Does Social Media Really Drive Startup Sales?

This article is talking about how GM said that there was no point in advertising on Facebook. Apparently the man who made that decision is not in that position anymore and now GM is going to advertise on Facebook. They were saying that it is difficult to try to figure out how many sales were made from advertising in places like Facebook. So far no one has the answer. I think it is more of a "go with your gut" kind of thing. I don't think anyone goes out and purchases a car because they saw an ad for it on Facebook but making a potential customer see the products as often as possible could make them eventually purchase something from you. I almost think that more people are on the computer now instead of the television so I think putting advertisements on social media would be a good thing for a company.

Lesonsky, R. (2012, August 6). Does social media really drive startup sales?. Retrieved from http://www.readwriteweb.com/start/2012/08/does-social-media-really-drive-startup-sales.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed: readwriteweb (ReadWriteWeb)&utm_content=Google Reader

Improving Academic Achievement for Disadvantaged Children

This was an interesting article because it talked about teaching students to become respectful members of society. In doing that, the students that are falling behind in school will do better because there will be a less hostile environment in the classroom. The school also has a committee made up of teachers, parents, administrators and students. The purpose of the committee is to get all involved to work together so that everyone is on the same page. There is less fighting and confrontation which allows more support and collaboration and the students are able to learn more. I found this part particularly interesting, "James Comer's life work suggests that the test-driven regimen in schools will never successfully close the achievement gap. More to the point, it will also fail in preparing our students for the many roles we want them to fill as they become society's responsible adults." (Elias, 2012) I am sure many others feel the same way.

Elias, M. (2012, August 2). Improving academic achievement for disadvantaged children. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/improving-academic-achievement-disadvantaged-maurice-elias?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed: EdutopiaNewContent (Edutopia)&utm_content=Google Reader

No one has forgotten your dad, Braydon

This is a sad story and I am sad for Braydon whose time was cut short with his father. Braydon just wanted his father to be remembered since he was killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan. A year after he put his story out there, this was made to give Braydon reassurance that his father was not forgotten. Braydon has gotten over 1,000 comments on his post and the most recent ones were from today. Some people are so caring and generous and I really think it has helped this young boy heal. I wish all people would be a little more caring.

Fantz, A. (2012, August 6). No one has forgotten your dad, braydon. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/06/world/braydon-nichols-chinook-afghanistan/index.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed: rss/cnn_topstories (RSS: Top Stories)&utm_content=Google Reader

The End of Cable TV? How Everyone Will Watch Television In The Future

This was an interesting article......maybe this is why cable companies are charging outrageous prices right now. I think this will be a good thing, especially for those people who don't watch a lot of television and yet they are paying quite a lot for the few channels that they occasionally watch. All of this new technology is coming out now and it's great as long as it is useful and isn't something that rots our brains. It didn't mention how much OTT costs and no one knows for sure how the cable companies are going to handle it. I think it is time for a change though.

Proffitt, B. (2012, July 31). The end of cable tv? how everyone will watch television in the future. Retrieved from http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/the-end-of-cable-tv-how-everyone-will-watch-television-in-the-future.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed: readwriteweb (ReadWriteWeb)&utm_content=Google Reader

What Parents and Educators Want from Assessments

This is an interesting article. It talks about what parents and educators want from their children/students being assessed. The article broke it down but overall it seems that both think that formative assessments are more valuable when it comes to seeing how the students are progressing and they also don't think that it is very important to compare the scores to other students'. Everyone wants what is best for the students but the way we are going about it right now is not working. It is just upsetting the teachers because some classes are better (grades and behavior) than others and sometimes there are a lot of students with special needs in a classroom which will most likely bring down the overall scores of the class and make it look like progress was not made. I don't know what to do instead but maybe something like if students fall behind for a year than it needs to be looked into and see if there are several students in one class that didn't make progress, but I would not say that all students have to make a certain amount of progress each year or else......Each student is different, they come from different circumstances and I think that as long as they make a good amount of progress each year compared to their own scores last year, I think that is good enough. It's just all a big mess right now and no one knows what to do.

