Filed under: computers
I’m not liking my new ipod. I had to get a new ipod because my nano turned into a shuffle. For those who missed that joke, the screen on my nano went out. So, I went on Circuit City online and bought myself a spiffy new nano. I was impressed with the new layout and style. ipod–you and I are going to make beautiful music together.
WRONG
First off ipod, you always seems the battery is out. You are supposed to have a battery life of like 24 hours and it always seems that it’s running out–especially when I going to the gym. Nothing pisses me off more than having to leave the gym to go home to charge you ipod. True, I just live across the street. True, it only takes 10 minutes to charge enough to workout. But it’s the principle of the matter… you are not supposed to die ipod.
Another instant when the battery was half full (or half empty you naysayers), you just up and died on me. Not cool. I had to finish my work out in silence. Well not silence, but mubbling and the squeeks of the machines. It doesn’t top Ok Go rocking out. What are you doing to me ipod?
So here you go ipod, you and I don’t know each other well. But rest assured, I have the patience of a hummingbird, you piss me off again and I’ll ship you back to Apple so fast your wheel will do a 720. That’s right. You won’t be in my possession any longer. In a few weeks, you’ll be online at overstock.com being sold as a refurbished hand me down. You’re only one step away from being found in a bargain bin at your local Cancer Society Thrift Shop. Will I be sad for you ipod? Don’t count on it. Ice water run through these veins as far as you are concerned.
So the lesson ipod, keep your charge, work when I need you, and don’t make me go deaf. Oh you didn’t think I didn’t know that little nasty trick you have up your sleeve ipod. Bah. I knew about it. You can try all you want, but I can turn you down and lock you down–don’t mess with me ipod.
ipod you are on notice… and you have been warned.
Filed under: teaching
After our discussion in class on Thursday regarding jurisdiction, I thought about it some more. I think in many cases, we are stretching the ed code, to cover gross lack of parenting that is occurring in our society. I completely understand that we need to stop cyber bullying and off campus problems. However, it is the school’s responsibility to do such a thing? Where does the educational line cross the civic line? I think people are scared of their neighbors and other community members that they have to use the school as a community court. I can remember from living in a small town, when there was an issue between classmates, the parents worked it out. The parents usually agreed to meet and discuss what happened and then work out a solution to solve the problem.
In the age of myspace and facebook, the opportunities for students to go rampant are much easier. A rumor can be posted as a bulletin on myspace and spread around the school community within five minutes—there are no judges in the cyberland. But what happens at the home should be handled by the families, not the school. I can also understand that the bullying could have started at school and carried on into the home life. However, the reason why it is going on at home and not at school is because the school community has established that the behavior is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. The same message has obviously not been established at home. Plus, the offending students feel there are no repercussions for their actions off school ground. In essence, these students are correct.
But I am not naïve to think that the school should completely play hands-off on stopping bullying. I am actually completely for stopping bullying. But we, as the adults and models for these students, must work together on a common message. I think we need to get parents dialoging more with each other and establishing relationships among themselves. We have to teach adults who have forgotten the communal style of living we are so accustom to in the education world.
We can offer things to parents such as cores of students that move together each year. Students become more familiar with each other, the parents know one another, and teachers can work more with establish norms carried and modified each year. Coming from my student teaching experience at a small Catholic school, the thing the parents enjoyed most about sending their children to the school was they knew the other kids (for better or worse) and they knew the parents well. I think we can build the same relationships in larger public schools on a village model. We can establish tracks for the students with teachers. Track A will have Teacher A for Kindergarten, Teacher B for 1st and so on. Those teachers can work together to articulate a program for these children until the leave the school. They can also work together to transition the students to the next grade.
As you and I already know it does take a village. However, we need to put our money and efforts in a way that resembles villages of trust, cooperation, and collaboration between the civic and educational communities.
