Education Short List

Bullying has been in the news more than usual these past few weeks; and for good reason. An Irish immigrant was bullied to death, so much that the girl who was being terrorized by her peers committed suicide because she just couldn’t take it anymore. Another girl, who was not allowed to attend her own prom, was set up to go to a fake one – all organized by her peers. She received, and still does, threats and slurs on a daily basis.

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~~~~I would like to be able to say to you that bullying is something new; but we all know it’s not. I’m also not going to make you spend a lot of time reading a log article about bullying. I do want to take a few minutes to discuss it from an educator’s perspective (something I feel has been lacking from the media lately) and then provide some resources that could be useful to all involved. I’ve been working on this article for a while, so I hope that you find it to be as comprehensive as I wish it to be.~~~~

When someone becomes a teacher, they go through mandatory trainings on how to best help their students in all situations, including bullying. However a training can’t prepare you to deal with every type of circumstance that can present itself to you where bullying is part of that problem. Furthermore, I feel there is a balance between overreacting and reacting too late. All good teachers want to see each of their students to be successful. And yes, no matter how ‘bad’ a child may be – if a teacher doesn’t find a reason to love the bullies too – then they lose out as well. Add to that, that everyone – EVERYONE – gets picked on at some point. No, it’s not fun or fair – but neither is life. I’m not advocating bullying – so hear me out. As a teacher, I want to protect and prepare my students for life. In the ‘real world’ each person is going to meet someone who is not nice to them, who doesn’t see the real value and beauty in them. If I can help a child to understand that, to not let that random person get to them, then I feel I have helped my student out. So, if there is an incident, that I, as a teacher, thinks isn’t a big deal – then I might use that as a lesson to help my student who has been teased. Obviously if it happens again, or repeated by another student – I will approach it differently. Plus, I always take the time to figure out what is motivating the bully to lash out at their classmate. Children can be cruel, so can adults. It’s my job as a teacher to nurture and care for each student. And, I am legally bound to be obligated to protect the rights and privacy of each student.

I just wish that some of the news articles would take these points into consideration before condemning a school or teacher for not doing enough.

Beyond that, it hurts me to see schools that aren’t protecting all of their kids. I wonder what happened to let situations like the ones I’ve read about get so out of hand. I have used all of the resources here to aid either myself or another educator in helping with bully situations. I truly hope it can help others too.

Here are several resources to help students, families, and educators with bullying

1. Loudmouth article, Educational Theatre group from the UK

http://www.loudmouth.co.uk/loudmouth-news.cfm?newsID=23

2. Teaching Tolerance

http://www.tolerance.org/activity/bullying-tips-students
http://www.tolerance.org/resource/bullied-teacher-bullied-student-how-recognize-bullying-cultu
http://www.tolerance.org/activity/bullying-guidelines-teachers

3. Bullying Organization

www.bullying.org

4. Ed.gov Pamphlet on how to deal with bullying in the classroom

http://www.edpubs.gov/Product_Detail.aspx?SearchTerm=ED001366B

5. Strategies For Bullying

http://www.amazon.com/McGraws-Life-Strategies-Dealing-Bullies/dp/1416974733

Here are recent news articles dealing with relevant bullying concerns:

1. Today Show –

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/36191902/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/36120659/ns/health-behavior/

2. Dr. Phil

http://drphil.com/shows/show/115

3. News about Constance McMillen

http://ellen.warnerbros.com/2010/03/ellens_message_to_mississippi_student_constance_mcmillen_0324.php

4. Huffington Post

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michelle-lamar/fake-prom-parents-despica_b_529590.html

5. Oprah Show – Two Kids Who Were Bullied to Death

http://www.oprah.com/showinfo/Bullied-to-Death-Two-Devastated-Moms-Speak-Out_1

6. Portland, Oregon Bullying in Schools

http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=123862305059786800

In the London Observer, a column was written in October, advocating sending children off to school at the age of four, or younger; even though a new report in Britain, by the Cambridge Review came out stating that toddlers’ brains aren’t cognitively developed enough for it. The columnist, Barbara Ellen, who is a the mother discusses how children need to “go to school and do your job – so that everyone else can do theirs.”

Even though I know that Ms. Ellen’s column is personal commentary, I was saddened to read it just the same. As a child whose parents worked, and went to day care, and now as an educator – I can with complete confidence that too much pressure is put on the ‘power’ of pre-school.

I agree with the findings of The Cambridge Review, children just aren’t ready for pre-school and the demands now put on it. Yes, it is important for kids to be socialized and to gain new experiences – but it should be more of an exploratory styled learning; not mandated schooling.

Also, the idea of going to school should not be viewed as a job; rather as a learning experience. This concept, of school being a job is another reason I’m not a big advocate of pre-school. Earlier and earlier we are forcing kids to put down the blocks and start earning grades; to prove their intelligence as well as their ability to sit still at younger ages. There are two things wrong with that ideal. One, school was always meant as a place to learn; go through trial and error, to come out smarter, brighter, and more capable for the future. This is not the way school is any longer. But, two, by placing our children in formal educational environments at younger ages, we are taking away the only play structure they have left. Each kindergarten teacher I know always wishes that the kids who didn’t go to preschool did. When I ask them why, they respond with, ‘it would make them pay attention better in kindergarten.’

Children are able to do what they can do by the time they are able and ready to do it. Although that sounds very vague – it is, for a reason. Each person grows differently, and are ready to meet new skills and obstacles are various times in their lives. By pressuring youngsters to do tasks that their brains and bodies aren’t ready for, is to set them up for failure. Then this failure metastasizes itself into parental worry and concern over their child’s academic progress. Which then becomes the point when parents call my tutoring company to request services for their toddler.