OBrien, A. (2012, July 30). What parents and educators want from assessments. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/student-assessment-parents-survey-anne-obrien

Video shows boy bullied, burned on bus

This is horrible....the poor boy is burned with a hot lighter, called names, and is trapped in his seat on the bus. I don't understand why the bus driver didn't pull that bus over or take it back to school after hearing that child screaming like that. They said that the driver had charges against her but all of them were dropped. I don't think they should have been dropped. She neglected to help that child while he was getting emotionally and physically bullied. I don't know if she just ingnored him because he was labeled "special needs" and maybe she thought he just made loud noises sometimes but she should have pulled that bus over and seperated them at least. This child has post traumatic stress syndrome now and he has been seeing a counselor or therapist because of the damage done. It makes me really angry that anyone would let something like this go on and it makes me even angrier to know that most of the parents of bullies don't think it's that big of a deal, mostly because they are too busy to be bothered with their own children. I think parents with children who are bullies should have to attend parenting classes and the children should attend anger management classes and therapy.

CNN. (2012, July 30). Video shows boy bullied, burned on bus. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/video/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed: rss/cnn_topstories (RSS: Top Stories)&utm_content=Google Reader

Girls Who Code: Crashing the “Brogram”

I am seeing a trend here in the articles I have looked at today.......
Anyways, this article is about getting young girls interested in becoming programmers when they are older. The authors say that something happens when a girl is 13 or 14 and she thinks that programming and engineering is just for guys. This program is eight weeks long and I believe it is eight hours a day. They teach the girls how to program and market. This article talked a lot about how male programmers have "good looking women" around to help make deals like putting pictures with women in bikinis in their slideshow, female waitresses, or even just having the women in hot tubs. The point was that this can be done because there are so few female programmers. Twitter has joined in with the project and is helping fund it. I think this is a good one for Twitter to get involved in because I am sure more women use Twitter than men.

Devaney, T., & Stein, T. (2012, July 24). Girls who code: Crashing the “brogram”. Retrieved from http://www.readwriteweb.com/start/2012/07/girls-who-code-crashing-the-brogram.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed: readwriteweb (ReadWriteWeb)&utm_content=Google Reader

The WINGS Story: An After-School Program Helps Students Beat the Odds

This sounds like a good program as long as the schools have the money for it. A lot of parents are now in the mind-set that the teachers and school should be teaching their children how to respect people, appropriate behavior, and more that goes all the way to teaching their children how to tie their own shoes! It's a little ridiculous. If parents spent time with their children every day, most children would behave much better. Teachers are very busy and they have a state mandadted curriculum to teach. Students would not be so far behind if the parents spent more time with their children and teaching them. But now that parents are so busy trying to work so that they don't lose their house and so they can feed their children, it falls on the teachers to teach respect, manners and everything else because you can't teach curriculum if no one gets along and doesn't know how to respect or listen. It's great that the school is doing the WINGS program for their students but they shouldn't have to. I am one of those people who thinks that if you can't and aren't going to take care of your child than don't have them. The child suffers for your mistakes and it actually makes other children in the classroom suffer too if the child has not been taught how to sit still, be respectful, not blurt out and that they can't do whatever they want. Now there are some children who are very quiet and no one notices them and that child suffers inside. The schools feel bad for these kids and are trying to save them from living on the streets and dropping out of school even though the teachers are spent at the end of the day, everyone is under paid and schools are in jeopardy of being closed because there is not enough money to run it. I am happy that these kids are getting what they need but they should be getting it at home.

Rubenstein, G. (2012, July). The wings story: An after-school program helps students beat the odds . Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/stw-social-emotional-learning-after-school-wings-story?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed: EdutopiaNewContent (Edutopia)&utm_content=Google Reader

Thank You, Sally Ride

This article was interesting because it is true that a lot of girls for some reason don't care as much about science as boys do. I am starting to see however, that boys aren't as interested in science anymore. Science lessons are becoming a bore or are rushed because of the lack of time. The students don't get to really explore anymore, rather they are told what to do and what the end result is. I know some of it is because of the lack of money and time because there are so many topics that need to be taught before the end of the year. But these kids are not enjoying science. I am glad to hear that Sally set up a summer science camp for girls. Girls do need that extra confidence and push to go into fields that are mostly male dominated. It's sad that Sally died at such a young age from cancer but at least she left a lot behind to help other girls to possibly follow in her footsteps one day.

