So I can call my teacher a bitch, but if I go on my blog at night and type that she is as such and I'd like to whip her with a wet noodle, then I'm hung? WTF!?!
Not so much related to school issues but there is a big anti-myspace/anti-blog movement in central pennsylvania after the murder of a 14 year-old girls parents by her myspace friend.
While the blog seemed to have little to do with the crime, the technology has become a lightning rod for worried parents, school personnel, and community leaders.
Even as an old guy (the big 50 next month - Yuri and I, birthday boys, send gifts!), this bothers me. If anything, I think the personel expression of a blog might be a good outlet for the frustrations of the whole teenage experience. I do have concerns about evil adults who stalk and prey upon the myspace youth, posing as peers.
I knew, of course, that trees and plants had roots, stems, bark, branches and foliage that reached up toward the light. But I was coming to realize that the real magician was light itself.
Edward Steichen
I see a lot of similarities between you and how I was at your age. I also was the kid spending money on cameras. My grades were not the best in all subjects, but I got by. I spent most of my time in the dark room developing pictures during lunch or free periods. It was a great way to escape the foolishness that ran rampant at my school.
One illustration of this was when the teacher who was the sponsor for the school newspaper sent some kids to the darkroom to see me. The darkroom was controlled by me and the yearbook sponsor and we knew cameras and how they work.
The newspaper geeks had taken some photos of an event with the teachers camera. In the middle of the event the batteries went dead. After replacing the batteries they discovered that the film had jammed. They fiddled with the camera for a few hours before finally deciding to consult with me.
When they arrived my first question was "tell me everything that you did from taking the last photo to knocking on the darkroom door?" They did, including the part about changing the batteries. The key was when they mentioned the teacher OPENING THE CAMERA TO SEE WHY IT JAMMED and trying to manually reroll the film... I asked for clarification, was this in the dark room? No, it was in full sun light. So, I removed the film and threw it in the trash. I give them a new roll of film and sent them on their way.
A few hours later I am in the principals office being questioned for ruining the Newspapers "priceless one of a kind photos" that were on that roll. I demanded the Yearbook Sponsor and Newspaper Sponsor be called in. When they arrived, I was given a chance to speak. I asked the newspaper sponsor to verify what I had been told. She did. I then proceeded to explain to her how stupid that was and why I would not waste my time developing film that had been ruined by her actions. Luckily the Yearbook sponsor and the principal understood my arguements and agreed with me.
I found out that she had recommended I be suspended. I recommended that she be removed as Newspaper Sponsor :-) Neither happened. There was an attempt by the newspaper to use the darkroom to develop their own film. They could never figure out how to do it. They ended up outsourcing it. I am glad they gave up because they ruined my chemicals and kept the place trashed.
Luckily I had a much better relationship with the staff at my school. I actually had a Master Key to the interior doors as I also ran the stage lighting.
As for the xanga, are the students logging into it from school or is all of the action being done at home? If it is being done from home, the parents are responsible for your actions. The school can threaten your parents to make you take the site down. You may have a case for legal action depending on how your school rules are written. When you attend the school you must abide by the established rules.
Are they giving you a chance to make up missed work?
The biggest problem with xanga and myspace is the parents are not monitoring the kids online. That is why the internet has become so dangerous for them. Parents everywhere want myspace and xanga shut down. Why? Its your dang fault for not watching your kids.
As for the xanga, are the students logging into it from school or is all of the action being done at home? If it is being done from home, the parents are responsible for your actions. The school can threaten your parents to make you take the site down. You may have a case for legal action depending on how your school rules are written. When you attend the school you must abide by the established rules.
That's just the thing, why does it matter where when and how the comments on blogs are made? And I wish people would stop worrying about the damn responsibility, teachers or parents, again, it doesn't matter!!! If kids are gonna bad mouth teachers its gonna happen whether its online, between classes, after dinner, or behind the dumpster at the local McDonalds while lacing up a doobie. It's a frickin fact of life. When you start encroaching on freedoms of speech and call it responsibility, I get pissed off.
I'm allowed to say: I think DanielB is a twit and I want to sucker punch him.
But all this crap keeps boiling down to kids not being able to say: I think Mrs. Applebee is a half wit and she should be struck by a bolt of lightning.
Hey Andy, maybe I'll have six kids, and send 'em all over to your place for summer camp.
I'm a parent of 2 teenagers. Neither of them went to public schools, and I live in a town with highly regarded public school system. I'm a big private school advocate. Even if you don't have the money, you can apply and get financial aid.
I'll contrast the environment there with a couple of themes from this thread.
... you can take Photography and get loaned a manual camera, learn to develop film and print in the darkroom ... and they offer Photography major, among other excellent art programs ...
.... you can take a semester in France (included in the tuition), among other experiential learning programs....
.... all the teachers are addressed by their first names ....
.... all the students get a laptop to use and email and the web are used extensively to communicate throughout the school....
.... the school supports the use of iTunes for sharing music students ...
.... students respect their teachers and typically develop close personal relationships them because it's not a us vs. them environment ....
.... all the students treat each other with respect ....
