Category Archives: Parenting & Families

Marriage

Marriage

Most people, especially women, believe marriage is something they have to eventually experience because it is the only way to express their love. Marriage is the only true way for two individuals to share their love to each other. Along with their love, marriage is the way to share their money and debts. Marriage has evolved throughout the years. Now it is held as less sacred, even though it is still a constitution. Marriages in the modern era transformed from a very sacred ceremony into something people get into for reasons even not love, such as to make more money, acquire a green card or as a business strategy.

Some people even treat marrying as a way to pass time when they are bored. More than anything, marriage is now only viewed as a legal thing, which gives two people a piece of paper that they can void anytime they want to. Then when other people want to get married for love, they are not allowed to marry because they are not considered equals and do not deserve equal opportunity to get married.

In this modern word, marriage is not simply the event that unites one man and one woman as husband and wife. There are different connotations for marriage, ranging from legal, social, religious to economic across the times. Marriage has evolved from a concept related to the formation of a family unit, nurturing of children, obtaining of citizenship to the legitimizing sexual relationships, and the officiating declarations of love. In practical ways, marriage is an institution that could make two separate lives come together in emotional and economic ways. Traditionally, marriage is a society that depends on natural law, one necessary for man because of man’s nature.

The family is a natural society that is necessary to continue the race.

Still, there are those who believe marriage should be a blissful haven of love and friendship as well as sex and stability. This is now considered too idealistic in the real world. And as people strive to achieve this, they start thinking something is lacking in their marriage when they cannot reach this goal standard. For most of our history, marriage was not a relationship characterized by mutual love, but as an institution for the acquisition of wealth, assets and power, as detailed above.

Today, as people expect romance and intimacy as the main ingredients of marriage, their unions acquire a heightened sense of fragility. As more women began to expect romance and intimacy in their marriages, their unions became more fragile because not getting these expectations make them immediately think something is wrong with their marriages. The best way to maintain a healthy marriage is to communicate. Communicating one’s needs and desires, rather than shutting out the partner can be beneficial to the marriage. No matter how long two people are together, they should not be too complacent and take advantage of each other. Forgetting each other’s individuality will eventually lead to constant fights and to divorce.

EDUCATION

Education

More than ever, education is important. Education allows children to be exposed to different teaching philosophies. The emphasis of essentialism and perennialism is on standardization and the learning of material. This style of learning is authoritarian and disciplinarian. The study is acted upon and has no choice or preference in the material or the method by which they choose to learn it.

They are simply an object that either meets or fails to meet standards placed upon them by entities whom they have never met. The student that rebels and chooses not to learn are penalized by the inability to attain work and achieve a meaningful position in society. Education is compulsory in the United States and it is feared that some students might not see the benefits and would choose not to learn at all. However, this goes against human nature. Humans have a natural desire to learn about the world around them. The idea that a person would simply be satisfied with their current level of knowledge for the rest of their life is unlikely. The real question is whether they would choose to learn the required subjects.

In order to remain competitive in the global marketplace, America needs a workforce with the creativity and leadership ability to continuously evaluate positions and develop new products. An educational system that squelches creativity and relies on rote learning is not likely to produce this type of worker. Essentialist philosophy produces a worker that can do what they are told and follow directions given to them by another. It does not promote the ability to make one’s own decisions and to take responsibility for one’s actions. A school system that integrates student centered philosophies will produce free-thinkers with the knowledge that they can accomplish anything that they decide to do. Creativity will be necessary in maintaining the competitive edge in the global marketplace.

It is apparent that the school system must make some major structural changes in order to adapt to the needs of the changing business environment. However, it must do this without sacrificing quality in academics. This is where standardized testing could provide an important tool to make certain that minimal academic standards are met. However, it should not end with standardized test results. Students need to be able to develop all areas of themselves in order to become the best person possible. Standardized tests could still provide the basis for standardized education, but schools must find a way to consider the whole student.

It is apparent that the educational system needs to change and that it needs to move away from the authoritarian ideals that have prevailed for the past hundred years or more. It might not be possible to do away with the old regime entirely, especially not in the beginning, but we must find a way to integrate student centered philosophies into the system. The purpose of the educational system is to produce the types of workers that America needs to remain competitive. However, until some structural changes in the system are made, it is unlikely that the current system will be able to accomplish this goal. It is imperative that teacher centered philosophies are replaced with student centered initiatives. This is the only way to assure America’s place in a changing world.

About Genealogy

Have you ever thought about what your family had been like beyond your parents? Or ever wondered why you have a certain characteristic or last name? Maybe it’s time to dabble in something called genealogy.

About genealogy
Genealogy is the study of an individual’s family and tracing their lineage back several generations. This is usually done by taking information such as one’s familial stories and going through historical records and other forms of information to come to a conclusion. As a rule, all researchers or genealogists start with the individual themselves and work backwards through their parents, then their grandparents, etc. Original and reliable sources and family context are key to properly linking an ancestor to a descendant.

