Ann's Blog On Thanksgiving

Ann's second quarter blog #3:

"Teaching Thanksgiving From a Different Perspective" (cnn.com; November 24, 2006)

The debate over the actual story of Thanksgiving persists. The traditional history as we learn it is being questioned continually and many are against the way it is being taught. The actual feast may not have been all smiles like we portray it today. An elementary school teacher by the name of Bill Morgan is determined to let his third-graders know the 'real' story of Thanksgiving. There in Long Beach, California he enters his classroom dressed as a pilgrim and begins by stealing his students' backpacks, pencils and glue sticks. When the students protest he simply tells them that they are his now because he discovered them. This being an effort to teach his third-graders how the events of Thanksgiving really occured. While there are many who would encourage these teachings, there are many who disagree with the way Mr. Morgan is telling the history of Thanksgiving. They say that his style is 'too extreme'. One woman who disagrees with Mr. Morgan's teachings was quoted in the article saying "He is teaching his students to hate their country. That is a very distorted view of history, a distorted view of Thanksgiving." Others say that the 'dark' side of the story should not be taught to children that are so young.

In this day and age, it seems that we, as Americans, don't recognize the history at our actual feasts of Thanksgiving.My anual supper does not include, "and thank you Lord, for the settlers who first settled our country" or anything even remotely close. My family and I are giving thanks for the blessings God has given us and I'm pretty sure that the settlers are not too high up on my list of things I am thankful for. Thanksgiving, for me is a time to be thankful for my family, friends and all the love and oppurtunities that I am blessed with. For me, its pretty far removed from the very first Thanksgiving between the natives and the settlers. Now, that being said, I don't think that the whole issue discussed in the article is really much of an issue. I think that the students should hear both sides of the story and the things being debated, but the teaching should be done in a non-bias manner. This way, the students could decide for themselves how they feel about the matter. Furthermore, the article stated that here was peace at the thanksgiving time, it wasn't until afterwards that it got ugly between the natives and the settlers. Here again, I have heard things that would contradict that. But in my opinion the students should be hearing both pieces of evidence. In my opinion, the issue is not which side of the story is being taught, but the way its being taught. I am strongly opposed to bias in education. Students need to be taught how to formulate their own opinions and beliefs. They shouldn't be spoon-fed by pushy teachers who want to get their point across. Teachers can express their opinion by giving the facts and then they should also give the facts for the other side of the story.

Article From:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/EDUCATION/11/22/teaching.thanksgiving.ap/index.html
Picture From:
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.fairvote.org/media/misc/turkey.JPG&imgrefurl=http://www.fairvote.org/%3Fpage%3D1388&h=238&w=200&sz=15&hl=en&start=2&tbnid=EOkMIZ2565xp7M:&tbnh=109&tbnw=92&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dthanksgiving%2Bturkey%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DG

Ann's Blog On Online Classes

Ann's Second Quarter Blog #2:

"Report: Number of students taking online courses rises" (cnn.com, November 10, 2006 and November 18, 2006)

The busy lifestyles that we, as Americans, are living can sometimes leave little room even for education. The development of online classes helps people to work it into their schedules. The amount of people taking classes online has been increasing from day one. In 2005 the number was up forty percent from the previous year and the growth didn't slow any this fall. Currently one in every six students past high school are enrolled in an online course. Roughly eighty percent of these students are undergraduate students who are older and have families and things to work their education around. Besides these people, fifty percent of students who will be enrolling in an education beyond high school would get some of their education online as opposed to all of their courses being held in the classroom. A very good point that the article brings up is its proposal at why there is such a desire and demand for online classes. It's logical statement is that todays traditional classes are becoming very much like online classes. Teachers will post assignments online and the students will be able to see the syliabi. There is a thing called the Sloan Survey that examined online courses and things in relation to them. It found that even academic officials are warming up to the idea of online classes. They found that 62% of the academic officials believed that students were able to learn just as well or better in an online setting. The other 38% argued that the online classes took quite a bit extra effort, time and self-disclipine.

That 38% speaks the truth; I know from experience. When you don't have a block of 55 minutes of your day set aside for a class, it gets easy to procrastinate. Self-disclipine is the key to sucess in online schooling. I could also fit myself into the group of 62% that say that students are able to learn just as well in an online class. Like they say, teachers are creating their classes more and more like online classes. Lots of times, espically in high school, classroom teachers don't make themselves approachable anyway and there are the types who don't really do too much to make their class worthwhile. Those are the times when I find online classes expremely convienent. On the other hand, there are the teachers who pour their heart and soul into teaching and want so much for their students sucess. Classes with good teachers like these are impossible to try to reproduce in an online setting. But when I have that third-hour-do-nothing teacher, the one I know I would do a better job teaching than they, is when i know that online classes are a good thing. Online classes are espically helpful at Jefferson with our 6 period day. 6 periods doesn't leave much room for extra classes. My online experience has been sucessful so far, I have learned alot and have developed skills that would otherwise not be developed as well. My self-disclipine has become better and I have become the type of person who tries to work ahead. In my opinion, online classes are a great option for students who wish to get a jump start on classes.