.... it's a happy, open, positive learning environment ....
I can't comment on MySpace. I know my kid is using some website to connect with friends, it could be that one, and I've asked a number of questions regarding how people find eachother, and whatnot, and I'm satisfied that proper checks are in place and that my kid knows what to look out for.
Daniel, if you want to know more about this school, send me a PM and I'll give you more info.
Here's the library:
--juliejules http://www.juliejules.com Canon 70D, Canon EF 24-105mm F4L IS, Canon EF 16-35mm F2.8L, Canon EF 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM, Canon Ext 1.4x II, SpeedLite 430EX
... Communications *useless language arts class anyways*...
Daniel, please take this in the advisorial tone it's meant... communication is perhaps The Most Important skill in life. Without effective communication you'll very likely not be able to land the job you want or run your own business as effectively as you'd like, etc. Every day I see people ignored because they can't use their language (written or verbal) to convey their desires, feelings or even "simple instructions."
You may not like the sylabus or the instructor or some other aspect of the course, but do your best to absorb the content even if you don't show it in the gradebook.
i know the kid in question, he's quite a sarcastic person...honestly i don't think he has a mean bone in him though... no ones even mean to him.. plus he's a Vegan and all that jazz.
I do have concerns about evil adults who stalk and prey upon the myspace youth, posing as peers.
Back in 1998, I was Night Administrator for an online community called Planet Direct. One of my hot control spots the the #Kids and Teens channel. Over the two years I moderated that channel, posing as a "Kid and Teen", I was responsible for actions of varying degrees against 16 predators. I was a very convincing teenager. Perverts trolling chat rooms, websites, etc is not a new MySpace or blog phenomenon. Too many kids are just left to their own devices on the internet. It's become the replacement babysitter. Regardless of anyone feelings around freedom of speech, parents should be guiding and watching children at all times and especially on the internet. Hard to do I know, but so many have absolutely NO supervision or advice on the dangerous world of the internet.
I do think it's wrong for schools to be telling students what they can and cannot post to the web, as long as it's done on their own time and on their own computers. It's the parents responsibility.
Dana
** Feel free to edit my photos if you see room for improvement.** Use what talents you possess: the woods would be very silent if
no birds sang there except those that sang best. ~Henry Van Dyke
So you're saying that these days, if I had a bad test, and walked out of the classroom and muttered under my breath "Mr Smith is a real a**hole", and Mrs Jones heard me, I'd be suspended and maybe brought up on charges?
That's what these blogs equate to! It's just kids being brats, its their job! You can't hold that Columbine torch up for everything. This is invasion of privacy, lack of freedom of speech/expression, and so on.
I swear I'm not having kids. We live in the most over protected, hippocritical, and over litigated society on the planet!
boy I'm mad
And you realllly misss the point.
Put yourself in the shoes of high school school adminstrators who have seen numerous murderous rampages over the years. How would you react? How would you build safeguards in what is truly, no exaggeration, a life or death matter?
Few days ago our Business Law teacher got hypered due to disturbance in class he threw my friend's cell phone to wall :cry and called names to whole class my blood was freezed becuase i had a camera in my bag if he had thrown it to wall :uhoh
Thine is the beauty of light; mine is the song of fire. Thy beauty exalts the heart; my song inspires the soul. Allama Iqbal
... high school school adminstrators who have seen numerous murderous rampages over the years. ...
Percentage-wise, how many are we really talking about? Perhaps a dozen incidents over the last 5-7 years compared to how many million students in the U.S.? Is this what we want to teach our kids, that over-reacting and stomping on freedoms is an appropriate response?
"Freedom begins when you tell Mrs. Grundy to go fly a kite," wrote Robert A. Heinlein. Apparently that doesn't apply if you're a student in 21st century USA.
I knew, of course, that trees and plants had roots, stems, bark, branches and foliage that reached up toward the light. But I was coming to realize that the real magician was light itself.
Edward Steichen
There's lots to comment on here, but a thought comes to mind. DanielB is a wonderful contributor daily on this site and I would imagine that there are members (school board or parents) who are active on this site as well and have seen your many, many contributions. Let's hope they are not reading this one. Sorry, but I would not carry your blogging over to this site if that is what is going on at your school. I would just stick to what we are all here for.
Percentage-wise, how many are we really talking about? Perhaps a dozen incidents over the last 5-7 years compared to how many million students in the U.S.? Is this what we want to teach our kids, that over-reacting and stomping on freedoms is an appropriate response?
"Freedom begins when you tell Mrs. Grundy to go fly a kite," wrote Robert A. Heinlein. Apparently that doesn't apply if you're a student in 21st century USA.
Of course, terrible things happen, but it seems that fear mongering is evasive. Every time you switch on the local news, they have a story about how something may kill your or - god forbid - kill your kids. It ranges from dangerous car-seats for kids to online predators. And this is every day again and again and again... This overload breeds mistrust and suspicion and overreaction.
I've seen it with my parents... the older they got, the more TV they watched and the more scared they got... about nothing. No crime has been committed to them what-so-ever (so far ). I asked them to turn of the news so now-and-then; it may improve their state of mind and make them a little happier.
