Thursday, December 2, 2010

Technology Video



This is a video that a couple students made about technology in the classroom. Many people have different views on whether or not technology is good in the classroom or if its bad. These two boys give exapmles of why they think technology is great in the classroom.

Pledge of Allegiance Video



This is a video about a student, the age of 17, fighting against banning the pledge of allegiance in schools. He believes that everyone should have to say it at school no matter what. This created quite a controversy in his school/town. This has been a very big issue all over the world.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Pledge of Allegiance in Schools

One topic that has been brought up over the past few years in public schools is the saying of the Pledge of Allegiance. The Pledge of Allegiance of the United States is an oath of loyalty to the national flag and the republic of the United States of America, originally composed by Francis Bellamy in 1892. The Pledge has been modified four times since then, with the most recent change adding the words "under God" in 1954 The one statement that has created an uproar is "Under God." Some states give the students the option to say it. In other states, students are not allowed to say "Under God" at all. Currently, 43 states have laws regarding requirements for student recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in schools. However, seven states have no requirements for the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. These states are Iowa, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Nebraska, Vermont, and Wyoming. There was even an incident in Mississippi dealing with the pledge of allegiance. There was a judge who put an attorney in jail for criminal contempt for refusing to stand for the pledge of allegiance. That just shows how big of a deal the pledge of allegiance really is.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Corporal Punishment Video




This video is about a particular student that lives in India. The teacher was using corporal punishment in her classroom which went way to far. One child ended up committing suicide because of it. This video shows everything that happened to this student and his teacher.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Corporal Punishment Picture



*  This picture illustrates a little boy at school being paddled by his teacher while his classmates watch.  Back in the early years, getting spanked at school was very common.  Now, it creates quite a big controversy all over the world.  Most parents do not feel comfortable having their children be spanked at school.  For most children, it can cause harm, fear, and embarassment.  A lot of children who receive this will not want to come back to school which effects their academics.  If kids end up dropping out of school at an early age, they will never be able to excel and get a diploma.  I think it is deffinately up to the childrens parents to discipline them at home, not at school.

Corporal Punishment in Schools

Corporal punishment is one of the main controversies in schools all around the world.  Corporal punishment is a legal form of punishment in twenty states while illegal in the others.  It is shown that children who have experienced hitting, paddling, or other harsh practices in schools end up having problems with fear, depression, and anger.  A majority of these kids even end up dropping out of school because they don't want to go back because they are in fear for getting hurt again. Corporal punishment places parents and teachers in positions where they may have to choose between educational advancement and students' physical well-being.  For instance, some parents who learn that their children are being struck at public school find themselves without recourse, unable to effectively opt-out from the practice, and unable to obtain legal or other redress when their children have been paddled against their wishes.  Ultimately some parents find that the only way they can protect their children from physical harm is to withdraw them from school altogether.  It is also shown that corporal punishment can effects everyone in the school, not just the one being punished.  If one child gets abused then it creates a violent school environment and everyone in that school may be afraid to come back.  Corporal punishment really needs to be banned in all schools so every child is guaranteed a healthy, learning environment.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

No technology for a day

Have you ever went a day with out using any sort of technology?  Most likely, the answer is no.  Technology has taken over the lives of millions of us all over the world.  If you watch t.v., most famous stars cant put there blackberry down for even one minute.  Most detentions in school take place because of kids texting during class.  When I got the assignment to eliminate all technology for one full day, I wasn't sure I could do it.  I chose to do it this past Sunday, October 17.  As soon as I woke up around 8:30, I immediately turned my phone and computer off.  I took a shower and then went over to my dads for breakfast.  I then went to work from 11:00 to 2:00 which made a few hours go by quickly without worrying about it.  I later went home and took a nap then packed up all my stuff to come back to school.  I left for school around 5:00 and got back here around 6:45.  I immediately came in and unpacked my stuff and went to the library to study.  There were numerous times where I wanted to take a break and get on facebook but I didn't.  I stayed at the library till about ten and came back to the room.  When I came back, I also wanted to watch the new episode of Keeping up with the Kardashians, but once again I couldn't.  So to keep my mind off of watching t.v., I cleaned my room and sat and read a magazine.  I went to bed around midnight which took me a while to fall asleep because I usually fall asleep to watching t.v.  As soon as I woke up the next day, which I may add that I had to have someone across the hall from me wake up since I rely on the alarm on my phone to wake me up, I immediately turned my phone back on.  I had four missed calls, two voicemails, and 24 text messages.  Three of the missed calls and two voicemails were from my dad because I forgot to tell him that I had to do this and turn my phone off and he kept calling me to make sure I made it back to school okay.  He ended up calling my roomate the night before asking where I was.  Taking part of this was very hard but was something that I think everyone should do.  Technology really does take over most everyones lives and we all need to do this challenge to realize how much we really do rely on it.  All though this assignment was very hard, I think it was worth it and deffinately an eye opener!