A little Rant

John sent me this article today about a principal out east that banned blogging at the Jr. Sr. High School. I really feel strongly that the opposite should be happening. Here is an email that I was planning on sending to the principal before I relazied that the article was from 2005.

Hello Mr. Sousac,

Just read the following article online, and wanted to hear your thoughts on a little different line of thinking.

http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050329/NEWS/503290316/1027

I understand the dangers of students blogging, however I feel that if students in a school setting are banned from everything that may cause problems in their lives, how are they supposed to learn to deal with these issues?

When our students leave our schools, they are on their own. There will not be filters on the internet, nor will there be someone keeping an eye on them to make sure they make wise decisions. As an educator I believe that schools should be teaching appropriate use of the internet and online communities, not only how to use it as a learning tool, but also how to interact with it. In this digital age, students are immersed in an online world. They need to learn safe-use in an environment that allows growth. If we shut them down, and expect them to figure it out on their own I believe we are endangering them more. If we were to integrate these “new technologies” into our daily lessons I think our students will leave our schools not only with a greater understanding of how to integrate current technology into their business and personal lives, but also to do it in a safe manner.

I realize this requires more classroom management from our teachers, but I feel its something schools really need take a closer look at, and maybe reevaluate their current practices.

So that was it in a nut shell. Really frustrating that our schools are not educating our students, but taking away their learning expiences because they don’t want to deal with managing proper use.

So thats my rant for today. As I was walking home from work I was greeted with a beautiful sunset. Wish Erin were here to hang out with.

Back to UNK

Well the Hawaii trip came to an end in a hurry. Time flies when your not working. Its amazing how fast the days go by. We left Kona on Thursday evening. We made the same stops we had on the way down, just in the reverse order. We arrived in Anchorage in Friday afternoon. Pretty tired from the trip. We did go out for dinner, and on a whim went to the Anchorage Aces semi-pro hockey game.

The game was a lot of fun. Before the game started the mascot lit the rink on fire. The flames formed the letter A in the center of the rink. It was the first time I’d seen anything like that at a hockey game. The game was fun to watch with good scoring chances and the Aces taking the win.

[QUICKTIME http://www.bbryson.com/movies/hockey.mov 320 260]

The next morning I got some grociery shopping done before hopping on PenAir back to Unalakleet.  It was nice to get to hang out with Erin for a little bit before she had to take off for St. Michael.  We were on a bit of a 24 marathon.  I don’t know if you guys have started to watch it, but I’m sure I have Erin’s support when I say we recommend the show to anyone who likes a bit of suspense.