When i was a kid, i biked to school every single day. The distance was about 5 miles. In elementary school i walked to school. Everybody walked and biked. I don't remember anyone getting killed or hurt. And i don't think it was less or more safe than now... you just hear more about it, the bad stuff.
Percentage-wise, how many are we really talking about? Perhaps a dozen incidents over the last 5-7 years compared to how many million students in the U.S.? Is this what we want to teach our kids, that over-reacting and stomping on freedoms is an appropriate response?
"Freedom begins when you tell Mrs. Grundy to go fly a kite," wrote Robert A. Heinlein. Apparently that doesn't apply if you're a student in 21st century USA.
Exactly! Excellent quote, Steven!
I'm not missing any point at all, Waxy! You and all those administrators are standing behind a very very few incidents as a torch to light the way to total suffocation! And like Dutchie said, those incidients while indeed horrific, receive all the press in the world, so it really skews everyone's perception of how safe schools are.
I was the same way - walked/biked to school since I was in 2nd grade! Can you imagine a 2nd grader not being driven or handheld to school these days? Have you seen the fleet of SUVs idling at each bus stop in the morning? It makes me sick. Is it really that much more dangerous of a world?
Percentage-wise, how many are we really talking about? Perhaps a dozen incidents over the last 5-7 years compared to how many million students in the U.S.? Is this what we want to teach our kids, that over-reacting and stomping on freedoms is an appropriate response?
"Freedom begins when you tell Mrs. Grundy to go fly a kite," wrote Robert A. Heinlein. Apparently that doesn't apply if you're a student in 21st century USA.
Two things.
First, how many need to happen?
Second, we're talking juveniles here. They do not have, under law, the same rights as adults. So yes, you're right: freedoms as you define them do not apply to a high school student in the 21st century. Nor in the 20th century, for that matter.
I'm not missing any point at all, Waxy! You and all those administrators are standing behind a very very few incidents as a torch to light the way to total suffocation! And like Dutchie said, those incidients while indeed horrific, receive all the press in the world, so it really skews everyone's perception of how safe schools are.
I was the same way - walked/biked to school since I was in 2nd grade! Can you imagine a 2nd grader not being driven or handheld to school these days? Have you seen the fleet of SUVs idling at each bus stop in the morning? It makes me sick. Is it really that much more dangerous of a world?
A new suffocation?
You sound like you're back in high school. How old are you?
We're talking kids, for goodness sake, not adults. Try a few years in boarding school, if you want to complain about suffocation. Might open your eyes a bit.
Few days ago our Business Law teacher got hypered due to disturbance in class he threw my friend's cell phone to wall :cry and called names to whole class my blood was freezed becuase i had a camera in my bag if he had thrown it to wall :uhoh
You don't mention what the "disturbance" was, but I'm guessing the student was using their cell phone in class...either forgot to turn it off and it was ringing or they were talking on it during a lecture. If I was the prof, I'd be tempted to throw the phone against the wall as well...it sounds like there may be some ongoing disrespect of the prof (and students who wish to learn) going on (students creating distractions in class- talking, passing notes, cell phones in use, etc.) and that is probably why the prof went ballistic.
I think I'm on the other side of the fence from a lot of the posters to this thread (and I'll prob'ly piss more than a few of you off). I'm getting really sick and tired of the "I'm more special than you, so I can do what I want and if you don't let me, it's a form of censorship!" attitude.
Whatever happened to respecting the rights of others? I think this current generation of young people has been reared by violence on tv and video games, anarchy in their thinking and frankly, the younger generation of today is kinda scary to me! Today's youth seem to hate authority in any form and one day, they will be in charge!!! I honestly hope I'm dead before then...cuz I see you young folks willing to act out things other people in previous generations would never have imagined...like killing your parents, going on rampages, using drugs and sex to excess without any fear of consequences. Kids used to respect their elders and not curse, attack or even kill them. Today, we live in a culture of "do your own thing regardless of the rights of others". People are seen as objects to "do stuff to for your own (often sick) pleasure" and not human beings. Pretty scary, if you ask me.
I don't blame responsible adults and those in authority for monitoring and even in some cases censoring the actions of those who seem to be lacking any sort of moral inner conscience that would stop them from acting out violent fantasies. The article said that someone threatened to "kill" the teacher...that's a LOT more than saying they don't like them. And it may have been "funny" to put a "foreign substance" in a teacher's drink that actually was koolaid, but just the idea that someone would pull a stunt like that is really abominable. It was meant to scare the teacher and let them know that they could be killed if the student really wanted to...and that is just plain sick and scary!!! Yikes...
Okay, so blast me if you want, but it seems that so many of the younger generation are largely out of control (Spring break is coming...God help us from the youth gone wild!) and something needs to be done to protect the rest of humankind from them. You can piss and moan all you like, but I think the kids of today NEED a little censorship, since they don't seem to possess much self-control! I applaud the youth who are not behaving badly like so many of their peers, but sad to say...it appears they are definitely in the minority. (and I'm not just talking about what I've seen on the news...I see it in the kids in our middle class suburban neighborhood who have no problem stealing from each other, doing damage to other people's property, and cursing adults who tell them to stop, etc., etc...).