Urry, M. (2012, July 24). Thank you, sally ride. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/24/opinion/urry-sally-ride/index.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed: rss/cnn_topstories (RSS: Top Stories)&utm_content=Google Reader

Twitter's Credibility Problem

This article was talking about how people are saying that the articles on Twitter are not as credible as if they read the same article somewhere else. There was a study done and they are still not sure as to why people feel this way but they are now aware of this. One source posting articles on Twitter is the New York Times and apparently it is hurting them. The only thing I can think of is that people view Twitter as a means of communication with other people and not very serious communication. I don't have a Twitter account so I don't really know much about it but it seems like Twitter is a place to let everyone know what you are doing at the moment. I don't think the majority of people log on to Twitter to read the news. Twitter does not seem like a serious communication tool. Maybe that is why people seem to think that news stories that are published on there are not as credible.

Copeland, D. (2012, July 17). Twitter's credibility problem. Retrieved from http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/twitters-credibility-problem.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed: readwriteweb (ReadWriteWeb)&utm_content=Google Reader

Is the Cell Phone the new Pencil?

I think that the cell phone is the new pencil. Most people, including young students, have cell phones now and they are on the phones all of the time. The children are technically "writing" throughout the day by texting their friends and family. However, I don't think it really counts because there aren't many people that type an entire word, use correct punctuation or even grammar. The skills they use on the phone are not comparable to ones they use when they actually sit down and write in school. If the students want something similar, I say let them write letters to their friends throughout the day. Yes, typing skills are valuable and texting kind of counts towards that but because of how it is done, I would have to say that no, the phone is not the new pencil.

Grabill, J. (2012, July 12). Is the cell phone the new pencil?. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/is-cell-phone-new-pencil-jeff-grabill?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed: EdutopiaNewContent (Edutopia)&utm_content=Google Reader

Alaska drilling: From 'hell no!' to ... 'OK'

This is a very controversial topic. Drilling in Alaska could have so many benefits but there are also a lot of things put on the line if they drill. There is a lot of wildlife in the water there and that wildlife helps the culture survive. I would not want to be the person faced with this decision. I did notice that the Eskimo leader made his decision as he was leaving office. The Eskimo leader gave the "ok" to start drilling and I am glad that the company will stop if the whales are near the sites but there is one thing that raised a red flag for me. The article said that because of the ice they had to delay the work and now they are in a time crunch because they have to stop by October. From what I have seen, companies care more about profit than anything else and even though they promised to take every precaution and to treat this with extreme care, I could see them rushing to get as much done as possible so they are not too far behind and don't lose money. I could also see this "rush" creating mistakes in putting things together to drill and having another leak occur. I hope they do keep their word and handle this location with extreme care......even though they should technically be doing that for every location because the effects of a spill are devastating.

Vercammen , P., & Patterson, T. (2012, July 17). Alaska drilling: From 'hell no!' to . 'ok'. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/17/us/alaska-offshore-drilling/index.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed: rss/cnn_topstories (RSS: Top Stories)&utm_content=Google Reader

Teens: Stop Photoshopping models

I think this is a great thing! I agree that teen magazines should stop photoshopping the models to make them look "perfect" because it sends the wrong message not just to the girls but also to the boys. Both of them see at least the covers of those magazines and that seems like it is the norm and that is beautiful. So the girls try to be like that but they can't because our bodies were just not made to be like that and the boys think that is how every girl should look and he may start to put the pressure on his girlfriend because she doesn't look like the girls in the magazines. I think it would help stop a lot of the eating disorders for teenage girls. The two girls that put the petition together are just amazing. It would be nice if this even went for all magazines. If all magazines stopped photoshopping the models so we look at real people and not half a person and half a computer made person. I myself and tired of seeing the false images out there and I am not ugly, overwieght or anything but they even make me feel bad about my looks. I can't even imagine how it makes others feel. The girls have their petition online and are trying to get more magazines to stop photoshopping. If you think this is a good idea watch the clip below to find their link and sign the petition to help them!