Article From:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/EDUCATION/11/09/colleges.online.ap/index.html
Picture From:
http://wwwcomm.murdoch.edu.au/synergy/0504/images/computerstudents.jpg

Ann's Blog On The High School Fire

Ann's second quarter blog #1:

"Fire destroys high school, plans for year uncertain" (cnn.com, November 3, 2006)

A destructive fire at Eastern Guildford High School in Gibonsville, North Carolina is leaving the future for its students unclear. The actual cause of the fire remains unknown, but they do know the location that the flames begun; a chemistry lab. A staff member of the high school saw the fire around two in the afternoon on the day of the fire, which was a Wednesday. This teacher attempted to extinguish the fire with a fire extinguisher. After realizing that the fire was too large, this teacher pulled the fire alarm causing a total evacuation of the building. The students, teachers and other staff members went to a church nearby. The total enrollment at Eastern Guildford High was 1,060 students, so over one thousand highschoolers are left without a school for the rest of the year. It has been about two days since the fire and students are confused about the situation; many are left in the dark at this point. One classic seventeen year old boy, Brandon Pride stated "I don't know what we are going to do about school or football" (a reasonable first concern...football) Then he went on to say "I wonder if we,ve lost our transcripts and what this is going to mean for the rest of the year and college. It looks as though the school board has scheduled an emergency meeting to clear up some of these burning questions.

Reading through this article I couldn't help but smile when I read poor Brandon Pride's quotes. I'm sure that upon hearing the fire alarm he first thought 'yeah man, no school for us no more dude...hey wait, what about football?' This might be a little harsh, but I just let my mind wander with it. Every school has a Brandon Pride, football fanatic. Being in this situation would be frightening. I can't imagine if this happened to Jefferson and we all had to separate and drive to different places for school every day for the rest of the year. This would be such a nightmare for everyone; the administrators, staff and students. Obviously, there is no easy fix. It isn't like they could just whip up another school in a heartbeat and no surrounding school would be able to accept 1000 students. It is devastating. I'm curious to find out whether the fire was intentional or accidental. Hopefully the latter. In any event, reading this article makes me appreciate school and all the opportunities it brings into all of our lives. I can't imagine losing it. I hope that they are able to make some sort of arrangement for all of their students.

Article From:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/EDUCATION/11/02/school.fire.ap/index.html

Ann's Blog On Mental Health Issues In Schools

Ann's Blog #10:

"University and student settle mental health lawsuit" (cnn.com, November 1, 2006)

This article explains an issue that schools all around the nation are facing involving students mental health issues. It mainly focuses on a student from George Washington University who got treated for depression and was not allowed to return after his treatments because of his mental problems. The student, Jordan Nott, said that he started having suicidal thoughts after another student from George Washington University committed suicide. After having these thoughts he was hospitalized for his problems. The school refused to allow him to return because they claimed that he was dangerous. In defense, Jordan says that his conditions are involuntary and he should not be punished for them. Nevertheless, he was forced to transfer to another school a few months after. Prior to this there was a lawsuit between Jordan and the school, but, as of now, it seems that they have reached an agreement.

Alrighty then...How about not letting diabetics into good ol' George Washington University either? To me it is the same thing, both could be classified as diseases, both are involuntary, and both are treatable. I understand the concerns with the fact that depression could lead to violence, but Jordan Nott was treated. Even if he had not have already been treated I would still say that he should be allowed to attend classes at whichever university he chooses. Refuse him because of that B- in chemistry, not because he has a clinical case of depression. If Jordan has proven himself acceptable to attend, then his being hospitalized should not hinder his chances of an optimal education. I personally know students from my highschool who suffer from depression and they are by no means less qualified to attend a college than myself, or someone who wasn't depressed. Their only flaw is not thinking highly of themselves. Treatment helps these individuals alot. Another thing that helps these kids is when something good happens in their lives, an example of that being getting into a desired college. In my opinion, Depression should not prevent someone from attending a college that they wish to attend. I think that this type of discrimination is wrong and should be stopped.

Article From:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/EDUCATION/11/01/college.depression.ap/index.html
Picture of George Washington University from:
http://www.gwumc.edu/edu/medicine/images/GWUH.jpg