How to Handle Adoption in the Family Tree

Almost every adoptee, no matter how much they love their adopted family, experiences a twinge when faced with a family tree chart. Some are unsure whether to trace their adopted family tree, their birth family, or both — and how to handle the differentiation between their multiple families. Others, who for various reasons have no access to their own personal family history prior to their adoption, find themselves haunted —Â  by the family whose names will never be documented in their genealogy, and the family tree somewhere in the world with an empty space on the branch where their name should be. While some people insist that genealogies are only meant to be genetic, most agree that the purpose of a family tree is to represent the family —Â  whatever that family might be. In the case of adoption, the ties of love are generally stronger than ties of blood, so it is absolutely appropriate for an adoptee to research and create a family tree for their adopted family. Tracing Your Adopted Family Tree Tracing the family tree of your adoptive parents works pretty much the same way as tracing any other family tree. The only real difference is that you should clearly indicate that the link is through adoption. This in no way reflects on the bond between you and your adopted parent. It just makes it clear for others who may view your family tree that it is not a bond of blood. Tracing Your Birth Family Tree If youre one of the lucky ones who knows the names and details of your birth parents, then tracing your birth family tree will follow the same path as any other family history search. If however, you do not know anything about your birth family, then you will need to consult a variety of sources — your adoptive parents, reunion registries, and court records for nonidentifying information that may be available to you. Options for Combined Family Trees Since the traditional genealogy chart does not accommodate adoptive families, many adoptees create their own variations to accommodate both their adoptive family as well as their birth family. Any way you choose to approach this is just fine, as long as you make it clear which relationship links are adoptive and which are genetic — something that can be done as simply as using different colored lines. Other options for combining your adopted family with your birth family on the same family tree include: Roots Branches - A slight variation of the typical family tree is a good choice for someone who knows little about their birth family, or who doesnt really want to trace their genetic family history. In this case, you can include the names of your birth parents (if known) as the roots, and then use the branches of the tree to represent your adopted family.Double Family Trees - A good option if you want to include both your adoptive family and your birth family in the same tree is to use one of several variations on the double family tree. One option includes a trunk where you record your name with two sets of branching tops - one for each family. Another option is the double pedigree chart, such as this Adoptive Family Tree from Family Tree Magazine. Some people also like to use a circle or wheel pedigree chart with their name in the center - using one side for the birth family and the other side for the adoptive or foster family.Classroom Alternatives for Young Children - Adoptive Families Together (ATF) has developed a series of free printable worksheets for teachers to use in place of the traditional family tree for classroom assignments. These alternative family trees are appropriate for children of all ages, and can more accurately accommodate a wide variety of family structures. The most important thing for you to keep in mind when faced with creating a family tree is that how you choose to represent your family really doesnt matter that much, as long as you make it evident whether the family links are adoptive or genetic. As for the family whose history you choose to trace - thats an entirely personal decision best left up to you.

