom to better yourself and learn on your own. Classrooms will prepare you academically, but there are many life skills you need that are not a part of the curriculum. Ask questions! Try to figure things out; don’t be content with being unaware. My final piece of advice to current students is simple – remember that soon, it will be over. Whenever I had a major deadline or stressor in my life, I had to remind myself that in a week or month I would no longer be worried about it. It may seem crushing at the moment, but time does not stop and this situation will not last forever. Make the most of your current circumstances, and be prepared to move on to the next challenge.
Fallon Louise Bain is the daughter of Judge Virgil and Glenda Bain. She recently graduated as salutatorian of Waco High School and will be attending Baylor University in the fall. While at Waco High she participated in the National Honor Society, The German American Partnership Program (GAPP) and Academic Achievers. She is a Senior Company Dancer at Laurie’s Stepping Out Studio, a Symphony Belle and a SkillsUSA member.
By Rachel E. Pate
Looking back on some of my fondest childhood memories of growing up in Waco, I can remember summers filled with family, fun and celebrations. It seemed like every summer we visited Indian Spring Park along the Brazos to partake in the fanfare of the Juneteenth festivities. The crowd would be filled with families from my church, neighborhood friends and citizens from throughout the community. I especially enjoyed the snow cones, cotton candy, soda pop, barbecue, talent shows and the variety of activities. As a kid, I can remember wondering, “This sure is fun, but why do we celebrate Juneteenth?” Through my childhood eyes it was simply a day for celebrating community and having fun, but I’d later learn that this sacred day of remembrance was quite more significant in our American history.
Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the abolishment of slavery in the United States. Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19ththat the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas. The troops brought news that the Civil War had ended and the slaves were now free. This was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation – which became official January 1, 1863. The Emancipation Proclamation had little impact on the enslaved Texans due to the minimal number of Union troops to enforce the new Executive Order, and in part due to the isolation of the state. However, with the surrender of General Lee in April of 1865, and the arrival of General Granger’s regiment, the forces were finally strong enough to influence and overcome the resistance.
A name for the celebration of June 19th was coined – “Juneteenth” – and the remembrance grew with more participation from former slaves and their descendants over the last century. The Juneteenth celebration is traditionally a time for reassuring each other, for praying and for gathering remaining family members. Juneteenth continues to be highly revered in Texas, and many of my own family members make an annual voyage back to Waco on this date every year.
As an adult, I have invested more time in learning exactly what Juneteenth means to me. It is an opportunity to rise above our beginnings, take pride in our heritage and move forward in the knowledge that it takes a community to enforce change. This year I’ll be celebrating with my extended family on Sunday the 18th at a private cookout in the park.
You can take part in Waco’s celebrations on Saturday, June 17:
10th Annual Juneteenth Parade hosted by the Cen-Tex African American Chamber of Commerce – Saturday, June 17th, 10:00am-12:00pm (Parade route begins at Quinn Campus and will proceed along on Elm Avenue, ending at Indian Spring Park)
Juneteenth Block Party & Voter Registration Event hosted by the Waco NAACP and the Project Vier Coalition – Saturday, June 17th, 12:00pm-4:00pm at Oscar Duconge (Carver) Park- 1661 JJ Flewellen Road
Rachel E. Pate is a native Wacoan and 1999 graduate of University High School. She currently works as the Public Relations person for the Cen-Tex African American Chamber of Commerce and serves as Coordinator for the Esther’s Closet program for women. She’s also a proud mom of one, lifelong member of Toliver Chapel (TCMBC) Church, lover of the great outdoors, avid sports fan and dedicated wearer of Converse’s Chuck Taylor shoes.
Historical Information Sources:
Website, Juneteenth.com – “History of Juneteenth”
By Karen Brown
AHEC or Area Health Education Center, has been a part of the Waco community and region for nearly 20 years, but what the heck is it? Area Health Education Centers were first proposed by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education in the early 1970’s as a means of addressing the maldistribution of health professionals in medically underserved areas throughout the nation. Today, 56 AHEC programs with more than 240 centers operate in 49 states and the District of Columbia.
Texas AHEC East – Waco Region is a part of the Texas AHEC East Program which is run out of the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas. Together, our federally and state funded program, covers 111 counties and over 17 million people. Your local Waco Region is charged with 18 counties in the Heart of Texas. To quote Wikipedia, “AHECs are nonprofit organizations strategically located within designated regions where health care and health care education needs are not adequately met. An AHEC works within its region to make health care education (including residency and student rotations) locally available, on the premise that health care workers are likely to remain in an area where they train. An AHEC also works to support practicing professionals with continuing education programs and other support resources and to attract youth (particularly those from minority and medically underserved populations) to health care professions. An AHEC partners with community organizations and academic institutions to fulfill its mission.”
Why AHEC? Because in 2015:
- 35 Texas counties had no physician of any kind
- because 80 counties had five physicians or less
- because 185 counties had no general psychiatrist
- because the physician workforce is disproportionately located in the five most populous counties in the state
- because there are 438 designated Primary Care Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA) in Texas
- because in Texas, only 12% of Texas physicians identify as black or Hispanic
So what do we do?
- We help young people learn about and gain access to education to become their community’s health professionals.
- We provide real-life community educational experiences for health professions students.
- We facilitate recruitment and retention support for providers.
- We provide health career development education and training opportunities for health professionals
- We host community presentations to encourage healthy life styles.
- We assist communities in providing systemic change to address health inequity in their community
In short, we want to grow our own healthcare. It’s essential that our students know that we need them to be our future healthcare workforce. They need to know that we NEED primary care doctors, we NEED nurses, but there is also a place in healthcare for everyone. Below are just five of the many health care careers that can be completed in Waco in two years or less.
Certified Coding Specialist
- Coding specialists work in hospitals, health agencies, medical clinics and other facilities and process data for patient care, research and reimbursement purposes.
- 1 year certificate program
- Average Salary: $15/hr
Occupational Therapist Assistant
- Occupational therapy assistants and aides help patients develop, recover, and improve the skills needed for daily living and working.
- 2 year associate degree
- Average Salary: $50,000/yr
Respiratory Technician
- Respiratory therapists provide care for patients with lung disease or injuries that affect lung function.
- 2 year associate degree
- Average Salary: $54,000
Biomedical Equipment Technician
- Biomedical equipment technicians are responsible for all aspects of the installation and maintenance of biomedical equipment.
- 2 year associate degree
- Average Salary: $55,000
Community Health Worker
- As an individual who promotes health or nutrition within the community in which the individual resides
- 160 hour training
- Average Salary: $12/hr
We are thankful to our many community partners and supporters as we work toward “Making Our Communities Healthier.” It is because of our valued relationships within the community that make our programs successful! For more information, please visit: http://txaheceast.org/waco/
Karen Brown is the Center Director for Texas Area Health Education Center (AHEC) – Waco Region. She holds a BA from the University of North Carolina – Wilmington, and a MAEd. from East Carolina University. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Texas Rural Health Association and the Texas Society of Public Health Educators. Originally from North Carolina, she enjoys exploring all that Texas has to offer. You will often see her with her husband and son attending local community events and festivals, and she will be the first in line at Waco’s latest culinary addition. Karen may be reached at 254-753-4392 ext. 13 or email [email protected]