July 5, 2012
Insulting your students in Facebook may indeed be permitted under freedom of speech, but that doesn’t make it right. Teachers should know better than to make hurtful comments about their students. If they are caught doing so in a public forum such as Facebook they should apologise not scream “free speech“:
On this Independence Day, a controversy over free speech among teachers using Facebook is making headlines after their online discussion referred to a student as possibly being “the evolutionary link between orangutans and humans.”
Now, the state of Florida will investigate the matter.
Bay News 9 obtained a Facebook conversation from mid-May among teachers at G.D. Rogers Garden Elementary School in Bradenton, Fla.
The exchange reportedly began with music teacher Lauren Orban writing: “I’m fairly convinced that one of my students may be the evolutionary link between orangutans and humans.”
The Bradenton Herald says several other instructors then jokingly joined the conversation, with second-grade teacher Emma Disley pressing Orban to share the student’s name, writing, “Please tell me who you are talking about. This made me laugh out loud. Haha.”
Another second-grade teacher, Laura Beth Cross, wrote, “even though I can probably guess, please tell.” When Orban revealed the student’s initials, Cross responded, “Yup! Just who I suspected!”
But the conversation came to a sudden halt when Jauana Johnson, the school registrar, jumped in to write, “What the hell is that suppose to mean?”
What if Ms. Orban’s students had written insulting comments about her on Facebook? Would she have considered that as simply an expression of free speech?
If we do not stamp down on this kind of conduct we may as well give up trying to fight cyberbullying altogether!
Click here to give your opinion on whether or not teachers really need Twitter and Facebook accounts.
Tags: Ashley Payne, Betsy Ramsdale, Cyber Bullying, disengaged, Emma Disley, Facebook free speech, Facebook the evolutionary link between orangutans and humans, G.D. Rogers Garden Elementary School facebook conversation, Jauana Johnson, Jonathan Turley, Laura Beth Cross, Lauren Orban facebook free speech, Lauren Orban the evolutionary link between orangutans and humans, lazy whiners, Lisa Wade, Lisa Wade Facebook, professional conduct, rude, social media, Wade facebook
Posted in Cyber Bullying, Professional Conduct, Social Media | Leave a Comment »
July 5, 2012
I have absolutely no sympathy for child sex offenders and I am happy to strip them of all privileges that can be used to trap children.
Merlyn Horton is wrong to argue that educating children is better than banning sex offenders from social media. All children must be educated on issues related to cybersafety. But education is not nearly enough. We have a duty to do far more than educate our children. We have a duty to do everything in our power to protect impressionable kids:
Educating children is a better way to protect them from online predators than banning sex offenders from social media sites or forcing them to disclose their crimes on social networks, says an online-safety spokeswoman.
Merlyn Horton was commenting after recent moves in the U.S. to use legislation to crack down on Internet sex predators.
For predatory pedophiles, social networks and the Internet are an “open avenue,” expert Merlyn Horton said, adding resources would be better directed to educating youth rather than trying to enforce bans or requiring Internet users to disclose crimes.
Horton noted there have been cases in Canada where individuals have been barred from using the Internet because of their crimes against children. But instead of through legislation, this has been done through conditions on parole or bail release, she said.
Even then, people can find ways to easily circumvent the restrictions.
“I remember a particular case I got called on,” she said. “The guy was accessing and luring children through the public library.”
Tags: banning sex offenders from social media, Child Welfare, Cyber Safety, disclose their crimes on social networks, Educating children is a better way to protect them from online predators than banning sex offenders from social media sites or forcing them to disclose their crimes on social networks, Education, facebook, Google, Internet, Merlyn Horton, News, Parenting, predatory pedophiles, requiring Internet users to disclose crimes, Safe OnLine Outreach Society, social media, Twitter, U.S. to use legislation to crack down on Internet sex predators
Posted in Child Welfare, Cyber Safety | 2 Comments »
July 4, 2012
Incredible story! Interesting that no student sitting the test stood up to her during the exam:
A drunk lecturer at a Russian university forced her students to sit a 23-hour-long exam – not even allowing them toilet breaks.
Lecturer Landysh Zaripova, however, frequently left the room and students claim it was to top up her drink.
Students said Physics lecturer Zaripova ‘stank of alcohol’.
One student told the Russian media: ‘Towards the end, everyone was just sitting there, totally exhausted.
‘The lecturer would go into another room, drink, come back and start telling us about her business.’
The exam started at 10am on June 26 and went on overnight finishing at 9am the following morning.
The incident took place in the Russian province of Tatarstan at Kazan State University in the province’s capital.
‘Do you think I am stupid enough to come to class drunk?’ Zaripova told Russian newspaper L!fe News.
She claims she was sober and that the students decided to take revenge on her for failing them.
