Should Online Privacy for Educators Exist?

A North Carolina teacher was suspended for a controversial Facebook post that she made. The teacher thought that it was only going to be seen by her friends however it was leaked to the public somehow. The post was that the teacher said “I am teaching in the most Ghetto school in Charlotte”.

Many people think that it is inappropriate for the teacher to be making remarks like this; however, many think that she shouldn't have been punished so severely. The argument from this perspective is that she should be free to say what she wants online without being judged and scrutinized by the media, or punished through her work. If she were to say something like what she said on her Facebook page in a class, for example, then she should be punished by school board. Considering the circumstances, though many are saying that the school board does not have the right to do what they have done.

This topic is highly controversial, meaning there are two sides to it and both sides have a relatively even following. The countering argument is that teachers should be able to speak their mind in a private setting, and their social network profiles are to be considered a private setting. The other topic that gets raised, is how much control the district has over a teachers freedom of expression. Should the district be allowed to punish teachers for things they say on social networking sites.

In my opinion, what a teacher says outside of the class should be up to them; however, that does not mean that I think that saying things that are likely to offend students, parents, and/or coworkers is not in a teacher’s best interest. Teachers are seen as role models to the students and public figures to the rest of the community, so anything that they say can affect how they are respected, and how people interact with them (often negatively) on a day-to-day basis.

Teachers Privacy

Teachers Privacy

-Do Teachers have the right to share their personal ideas online?

-As a Teacher you are a role model for your students, but don’t you have the right to share your opinions online?

 The article is trying to explain that there is a fine line you don’t cross with expressing your feelings online in an inappropriate manner. There is a time and a place for everything and as teachers they should understand that. The other side of the argument is that teachers have a social life outside of the class room, where they do as they please, and something they do on their own time shouldn’t affect the work place.

I personally like the fact that teachers are on social media, because it really shows what kind of person your teacher really is. I definitely believe that teachers should have a social life without having to be pointed out or judged, until they cross that line by bringing their students into their own issues.That’s when it becomes a problem.Being a teacher means setting the right examples for your students. It doesn’t just stop when you finish class. Teachers influence students to make wise choices in life, and if a teacher doesn’t do so, students views may be affected.  

Too much computer access may hinder education report.

Too much computer access may hinder education report

                                                                                                          Briana M

            Over the past decade technology has been one of the main resources for teaching students in schools.  Many people fail to realize that the mass use of technology may actually be harming the education of younger children. In the article: Too much computer access may hinder education report, written by Keith Bonnell raises the concerns for younger students in grades one and two. He argues that the use of “computers could cut into the teaching of basic subjects”, such as reading and mathematics.

 

            In Manitoba the provincial government says that the schools are integrating computers into as many of their lesson plans as possible.  This use of technology comes at a high cost for the government of Manitoba. Millions of dollars are being spent each year by schools and school boards to give elementary and high school students access to this technology. Specifically Manitoba spends over $26 million annually on technology in the province’s school system. This rounds to about $60 for every high schooler in Manitoba and $46 for every elementary schooler in the province. Over the year 2007-08 Manitoba planned to have a budget for spending of technology in the school system of $32.3 million only for computer equipment, services and salaries.

 

            Mr. Michael Zwaagstra, a Manitoba high school teacher wrote a report focused towards Manitoba’s priorities for spending money and said “The money could instead be spent on capital costs for school and more teachers”, instead of this new technology. Zwaggstra also questioned how much sense it would make to teach elementary students to use this technology and software that will be replaced with something newer and better in a few years. Along with all this extra money going towards this technology, this is not the only problem. Several studies, including one from an international review, show that the students who have more access to computers at home and at school had lower scores in math, reading and science then the students with less computer access. A professor of curriculum studies at the University of British Columbia states that “It’s not the computer that makes kids smarter or not smarter, it’s what they’re doing with the technology”.