No joke. I’ve had people call that’ve wanted to teach their pre-schooler how to read, count, cut paper better, write letters better, and even speak more clearly. One mother was on the verge of crying, while at the same time, telling me that she knows she’s overreacting but just wants her son to get into the right college (the child in question is three). I respond to each parent by telling them that the best way to help their children is to let them play, explore, and learn on their own without the pressure of perfection.

Obviously, I understand that day care and preschool are, as Ms. Ellen puts it “free daycare for families…” and, that for a large part of society having a full-time stay at home family member isn’t an option. That makes sense. But, what I am suggesting is that less value is placed on the necessity of giving children a formal education at such young ages; and more value is focused on the joys that should be part of each childhood.

http://www.theweek.com/article/index/101972/United_Kingdom_The_case_for_starting_school_at_age_4

United Kingdom: The case for starting school at age 4
Delaying school past age 4 is certainly not best for the family as a whole, said Barbara Ellen in The Observer.
BEST COLUMNS – EUROPE
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2009

Barbara Ellen
 The Observer

The authors of a major new report on British education say our children start school several years too early and should stay home until age 6. “Are they insane?” asked Barbara Ellen. The average British kid now goes off to nursery school at age 4, and “most of us would be horrified if our children were to start school later.” Most mothers work, after all, and many of us are single moms; preschool is a safe and positive form of free day care. 

The report, from the Cambridge Primary Review, argues that very young children are not socially or developmentally ready to be plunked into formal education. That may be so, and perhaps it is best for some kids to delay school—but it’s certainly not best for the family as a whole. Toddlers are notoriously difficult to live with, and given that both parents are already stressed out at work, by the time a kid is 4, the parents are ready to snap. That’s why “school holidays are so stressful” and can only be survived with the help of that blessed “electronic nanny” known as the television. 

We love our kids, of course. But at the same time, we are relieved beyond measure when we can finally say to them: “Listen, kid, go to school and do your job—so that everyone else can do theirs.”

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/oct/18/barbara-ellen-starting-school

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/mortarboard/2009/oct/16/cambridge-primary-review-vernon-coaker

Anytime our President receives worldly acclaim and recognition that it should be given respect by all Americans. When that prize is the Nobel Prize for Peace, American should feel humbled and honored. One’s political affiliation shouldn’t overshadow the gift. Also, remember that President Obama is not the first United States President to receive the award; Presidents Carter, Woodrow Wilson, and Theodore Roosevelt are winners as well.

Now, moving past political brouhaha, how does an educator bring up this recent event and turn it into a creative learning opportunity? I’ve gathered a list of resources and lesson ideas to help facilitate the learning process.

It is my hope that having President Obama receive the Nobel Peace Prize will be a chance to bring current events creatively into your classroom or lecture hall.

http://nobelprize.org/

http://www.theweek.com/article/index/101693/Did_Obama_deserve_the_peace_prize

http://www.theweek.com/article/index/101712/The_Nobel_Peace_Prize_Why_did_Obama_win

http://www.theweek.com/article/index/101416/Obamas_Nobel_Peace_Prize

http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/

http://nobelprize.org/educational_games/peace/

http://nobelprize.org/educational_games/all_productions.php?sort=games

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/34360360#34360360President Obama\'s Acceptance Speech for the Nobel Peace Prize

When I was a classroom teacher, I really enjoyed being able to bring current events into our classroom and integrate them into lesson plans.

Here is one that relates to the Gold Rush in California during the 1800s. A lost shipping vessel was recently found. There are so many great ways to use this story and build upon it in the classroom.

http://www.theweek.com/article/index/103471/Germany_restores_1936_highjump_record_to_Jewish_athlete_and_more

Divers find shipwreck from the Klondike Gold Rush
Archaeologists have located the only known untouched shipwreck from the Klondike Gold Rush, 108 years after the vessel sank. The sternwheeler A.J. Goddard vanished in Lake Laberge in the Yukon on Oct. 22, 1901, killing three of its five crewmen. But a diving team, funded in part by the National Geographic Society, announced this week that it had found the Goddard resting upright in 40 feet of water, relatively intact. “It’s a rare window into the past,” said nautical archaeologist James Delgado, who helped find the wreck. About 30 Gold Rush–era shipwrecks exist in the Yukon region, but most of them have either been salvaged or are in poor condition.

This article came from The Week Magazine.

Think twice before you delete all those request from “annoying people” looking to befriend you on Facebook or LinkedIn, said Julia Angwin in The Wall Street Journal. “These acquaintances could come in very handy when looking for a job or a new career.” In fact, so-called weak ties may be a bigger asset in a job search than your closest circle of friends. “Your weak ties are your window on the world,” says Stanford professor Mark Granovetter, adding that he accepts friends requests, “if I know the person, whether I like them or not.”

But inviting more people into your social network raises the question of how much to reveal about yourself online.

I have another article I am working on, and how to best utilize a social networking site.
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For the time being, here are a list of recommended sites that help to watch over your online and internet personas.

Claimid.com – a free service to help tailor your online identity. You can pool together personal information by ‘claiming’ relevant content from the Internet, then share the resulting profile with others.

Google.com/profiles – a “personal branding tool” similar to ClaimID. Users set up profiles with their personal info and links to all web content they would like associated with them – such as Twitter feed or a company website. Whenever your name is searched, your profile appears on the first page of results.

Reputationdefender.com — a site that will “monitor everything that is said about you online,” for $15 a month. It combs the Web, presenting you with all the pages in which you are mentioned, and allows you to rank what info you’d like to appear first when people search for you online.