Posts Tagged ‘life’

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One of the Saddest Stories of the Year

July 24, 2011

After reading an article about how students hijacked a website in memory of a girl who committed suicide, I felt angry and deflated.  What makes the story worse is she killed herself as a result of cyberbullying:

PRINCIPALS have condemned “heartless” school bullies who hijacked website pages set up in honour of a Sydney teen who committed suicide last week.

Dannii Sanders, from Castle Hill, took her life on Tuesday after she was allegedly tormented on Facebook.

But when Dannii’s devastated friends created a Facebook tribute page, the bullying continued as users flooded the page with derogatory remarks.

“Guys I can’t take all this internet bullying. I think I’ma kill myself,” mocked a user.

“Deserved it. I (laughed out loud) hard,” another wrote.

When Dannii’s friends spoke up against the bullies, posting “Let her be in peace”, one tormentor replied: “What is she gonna do though?

Read the comments and kill herself again?”

During the week at least three Facebook groups set up in Dannii’s honour were removed after pranksters posted abuse.

One group’s page called “Stop bullying NOW: In memory of Danni Sanders” was defaced with a disturbing image of the 14-year-old’s head in a noose containing the caption, “place head here”.

Sheree Vertigan, the Australian Secondary Principals Association Head, said the online onslaught was some of the most vicious she had encountered and “an example of 21st century bullying at its worst”.

She said those making inappropriate comments should face legal action as it was defamation.

Ms. Vertifan is absolutely right.  Those responsible should be charged for their defamatory words.  But we should demand that cyberbullies of all types are banned from all social media.  Cyberbullies should not have Facebook and Twitter accounts.

I’ve got a message for cyberbullies:

Look at the consequences of being bullied!  Don’t expect to get away without consequences of your own!

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Posted in Cyber Bullying, Social Media | 1 Comment »

It’s Not Career Advice that 10 Year-Olds Need

July 21, 2011

Whilst Simon Hughes’ call for Primary schools to offer career advice has some basic merit, it deviates from the most important needs of a primary student.

Youngsters will be urged to start thinking about their careers from the age of ten under plans unveiled today by the Coalition’s education access czar.

Simon Hughes, the Liberal Democrats’ deputy leader, wants primary schools to start giving career counselling to pupils.

Mr Hughes said: ‘It is never too early for people to start thinking about future careers and educational opportunities.

‘Children in their last year of primary school can be inspired, and can form their first clear impressions of the world of work and further study.’

Primary schools will have to host career advice sessions with industry experts  and parents to discuss what qualifications are needed.

He hopes the move will make youngsters start thinking about university before they even start secondary school. Mr Hughes said: ‘The message I have heard from young people around the country is clear.

‘We need better careers advice, starting early, and with parents as well as students given better information about going to university.

If you give students the encouragement and support to help them see where their qualities lie, what they are good at and how they can use those skills to contribute to a classroom, school and society you never need to worry about career advice.  The reason why so many students seem aimless and unsure of their future is because not enough time and energy has been put into their strengths and too much time tends to be focussed on their weaknesses.
By Grade 6 students seem to be aware of where they are academically, what they struggle to do well and how they are regarded by teachers and fellow students.  What they might not be aware of is that there is so much more than academics in the makeup of a person.  There is their personality, creativity, street smarts and leadership skills.  Teachers must understand the strengths of all their students and praise them accordingly.
A student who is aware of what they love to do, where their talents lie and how they can use those skills and traits to contribute to society never need worry about career advice.  Not at 10 years old anyway.

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Posted in Education Policy | 1 Comment »

Does Obesity Equate to Child Abuse?

July 17, 2011

Last week Harvard obesity specialist David Ludwig advocated putting children in temporary foster care when the child is found to be obese.   The obvious conclusion being, that in his opinion, allowing your child to get to the stage of obesity equates to a form of child abuse.

I don’t agree with this statement or the measures advocated by Mr. Ludwig.  And more importantly I think the debate will distract rather than positively influence what is a very important issue.  I appreciate the words of Dr. Arthur Caplan, the director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania who wrote:

“I am not letting parents off the hook,” he wrote in response to the article, “but putting the blame for childhood obesity on the home and then arguing that moving kids out of homes where obesity reigns is the answer is short-sighted and doomed to fail. We need the nation to go on a diet together and the most important places to start are the grocery store, schools and media.”

My only query on the above quote is why he omitted “home”.  Surely “home” is the most important place to start a change of habits.  Not just in what is eaten, but how food is eaten.  It is sad to hear of the demise of family dinners.  Surely the television and computers can be switched off for half-an-hour every evening.

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Posted in Nutrition, Parenting | 3 Comments »

Woman Tries to Sell Her Kids on eBay

July 17, 2011

Whether it was a legitimate attempt or just a joke, it is a very sad and sorry look at the inherent selfishness in some parts of our society.

A VICTORIAN woman is being investigated after offering her two young children for sale to the highest bidder on internet auction site eBay.

The woman, in her early 30s, lives near Geelong. She wrote a “lengthy sales pitch” that included photographs of her son and daughter, both aged under 10.

Several people placed bids on the sickening auction, which has alarmed authorities.