 

            I think that increasing expenses on technology in schools is wasteful. I don’t doubt that there are many students that learn very well and efficiently with the use of technology, but then again, there are many students, like myself, who have a hard time keeping up with the technology in today’s society and are much better at a “hands on” or “old school” type of learning. I personally am not able to type something on a screen and effectively memorize the facts, I need to physically write out what I am seeing to have a deeper understanding of what I am learning about. Additionally, technology makes some people feel nervous, I am one of these people as well. Technology give more opportunities for distraction and can frustrate those who aren’t as tech-savvy. Personally the thought of having to do a power point presentation or creating a blog for a class frustrates me in two ways. First, I cannot learn efficiently from this method of presentation and secondly I have extreme difficulty understanding the technology I am required to use, no matter how much instruction I receive. Therefore, I would highly prefer personally the old format of using textbooks and taking notes by hand and projects that do not involve making power point presentations. The only technology that is useful to me is the internet for resources and Microsoft word.

A Sweet Death

Sugar. Everyone loves it. How can there be anything wrong with something that makes coffee and tea taste so good? It’s a treat! It’s a drink! It’s a reward! It’s delicious!

It’s a poison!

At least, that’s what many scientists, and regular citizens, say, which I agree with to some degree.

According to scientists, sugar in large amounts is harmful to the human body. Not only does it make people fat, it changes one’s metabolism, raises blood pressure, causes heart disease, and is harmful to the liver. The damage inflicted by sugar is comparable to excessive drinking, which scientists reminded us is basically distilling sugar. This makes sugar more dangerous than alcohol, due to its current availability to any age in any place. Authors in America have declared that Obesity has become a bigger problem than malnourishment.

Sugar, however harmful it is, is actually not a problem is consumed in small amounts. Why is it, then, that issues like obesity is such a large problem? The answer lies in the irresponsible consumption of this sweet poison that’s slowly killing humans. Over the past 50 years, sugar consumption has tripled. Schools are fitted with vending machines selling pop and candy bars, stores are stocked with sweets, and cafes are equipped with sugar (to sweeten coffee and tea). One way to solve this problem can be directly appealing to food companies. They might resist as much as they can, but changes within their policies can happen if they’re pressured enough. Some examples are the ban on smoking in many places and fitting cars with airbags.

Another way, however, and it’s the way that I personally prefer, is to educate children and youth about the effects of sugar, and how to lead a healthy life. A balanced diet and regular exercise can lead a long way towards a healthy lifestyle. Yes, increasing the prices of sugary products and adding age restrictions might help, but in the end, the responsibility lies with the people themselves to make the right choices.

Muen's sugar essay

     We lose over 180,000 people a year in the U.S. alone to sugar related deaths. Yea, we may have a population crisis and those deaths might help, but, it is still a extremely depressing thought. The fact that the sweet, sugary substance inside beverages and everyday foods are slowly killing us from the inside is very concerning to the general public. We come across diseases like diabetes which currently effects the everyday lives of over 19 million people worldwide. This is a problem! In 2012, 86 million youths had prediabetes, that is a astounding percentage of the over all youth of America. Sugar claims so many lives, whether directly or indirectly it doesnt matter, this has to change. 

     If you've never thought about this, every can of pop contains a whopping 40 grams of sugar, thats equivalent to eating 10 sugar cubes. Our bodies were not meant to be able to withstand that much sugar and still function correctly. When a little sugar is consumed, its not a problem, its for pleasure, however it is when a lot is consumed, it kills. Very slowly and very painfully. The problem is, the fact that most of us can walk into Wal-Mart and purchase a 12 pack of coke for cheaper than a 6 pack of drinking water. Same thing with food, it is cheaper to buy a piece of highly sugar loaded cake then to buy a loaf of whole wheat bread. It does not make sense. Why is America the fattest country on the planet? Because everything with sugar in it is so overwhelmingly cheaper than anything healthy and good for you. Thats our problem today, scientists say “we need to change our lifestyle” well we cant, if our budget and earnings dont allow us to, its not possible to change. See its easier said than done, the over consumption of sugar increases the risk of cardiac arrest exponentially and always garunteed increases blood pressure. This should not be taken lightly. 