Anyhow, that's my rant and I'm sticking to it...
Hmmm...did any of you see (or actually read the book) 'Lord of the Flies'? Beware the persuasive, dominant "alpha male" anarchists with sharpened sticks is all I have to say...
~Nee
btw...the correct spelling of "lense" is actually "lens" and the plural is "lenses". :gone
Yeah you are right
Actually teacher was tempered when he entered our class room student was making noise with his mouth the student got what he deserved i am happy now our class room is heaven
Islam says "Teacher is your Spiritual father" so students can never ever beat a teacher these things are never heared but teachers beat students hard : they beat us even in BCOM (Talking about Pakistan)
Respect the teacher and life will be success i have seen in my 14 years of education even poorest students who have worse acadmic performnce passing with good mark and best students failing with poor mark that was bcause best student were disturbing teacher
Once my teacher beat me i couldn't even write :cry it happened several times:D but no offense Slap on face are ordinary things :uhoh
Thine is the beauty of light; mine is the song of fire. Thy beauty exalts the heart; my song inspires the soul. Allama Iqbal
I don't blame responsible adults and those in authority for monitoring and even in some cases censoring the actions of those who seem to be lacking any sort of moral inner conscience that would stop them from acting out violent fantasies. The article said that someone threatened to "kill" the teacher...that's a LOT more than saying they don't like them. And it may have been "funny" to put a "foreign substance" in a teacher's drink that actually was koolaid, but just the idea that someone would pull a stunt like that is really abominable. It was meant to scare the teacher and let them know that they could be killed if the student really wanted to...and that is just plain sick and scary!!! Yikes...
Okay, so blast me if you want, but it seems that so many of the younger generation are largely out of control (Spring break is coming...God help us from the youth gone wild!) and something needs to be done to protect the rest of humankind from them. You can piss and moan all you like, but I think the kids of today NEED a little censorship, since they don't seem to possess much self-control! I applaud the youth who are not behaving badly like so many of their peers, but sad to say...it appears they are definitely in the minority. (and I'm not just talking about what I've seen on the news...I see it in the kids in our middle class suburban neighborhood who have no problem stealing from each other, doing damage to other people's property, and cursing adults who tell them to stop, etc., etc...).
it was just a teenage prank... its not like they were actually trying to kill the teacher. kids do it all the time, this time the teacher decided to make a big deal of it though... i remember last year our study hall teacher would fall asleep so me and a friend would steal his shoes and hide them in his drawers... he never could find them.:D also i defend my peers who act out... i agree there is a certain degree that it should be limited to. but really, i TP my friends and relatives, i don't consider it damaging to property because i know that in a few weeks, i'll probably get TP'ed too.
If you think that being critical of a teacher on a website is somehow something new, you never hung out at the mall/ice cream shop/coffee shop/basketball court/neighborhood pool/etc when you were a kid... or don't remember the things you and your friends said.
I had dinner the other night with my two high school sons and their girlfriends. They got to talking about school, teachers they liked and didn't like, etc. They didn't use any language that wouldn't have been allowed by the FCC, not even during the purest of "children's hour" if that even exists any longer, and they certainly weren't threatening anyone... but after I let them vent and joke for a few minutes, I had to point out to them that the things they had just been saying - if written on a website instead of spoken out loud - could end up being yet another suspension or expulsion in today's excuse for "security" and "authority" in America. That's absurd.
We're talking kids, for goodness sake, not adults.
Exactly! kids are punks and they whine, complain, and call adults names, but they're not serious about it or act out on it (except for the .001% that you pointed out already).
I'm not defending kids for doing what they please when they please. On campus, I'm known as the oldest man in a teaching assistant's body, you don't have to tell me about whiny brats. I'm just saying I think its ridiculous that you can get suspended for calling a teacher a name on a blog. Period.
How many adult-perpatrated killings need to happen?
[sarcasm]Perhaps we should be shutting down all websites with content not pre-approved by the FBI, CIA and Homeland "Security" authorities - because un-approved words typed on a web page obviously are the cause of all those as well. [/sarcasm]
Actually, maybe everyone should be encouraged if not required to keep an online journal with their thoughts - if parents knew more about their children's lifes perhaps the horrors of which you speak wouldn't happen as often. As I understand it, the worst of those could perhaps have been prevented if the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office or the kids' parents had followed up on what had been found in their online writings.
Awais, I'm sorry you've been physically beaten in class. That's not OK, either, and is unheard of in our country (the United States of America), though we seem to have gone too far the other way in allowing our kids to run rampant. I do agree with your belief that teachers deserve and should get respect. I know there are teachers that are not so great...I had a few myself, and it's not easy to deal with the ones like that. But it bothers me the level kids go to nowadays in their so called "pranks".