Detectives from the Sexual Offences and Child Abuse unit were alerted to the internet page by a horrified member of the public.

The page has been taken down and the woman’s children could be taken into permanent care.

Victoria Police has decided not to press charges against the mum, who claims the act was a joke.

However, police sources told the Sunday Herald Sun they were disturbed by the incident and in particular the genuine bidders who tried to obtain the children.

Officers continue to probe the people who bid on the children and the Department of Human Services is continuing its investigation into the family.

 

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Posted in Child Welfare, Parenting | 1 Comment »

Calls To Allow Teachers To Use “Reasonable Force” on Students

July 13, 2011

Students should never be physically disciplined under any circumstances.  Whilst a majority of teachers care very much for the wellbeing of their students, there are teachers around who are more concerned with quiet compliant classrooms than the needs of their pupils.  Giving these teachers the opportunity to use force is asking for trouble.

Telegraph journalist, Bertie O’Brien disagrees:

Here’s hoping that the Government’s plans to allow teachers to use “reasonable force” to control disorderly pupils in the classroom is the beginning of a turnaround in our society. The culture of child protectionism – developed in tandem with health and safety and political correctness – is preventing children from entering the professional world as well-developed adults.

It’s about time teachers were lawfully allowed to regain control over pupils. Let’s get back to the purpose of being young: becoming a well-rounded adult, not having a good laugh or being “empowered”. Young people have to learn to lose out sometimes, and to follow orders. It is necessary that they learn to live in a world which won’t continue to worship them when they do grow up.

What does “reasonable force” mean anyway?  What is reasonable for one teacher may not be reasonable for other sections of society.

The argument that corporal punishment will help students become well-rounded adults is plain wrong.  Teachers help their students become well-rounded by understanding, connecting and appreciating their students, by setting a good example and high but fair expectations, imposing fair and consistent consequences, making their lessons engaging, fostering their students’ talents, creativity, critical thinking and independence as well as offering support and guidance.

I bet any teacher wishing to inflict corporal punishment on their students has in fact failed their students.  I would encourage them to spend less time worrying about using reasonable force and instead concentrate on their own performance.

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Posted in Corporal Punishment | Leave a Comment »

Losing Custody of Your Kids Because of Obesity is a Disgusting Thought

July 13, 2011

Shame on you David Ludwig for making a conclusion that belies all common sense and sensitivity.  How can you justify the idea of taking children away from their parents because of their obesity?  How is such a move in the best interest of the child?

Should parents lose custody of their kids if they get too fat?

A commentary in Wednesday’s Journal of the American Medical Association says yes.

Harvard obesity specialist David Ludwig says putting children in temporary foster care can be more ethical than providing weight-loss surgery – but only in extreme cases.

Ludwig says the point is not to punish the parents – but to act in the child’s best interest, and provide care that the parents do not or cannot provide.

Ludwig says the goal is to get those kids back to their parents as soon as possible – and for parents to learn the proper ways to prevent future obesity.

There have previous calls for government intervention, in cases where parents either neglect or refuse proper efforts to control a child’s extreme weight.

A doctor from London cited a Wisconsin case from 2009 in which a 440-pound 16-year-old almost died at UW Hospital in Madison.

Doctors had talked about reporting the parents for neglect – but they didn’t have to, because the girl later lost 100 pounds with her family’s help.

The Journal article comes a week after an annual study reported that 27-percent of Wisconsin adults are obese.

This method will further punish a child with enough to contend with as it is.  No parent wants their child to be obese.  Yes, some do more than others to avoid obesity, but that doesn’t mean that they are not loving and caring parents.  Many of them, as reported, suffer from obesity themselves.

As a society we must learn to support rather than threaten.  The child’s welfare does not rely on just a loss of weight but also the continued love and support from their parents.  We must not fingerpoint or punish parents for obesity.  It won’t help one bit.  Instead we must offer as much support, education and guidance as we can to ensure that families are able to pass up cheap calorie laden products for the more expensive, yet far more healthy alternatives.

 

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Posted in Childhood Obesity, Parenting | Leave a Comment »

School Using Bomb As Bell

July 12, 2011

It’s ironic that administrators are banning football and cartwheels in some playgrounds whilst schools on the other side of the world are playing with bombs during recess.

A mine awareness team in Uganda were horrified to find an unexploded bomb being used as a bell when they visited a school to teach children how to spot bombs, a local newspaper reported.

The Anti-Mine Network organisation saw teachers banging the bomb with stones to call children to lessons in a 700-pupil school in a rural area, the Daily Monitor said.

“Its head was still active, which means that if it is hit by a stronger force, it would explode instantly and cause untold destruction in the area,” Wilson Bwambale, coordinator of the organisation, told the newspaper.

Mr Bwambale said they would explode it in a cordoned-off area.

The Ugandan military has fought two rebel insurgencies over the last two decades and mines and bombs still litter former battlefields around the country.

This is the second bomb that the Anti-Mine Network have found in a Ugandan school in the last six months.

Another was found being used by children at lunchtime as a toy and put away in a storeroom during lessons.

