It's not always Bullying

            I have gone back and forth for days now searching different issues in schooling systems. I finally figured out what I wanted to share with you all. I believe this issue is looked at lightly and as a student becoming a teacher it terrifies me. As teachers we need to be aware of the surroundings, the students, the classroom, the cafeteria, and even the home lives of our students. We all think it can't happen to us, right? Wrong it can happen to anyone. Teen violence has been a distressing issue for students all around the world. But has this taught us anything, did we learn from the mistakes of other’s. Have we portrayed the image of violence enough? I want to share major events that throughout my lifetime have opened my eyes and not only frightened me but have affected communities around us all. The reason I picked this issue is not to scare one, but for one to realize it can be prevented, it can be changed. There is help out there but we must seek it. These stories and blurbs can change lives if we hear the real message being conveyed. Many of us ask ourselves why this happens, and many of us simply will never truly know the real reason. This blog post starts with massacre and ends with slaughter, crazy right! I question the fact of prevention being taught in the classroom. Are people careless because of bullying or due to other extreme issues, one thing is for sure it’s all wrong.

            When I first heard of teen violence I was young I didn’t understand the outcome of it, but these stories are shared with us to give us courage and a chance to reach out. Four to ten percent of youth have severe behavior problems and are at an increased risk for delinquency.

Students need to know they are not alone in this world. Violence is real; it is a variety of different activities such as gang violence, fighting, school shootings, suicide, bullying, dating abuse, and drug abuse. These activities are all interchangeable and can lead to the worst. The abuser is almost never the only one hurt by their uncontrollable actions. The victims are most often other teenagers their age and more often than none they end in tragedy. Teenagers who commit these violent acts are typically involved in other unhealthy behaviors or are in unfit environments to function correctly. As well as the parent it is our job as teachers to know and understand what is going on in the child’s life. As educators we ask ourselves why did this happen, what could we have done? School is the safe zone for children, they are suppose to feel safe and welcome. Unfortunately for many students these days teen violence has taken over that safe feeling and forced some kids to do the unthinkable.

           

            Columbine High School located in Littleton Colorado, a small suburban town was forever changed on April 20, 1999. It was one of the first major eye opening experiences. Two high school seniors Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris embarked on a massacre killing 12 students, 1 teacher, and sadly themselves. Heart wrenching to read those were not the only people planned to be killed that day. They wanted it to be the biggest bombing in America. When the bombs failed they started shooting at whatever was in site. These were troubled teens that were in and out of trouble with the law. They were two high school boys at war against society.  After reading the article, At last we know why the Columbine Killers did it, they shared the message that “these are not the rantings of an angry young man, picked on by jocks until he’s not going to take it anymore. These are the rantings of someone with a messianic-grade superiority complex, out to punish the entire human race for its appalling inferiority. It may look like hate, but it’s more about demeaning other people.” The boys posted on websites and had journals of things they were willing to do to take people down. The rumors about bullying here only conveyed the wrong message, these teens weren’t bullied they were depressed.

            Even though precautions were practiced regularly on February 27, 2012 another school shooting incident occurred in Chardon Ohio, at Chardon High School. The gunman TJ Lane, 17 years old attended a nearby vocational school, where he took the bus from Chardon every day. He shot at a group of students in the cafeteria, killing 3, critically wounding 2, and slightly missing 1 but nicking his ear. It was said to be an act of bullying, or a drug related matter, and even a possible brokenhearted teen however, when the gunman turned himself in he announced he brought a knife and a .22- caliber pistol to school shooting 10 rounds at random students. He admitted he was not a victim of bullying. We later found out he had a disturbing home life with abusive parents. So we wonder again who is to blame? Bullying was just an excuse that covered up the shameless acts of the past.

            Ironically in my SPED 210 class on Monday night the same day of the Chardon High School shooting we watched a movie called, Bang Bang you're Dead. This play was written to raise awareness of school violence and its causes. Through my high school career I have sat through numerous amounts of bullying prevention classes that said the same thing over and over. However I never sat through a depression awareness class or any other type of teen violence class. This movie was most influential to me. It was a script to stir up talk between students to talk about not bullying and not using violence to deal with problems. It takes you on the other side of things, the story behind the abuser.

            Teen violence is a tragedy, but we can’t always stop the bad from happening. We need ways to prevent and change the bad, we need an environment students feel safe in, we need to stop this wave from growing, and start being more cautious about the violent themes being portrayed in society. In order to prevent violence we must learn when it starts. Since teen violence has occurred in many U.S. schools they have taken many precautions. With these precautions need to be aware of the difference between the different events that happen in teens lives.We need to stop blaming bullying and start getting to the real answers.
one heart beat

Tweet. Tweet.