Daniel, I don't mean to get on your case, but please try to see the situation from the teacher's point of view. How would you feel in their place with most of class acting up and then putting something in their drink after someone has threatened to kill them? Teachers are not paid enough money to have to deal with that sort of stuff. You should respect your teachers enough to not pull pranks, even if they aren't very good teachers. If a teacher really is that bad, then talk to your parents and go to the principle and/or school board about it.
I'm even more than a little bothered by the shoe hiding prank you admit to...did it ever occur to you to think about why the teacher was so tired? Can you imagine how hard and terribly discouraging it must have been for that teacher to reach the end of the day exhausted only to find their shoes missing and then they have to leave the school shoeless amid sarcastic snickers from the very kids whose respect they are trying to earn?
Maybe the most troubling thing that today's kids lack is empathy...putting yourself in another person's...er...shoes, so to speak. Imagine if your friends (or worse, your enemies) did that to you. How would you feel having to walk out of the classroom with everyone laughing at you (and of course talking about it for days to come)? If you can apply that sort of empathetic thought to every situation you encounter and only to do others what you would want them to do to you, then you should do well in life!
And no, TP-ing someone's house isn't really the same as vandalism (well, unless you're doing it to send a hate message to an unpopular person). I'm referring more to the destruction, defacment or stealing of property. On our block, teens or younger kids have spray painted gang symbols on one person's garage door and on a public walkway, another kid busted up one of our large, expensive ceramic planters and kids have taken off with some of our grandson's things...such as his razor scooter, his basketball, and the like (which we fortunately have been able to recover). And we actually live in a very "nice" neighborhood!
The thing is, it really bothers me that kids of today think it's ok to act so maliciously and disrespectfully toward their elders and those in authority. Daniel, you should count your lucky stars that you don't live in a country like Pakistan, (where Awais lives), where teachers can BEAT you for being disrespectful!!! I'd love to see the kids of your generation quit moaning about your "rights" to say whatever you want about anyone you wish and start thinking about giving those people a little more respect whose job it is to help you realize your life's potential.
Anyhow, I think you are a bright and talented young man with so much to gain and give in life. I applaud you for your creativity and boundless energy. I hope you will work at seeking out positive ways to deal with the wrongs you encounter in life (and you will encounter many things that are unfair or unjust on the road of life...that's just a part of life!). Perhaps we might see Daniel running for President one day? Or publishing a voice of freedom newspaper? Or addressing the wrongs of society in order to bring justice to the downtrodden? Or maybe becoming a well respected photographer who shares his personal vision with the world.
I'll say go for it, Daniel!!! And more power to ya~
Comments
Used to be PC. It was OK back then.
Not PC now. You get hung.
They don't do that now?
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take" - Wayne Gretzky
I'm beginning to think you might be on to something Doc
Portfolio • Workshops • Facebook • Twitter
While the blog seemed to have little to do with the crime, the technology has become a lightning rod for worried parents, school personnel, and community leaders.
When murder hits the blogosphere link
Even as an old guy (the big 50 next month - Yuri and I, birthday boys, send gifts!), this bothers me. If anything, I think the personel expression of a blog might be a good outlet for the frustrations of the whole teenage experience. I do have concerns about evil adults who stalk and prey upon the myspace youth, posing as peers.
I knew, of course, that trees and plants had roots, stems, bark, branches and foliage that reached up toward the light. But I was coming to realize that the real magician was light itself.
Edward Steichen
I see a lot of similarities between you and how I was at your age. I also was the kid spending money on cameras. My grades were not the best in all subjects, but I got by. I spent most of my time in the dark room developing pictures during lunch or free periods. It was a great way to escape the foolishness that ran rampant at my school.
One illustration of this was when the teacher who was the sponsor for the school newspaper sent some kids to the darkroom to see me. The darkroom was controlled by me and the yearbook sponsor and we knew cameras and how they work.
The newspaper geeks had taken some photos of an event with the teachers camera. In the middle of the event the batteries went dead. After replacing the batteries they discovered that the film had jammed. They fiddled with the camera for a few hours before finally deciding to consult with me.
When they arrived my first question was "tell me everything that you did from taking the last photo to knocking on the darkroom door?" They did, including the part about changing the batteries. The key was when they mentioned the teacher OPENING THE CAMERA TO SEE WHY IT JAMMED and trying to manually reroll the film... I asked for clarification, was this in the dark room? No, it was in full sun light. So, I removed the film and threw it in the trash. I give them a new roll of film and sent them on their way.
A few hours later I am in the principals office being questioned for ruining the Newspapers "priceless one of a kind photos" that were on that roll. I demanded the Yearbook Sponsor and Newspaper Sponsor be called in. When they arrived, I was given a chance to speak. I asked the newspaper sponsor to verify what I had been told. She did. I then proceeded to explain to her how stupid that was and why I would not waste my time developing film that had been ruined by her actions. Luckily the Yearbook sponsor and the principal understood my arguements and agreed with me.
I found out that she had recommended I be suspended. I recommended that she be removed as Newspaper Sponsor :-) Neither happened. There was an attempt by the newspaper to use the darkroom to develop their own film. They could never figure out how to do it. They ended up outsourcing it. I am glad they gave up because they ruined my chemicals and kept the place trashed.
