Cyberbullying

Technology has made communication exponentially faster and further reaching than it was just five years ago. People are networked (and wired together) in so many new an intricate ways. Within moments (seconds), I can reach several different groups of people with specific information or request information from them. This has made discussing concepts and sharing ideas so very easy. The information or opinion I need is always just a few keystrokes away. Incredibly convenient and liberating! People are using social networking sites like Facebook to keep track of each other as well as connect with people they do not normally have contact with. Although the richness of the contact cannot match a face to face meeting, the contacts made using the Internet and cell phones has made communication and keeping connected so very easy. All of this networking is great if used correctly but unfortunately this instantaneous communication can also be used to harass and bully others. It is often too easy to send a disparaging message from a distance using a cell phone or posting a message or picture to a webpage that sometime students (and adults) do not really consider what they are saying or doing. A hurtful message or compromising picture can be sent to hundreds of people by simply hitting enter or send. The consequences can be deadly! We cannot take away progress nor hope to limit electronic communication effectively. What we must do is instruct our students on how to use the technology for every one's benefit and teach them the consequences of misuse.

We must teach high school students the following about cyberbullying:
• It is very likely that students will be involved in a cyberbullying incident sometime during their teen years and beyond. They are exposed to this possibility 24/7 or as long as they are allowed on the Internet or to carry a cellphone.
• Because text-based messages are often either ambiguous or sarcastic it is hard for the receiver to understand its message or its intent. Sometimes what is funny when together is hurtful in a text message or email.
• Many teens try out new identities online. As a result they can post very damaging information or pictures. Once posted they can be considered online forever....even if deleted!
• Social networking sites, blogs, wikis, chat, messaging, and video sharing are great means for self-expression. However, self-expression that is intentionally at the expense of other teens may cross the line into bullying behavior.
• Even if a teen posts a single mean comment or photo intending to embarrass or humiliate only once in anger, it quickly gets passed around online, sometimes creating a cyberbullying situation.
• Cyberbullying and threats online can lead to criminal prosecution
• Self-control and respect for others should be valued online as well as in face-to-face relationships. Never post or send anything in a text that you would not want your grandmother to see or read. Chances are she might just see them!
• Bystanders, or witnesses, to cyberbullying can have a positive effect in helping the targets of online harassment.
• Save harassing or threatening messages and print them out. Then get help from trusted adults.

Quote from People of the Book......

The heroine of the book is a person that restores historical manuscripts....(I am really enjoying this one by the way!) In the beginning of the book she describes how she learned her various skills. At one point she talks about how she learned to make medieval parchment and said, "you have learn by doing. There is no way to sit in a classroom and listen to the description of how this stuff was made and even come close to understanding it." I know, profound, but we so often make our students learn tasks in a vacuum. Where there is no connection to real world application! How can we make what we are doing more relevant....how can we have more LEARNING BY DOING?

What Do We Believe?

On Monday, January 23, the new Paris Cooperative High School curriculum and instruction committee met in conjunction with parents and community members to talk about our core beliefs about education. We are in the process of building a new vision and mission by which the new cooperative high school will shape its functions and decisions. An effective institutions has at its heart a set of commonly held core beliefs from which it will not waiver. The construction of our new mission will take several more meetings and will involve students and faculty. Below are the initial belief statements that were fashioned at Monday's meeting.

On Learning:

• Learning is a lifelong process in which every student can succeed in becoming a well rounded citizen of our community.
• Students need to learn the skills needed to meet challenges that they will face after they leave PHS.
• We believe if the learning process will become a priority and is transparent, open and inviting, the students, parents, teachers and community will become ENGAGED!
• We must instill a desire for students to want to learn no matter what they see their future being.

On Students:

• Every student can learn and deserves to be challenged.
• All students can truly learn. Students are the largest stakeholders and need to embrace the challenges that learning provides.
• Students need to take ownership of their education.
• In order to be successful, students need to be confident, motivated by a sense of pride and a lasting connection to their school.

On Teachers:

• Teachers should model lifelong learning and embrace new ideas and technology.
• Our staff are 21st Century teachers, teaching with 21st Century tools and methodology.
• Teachers are at the front lines of motivating students for better or worse, therefore they must continue to demand nothing less than each individual student's very best while teachers give nothing less from themselves.
• Teachers are progressive, lifelong learners who motivate and inspire.

On Parents:

• Parents are the first teachers, should be involved and above all should support and model lifelong learning.
• We need to encourage increased parental expectations for student learning.
• Parents need to be active role models who are focused on academic and personal success
• Parents and community need to instill civic, social, economic, educational, and moral responsibility in our students.

On the Community:

• We must have collaboration between the community at large and the school.
• Needs to give support for education in all facets. i.e. money, scholastic avenues, etc. New facility
• The community is supportive of academic success, progress, promoting healthy lifestyles and strong work ethics.

Join the process leave your belief statement as a comment!

Test Time?

I borrowed the above graphic from Scott McCleod on his Dangerously Irrellevant Blog

The above graphic illustrates the skills that today's students must have for tomorrow's workplace. How are we measuring their apptitude in these things? Better yet, (because we know the answer) how can we learn to measure the above skills is a fair manner that will give us the data we need to truly make our schools responsive the needs of today and tomorrow? Our current system of assessment measures a set of skills that are too narrow to truly represent how effective school are at preparing tomorrow's employees and leaders. Until we realize that our current system has become totally obsolete, we are destined to remain mired in an educational system that prepares today's students with methods and tools of the past!

How does this get turned around?