Once done or the genealogist has found a sufficient amount of data for their client, the person’s heritage is laid out in the typical “tree” chart. However, some also prefer their family histories in narrative form.

Some of the documents used in searching for an individual’s family are the following:
• Birth records;
• Death records;
• Adoption records;
• Court records;
• Marriage and/or divorce records;
• Telephone directories;
• Church records;
• Medical records;
• Biographies;
• Diaries;
• Photographs; and
• Family stories.

However, some would say that this kind of study is circumstantial at best since there are no other ways to properly determine someone’s family tree. After all, there are so many other people that have the same last name and they may not be related at all.

Despite this though, genealogy is a very popular topic nowadays, so much that there are several websites on the Internet dedicated not only to help professionals gather data but for casual genealogists and curious people to learn more about it.

Why pursue your family history? There are a lot of reasons for wanting to know about your family. Some are genuinely curious about where they had come from, while other people feel the need to impart something about their ancestors onto the next generation. There are even those who would want to find their relatives and tracing their family trees is a good way to do so.

Genetic genealogy
Possibly one of the most reliable sources of information on your family is right there in your body: DNA.
Most of us are familiar with DNA testing due to its frequent appearances in crime dramas, but a lot don’t know that it can be used to help determine one’s lineage as well. These kinds of DNA tests are called genetic genealogy tests, and tend to focus on the paternal (Y-DNA) and maternal (mtDNA) lines of a person to see if there’s a common ancestry with another person.
Other uses for genetic genealogy testing is to determine someone’s ethnic and biogeographical origins, though these tests are less common.

Getting started on your own project
Can you trace your own family tree? Yes, you can. It may take some time and dedication, but working on your own will not only save you some money but also may be rewarding in the long run.

Here are some tips to tracing your lineage:
• Always work backwards- start with yourself and your name, then your parents, and then your grandparents.
• Keep records, and ask for identification documents, diaries and even family heirlooms.
• Try to know what your last name means and where it comes from.
• Consider using a genealogy software from the Internet. They’re made especially to let people record their family data and print it out in any format they wish.
• When in need, ask a professional genealogist! They’re always happy to help someone who wants to know where they’ve come from.
• Have fun! Sometimes the journey can be more rewarding than the conclusion, especially when it’s about your family.

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DIVORCE

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DIVORCE

If you’re looking to get your marriage dissolved, but you don’t know which procedure to choose, then it’s best to know about them first, especially divorce.

What makes divorce different
Annulment is a legal procedure that makes a marriage void, meaning it completely invalidates the union. That means that once filed and processed, there had been no marriage at all in the eyes of the law. Meanwhile, legal separation happens when a couple are allowed to live apart from each other yet are still considered married in the eyes of the law.

What makes divorce different from these two is the fact that not only does the couple have their union legally dissolved and the two individuals are allowed to marry again, but records of their previous marriage still remain.

Kinds of divorce
1. Fault and no-fault For grounds of a divorce, you must have proof that your spouse has done something that isn’t allowed within a marriage, such as cheating or adultery, and desertion, which are called “faults”. This used to be the only way to dissolve a marriage, though some jurisdictions still require proof of fault to allow a divorce.

The latter is the opposite of fault divorce. In jurisdictions that allow this, there’s no need to present proof of fault and this protects both the privacy and dignity of both parties. Instead, you and your spouse can either claim that the marriage has broken down (called “irretrievable breakdown”) or say that there are far too many differences between the both of you that the marriage has become irreparable (“irreconcilable differences”) without needing to explain why or provide details.

2. Summary If the two previous kinds don’t seem appealing to you, then there’s the summary divorce, in which the court takes into consideration a few important factors that would be grounds for a divorce. Some of these are:

• A short marriage (actual length depends on the jurisdiction); • No children, or custody has already been resolved outside of the court; • No real property or mortgage; and • Property of either spouse or marital property is under a threshold (usually $35,000, but not including vehicles).

3. Uncontested A little similar to the no-fault divorce, but with key differences: Both you and your spouse can come to an agreement even without lawyers or other mediators about properties and child custody. There will not be a trial and sometimes appearing in court isn’t needed.

4. Mediated A neutral third party called a mediator will sit in while you and your spouse attempt to resolve issues such as properties and child custody and support and works to help them come to an agreement. However, the mediator is not allowed to make decisions, only to help both of you communicate better, such as soothe tempers if an argument breaks out.

5. Collaborative In this, your lawyers will work together to come to an agreement for you. Both your and your spouse set your terms to your lawyers, who then attempt to settle the matter. If they cant come to a conclusion, then you’re allowed to hire a new one to represent you.

6. Default If you file for divorce but your spouse doesn’t appear in court for whatever reason or doesn’t participate at all, the divorce is automatically granted.

Any of these are viable ways of getting your marriage dissolved, but if you decide to go through legal means, it’s recommended that you get an experienced and competent lawyer. Going through a divorce is very difficult, even if it’s made simple by filing and signing papers and appearing in court, and having a good lawyer representing you can help take some pressure off your shoulders.