Luckily I had a much better relationship with the staff at my school. I actually had a Master Key to the interior doors as I also ran the stage lighting.
As for the xanga, are the students logging into it from school or is all of the action being done at home? If it is being done from home, the parents are responsible for your actions. The school can threaten your parents to make you take the site down. You may have a case for legal action depending on how your school rules are written. When you attend the school you must abide by the established rules.
Are they giving you a chance to make up missed work?
The biggest problem with xanga and myspace is the parents are not monitoring the kids online. That is why the internet has become so dangerous for them. Parents everywhere want myspace and xanga shut down. Why? Its your dang fault for not watching your kids.
Ok, I am off the soapbox.
http://help.smugmug.com
I'm allowed to say: I think DanielB is a twit and I want to sucker punch him.
But all this crap keeps boiling down to kids not being able to say: I think Mrs. Applebee is a half wit and she should be struck by a bolt of lightning.
Hey Andy, maybe I'll have six kids, and send 'em all over to your place for summer camp.
moderator of: The Flea Market [ guidelines ]
I'll contrast the environment there with a couple of themes from this thread.
... you can take Photography and get loaned a manual camera, learn to develop film and print in the darkroom ... and they offer Photography major, among other excellent art programs ...
.... you can take a semester in France (included in the tuition), among other experiential learning programs....
.... all the teachers are addressed by their first names ....
.... all the students get a laptop to use and email and the web are used extensively to communicate throughout the school....
.... the school supports the use of iTunes for sharing music students ...
.... students respect their teachers and typically develop close personal relationships them because it's not a us vs. them environment ....
.... all the students treat each other with respect ....
.... it's a happy, open, positive learning environment ....
I can't comment on MySpace. I know my kid is using some website to connect with friends, it could be that one, and I've asked a number of questions regarding how people find eachother, and whatnot, and I'm satisfied that proper checks are in place and that my kid knows what to look out for.
Daniel, if you want to know more about this school, send me a PM and I'll give you more info.
Here's the library:
http://www.juliejules.com
Canon 70D, Canon EF 24-105mm F4L IS, Canon EF 16-35mm F2.8L, Canon EF 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM, Canon Ext 1.4x II, SpeedLite 430EX
http://help.smugmug.com
Daniel, please take this in the advisorial tone it's meant... communication is perhaps The Most Important skill in life. Without effective communication you'll very likely not be able to land the job you want or run your own business as effectively as you'd like, etc. Every day I see people ignored because they can't use their language (written or verbal) to convey their desires, feelings or even "simple instructions."
You may not like the sylabus or the instructor or some other aspect of the course, but do your best to absorb the content even if you don't show it in the gradebook.
my words, my "pro"pictures, my "fun" pictures, my videos.
Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam
http://www.mcneel.com/users/jb/foghorn/ill_shut_up.au
Back in 1998, I was Night Administrator for an online community called Planet Direct. One of my hot control spots the the #Kids and Teens channel. Over the two years I moderated that channel, posing as a "Kid and Teen", I was responsible for actions of varying degrees against 16 predators. I was a very convincing teenager. Perverts trolling chat rooms, websites, etc is not a new MySpace or blog phenomenon. Too many kids are just left to their own devices on the internet. It's become the replacement babysitter. Regardless of anyone feelings around freedom of speech, parents should be guiding and watching children at all times and especially on the internet. Hard to do I know, but so many have absolutely NO supervision or advice on the dangerous world of the internet.
I do think it's wrong for schools to be telling students what they can and cannot post to the web, as long as it's done on their own time and on their own computers. It's the parents responsibility.
** Feel free to edit my photos if you see room for improvement.**
Use what talents you possess: the woods would be very silent if
no birds sang there except those that sang best.
~Henry Van Dyke
And you realllly misss the point.
Put yourself in the shoes of high school school adminstrators who have seen numerous murderous rampages over the years. How would you react? How would you build safeguards in what is truly, no exaggeration, a life or death matter?
Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam
http://www.mcneel.com/users/jb/foghorn/ill_shut_up.au
Few days ago our Business Law teacher got hypered due to disturbance in class he threw my friend's cell phone to wall :cry and called names to whole class
My Gallery
Percentage-wise, how many are we really talking about? Perhaps a dozen incidents over the last 5-7 years compared to how many million students in the U.S.? Is this what we want to teach our kids, that over-reacting and stomping on freedoms is an appropriate response?
"Freedom begins when you tell Mrs. Grundy to go fly a kite," wrote Robert A. Heinlein. Apparently that doesn't apply if you're a student in 21st century USA.
my words, my "pro"pictures, my "fun" pictures, my videos.
Appropriate quote!
I knew, of course, that trees and plants had roots, stems, bark, branches and foliage that reached up toward the light. But I was coming to realize that the real magician was light itself.
Edward Steichen
Of course, terrible things happen, but it seems that fear mongering is evasive. Every time you switch on the local news, they have a story about how something may kill your or - god forbid - kill your kids. It ranges from dangerous car-seats for kids to online predators. And this is every day again and again and again... This overload breeds mistrust and suspicion and overreaction.
