Environmental Help

I went to a lecture near the beginning of the semester (so it's surprising I still remember stuff about it), where the speaker focused on environmental issues. I found it interesting because she really got into how this affects people (including children) and what measures are taken to help resolve these issues. One incident she presented was a lot that was basically a dump sight in a neighborhood filled with children. What are the odds they will come across broken bottles or something more dangerous and really hurt themselves? They don't have many places to play, and no one seems to care enough to prevent incidents...
Some of the ways to help were fairly interesting, like where to plant trees and take some out. One of particular interest was a rooftop garden. She was really detailed with these issues and focused greatly on the positive impacts (which, when you think about it, one wouldn't especially wish to focus on the negative when trying to persuade an issue).
I'm admittedly not overly "environmental". I do recycle and turn off appliances and the like, but I'm not as hard core as some people. But that doesn't mean students shouldn't know about these issues. I wouldn't necessarily try to be hypocritical...I just know that these issues are ever growing and eventually they cannot be ignored. It's all a part of taking that one step and hoping that you can reach one person.

Cell Phone Usage

After hearing the story about a teenage girl who committed suicide because her boyfriend sent nude pictures of her to everyone who wanted them, I was curious and searched out the full story.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1538742/jesse_logan_committed_suicide_after.html?cat=15

This poor girl is one example of many who commit the crime of "sexting". And after reading the article of how many children/teenagers have cell phones and why they used them, I am completely appalled. Which is more stupid: the parents or the teens? The parents because they allow the teens to have cell phones, the teens because they simply disregard the responsibility that a cell phone holds. The fact that many know that "sexting" is a crime, yet continue to do so, I can't even fathom it.
Personally, I don't think anyone should have a cell phone until they're 18. Unless they are traveling a lot (and let's be honest, how much do teenagers travel?), or they have major family issues where someone could die at any moment, it's just not a good idea. And even if they had an emergency of that sort, what teacher or such would/should allow the use of the phone until a particular part of the day? I didn't have a cell phone until my first year of college. And I have family issues where I needed to be in touch with my family all the time. But, what good was it going to do me to keep in touch while I'm in class? If they needed me that bad, they could contact the school to call me. Now that I'm in college, I find great advantage to keep in touch with people at home. Teens don't treat this privilege with respect. Especially while driving. I do understand the want of a phone while in the car, but I also know that talking and driving at the same time is not easy, and texting is worse. Honestly, I really have nothing good to say about cell phones for teenagers, so I'm going to quit while I'm ahead here.

Black History Month Conference

I went to two of the sections in the Black History Conference, and one of them I found particularly interesting. It was the section at 2:45, and it seemed to be aimed mainly at Paideia students. But the speaker had a message that she sent to everyone, and one that stuck with me. It tied into the theme of the entire conference: movement. She expanded on this, starting with movement being integration (as many of the African Americans did), moving to this being in art, music, and the like. She emphasized that had not several of the primary figures during the Integration time spoken up (Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, etc), African Americans would not have the rights they do today. Or if they had, they would not be as far along as they actually are.
With that, other speakers I heard were also very focused on movement, namly Integration. But the majority of this movement dealt with persecution and the fleeing of it. What I had a hard time grasping was the fact that this persectuion of African Americans has been ongoing since the 1800s. It has even dated back to when they were still in Africa, as they continuously fled from the areas into persecution and found minimal solace in refugee camps (a mini history lesson for those who did not know). I don't think people today grasp the seriousness of what the "Americans" have done to the African Americans. This persecution has been going on too long, and still does today. And this sort of teaching really needs to start in the classroom. We can be friends with anyone. Skin color should not make a difference. Unfortunately, with the "ignorance" of the parents, not many children will be exposed to the diversity, whether it be unintentional or not. This conference was eye-opening in how little people really know about African American history. And it's not just theirs. It's everyones. We all have played a part, and still do, so long as we keep these stories alive.

Thoughts on the article

So I read the article about the advantages and disadvantages of having personal laptops in school, and it really didn't sway my opinion very much. Mostly, this was due to their acknowledgment of the students taking advantage of having the computers all the time, but there was no concrete proposal of what to do about it. So the question stands, what is there to do about it? Take the computers away? But then, doesn't that defeat the purpose? You can't monitor where the kids are 24/7. They're going to take advantage.....even the considered "smart" ones. Having the technology required to be right in front of you is a huge temptation, and it encourages them to become completely hooked on it. At least in the classrooms without computers, the teachers are more likely to see the students faces once in awhile, rather than just the backs of the laptops.

I'm not saying there aren't advantages. It would be nice to have all the information you ever need for your students at hand whenever they need it. But that also takes away book learning and paper/pencil work. It didn't kill us to do those things as kids, and it certainly wont kill them. The best reason to continue to learn these things is aimed at the dependency of technology. It's always breaking down. So what happens when these overly dependent students experience a complete wipe out of the technology? They will be so lost, they wont know what to do. It just feels like technology as a requirement in the schools does not hold any advantages worth pursuing.