The Dangers of Factory Farming - 1511 Words

Many individuals have seen or heard of the videos on the internet of various slaughterhouses across the country as well as the videos of factory farms and how their livestock are raised, along with Rachel Carson’s various books about the dangers of pesticides. Until the 1950’s, farming never used hormones to increase growth pace to achieve meatier animals. Factory farms and the mass production of animals have caused corporations to stop thinking about the quality of their foods, but the quantity and efficiency in which consumers receive it. Factory farm raised animals are produced to become our food and sold in stores, but they do not have to live in such poor, unhealthy conditions or live short lives full of pain. While factory farms are beneficial to the economy, ultimately they are harmful to the environment and the health of people and animals. Therefore we should find alternatives to factory farming. Because the United States has become all about mass production and making products as fast as possible, corporations are more concerned with quantity rather than quality. Animals are being injected with hormones to grow faster so they can be slaughtered, packaged and sold even sooner. Factory farms are lashing out at anyone trying to expose what actually happens behind these closed doors. Some states, like New Mexico, North Carolina, Wyoming, and Vermont are trying to pass laws that criminalize anyone who secretly videotapes what is happening behind closed doors.Show MoreRelatedThe Hidden Horrors Of Mass Produced Food1737 Words   |  7 Pageschanged more in the last fifty years than in the past ten thousand.† (Food, Inc.) Farming first emerged as a large-scale industry during the Industrial Revolution. The transition from small, local farms to larger, corporate-owned businesses began when machines were more readily available and much more efficient. However, another factor i n the creation of the current industrial food system, including factory farming, is the advent of fast food, beginning in the 1930s. Food had to be uniform and cheapRead MoreAmerica’s Food Crisis, by Bryan Walsh Essay969 Words   |  4 Pages American society has grown so accustomed to receiving their food right away and in large quantities. Only in the past few decades has factory farming come into existence that has made consuming food a non guilt-free action. What originally was a hamburger with slaughtered cow meat is now slaughtered cow meat that’s filled with harmful chemicals. Not only that, the corn that that cow was fed with is also filled with chemicals to make them grow at a faster rate to get that hamburger on aRead MoreFactory Farming And Its Effects On The Mass Production Of Animals1670 Words   |  7 PagesFactory farming also known as Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO) is the raising of livestock for human consumption in which vast amounts of food are produced at minimal cost. Products such as meat, milk, and eggs are all staples of this practice. It is easy to identify these farms from their distinct characteristics of confining their animals. Animals such as cows, pigs, chickens, and turkeys are confined to very small quarters and fed out while being pumped full of hormones and antibioticsRead MoreThe Effects Of Factory Farming On The Health Of The Environment, Animals, And People1138 Words   |  5 Pagesmeat. This meat can be traced back to factory farms where the animals are kept to be tortured to turn into a product for the appetite of humans. The terrible treatment these animals are forced to endure is the outcome of the greed and want for a faster production of their product. The industry of factory farming works to maximize the output of the meat while maintaining low costs,but will sadly always comes at the animals’ expense. The effects of factory farming is not worth the damage that is doneRead MoreFactory Farming Should Be Banned1576 Words   |  7 Pagesactivist. Factory farming should be banned or demolished thoroughly due to more harm than good that is being presented worldwide. Animal brutality, which can be found constantly and excessively throughout factory farms, is a deleterious act involving the animals and a diabolic act regarding human morals. The antic actions that proceed have an effect on both humans and the environment, as well as the unethical, inhumane treatment and the atrocious sufferings of animals. Besides factory farms offeringRead MoreThe Humane Treatment of Animals vs. Factory Farms1407 Words   |  6 PagesDeanda Jones The Humane Treatment of Animals vs. Factory Farms The first questions we have to ask ourselves; do animals have rights, do they have feelings, do they feel pain, do they need as we do? To find the answer, one needs merely to think back on empirical data if one has ever owned or been around an animal, a dog or a cat, or horses or farm animals. Take for instance a mother cat. When a mother has kittens, she looks for a sheltered, warm, safe place to do so. When theyRead MoreFactory Farms: A High Price to Pay for Cheap Meat Essay575 Words   |  3 PagesJust imagine living in a world where the antibiotics we take for granted are rendered useless due to the rapid spread of antibiotic-resistant microbes. Should factory farms be able to continue the practice of administering antibiotics to otherwise healthy animals? We already know that the misuse of antibiotics can lead to the development of superbugs. Animal agriculture accounts for nearly 80 percent of antibiotics used in our country (Philpott). Most of which are used for nontherapeutic purposesRead MoreThe Dangers Of Industrial Farming860 Words   |  4 PagesThe Dangers of Industrial Farming People need to be educated about food quality because it effects the environment and their health. Consumers buy processed food on a daily basis not knowing the dangers of the food they eat, and they have allowed the industrial food chain to genetically modify many of the foods they consume today. Also, consumers have options to get healthy nutritional foods that are grown by local sustainable food chains. Meanwhile, people who are concerned about their healthRead MoreThe Effects Of Food On The Food Industry1232 Words   |  5 Pagesyears, and throughout that time the way we produced are food has become both productive and efficient; but it has also become destructive and unhealthy. In A TINA-based food economy, food is either mass produced through the process of industrial farming or it is imported from other countries. These lead to adverse effects on the food, the environment and the economy. However, in a LOIS-based food economy, food is â€Å"produced locally through locally owned businesses, then the more you can minimize yourRead MoreAbstract. Are You Environmentally Conscious? Do You Believe1653 Words   |  7 Pagesyear, and studying a variety of sources including a novel, two documentaries, one oral presentation, and a handful of web articles, I have come to the conclusion that factory farming is one of the biggest culprits of environmental degradation today. It is an industry that must be taken down. Some of the reasons that factory farming is so destructive include the following: 1) The practice of running concentrated animal feeding operations is creating more greenhouse gases than the earth can support