I've seen it with my parents... the older they got, the more TV they watched and the more scared they got... about nothing. No crime has been committed to them what-so-ever (so far
When i was a kid, i biked to school every single day. The distance was about 5 miles. In elementary school i walked to school. Everybody walked and biked. I don't remember anyone getting killed or hurt. And i don't think it was less or more safe than now... you just hear more about it, the bad stuff.
When I hear the earth will melt into the sun,
in two billion years,
all I can think is:
"Will that be on a Monday?"
==========================
http://www.streetsofboston.com
http://blog.antonspaans.com
I'm not missing any point at all, Waxy! You and all those administrators are standing behind a very very few incidents as a torch to light the way to total suffocation! And like Dutchie said, those incidients while indeed horrific, receive all the press in the world, so it really skews everyone's perception of how safe schools are.
I was the same way - walked/biked to school since I was in 2nd grade! Can you imagine a 2nd grader not being driven or handheld to school these days? Have you seen the fleet of SUVs idling at each bus stop in the morning? It makes me sick. Is it really that much more dangerous of a world?
moderator of: The Flea Market [ guidelines ]
i rode my bike to school since kindergarden... but then again i live maybe a 30 second bike ride from my school i wnet to for elementary...
smugmug: www.StandOutphoto.smugmug.com
First, how many need to happen?
Second, we're talking juveniles here. They do not have, under law, the same rights as adults. So yes, you're right: freedoms as you define them do not apply to a high school student in the 21st century. Nor in the 20th century, for that matter.
Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam
http://www.mcneel.com/users/jb/foghorn/ill_shut_up.au
A new suffocation?
You sound like you're back in high school. How old are you?
We're talking kids, for goodness sake, not adults. Try a few years in boarding school, if you want to complain about suffocation. Might open your eyes a bit.
Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam
http://www.mcneel.com/users/jb/foghorn/ill_shut_up.au
You don't mention what the "disturbance" was, but I'm guessing the student was using their cell phone in class...either forgot to turn it off and it was ringing or they were talking on it during a lecture. If I was the prof, I'd be tempted to throw the phone against the wall as well...it sounds like there may be some ongoing disrespect of the prof (and students who wish to learn) going on (students creating distractions in class- talking, passing notes, cell phones in use, etc.) and that is probably why the prof went ballistic.
I think I'm on the other side of the fence from a lot of the posters to this thread (and I'll prob'ly piss more than a few of you off). I'm getting really sick and tired of the "I'm more special than you, so I can do what I want and if you don't let me, it's a form of censorship!" attitude.
Whatever happened to respecting the rights of others? I think this current generation of young people has been reared by violence on tv and video games, anarchy in their thinking and frankly, the younger generation of today is kinda scary to me! Today's youth seem to hate authority in any form and one day, they will be in charge!!! I honestly hope I'm dead before then...cuz I see you young folks willing to act out things other people in previous generations would never have imagined...like killing your parents, going on rampages, using drugs and sex to excess without any fear of consequences. Kids used to respect their elders and not curse, attack or even kill them. Today, we live in a culture of "do your own thing regardless of the rights of others". People are seen as objects to "do stuff to for your own (often sick) pleasure" and not human beings. Pretty scary, if you ask me.
I don't blame responsible adults and those in authority for monitoring and even in some cases censoring the actions of those who seem to be lacking any sort of moral inner conscience that would stop them from acting out violent fantasies. The article said that someone threatened to "kill" the teacher...that's a LOT more than saying they don't like them. And it may have been "funny" to put a "foreign substance" in a teacher's drink that actually was koolaid, but just the idea that someone would pull a stunt like that is really abominable. It was meant to scare the teacher and let them know that they could be killed if the student really wanted to...and that is just plain sick and scary!!! Yikes...
Okay, so blast me if you want, but it seems that so many of the younger generation are largely out of control (Spring break is coming...God help us from the youth gone wild!) and something needs to be done to protect the rest of humankind from them. You can piss and moan all you like, but I think the kids of today NEED a little censorship, since they don't seem to possess much self-control! I applaud the youth who are not behaving badly like so many of their peers, but sad to say...it appears they are definitely in the minority. (and I'm not just talking about what I've seen on the news...I see it in the kids in our middle class suburban neighborhood who have no problem stealing from each other, doing damage to other people's property, and cursing adults who tell them to stop, etc., etc...).
Anyhow, that's my rant and I'm sticking to it...
Hmmm...did any of you see (or actually read the book) 'Lord of the Flies'? Beware the persuasive, dominant "alpha male" anarchists with sharpened sticks is all I have to say...
