Saturday, September 17, 2016
Cyberbullying—eJournaling Assignment
This journal post has been hard for me to write. It has been sitting in draft form on this journal for a week. Even going back to reread what I originally wrote, it nags at me and makes me wonder whether my thoughts were truly in order. At some level, it feels as though I should do a lot of research before delving into this and swimming to the depths. However, it is such a hard and dark subject to even discuss, I don’t know if the darkness is worth it.
Our class discussion on the 8th opened with Amanda Todd’s video. Aside from the obvious subject matter of cyberbullying, I had no idea what we were watching. She talked about the horrible things that happened to her, being essentially groomed by a pervert, antagonized and threatened by this person, the subsequent school bullying as a result, and her two previous suicide attempts. One of which involved drinking bleach. And then we were told this was her suicide note . . . A deep silence enveloped the classroom. The atmosphere was palpable. No one said anything. Honestly, after something like that, what can you say?
This video has stayed with me since that class. I cannot even bring myself to watch it again. It is heart wrenching to see her struggle; it’s worse knowing that she felt all along and that her parents did nothing to stop it. While the cyberbullying is a very real thing for today’s youth, it is astounding to me that parents are not more present. After the Columbine Shootings on April 20, 1999, bullying has become a huge issue with huge Government funded anti-bullying campaigns. Sadly, it appears as though this other element of it is not being fully addressed. It makes me wonder what it will take for people—more specifically parents—to wake up and start seeing this as a malignant problem.
Growing up in the 90s when the Internet was in every household, cyberbullying was not something I really faced and it was easy to disconnect from the modem. It was also during this time period that there was the rising trend of girls being kidnapped after being lured away from home by some guy they met in a chat room. That being said, I remember when my parents talked to me about giving out my personal information to people and how dangerous is it was. Moreover, my life was not lived on the computer, I had to ask permission to use it, and my parents closely monitored my online activity. It is strange to see children on Facebook, kids younger than 10 carrying a smart phone, and having zero accountability. At what point is cyberbullying be perpetuated by absent parents who choose to see the Internet, Facebook, phones, or whatever as a free, easy babysitter for their children?
Going into the high school setting to teach English, I know that this will be an issue I encounter; however, I hope and pray that parents will start to grow up, stop abandoning their children, and take an active role in their lives. I have no doubt that this new avenue of bullying will continue, but it is my sincere hope that children will find other uses for their time, stop responding, and have a firm foundation in their home life.
Our class discussion on the 8th opened with Amanda Todd’s video. Aside from the obvious subject matter of cyberbullying, I had no idea what we were watching. She talked about the horrible things that happened to her, being essentially groomed by a pervert, antagonized and threatened by this person, the subsequent school bullying as a result, and her two previous suicide attempts. One of which involved drinking bleach. And then we were told this was her suicide note . . . A deep silence enveloped the classroom. The atmosphere was palpable. No one said anything. Honestly, after something like that, what can you say?
This video has stayed with me since that class. I cannot even bring myself to watch it again. It is heart wrenching to see her struggle; it’s worse knowing that she felt all along and that her parents did nothing to stop it. While the cyberbullying is a very real thing for today’s youth, it is astounding to me that parents are not more present. After the Columbine Shootings on April 20, 1999, bullying has become a huge issue with huge Government funded anti-bullying campaigns. Sadly, it appears as though this other element of it is not being fully addressed. It makes me wonder what it will take for people—more specifically parents—to wake up and start seeing this as a malignant problem.
Growing up in the 90s when the Internet was in every household, cyberbullying was not something I really faced and it was easy to disconnect from the modem. It was also during this time period that there was the rising trend of girls being kidnapped after being lured away from home by some guy they met in a chat room. That being said, I remember when my parents talked to me about giving out my personal information to people and how dangerous is it was. Moreover, my life was not lived on the computer, I had to ask permission to use it, and my parents closely monitored my online activity. It is strange to see children on Facebook, kids younger than 10 carrying a smart phone, and having zero accountability. At what point is cyberbullying be perpetuated by absent parents who choose to see the Internet, Facebook, phones, or whatever as a free, easy babysitter for their children?
Going into the high school setting to teach English, I know that this will be an issue I encounter; however, I hope and pray that parents will start to grow up, stop abandoning their children, and take an active role in their lives. I have no doubt that this new avenue of bullying will continue, but it is my sincere hope that children will find other uses for their time, stop responding, and have a firm foundation in their home life.
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Tuesday, September 13, 2016
Introduction/Perception vs. Reality -- eJournaling Assignment
Repost from 9/2/16
Introduction:
After years of seeing neglect, it seems appropriate to finally put paper to pen (maybe it would be better to say, "Fingers to keys") when an eJournaling assignment is given. It feels weird coming back after all this time and not spending the time on my poor book blog. In addition, it is weird to be starting on the endless cycle of homework once again. That being said, I suppose I shall launch into this weekly assignment while the respite of a three day weekend is staring me straight in the face.
- Name: My name is Brie (aka Sinn)
- Career Goals: After working in education in one form or the other for the past four years, my career goals include contributing to the education of others. I feel that this can be accomplished by furthering my own education and achieving a teaching certificate in English secondary education with a possible history endorsement, as well as pursuing a master’s degree in education once that is finished. I desire to follow in my grandfather’s and father’s footsteps as educators and have a positive impact on our children.
- Main Ideas From Course: This will be an ongoing learning experience, therefore, this list will change and grow as time goes on. My hope is that it will help me learn ways to incorporate technology into the classroom in order to assist my future students ability to learn.
Class Thoughts:
Nearing the end of class, there was some minor
discussion on perception being reality. I first
heard "perception is reality" on afternoon TV. It was one of those afternoons
when you're home sick and the lassitude of the endless cycles of colds has
numbed your brain to a gray mush. Dr. Phil, for the countless time, told some
dullard parent that "perception is reality." Of all the things that he said on
that show, this one has stuck with me throughout the years. However, it never
became more clear to me than when I started working with children.
It
is hard to go into any detail without revealing more information than you're
allowed as an educator. That being said, teaching preschool and working as a
paraprofessional, it has become frighteningly apparent that perception truly is
reality. It doesn't matter how many people saw the event, all that matters is
how the child saw it, how they felt, and so on. And, at some level, I think
that might be the biggest problem we have as teachers (or future teachers):
trying to address "reality" while still knowing truth.
There were may more interesting things in the
lecture, but this was caught my attention. It was easy to see it reflected in
my everyday life. Many more deep thoughts can be put into this, but, after
helping explain rounding to a third grader, my brain is much too tired to even
try.
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About Me
- sinn
- "If you’re a freak like me, Wave your flag! If you’re a freak like me, Get off your ass! It’s our time now, To let it all hang out!" I am a recovering English major, closet bibliophile, breve addicted, zombie lover with a rockabilly and heavy metal fetish.