CNN. (2012, July). Teens: Stop photoshopping models. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/video/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed: rss/cnn_topstories (RSS: Top Stories)&utm_content=Google Reader

Teachers: Are You Taking Time Off This Summer?

This teacher has a very busy summer but it seems that she likes it that way. Even if you like to stay busy, you eventually need a break. I know I was feeling that this year with everything I had going on. There were only three weeks left of school and I wanted a vacation now, not in three weeks, but right now. I was burnt out and my patience were gone. I like to stay busy like this woman  (maybe not quite as busy) but I know when it's time for a break. You need to re-energize for the new school year and you need to have some fun. Things are crazy throughout the school year with everything that is going on and I think in order to be a great teacher, you need to rest during your time off. I do know that things need to be done during the summer like house work or projects that have been put off during the school year, Just make sure you know your limits and you get enough relaxation so you don't end up being the teacher that loses their mind.

Aguilar, E. (2012, July 6). Teachers: Are you taking time off this summer?. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/summertime-work-rest-vacation-elena-aguilar?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed: EdutopiaNewContent (Edutopia)&utm_content=Google Reader

.How Google+ Has Morphed Over The Past Year & What We Can Expect in 2013

About six months ago I saw that some of my friends on Facebook were inviting people to join them on Google+. I have not seen or heard anything about it since then. It seems as if they don't really use it anymore and they went back to using Facebook. I never used Google+ myself so I don't really know what it is all about. I would agree that Google+ is probably just helping out the other Google apps. I don't really think it is going to go anywhere on its own. It's good that it is helping out its other sites like YouTube, the search, Blogger, and Gmail. I would say it was a good step for them to make sure that Google stays alive and isn't forgotten. Google+ isn't doing horrible, it still has about 75 million using it daily. I would say it wasn't a waste of time but I don't really see it going anywhere after this.

Macmanus, R. (2012, July 1). .how google has morphed over the past year & what we can expect in 2013. Retrieved from http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/how-google-has-morphed-over-the-past-year-what-we-can-expect-in-2013.php

It is Time to Hack the Future of TV

This article talks about how developers have connected just about every piece of technology together with an exception to the television. The television can get movies from Netfilx but other than that it is just a TV. Developers are thinking about hooking televisions up to IPads and IPhones. They are trying to replace the remote control with one of these devices too. It sounds like they would like the television to be more interactive and to have more features than just to play shows. Developers are also trying to get Tablets and IPads to do split screens to watch TV on one side and to play with other apps on the other side. I guess this would be a good idea and the next appropriate focus but I don't think it is really necessary. I also think that a lot of the technology that we have now is not necessary, like watching movies on your phone. Why would you want to watch a movie on that small of a screen? If your answer is to keep your children occupied while running errands, I still don't think it is a good idea because I believe that makes them more prone to becoming ADD or ADHD. They also become bored with anything that is not electronic. Like I said before I see this as an ok thing but it's not necessary.

Rowinski, D. (2012, July 2). It is time to hack the future of tv. Retrieved from http://www.readwriteweb.com/mobile/2012/07/it-is-time-to-hack-the-future-of-tv.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed: readwriteweb (ReadWriteWeb)&utm_content=Google Reader

How to Develop a Welcoming Culture

This was an interesting article. It talked about how students who cause problems in the classroom are ones who need better social skills. That these students don't know how to behave and they need to practice correct skills. Dr. Curwin was saying how if a child misses a shot in basketball we don't tell them that they can't try again until they get better. We tell that child to keep practicing until they get better and he says that we should use the same strategy with misbehavior. He says that we shouldn't take the child out of the social situation like we tend to do. We should let them practice the correct behavior. I agree with this but it is very difficult to do with the size of classrooms that we have now. There are so many children (typically) in just one classroom that misbehaves and needs to be taught how to act appropriately. Teachers just don't have to time to do it and it's basically physically impossible since there are so many students and only one teacher. I have been in a lot of classrooms where just learning how to act appropriately would be what the students would learn for at least a week or so and that would be excluding everything else. I do know from experience that if you make a student feel welcomed and secure that they will have better behavior but sometimes no matter what you do they won't change because they have been so badly wounded.