Mother and Mom Free Essays

Though I admit the title of this essay is a bit generic and you have the right to assume â€Å"oh the author must be a mother’s boy† or â€Å"another essay for the mother’s day propaganda†. In this case my reminisce of my mother in the actual body of the text is not filled with only meager sentimentality or a message that we should all love our mothers, it is based on two convictions that are based off of thousands of years of painful human evolution. My first conviction is that the discovery of new knowledge can only come from the re-discovery of pre-existing knowledge- thus anything that you knew or already knew about the importance of our mothers that happens to be in the text will become new to you. We will write a custom essay sample on Mother and Mom or any similar topic only for you Order Now My second conviction is that we take for granted what helps us, hurts us, and originates us. And since I brought up the word sentimentality I will bring my third conviction! We can’t always look at life from a purely philosophical basis, though the philosophical basis is important for thinking, we must not forget those precious moments and experiences we share with our mothers when we were kids (that is if you had a loving mother- which unfortunately my mother didn’t). Thinking too much in a purely rigid philosophical-scientific basis causes us to be antisocial. From my experiences thinking too much in a purely sentimental way only makes us miss the past and scorn the future. Where on earth is that which makes me credible to state these convictions? Where can these convictions, be even discovered? They originate from most privileged people’s domain, only made possible by man’s discovery of fire- it is a place that comes alive when used and to the living acts as a double polarizable monism, its shape being a spiral- the kitchen. Every morning I would wake up completely focused and hell-bent on my tasks. I would ravage my somewhat clean but slightly disorganized room for clothes to wear. I would in haste make my simple but sometimes incomplete breakfast as I think of G-d, homework deadlines, and delude myself with my dreams and aspirations. As I am eating on the squeaky clean glass kitchen table, sitting on a chair covered in plastic, in the periphery of my eye I would see my mom or I would hear the sound of her flippers distinctly pattering on the granite tile in the kitchen. Sometimes I am quite nervous when I am around her, especially if I forget to clean some forgettable part of the kitchen. When the kitchen is dirty, or a section of the kitchen is dirty, in the morning, she can be either calm about it and tell us to clean what we missed, but sometimes she can explode on me and my younger sister. She would yell at us as if we have done some sort of criminal act. By habit my younger sister and I would make sure that the kitchen is clean before we go to bed to prevent our mom from being angry at us. But when my mom comes in the kitchen- as I feel the anticipation of her approval of the kitchen- and she accepts our work in the kitchen- the exact opposite of her authoritarian spirit comes out and it can be the most beautiful thing I can ever experience. This is how I live every day in my home- studying and cleaning the kitchen. The moment after I finish this essay†¦. Just guess it- I will be cleaning the kitchen. If I clean the kitchen every day how is it that I can forget to clean some forgettable part of the kitchen a rank more than occasionally? Is this the nature of man? He forgets and gets punished by Mother Nature herself. I forget to clean some part of the kitchen and I get punished by my mother. To be yelled at by my mother is humbling- it arrests my large as life ego, and renders my philosophy and view of life as meaningless. No philosophy can save me, all it does is make me live in my own world- not to the tasks and betterment of other people. This is the law of the re-education of cleaning the kitchen. Just as religious people re-educate themselves of the laws of the bible every Saturday or Sunday- the law of the re-education of cleaning the kitchen holds true- but instead of once a week it is every day. As Mother Nature has been punishing to mankind (if you read the news you know what I mean) it has been equally loving and forgiving, to enable us to experience life and allow us to even violate it’s laws- intentionally or not- only to realize what we have done, and to come back tearfully to our true pure selves. After being rattled by my mom, yelling at me to clean the kitchen, it is hard to remember that she had a loving side to her- if she had a loving side at all. After cleaning that pesky, forgettable part of the  kitchen- forgiveness, love, and kindness came. Thus is the love that encounters and embraces everything. My mommy can give the kindest, most real, greeting I have ever known. Even though she gives us kind greetings and positive connotations almost regularly it still has a powerful impact on my spirit every time she gives positive reinforcement. When I was a baby my mom would call me â€Å"Love† so she could cope with not getting angry with me as a baby and toddler- even as a teenager she still gives me the nickname â€Å"Love.† I was the only child she had that screamed at sonically high frequencies, regressed back to potty training when my younger sister was born, wanted to be tended to every waking minute, and escaped the house via garage(when I was three years old) to be found in a construction site with a red hat on top of my head. As a result my mom lost her health along with her temper, but she always made it her mission to be as kind to me, my older and younger sister, and allow us to pursue any path we want to take in life without interceding. I would compare my mom’s pattern of communication and mine to a spiral. I can tell that my mom tries to give us as much positive feedback as possible and to reduce or eliminate all negative feedback. She would theatrically lecture us on the use of positive feedback. As a pattern in the morning or as she is taking me to school she would be extremely kind by calling me by my nickname and telling me how happy she is to see me in college- in return I would tell her how happy I am to be in college and other endless miscellaneous subject matter that I can’t remember well enough to put on paper. Then when evening approaches some anxiety trickles in like a leaky faucet. My mom, though not going Mrs. Commando on us, would remind us to make sure to clean the kitchen, but she would make sure we listen very well, when we are doing homework or trying to make ourselves busy (I find that interruption terribly annoying). However, for my mom to tell us to clean the kitchen like a disciplinarian is absolutely necessary- because truthfully we wouldn’t have done the task if she didn’t remind us to do it- leading us back to the law of the re-education of cleaning the kitchen. I would even find this pattern when I communicate to my mom, dad, younger, and older sister. When I communicate to my dad for example I am very sociable with him. We would have a positive exchange by showing or talking about our findings on music, movies, and other goofy things. But when I get busy with homework I have to tell him in haste, â€Å"Sorry, I have to get to work†. Only recently did I find out that my father felt it to be slightly negative and antisocial. This made me discover that we can only be slightly one way, or extremely different, turn into our opposite, and never find a true, absolute, and perfect balance in communication and other things in life in general. This statement seems even more apparent when I am around my family members 24/7. Nobody is perfect. We see what is opposite to ourselves and what enables our existence all the time. Kids at a young age imitate their parents- we are all a product of our environment. Then we look in the mirror to see what the environment has made out of us- beautiful, different, and unique individuals. To find the perfect balance is to erase ourselves from existence- we would not be seen in the mirror- only the background environment. I always thought the struggle was to become permanently perfect forever- make your plan and you will achieve your goals. It is actually to constantly rebuild yourself after failure throughout life- this is what my mom showed me-like a spiral. This helped me find internal peace. Why can’t the kitchen stay clean? We use kitchen. Kitchen gets dirty. We clean kitchen again. We use kitchen. Kitchen gets dirty. We clean kitchen again†¦ How to cite Mother and Mom, Papers