     As the US centers of disease state clearly “for a average adult, drinking the equivalent of a vending machine soda would exceed the recommended sugar intake level” its not safe. Not only does sugar make people obese, but it also messes with the body's metabolism and throws off horomones. Consuming too much sugar gives a end result of a person drinking too much alchohol, remember, alchohol is just distilled sugar after all. What some governments recommend is not simply “control your diets” it is to increase rices and taxes on sugary goods, treating carbonated beverages like a cigarette, only selling it to people 18 and up. This is a very logical position, when we wander through our secondary school hallways, we see obese people, in my opinion, children and teens should not be obese. Diabetes does not just one day suddenly dissapear, no its with you forever and ever and ever. This epidemic of sugar consuming humans have gotten to the point where there are now more fat people in the world than the people dying of starvation and malnourishment. 

     See, im very concerned by the fact that sugar consumption has tripled within the last decade. It troubles me to imagine what our children will look like. Little diabetic kids weighing 25% more than they should? No. This has to stop. Sugar is not just an ingredient to baking a cake, it is the killer behind hundreds of thousands of people, leaving families husband-less, wife-less, child-less, and lastly life-less. We already proven to the world that we have no self control, we cant just say “no more sugar” and stop consuming sugar, not going to happen. Sugar can no longer be readily accessible, it should be controlled, not only by us but by the government. The responsibility lies within the companies, the big multi million dollar industries slowly killing the world. They may resist change, but shifts in policy are completely possible if the pressure applied is great enough. Our generation is slowly withering down and dying which is really ironic because we just happen to live in a continuously developing world. People are dying from sugar. The sugar related deaths are increasing and yet the sugar consumption continues to sky rocket. People are losing their lives. Wake up and do something.

Sugar is Killing us Slowly.

   The existence of sugars and sweeteners, artificial or not, has been an important one for many years, whether it be through slave trades or modern corporations, and the onslaught of articles stating how bad sugars are, or alternatively how overreactive society has become. There is no doubt that sugar is a major part of our lives — we crave the sweet, the sweet and salty, and all things artificial. Is this simply because we are unable to moderate ourselves through no fault of any company but our own desire to eat, eat, eat, or as some might claim; we are addicted to sugar and it is killing us much without our knowing?

Many scientists and health professionals will argue that most artificial sweeteners are cancer inducing and, all sugars, in excess will lead to things such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and so on and so forth. The wide availability of sugar as well as its appeal to young, impressional children, is a a large factor in getting the population addicted to the sugars used and, subsequently, overeating those foods and being susceptible to aforementioned diseases. Those with this point of view believe in the heavy regulation and taxation of food and drink containing sugar. Others, however, yet argue that only unrealistic amounts of sugar rich sustenance is of concern, and believe that a balanced diet with lots of exercise is a cure all for sugar.

With that in mind, it is difficult for me not to take the first side of the presented argument. In the article, scientists who claim things such as ‘the key to good health is a balanced and varied diet in a lifestyle that includes plenty of physical activity’ are simply living in a world where they cannot possibly point the smoking gun at food companies. The excessive sugars spoken of before are brought not by the consumers, but the shove down the throat of marketing and ad campaigns, and an excess in production. By creating cheap alternatives to sugar, it is only logical for companies to put more of it in, knowing fully well of its addictive properties, to have people come back for more. Young children are being handed a sugary coke and told to drink, as it is the cheapest drink one might buy instead of water. I completely agree with the side claiming that sugar is in fact killing the world’s population bit by bit, and it should be regulated far more.

hey guys, so uuummm patric will be joining our group. His email is patrik081@live.ca can someone add him for me? my computer is acting really strang atm

Hello!

Thanks for inviting me to your blog.  Just a reminder to administrators to add a "follow" gadget - in layout you can do this. Also remember to edit your display name under your Blogger profile to be first name and last initial only - this is for safety reasons as you are still minors.