Curwin, R. (2012, July 1). How to develop a welcoming culture. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/welcoming-all-children-richard-curwin?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed: EdutopiaNewContent (Edutopia)&utm_content=Google Reader

Police investigate remains found in Montreal park

This is just a sad and sick story.  A guy named Luka killed a man named Jun. After killing him he dismembered his body and did nasty things to it while video tapping it. As if that wasn't enough, he then posted it on YouTube so all of the world could see what he had done. Right now they say he is in prison and he is locked in his own private cell 23 hours a day. They are afraid to put him with the other inmates because they don't know how they will react to each other. I know I don't have the entire story but things like this make me wish we had the death penalty. Why let him rot in a cell while we take care of him pay for it when we could just bury him in the ground and be done with it. I think it is a pretty black and white case. Luka was caught red handed because he video tapped what he did and posted it. Why does it matter if he is not stable? He is not a safe person to have around and he did a horrible thing. It's not like what he did was an accident, he had fun. I think we should make sure that he is never released and put back in with society.

CNN Wire Staff. (2012, July 2). Police investigate remains found in montreal park. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/02/world/americas/canada-body-parts/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed: rss/cnn_topstories (RSS: Top Stories)&utm_content=Google Reader

Game-Based Learning to Teach and Assess 21st Century Skills

This article is saying how teachers should use video games in and out of the classroom to teach content to students. The author says that students learn more/better through the games because its more authentic to the children. He goes on to say that the students learn to communicate, become team players, and work on problem solving skills. I agree that some video games can teach those skills but that is not how it will be in the real world once they get out of school. The students will have to learn to work with others face-to-face which is much more difficult to do because more problems/arguments come up. In video games the students also get some sort of instant gratification, which is also not what it's like in the real world. If we teach with mostly video games like this guy is suggesting, we could be setting our students up for failure in the real world. Sure they will succeed in school but the gap between school skills and work skills is widening and I think the students could end up with psychological problems. Students would want to quit work because it isn't "fun" and it isn't as gratifying as getting rid of all of the pigs in Angry Birds or killing off the enemy in Halo. I say let them play the games at home as reinforcement but keep it how it already is in school.

Miller, A. (2012). Game-based learning to teach and assess 21st century skills. Edutopia, Retrieved from http://www.blogger.com/Miller,%20A.%20(2012).%20Game-based%20learning%20to%20teach%20and%20assess%2021st%20century%20skills.%20Edutopia,%20Retrieved%20from%20http://www.edutopia.org/blog/game-learning-21st-century-skills-andrew-miller?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed: EdutopiaNewContent (Edutopia)&utm_content=Google Reader  

Why Security Could be Apple's Greatest Threat

This article was about how Apple used to claim that the Mac was the safest computer but they don't claim that anymore. Macs have been getting hacked now and some people are thinking it's because more people have them now. Macs weren't that big a few years ago so not many hackers gave them the time of day. In the article it says that Microsoft computers are the safest because they have put the time and thought into safety. I personally don't care what type of computer it is, they all can be hacked. I think it is up to the user to be careful with what they are doing and what information they give over the internet. There are better virus scanners and better ways of proctecting your computer than what any of the computer companies give you. You just have to do your homework and watch what sites you go on.

Gonsalves, A. (Producer). (2012). Why security could be apple's greatest threat. [Print Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.readwriteweb.com/enterprise/2012/06/why-security-could-be-apples-greatest-threat.php

Couple Living in Storage Unit

There are several families in Texas that cannot afford a home. A few of these families do have jobs but they still can't afford a home and others can't find a home. They are paying between $70 and $90 a month to live in the units. They have electricity but no running water. I think this is crazy but I guess you do what you have to. I would think that it wouldn't be legal to live in a storage unit and that the police would come and remove them. It is sad that some of those people actually have jobs but they still can't afford a home. Everything is too expensive now and the quality is not as good as it used to be. So we are paying more money for something that is not as good. We are so mixed up and we really need to re-think how we are doing things.

