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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

Battling school bullying

Here is a video on school bullying that takes place every day in schools all over the world.

Fun at recess

*Children having fun at recess which is a huge benefit in a kids life.  I got this picture from a website that took pictures from a picture book: A directory of childrens illustrations.  I think this is a great picture that illustrates a child in the young educational years.  One of the main things that children do at a young school age is go and play at recess and it is one the most beneficial things for a child.

Format Pixel

One Web 2.0 tool that would be useful in many classrooms would be the Format Pixel tool.  The format pixel tool is where you can create your own online magazines, brochures, catalogues, portfolios, and more!  You can design page based projects, upload your own pictures, layout the text, and customize the appearance of the page.  You can also move, insert, or delete pages to create multi-page presentations.  You can also add text objects, adjust the many properties, and attatch shapes.  I think this tool would be very helpful/successful in a classroom because it is a very fun and creative activity for the students to work on.  I think creating brochures and portfolios are a way for the students to organize their information.  Usually when you go to Microsoft word and work on a brochure it is very hard to do because it limits you to what you can change and do to it.  This format pixel tool lets you write whatever you want as well as pick your own pictures, colors, text, font, and anything else you want to do to it to make it fun and exciting!  I think it would also be a very good tool to use when one wants to make a portfolio of themselves because it can organize their information about themselves which is a good thing when you need to go to an interview for a job and they ask for a portfolio of yourself.  This tool can also make the portfolio look professional and neat.  I think the format pixel tool would be great in any classroom!!!!!

The benefits of recess in schools

A lot of people think that schools need to eliminate recess.  However, research has shown that  is not the case.  Studies have shown that a daily break of just fifteen minutes can play a role in improving learning, social development, and health in a childs life.  There was even a research done where a teacher split up a classroom in half and made one half stay inside and the other half go outside for recess.  The class that went outside for just fifteen minutes showed better academic qualities.  Free unorganized oplay or activity is important in keeping children healthy, and helping the student reach a good level of social, emotional, and cognitive development.  It is shown that many schools have reduced the amount of time childrens actually have for recess.  For those kids who may have a disability of some sort and can not go outside at their own home and play because their parents dont have time to watch them, recess at schools may be the only opportunity they have to do so.  All in all, recess is a very good thing to have and we as teachers need to make sure we provide this for the classroom.