During class on Thursday we learned about Twitter however I already had a Twitter account. I’m not a huge fan of Twitter I usually just go on to see what other people have to say or see what a celebrity is up to, like it really matters anyway. It is a way to stay connected but aren't all social networks. Just because it keeps us connected I don't agree it's a good idea to incorporate it in schools. Some things are private and better left outside of the classroom. In my opinion Twitter as well as Face book should be. Allowing students to use Social Networks at schools could be a bigger hassle for the school. Some parents don't allow their children to use social networks, they believe there unsafe. Allowing these to be used in schools opens the door to more trouble. As a teacher the only reason I would use Twitter is to update my students on important information, but that’s what e-mail was created for, right. I would never require my students to create a twitter or face book account. Not only are some kid’s distracted by them but once some kids sign in their way to connected to sign out. Just distracting them from their school work. In my case as a student I would use it to stay connected to classmates to see when our homework is due or when the next test is, then again I could just whip my phone out and text them. With all this being said I do believe it is important to be a networked learner but on one's own time when and if they want to be. The networks are out there they just need to be consumed the right way.

Follow Up

With the recent high school shooting in Chardon Ohio my technology world is crazed. I was always against social networks like Twitter, and Face Book being allowed in the school. Having teachers or school authority see my personal information was wrong to me. However on Monday my eyes were opened to new possibilities. The alleged gunman had a Face Book and Twitter that were both taken down the day of the shooting after confessing to his actions. The night before he tweeted telling everyone that follows him he was bringing a gun to school. Now many may not have taken him seriously but if the education system saw everything on these sites would the outcome have been different would someone have taken him seriously. On Face Book about a month before the shooting he posted a poem that ended with “Die all of you” sure enough if the right person saw this they could have helped him or red some of the signs he was sending out. So not only did that day change many lives it changed my outlook of technology in education.

We Educate.

Power Point Presentation

This project was a great way to get us connected with teaching. I enjoyed finding a standard for a kindergarten class I hope to eventually be teaching one day. Finding and putting together a power point of what the class will be learning is a great way to get started. My power point was the alphabet letter A. I used a YouTube video that taught the different sounds the letter A made. It explained that letter A was a vowel, and it even gave words using the different sounds that created a catchy little song. I added  different tools  such as traceable letters so they will learn how to write letter A and lowercase a. I also added short fun little matching games to access the students after they are taught the letter A. This project really got us connected to educate.

Chapter One

      After finishing chapter one from the book Personal Learning Networks, I have come to realize I am much more open minded to technology in everyday life. In chapter one Understanding the Power of PLNs I learned a field like technology is something the world should embrace. It is a never ending growth process that many believe is changing quicker than we can keep up, as discussed in class. Learning networks let us collaborate with the rest of the world outside our everyday clicks, in fact some may take you around the world and back. This technology change opens the door for educators to collaborate with other facilitators who have the same ideas or interests in teaching as we do. As for the learners, “the fundamental change is that we can be much more in control of the learning we do.” (pg. 19) The internet is a newfound self-directed learning tool that is being pushed to be incorporated in the classrooms in all ages of learning. The web will begin to better prepare students for real life. It is said that “kids learn on the internet in a self-directed way, by looking around for information they are interested in, or connecting with others who can help them” (pg. 22), nevertheless it is a different approach from how students learn in most schools.

     When underlining words or phrases in this chapter I noticed a theme, collaborating. Being able to collaborate and share ideas, opinions, answers, or questions is specifically what learning networks are all about. They are in fact one of the most knowledgeable ways to collaborate online. Through collaborating we get to share ideas not just consume them in our thoughts. However, what happens when the collaborating goes beyond the people we know, have seen, or can trust? There are negatives to these networks but when properly taught the privacy settings and the way around the networks students will be able to control who they share things with. By collaborating the students will be more interested about what they are learning as well as more engaged in what they are learning.  This shifts me to another question, what’s the limit on learning? If there interest is not school related is it looked down upon? Even if they follow all the right directions they are still engaged and learning about something. This is where I start to become concerned, without limits there would be chaos. But its fact online learning has proven to be more efficient then classroom learning because of the possibility of collaboration.

     I use to be against technology, I just thought it’s not for me. In fact I believed this class was going to be my most difficult class, but after reading the first chapter and understanding that I’m not alone there are others out there like me I just need to collaborate a little and find them so we can help one another to realize the benefits of the fast growing technology world that stands before us. The change threatened me I was nervous to learn something new but I just had a closed mind to the opportunities in front of me. “In times of change, learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists”, (Hoffer, n.d.) (pg. 20)