Thankfully no one was hurt.  Football in the playground doesn’t seem so bad now.  Not that it ever did ….

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Posted in School Rules | Leave a Comment »

Some Principals Seem to Be Ignorant About Bullying

July 11, 2011

Pricipals are concerned that parents use the “bully” label too quickly, without properly understanding what a “bully” is.  They believe that parents often get “bratty” behaviours mixed up with bullying ones.

BRATTY students are being unfairly branded bullies by parents and teachers who do not know the meaning of the word, according to a Victorian educator.

Peter Hockey, head of Beaconhills College junior school, said the word “bully” was overused and victims of schoolyard nastiness should harden up.

“Rather than just say, ‘Well that person is a bully and that person is a victim’, we need to empower children to stand up and confront these people who are being nasty,” Mr Hockey said.

“I don’t like to say ‘toughen up’, but they need to be taught to argue back or stand up for what they believe is right, explain themselves more fully or use humour or whatever other skills they have.”

Sure, resilience is a valuable skill and one worth advocating, but Mr. Hockey’s approach sounds defeatist to me.  Harassed students shouldn’t need to stand up for themselves, they should have support from teachers and school administrators (including Principals).  Students will naturally “toughen up” when they have the support of others.  When they’re left on their own, they often fail to properly assert themselves.

 

The veteran educator said the correct definition of a bully was “a person who is habitually cruel to others who are weaker”.

Mr Hockey said he had only encountered a handful of bullies in his 36 years of teaching.

“I have taught many children who have been nasty to others, but these children are not bullies,” Mr Hockey said.

“They are very often simply being nasty because they have been hurt by a situation, or they are being selfish or are responding to an earlier problem.”

He said most “nasty” children could be taught to be nice, while bullies were born bad.

That’s just nonsense Mr. Hockey.  “Born bad”?  Bullies don’t need to be born bad, they just need to harass, torment or seek to undermine others.

 

“To label a child a bully who has made the mistake of being nasty is wrong,” Mr Hockey said.

“Nasty and naughty behaviour is fixable and we must educate all not to engage in this sort of behaviour.”

Are you saying that “bullies” are not “fixable”?

 

At the end of the day, these labels are irrelevant.  What really matters is that those students who are negatively affected by others are given the support they need and those that recklessly hurt others get the consequences they deserve.

 

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Posted in Bullying | Leave a Comment »

Education on Climate Change, Not Scare Tactics

July 10, 2011

No matter how strongly teachers may feel on the subject of climate change, there is no place for scare tactics in a Primary classroom.

PRIMARY school children are being terrified by lessons claiming climate change will bring “death, injury and destruction” to the world unless they take action.

On the eve of Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s carbon tax package announcement, psychologists and scientists said the lessons were alarmist, created unneeded anxiety among school children and endangered their mental health.

Climate change as a “Doomsday scenario” is being taught in classrooms across Australia.

Resource material produced by the Gillard government for primary school teachers and students states climate change will cause “devastating disasters”.

Australian National University’s Centre for the Public Awareness of Science director Dr Sue Stocklmayer said climate change had been portrayed as “Doomsday scenarios with no way out”.

The fear campaign must stop.  It is a manipulative and immature tactic by a desperate Government.  Our job as educators is to empower and motivate not scare our students senseless.

I refuse to teach Government resource material that has the potential to frighten my students.

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Posted in Child Welfare | 3 Comments »

Kids and Obesity: We Have Reached Crisis Point

July 4, 2011

The figures being released about the rate of childhood obesity is quite alarming.  To read that half a million British children have liver disease makes me worry very much about what a difficult state we are in and how far we have to go to reverse this unfortunate trend.

Doctors say obesity levels are now so high that children are commonly suffering signs of disease more commonly associated with alcohol abuse, meaning many will go on to develop cirrhosis, with some requiring liver transplants.

Government estimates say around 500,000 children below the age of 15 are suffering from “non alcoholic liver disease” which is caused by a build-up of fat within liver cells, which stops the organ functioning properly.

The condition increases the risks of heart disease, strokes and type 2 diabetes, and can lead to cirrhosis – scarring of the liver – which is often not detected until it is too late.

Britain’s most senior liver expert said the country was now facing a timebomb, with thousands of lives already at risk, and the numbers of children suffering from the disease projected to “rocket” further in line with rising obesity levels.

Prof Martin Lombard, the Department of Health’s national clinical director for liver disease warned that the disease was rarely detected until it had caused damage.

He said: “Liver disease is a silent killer, which is putting the lives of thousands of our children at risk. We do not want to see the next generation dying young from a condition that can be prevented.

“We know that with childhood obesity on the rise we can expect more children to be at risk of fatty liver disease in the near future.”

Government figures show 30 per cent of children aged between 2 and 15 are now overweight or obese – a figure which is projected to double by 2050.

Prof Lombard said he was concerned that children suffering from fatty liver disease were at particular risk if they started experimenting with alcohol in teenage years. He said even modest amounts of alcohol could worsen the condition.

There is no medical treatment for the disease, but the extent of it can be reduced by weightloss and improvements in diet.

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Posted in Childhood Obesity, Nutrition | Leave a Comment »

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