Okay, 3rd-12th graders (real ones and those who wish they still were) for whom the WOWblog was enthusiastically established: What book(s) would you include in your ultimate juvenile/YA collection – fiction and nonfiction?
Blog Monitoring by Schools? February 26, 2008
Check this out! Any thoughts?
“The AP [reported] that the Illinois School District [planned] to monitor the blogs and MySpace profiles of some of their students.
The board of Community High School District 128 voted unanimously… to require that all students participating in extracurricular activities sign a pledge agreeing that evidence of ‘illegal or inappropriate’ behavior posted on the Internet could be grounds for disciplinary action. District officials [weren't going] to regularly search students’ sites, but [would] monitor them if they [got] a worrisome tip from another student, a parent or a community member.
At least one parent was unhappy with the decision. Mary Greenberg of Lake Bluff, who has a son at Libertyville High School, argued the district [was] overstepping its bounds.
‘I don’t think they need to police what students are doing online,’ she said. ‘That’s my job.’
That comment was criticized by the associate superintendent.
‘The concept that searching a blog site is an invasion of privacy is almost an oxymoron,’ he said. ‘It is called the World Wide Web.’
Technically the parent talked about policing and not about privacy, but the associate superintendent is correct about the lack of privacy on the Web. Any blog or social networking profile can be seen by just about anyone using the Internet unless the blog or profile is passworded or is set up so that it can only be seen by preselected people.”
Courtesy of http://www.bloggersblog.com/teens/
MySpace controversy February 19, 2008
Hey, people, read and discuss!
“The Detroit News [reported] that a Michigan Catholic school called St. Hugo of the Hills Catholic School would no longer allow students that have MySpace profile to attend the school.
Students at a suburban Catholic school are being ordered to take down their photos, snappy comments, or anything else they may have posted on MySpace.com.
Friday is the deadline for students at St. Hugo of the Hills Catholic School to follow orders or risk suspension. School Principal Sister Margaret Van Velzen sent letters home to parents this week saying, in part, that if families allow children to continue their MySpace.com sites, they will not be allowed to return to school. The school plans to use its computer-savvy staff members to monitor the site for student activity.The principal declined comment, but St. Hugo office manager Judy Martinek said the principal just wants to keep the students safe.
‘We’ve stated our position and we hope all students are in the process of taking down their sites by tomorrow,’ said Martinek.
It may sound like a big overreaction to deny students access to the school just because they have a MySpace profile but this is what is happening. The article cites a county sheriff and a local parent who both agree with the school’s decision. MySpace is not the only social network on the Internet so the ban won’t even necessarily prevent the kids from using social networks. Still the ban may prevent naive high school students from posting stuff on a MySpace profile they may regret later when applying to college or trying to get a job.”
(courtesy of BloggersBlog.com — Teens and Blogging)
If? by Anonymous February 5, 2008
If people were to smile
And whisper sweet things,
Would this world be as troubled
Or in such need?
If people were to laugh and hug one another,
Would people not hate,
But love each other?
Super Tuesday February 4, 2008
Tomorrow is a huge day in American politics! If you are old enough to vote, be sure to exercise that amazing right! If you are not quite voting age, you can still do your part by reading up on the history and make-up of the U.S. voting process and by studying the candidates and talking about them with family and friends. Knowledge is power! What are the thoughts out there about this campaign season starting so early? And do you believe the American voting protocol (delegates, Electoral College, etc.) is still effective, or is it time to overhaul the system? Here’s a quick 411 on delegates:Both major political parties (Democratic and Republican) officially nominate their candidate for President at their respective national conventions, usually held during the summer before the election. Depending on state law and state party rules, when voters cast ballots for a candidate in a presidential caucus or primary, they may actually be voting to award delegates “bound” to vote for a candidate at the state or national convention, or they may simply be expressing an opinion that the state party is not bound to follow in selecting delegates to the national convention. In addition to delegates chosen during primaries and caucuses, state delegations to both the (Democratic and Republican) conventions also include “unpledged” delegates. For Republicans, these include top party officials. Democrats have a more expansive group of unpledged delegates called “superdelegates“, who are party leaders and elected officials.
In recent elections, the eventual nominees were known well before the actual conventions took place. The last time a major party’s nominee was not clear before the convention was in 1976, when incumbent president Gerald Ford narrowly defeated Ronald Reagan.