~Nee
btw...the correct spelling of "lense" is actually "lens" and the plural is "lenses". :gone
http://www.pbase.com/rdavis
If at first you don't succeed, destroy all the evidence that you tried~
Actually teacher was tempered when he entered our class room student was making noise with his mouth the student got what he deserved i am happy now our class room is heaven
Islam says "Teacher is your Spiritual father" so students can never ever beat a teacher these things are never heared but teachers beat students hard
Respect the teacher and life will be success i have seen in my 14 years of education even poorest students who have worse acadmic performnce passing with good mark and best students failing with poor mark that was bcause best student were disturbing teacher
Once my teacher beat me i couldn't even write :cry it happened several times:D but no offense Slap on face are ordinary things :uhoh
My Gallery
it was just a teenage prank... its not like they were actually trying to kill the teacher. kids do it all the time, this time the teacher decided to make a big deal of it though... i remember last year our study hall teacher would fall asleep so me and a friend would steal his shoes and hide them in his drawers... he never could find them.:D also i defend my peers who act out... i agree there is a certain degree that it should be limited to. but really, i TP my friends and relatives, i don't consider it damaging to property because i know that in a few weeks, i'll probably get TP'ed too.
smugmug: www.StandOutphoto.smugmug.com
I had dinner the other night with my two high school sons and their girlfriends. They got to talking about school, teachers they liked and didn't like, etc. They didn't use any language that wouldn't have been allowed by the FCC, not even during the purest of "children's hour" if that even exists any longer, and they certainly weren't threatening anyone... but after I let them vent and joke for a few minutes, I had to point out to them that the things they had just been saying - if written on a website instead of spoken out loud - could end up being yet another suspension or expulsion in today's excuse for "security" and "authority" in America. That's absurd.
my words, my "pro"pictures, my "fun" pictures, my videos.
I'm not defending kids for doing what they please when they please. On campus, I'm known as the oldest man in a teaching assistant's body, you don't have to tell me about whiny brats. I'm just saying I think its ridiculous that you can get suspended for calling a teacher a name on a blog. Period.
moderator of: The Flea Market [ guidelines ]
How many adult-perpatrated killings need to happen?
[sarcasm]Perhaps we should be shutting down all websites with content not pre-approved by the FBI, CIA and Homeland "Security" authorities - because un-approved words typed on a web page obviously are the cause of all those as well. [/sarcasm]
Actually, maybe everyone should be encouraged if not required to keep an online journal with their thoughts - if parents knew more about their children's lifes perhaps the horrors of which you speak wouldn't happen as often. As I understand it, the worst of those could perhaps have been prevented if the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office or the kids' parents had followed up on what had been found in their online writings.
my words, my "pro"pictures, my "fun" pictures, my videos.
i wish i had a cool brimmed hat to go w/ my suit and trench coat....:cool
smugmug: www.StandOutphoto.smugmug.com
Daniel, I don't mean to get on your case, but please try to see the situation from the teacher's point of view. How would you feel in their place with most of class acting up and then putting something in their drink after someone has threatened to kill them? Teachers are not paid enough money to have to deal with that sort of stuff. You should respect your teachers enough to not pull pranks, even if they aren't very good teachers. If a teacher really is that bad, then talk to your parents and go to the principle and/or school board about it.
I'm even more than a little bothered by the shoe hiding prank you admit to...did it ever occur to you to think about why the teacher was so tired? Can you imagine how hard and terribly discouraging it must have been for that teacher to reach the end of the day exhausted only to find their shoes missing and then they have to leave the school shoeless amid sarcastic snickers from the very kids whose respect they are trying to earn?
Maybe the most troubling thing that today's kids lack is empathy...putting yourself in another person's...er...shoes, so to speak. Imagine if your friends (or worse, your enemies) did that to you. How would you feel having to walk out of the classroom with everyone laughing at you (and of course talking about it for days to come)? If you can apply that sort of empathetic thought to every situation you encounter and only to do others what you would want them to do to you, then you should do well in life!
And no, TP-ing someone's house isn't really the same as vandalism (well, unless you're doing it to send a hate message to an unpopular person). I'm referring more to the destruction, defacment or stealing of property. On our block, teens or younger kids have spray painted gang symbols on one person's garage door and on a public walkway, another kid busted up one of our large, expensive ceramic planters and kids have taken off with some of our grandson's things...such as his razor scooter, his basketball, and the like (which we fortunately have been able to recover). And we actually live in a very "nice" neighborhood!
The thing is, it really bothers me that kids of today think it's ok to act so maliciously and disrespectfully toward their elders and those in authority. Daniel, you should count your lucky stars that you don't live in a country like Pakistan, (where Awais lives), where teachers can BEAT you for being disrespectful!!! I'd love to see the kids of your generation quit moaning about your "rights" to say whatever you want about anyone you wish and start thinking about giving those people a little more respect whose job it is to help you realize your life's potential.
Anyhow, I think you are a bright and talented young man with so much to gain and give in life. I applaud you for your creativity and boundless energy. I hope you will work at seeking out positive ways to deal with the wrongs you encounter in life (and you will encounter many things that are unfair or unjust on the road of life...that's just a part of life!). Perhaps we might see Daniel running for President one day? Or publishing a voice of freedom newspaper? Or addressing the wrongs of society in order to bring justice to the downtrodden? Or maybe becoming a well respected photographer who shares his personal vision with the world.
I'll say go for it, Daniel!!! And more power to ya~
http://www.pbase.com/rdavis
If at first you don't succeed, destroy all the evidence that you tried~