The US Fourth Amendment which guarantees “the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures.”

Is this true? Who is to say in an age of digital media, surveillance cameras, smart phones, GPS, TSA, etc. that people actually have any privacy? For all individuals know, they are having their rights invaded. Friends requests are being sent on FaceBook from who knows who in Egypt and they are accepted! People may add individuals on Facebook because they met them once, they are a friend of a friend, friend of the family, etc. Should teachers accept or send friend requests to students? Should teachers open their lives to the lack of privacy that could follow maintaining a social media relationship outside of the classroom? Something to ponder on for awhile anyway.

Teachers and social media

Some teachers use Facebook to stay connected with their students. Some refuse to be the students friend on Facebook. It must be a personal choice, or personal ethical decision. Then again, as a teacher could you not create a profile to be there and support your students outside the classroom? Many children need support outside the classroom; if they come from single parent homes, or homes where things maybe are not as stable as they could be.

I would like to think that teachers can stay connected with their students in a professional way by having a personal profile and a professional profile. However, that being said, it could be risky to allow your students on a personal or professional profile depending on your relationship. Students might then have power. Power meaning, they can degrade, belittle, or “bully” the teacher with little fear of consequence. The same could be said for the teacher, they may feel they can say anything they want. Maybe teachers choose not to because of these fears, maybe they choose to because of their students need for support. One day, all teachers likely have to make that decision.

I wonder how to make that decision.

Homework

During my own high school days, there were teachers who seemed to assign tons of homework. Seemed like piles and piles of homework, and for what? Was it just to irritate us? Was it to get back at us for being unruly during class? Maybe when I was in school, I thought that. However, looking back it was to help us master the subjects, it was to challenge us, and give us that extra boost on weak topics, to make us work for our grades. Without those teachers who assigned tons of homework, where would we all be? Thinking things should just come easy to us. We should just finish our work in school, have the rest of the day to play, and bring home an A+ report card.

Homework helps us prepare for the future. It makes us take our projects and work on them in a designated time line. Deadlines occur in all of life, why should school be the exception? Learning time management and being rewarded for our efforts, that is homework.

Teaches and Students

Don’t all students have that one teacher they do not like? And they one they love? Don’t all teachers have the student they struggle with? And the one they adore? The goal of any teacher should be to come closer to those they struggle with and to challenge and promote individual growth for all students from the easiest to the hardest.

Students should be given the head start on doing anything they want to do, being anything they want to be. Children need encouragement, love, and support. I hope to one day help them achieve their goals.

Teaching

As someone who is being taught, I would like to think I will some day have an impact on the lives of individuals who I will one day be teaching. To help children grow and learn is such an important personal goal. Children of all races, backgrounds, and socio-economic statuses deserve the right to learn and know all they can.

Without proper education individuals cannot fully reach fruition in life. They may advance into well paying jobs, or high status in life but they will not have used their own power to its fullest. People have the power to change and create but they may never have to opportunity to know that about themselves.

Children are our future and they are bright. They all have potential. They all offer special skills and personalities that can make a difference. Without being taught how to harness their abilities, they may never shine as bright as they could. I hope to make children shine, to help them see their own potential, to feel proud, to feel supported, and most of all, to do the best they can in everything they do.

Blogging about Blogging and Social Networking

You know, I have never fully understood the need for blogging. Thing is, it is like a journal, in a digital form where anyone and everyone has access to it. I suppose the only real benefit of blogging is to release your thoughts or emotions onto “paper” and you don’t have a real signature. No one can stumble upon your blog in your room and know it is yours like they can a paper journal.  With blogs you can write anonymously.

Now that we have established that, we can move on to another topic of interest. Social networking, yes it has a point but the point is defeated if and when an individual opens their profile up to the whole world. Much like a blog, social networking is private, to be shared with friends and family, or in this case teachers and fellow students. One can write a blog about nearly anything, one can post a status on FaceBook about nearly anything. To do so and only share it with oneself or friends, or family is an intimate connection that is lost when blogs or profiles are open to the public.