CNN. (Producer). (2012). Texas couple lives in storage unit. [Print Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/video/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed: rss/cnn_topstories (RSS: Top Stories)&utm_content=Google Reader  

5 Ways Microsoft's Surface may be Better Than an Ipad

The third article I read is called, "5 Ways Microsoft's Surface may be Better Than an Ipad" by Doug Gross. This article was saying how the Surface will come with an attached keyboard, a kickstand, it's basically the same size, it will have a lot more power, it will have two USB ports, and an XBox SmartGlass. It seems as if Microsoft has been analyzing Apple's weaknesses on the Ipad and they also listened to the customers to see what they were complaining about. Apparently people are using the Ipads for work purposes but they find it difficult to do a lot of typing on a touch screen and they are not able to save their work to a USB device. Microsoft only showed two of their tablets at a meeting and they did not say when the tablets would be released or for how much. I am thinking that these new tablets will be really expensive because of all of the new features. I am wondering how the tablet will actually work. I know I have had some problems with Microsoft limiting what I can do and what I can use with its programs. Microsoft also did not talk about what kind of apps they would be releasing either. I am sure that you will probably only be able to use the apps that Microsoft puts out and none of the other companies apps because they want you to only use Microsoft products and I see that as a major downside.

Gross, D. (2012). 5 ways microsoft's surface may be better than an ipad. Retrieved from http://www.blogger.com/Gross,%20D.%20(2012).%205%20ways%20microsoft's%20surface%20may%20be%20better%20than%20an%20ipad.%20Retrieved%20from%20http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/19/tech/microsoft-surface-ipad/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed: rss/cnn_topstories (RSS: Top Stories)&utm_content=Google Reader

Why Pintrest Has Not Reimagined Scrapbooking

The second article I read is from ReadWriteWeb and is called, "Why Pintrest Has Not Reimagined Scrapbooking". This article was talking about how a lot of things are done with the computer now. We used to write with pencil and paper and now most of the time we type. We used to have film canasters in our cameras and we would get our film developed and printed off at a store and now we save them to a flash drive or on our hard drive. MacManus was thinking that maybe the same thing will happen to scrapbooking. He thought that eventually maybe it may all be done on the computer and everyone would have virtual scrapbooks mostly because of pintrest. He thought that pintrest would take place of paper scrapbooks because I guess he thought it was the same idea. After speaking with several dedicated "scrapers" he found that they use pintrest but only for ideas. I could see some people doing virtual scrapbooks eventually but as of right now I don't think there is really any programs out there that would make that easy. A scrapbook might be more perfect on the computer but I think it is the human touch that makes it even more special and meaningful. I myself have never used pintrest but from what I have heard, a lot of people are using it but it is just a space to compile ideas not to recapture past events.


MacManus, R. (2012). Why pinterest has not reimagined scrapbooking. ReadWriteWeb, Retrieved from http://www.blogger.com/MacManus,%20R.%20(2012).%20Why%20pinterest%20has%20not%20reimagined%20scrapbooking.%20ReadWriteWeb,%20Retrieved%20from%20http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/why-pinterest-has-not-reimagined-scrapbooking.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed: readwriteweb (ReadWriteWeb)&utm_content=Google Reader

Teaching Students to Stand Up and Speak Out

I read the article, "Teaching Students to Stand Up and Speak Out" by Rebecca Alber on Edutopia. This article was about how we,  "As teachers, we are given the charge and entrusted with preparing students intellectually, ethically, emotionally, and socially."(Alber, 2012) Rebecca says that if there were a starving and injured child in the classroom, we would not ignore that child, we would feed and nurse the child back to health. However, if there is a homeless person on the street we teach children to ignore them and to continue walking. She says that we need to teach our students to take care of others out in the community like they do in the classroom. In my opinion we teach eithics, social skills and emotional skills even though we don't have to because it's not in the curriculum but we do it anyways. We don't intentionally teach out students to be good citizens, it is just the outcome of how we run our classrooms. I do agree that if a person is suffering that one should lend a hand but Rebecca is saying that children should talk to homeless people and offer them money. I think that goes against the "stranger danger" that we all teach children. I do agree that we should teach children to take care of one another and that it makes life in the classroom easier but I don't think that we should have to do it. That is the responsibility of the parents.

Alber, R. (2012). Teaching students to stand up and speak out. Edutopia, Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/social-justice-lessons-activities-resources-rebecca-alber?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed: EdutopiaNewContent (Edutopia)&utm_content=Google Reader