How did freed persons define freedom for themselves free essay sample

Freedom by definition is the power or right to act, speak or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Freedom came before the Emancipation Proclamation for some when they had crossed over to Union territory and for others after the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery in the United States and its territories. During Reconstruction, freed persons began creating their own communities with their own social institutions. They claimed their right to be free and stopped working for a master. This was also known as autonomy, control of one’s affairs, both as individuals and as a community. Independent institutions were formed as a result of their newly found freedom such as churches, schools and newspapers. This became the basis for their communities formed by freed people. Freed persons changed their style of clothing and even their names to symbolize their freedom. They were able to travel freely without being stopped and questioned. We will write a custom essay sample on How did freed persons define freedom for themselves or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Families reunited after years of separation. Churches became the strongest social organization amongst these communities. Ministers became leaders of the communities, setting up schools for both adults and children. Newspapers like the New Orleans Tribune as well as others were created and helped shape these communities too. Sharecropping and wage laborers emerged after land redistribution since few were able to acquire land on their own. Voting rights was also another defined freedom practiced especially after the Fifteenth Amendment. With these new opportunities as slavery ended, it also brought obstacles faced by these newly freed persons. There was a lenient approach to bring back states to the Union and accept emancipation. As a result, violence and black codes ensued after the war. State legislatures passed a series of black codes between 1865 and 1866. These black codes placed restraints on freed people. Such codes limited them to agricultural work, employment contracts, restricted ownership of land, forced labor for those without a job and disallowed freed persons to walk the countryside without permission. These black codes were set to legally control their newly found freedom and ensure the southern way of life at that time period. Violence was also used to subdue freed people. Many were injured and even killed as an act to control freed slaves. An example of a group that used violence and terror as their answer was known as the Ku Klux Klan, formed in 1866. This secret organization was led by a former confederate general and used such methods in hopes of restoring white supremacy. With president Johnson’s strong commitment to states rights, these southern states did minimal efforts to stop the violence and restraints against the newly freed people. As a result, Republicans passed several amendments in an effort to help the newly freed people. Unfortunately, the efforts failed to fulfill many hopes of the newly freed people by the end of Reconstruction.