The head of the University’s Physics Department, Albert Aganov, denied that the lecturer was under the influence of alcohol. He said: ‘I would have fired her immediately, if I had seen her drunk.’
He added that even if the allegations were found to be true it would not lead to the dismissal of Zaripova as she is on a 5 year contract which cannot be broken.
If only the rest of society had such trusting and supportive bosses. Job security must be very high among Russian academics.
Come to think of it, I’ve sat for exams that have felt 23-hours long.
Tags: 23 hour exam, Albert Aganov, alcohol, Drunk lecturer forces students to sit 23 hour exam, Drunk Russian Lecturer, Education, hysics lecturer Zaripova, Lecturer Landysh Zaripova, News, professional conduct, students forced to sit 23 hour exam, Tatarstan at Kazan State University
Posted in Professional Conduct | Leave a Comment »
July 4, 2012
For some reason people feel they have the right to inundate an expectant mother with parenting tips and strategies. Some appreciate the concern and interest whilst others find it invasive and suffocating (especially since a lot of it is contradictory).
Reports have surfaced that singer Adele has sought parenting tips by watching reruns of Supernanny. Supernanny’s Jo Frost certainly wouldn’t be my first port of call:
Adele is taking tips from TV’s ‘Supernanny’ Jo Frost, to prepare for the birth of her first child.
The ‘Rolling In The Deep’ singer announced last Friday (29.06.12) that she and boyfriend Simon Konecki are expecting a baby together.
The 24-year-old performer is reportedly learning discipline techniques already.
A source told The Sun: “Adele thinks Jo Frost is the business and wants to make her kids as well-behaved as possible.
“She’s been watching re-runs of ‘Supernanny’ – the UK and US versions.”
Tags: Adele, Adele and Jpo Frost, Adele and Supernanny, Adele is pregnant, Adele is taking tips from TV's 'Supernanny' Jo Frost, Adele parenting advice, Adele pregnant boyfriend Simon Konecki, Babies, Celebrities, Children, Education, Gossip, Music, News, Parenting, Parenting advice
Posted in Parenting | Leave a Comment »
July 4, 2012
Well done! You have taken another natural, everyday expression of emotion and turned it into a condition. I’m sure the pharmaceutical companies are licking their lips at the prospect of manufacturing another type of cocaine-like pill for our latest condition – “Intermittent Explosive Disorder“:
Around the age of 12 or earlier, many kids — just over 5% of all adolescents between the ages of 13 and 17, according to a new study — report that they have suffered attacks of anger that are destructive, frightening and wildly out of proportion to any provocation.
The abbreviation for Intermittent Explosive Disorder — IED — is particularly apt for these kids:
IED is also seen in adults. But it appears to be more widespread in adolescents, and the current study suggests that early adolescence (age 12) is where it most commonly starts.
Although a precise definition of this disorder has not been established, the authors of the latest study queried a total of 6,483 teens and their parents about the number of disproportionate “anger attacks” the child had had in the past month, the past year, or ever. They also gathered information on what kind of behavior resulted — say, verbal threats, physical menacing or a rampage of throwing and breaking — and whether it resulted in the need for medical attention or the destruction of property worth more than a few dollars.
This makes me so angry! I think I’ve come down with SOSCED (sick of seeing children exploited disorder)!
Tags: adolescent anger, anger attacks, Anger in children, Children and Medication, Children who have tantrums, Destructive kids, Disorders, IED, Intermittent Explosive Disorder, Mental Conditions, mental disorders, Parenting
Posted in Children and Medication | 4 Comments »
July 4, 2012
It’s every child’s nightmare to be abandoned by their parents. This story takes that fear to a whole new appalling level:
Authorities say a man and a woman in Kentucky left 19 children unattended for a week in a sweltering, filthy home.
The children ranged from 8 months to 14 years old and were found Monday night in a small three-bedroom home near Bowling Green.
Warren County Sheriff’s Detective Tim Robinson says the home was littered with dog feces and there was no air conditioning on a day when it reached 101 degrees.
He says Irving “Joe” Smith and Jackie Farah told a neighbor last week that they had a family emergency in Michigan and asked the neighbor to check on the kids.
Deputies said the children behaved as if they were often left alone. The pair told investigators that they plan to return to the area to speak with authorities.
Tags: Child Welfare, children ranged from 8 months to 14 years old left home alone, home was littered with dog feces, Irving "Joe" Smith and Jackie Farah, Irving "Joe" Smith and Jackie Farah left children home alone, Kentucky couple left 19 children alone for a week, Parenting, Warren County Sheriff's Detective Tim Robinson
Posted in Child Welfare | Leave a Comment »
July 4, 2012
There is so many rewarding aspects of being a parent. There is a myriad of wonderful surprises associated with being a dad – I absolutely recommend it! One such benefit that I never knew about is resistance against getting a cold:
Being a parent reduces your risk of catching a cold—possibly because of unknown “psychological or behavioral differences between parents and nonparents,” according to a study in the July issue of Psychosomatic Medicine, the official journal of the American Psychosomatic Society. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.
