Are your parents trying to be your “friend”? June 9, 2008

Courtesy of http://www.bloggersblog.com/teens/

Parents are apparently tired of the mystery and so many are trying to find out what their kids are up to on Facebook. The Washington Post reports that some teens and young adults are shocked to find their mom or dad trying to “friend” them on Facebook. Some are even finding their Mom or Dad friending their friends.

Across the country, Facebook users are contemplating similar questions when they log onto their accounts. More and more moms and dads are signing onto Facebook to keep up with their offspring. Not only are they friending (or attempting to friend) their sons and daughters, they’re friending their sons’ and daughters’ friends.Some, like Matt, take the requests in stride. He ultimately friended his dad. Others are less sanguine, voicing their dismay via online groups that decry parental intrusion and offer tips on how to screen out mom and dad. (“Just go onto their computers and delete their accounts.” “Just don’t add them as a friend or any1 that is a co-worker with ur parents duh.”) Even parenting experts are getting involved, offering their own tips on proper Facebook etiquette.

 

“I do not know if this has happened to anybody, but this morning I log on to Facebook and I have a new friend request!” wrote 19-year-old Mike Yeamans, a sophomore at James Madison University, on one of several “No Parents on Facebook” groups that have popped up on the site. “I am excited to make a new friend so I click on the link. I could not believe what I saw. My father! This is an outrage!”

Some might argue that this means Facebook has jumped the shark. They might be right. If someday in the near future young people start complaining that their parents are following them on Twitter it could mean that many twittering teens are about to relocate. However, these same types of stories popped up a couple years ago with parents becoming the MySpace friends of their children. We’ve seen this all before. We’ve even seen this story before with Facebook and parents. Last June the New York Times ran a story called “omg my mom joined facebook!!” Today, MySpace is still going strong although one could argue that some of the younger people have gone elsewhere. Facebook seems to be holding onto its young users. Most 20-somethings can probably deal with the idea of parents on Facebook but parental intrusion might discourage some of the younger Facebook users who just aren’t interested in having their parents as Facebook friends.

Posted on March 9, 2008

Politics for the people April 23, 2008

If you had the chance to express to the three remaining Presidential candidates what you think the priorities of the next administration should be, what would you say – what are your greatest concerns for yourself and for our country?

Fayetteville High School: renovate or relocate? April 7, 2008

WOWbloggers – One of the hottest topics in Fayetteville right now is whether to keep the high school at its current site and build it up to par, or to build a new facility out on Deane Solomon Road. Parents and other concerned citizens have been very vocal on the matter, and quite understandably so; a lot is at stake. But what say you about it? You are, after all, at the very heart of the matter, whether you are a student there now or will be someday soon. Would you prefer FHS to stay or to go, and why?

Wanderer Illustration Contest March 13, 2008

Submit between March 1 and March 31

Artists in Grades 3-12 are invited to submit original work for consideration as illustrations in The Wanderer, an annual publication of the Fayetteville Public Library. All entries will be displayed in an exhibit in the young adult library. Selected entries will be published in The Wanderer. Color or black-and-white pen-and-ink drawings, pencil drawings, prints, and paintings are welcome. Contact Caitlyn Spaulding at cspaulding@faylib.org for more information.

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)

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.

to challenge or not to challenge January 3, 2008

So it seems that Philip Pullman’s The Golden Compass is causing quite a stir which has been roused further by the release of the major motion picture The Golden Compass.

The controversy surrounding the book lies in the interpretations of the books’ view on religion. One perspective says that the book has anti-religious themes. The opposite view states that the book is just a fantasy adventure, set in an alternative world where people’s souls manifest themselves as animals, talking bears fight wars, and Gyptians and witches coexist.

So is this just fantasy or is this anti-religious or is it both? Should this book be challenged in libraries and schools? Who should decide who should and shouldn’t read a book?