The risk of becoming ill after exposure to cold viruses is reduced by about half in parents compared to nonparents, regardless of pre-existing immunity, according to research led by Rodlescia S. Sneed, MPH, and Sheldon Cohen, PhD of Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh. The study suggests that other, yet unknown factors related to being a parent may affect susceptibility to illness.
The researchers analyzed data on 795 adults from three previous studies of stress and social factors affecting susceptibility to the common cold. In those studies, healthy volunteers were given nose drops containing cold-causing rhinovirus or influenza viruses.
After virus exposure, about one-third of volunteers developed clinical colds—typical symptoms of a cold plus confirmed infection with one of the study viruses. The analysis focused on whether being a parent affected the risk of developing a cold, with adjustment for other factors.
Tags: American Psychosomatic Society, and Sheldon Cohen, exposure to cold viruses, Health, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, MPH, Parenting, Parenting reduces risk of cold, PhD, psychological or behavioral differences between parents and nonparents, Psychosomatic Medicine, Rewards of Parenting, rhinovirus or influenza, Rodlescia S. Sneed, The Common Cold
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July 3, 2012
I love this research. I am a proud daydreamer – always has been, always will be.
Daydreaming has the capacity to drive teachers insane. In my day it lead to bad reports and vicious lectures. Nowadays it often leads to recommendations for an ADHD diagnosis and the resultant daily dosages of Ritalin.
Well, throw those blasted tablets in the rubbish bin. Daydreaming is here to stay:
Daydreaming could help children concentrate – and even perform better in tests, researchers claim.
The children also feel less anxious and more motivated to perform, according to a review of studies on the value of time to reflect.
Education should focus more on giving children time to think, claim researchers at the University of Southern California.
Research indicates that when children are given the time and skills necessary for reflecting, they often become more motivated, less anxious, perform better on tests, and plan more effectively for the future.
It is also important in helping us make sense of the world at large … and contributes to moral thinking and well being.
Tags: ADHD, Child Development, Concentration, Daydreaming is good for you, Dayfreaming helps you concentrate, Dr Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, Education, News, ournal Perspectives on Psychological Science, Research into daydreaming, Ritalin, Schools, Teachers, University of Southern California
Posted in ADHD, Child Development | Leave a Comment »
July 3, 2012
Talk about a science experiment that didn’t turn out well:
A teacher on the New South Wales Central Coast has pleaded not guilty to assault charges, after he allegedly dared a group of students to hold dry ice with their bare hands.
Damien Hilton is facing eight charges, including cause grievous bodily harm by neglect, after a group of Terrigal High School students were injured during his science class earlier this year.
The 49-year-old, who was employed as a casual teacher, is accused of daring 10 children to hold dry ice for as long as they could.
The students were treated for burns, with two taken to hospital.
Hilton faced Gosford Local Court today and pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The matter has been adjourned until next month.
Tags: Damien Hilton dry ice, daring 10 children to hold dry ice for as long as they could, Education, Gosford, New South Wales Central Coast, News, professional conduct, Science, Science experiments, Teacher, teacher dared students to hold dry ice with bare hands., teacher pleaded not guilty to assault charges, Teaching, Terrigal High School dry ice
Posted in Professional Conduct | Leave a Comment »
July 3, 2012
It’s school holidays and there isn’t one G rated (General Classification) movie at the cinemas. I would understand how that could happen during the school year – but during holidays?
Movies like The Brave and Ice Age 4 have violence and course language warnings and are intended for families rather than children. Unfortunately, some adults are so selfish that they would refuse to go to the movies with their children unless the film proved entertaining for them too. I am all for adult in-jokes and films that entertain both myself and my daughter, but not at the expense of a good, wholesome, non-violent movie experience. I would gladly suffer through a children’s film as long as it was appropriate for my daughter.
Yesterday my daughter and I watched Annie together. Annie, although still a hit stage musical, would never have gotten made today. Neither would have other child friendly films like Mary Poppins. These films don’t have enough crude toilet humour, adult themes and violence.
How sad is that?
Tags: Annie, Annie the Musical, Appropriate films for children, course language and violence in movies, Education, Family Films, Films, Films that children enjoy, Films that kids enjoy, Ice Age 4, Kids Films, Mary Poppins, Movies, Parenting, Suitable films for kids, The Brave
Posted in Parenting | 1 Comment »
Topical Teaching 