A 14 year old boy was arrested in Philadelphia after word got out about a planned "Columbine style" shooting. The boy had been bullied, and he sought revenge in the killing of those who tormented him. Police confiscated numerous hand grenades, four of which were completely operational, and BB and air guns. They also took a 9-millimeter assault rifle, which fortunately didn't have ammunition. The boy tried to recruit a friend, but the friend told the police.
This is scary, especially the reference to the Columbine shooting. The boy was called "fat" and "strange"; he obviously wanted revenge, but killing people is not the answer to anything. If he was being bullied, he should have brought it up with the administration or talked to a counselor. And if he really wanted revenge, he could have just "pantsed" the people who were making fun of him. To think that murder would come to mind with something as solvable as bullying is terrifying. It's a good thing the convict was taken into custody before the school day, or lives cold have been lost.
Police are trying to decide weather to charge the 14 year old as a minor or an adult. Given the fact that he is only 14, and most of the weapons were either props or toys, I think he should be charged as a minor. However, because he did think of taking such drastic measures, he should be charged and punished harshly.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Thursday, October 4, 2007
The Odyssey
Another class project I am assuming I have to look forward to is A Google Earth Odyssey. The teacher has students map out their life on Google Earth, using places they have been, and the things they learned from visiting this place. I haven't been out of state to many times, but when I have, I have learned a lot. I like projects, though I tend to procrastinate-then again, I've been told I do my best work last minute. Google Earth is pretty much the coolest thing since sliced bread; knowing it is possible to see any place in the world with just an address is completely amazing, but somewhat creepy. Using this in the class room will make for exciting and intriguing final projects. It will also give us insight to our class mates. Its probably just me who cares about this kind of stuff, but I think traveling is possibly the best way to learn. Hands on experience has no match. Giving insight to what we have learned outside of our natural environment is an interesting way of learning about each other.
Custody Battle ...Or Lack There Of
So Brittany loses custody of her two children to her ex, K-Fed. Sean Preston, 2, and Jayden James, 1, have been handed over to their father. The former up and coming raper has apparently given up his party-animal ways to take care of his two young sons. Brittany, on the other hand, just can't seem to get it under control. After two car accidents, driving without a license, and numerous drug and alcohol charges, Britt was ordered to give up the tater-tots. Instead of ignoring the judges orders, like she usually does, she handed over Sean Preston and Jayden James before her Wednesday dead line.
Last time I checked, Keven was the partier of the couple, and Brittany was the one looking out for the kids. Now Keven has shaped up, and Brittany seems to be on a path to self destruction. Many people speculate whether Brittany is mentally stable. She has been accused of being on drugs while in the presence of her children, driving on the wrong side of the rode, and speaking in made up languages and different voices. If you ask me, this has been a hazardous journey from the get-go. The fact that both the parents are celebs only adds to the drama.
We just can't get enough of their messed up lives; but if you ask me, we should just leave poor Brittany ALONE! Americans eat celebrity gossip with a spoon. Brittany has been in the spot light since she was on the Mickey Mouse Club show. Ever sense then, we have been in her face about every aspect of her life. Everyone would go crazy if their entire life has been on camera. In my opinion, this mental break down is the product of 25 years in the lime light. Britt has had 25 years of balling up all of her pop-star problems. Like Chris Crocker said, "Shes only human". Maybe if she had seen a shrink-I mean a really REALLY good shrink- some of this wouldn't have happened. Maybe shed have never met K-Fed, and NONE of this would have happened. Then where would the pop-princes be? Would she still be the young Brittany who wears her underwear on the outside and dances with snakes, or would she still be the train-wreck she is today?
Last time I checked, Keven was the partier of the couple, and Brittany was the one looking out for the kids. Now Keven has shaped up, and Brittany seems to be on a path to self destruction. Many people speculate whether Brittany is mentally stable. She has been accused of being on drugs while in the presence of her children, driving on the wrong side of the rode, and speaking in made up languages and different voices. If you ask me, this has been a hazardous journey from the get-go. The fact that both the parents are celebs only adds to the drama.
We just can't get enough of their messed up lives; but if you ask me, we should just leave poor Brittany ALONE! Americans eat celebrity gossip with a spoon. Brittany has been in the spot light since she was on the Mickey Mouse Club show. Ever sense then, we have been in her face about every aspect of her life. Everyone would go crazy if their entire life has been on camera. In my opinion, this mental break down is the product of 25 years in the lime light. Britt has had 25 years of balling up all of her pop-star problems. Like Chris Crocker said, "Shes only human". Maybe if she had seen a shrink-I mean a really REALLY good shrink- some of this wouldn't have happened. Maybe shed have never met K-Fed, and NONE of this would have happened. Then where would the pop-princes be? Would she still be the young Brittany who wears her underwear on the outside and dances with snakes, or would she still be the train-wreck she is today?
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Edu Blog 2
Shift Happens....
I first saw a "Shift Happens" video last year as a part of my literature class. What I was able to read fast enough astonished me. Now, watching another, 'I'm equally surprised. The first thing that read across the screen was the number of babbys that would be born in the time it took to watch the video. More kids were born in China and India then America. This didn't so much surprise me as much as it made me wander how their lives would differ from the lives of the children born in the US. Then I was informed that in the not to distant future, the number one English speaking country in the world will be, not America, not Britain...China. My jaw dropped. I had a hard time believing this at first, then I really thought about it. Every other country is being taught English as a second language. What are we learning here? Spanish.Because the population of China is much larger then America's- and constantly growing- it would make sense that all these children would be speaking English. While this is taking place in China, children here are being taught Spanish.
The next bit of information I received disgusted me. The average 21 year old has spent 20,000 hours watching TV, 10,000 hours playing video games, and 10,000 hours emailing or IMing. That's a combined amount of 40,000 hours. One year has only 8,766 hours. Put simply, the average 21 year old has waisted more then 4 and a half years of their life watching TV, playing video games, and emailing/IMing. So does this mean that the average 21 year old is actually only 17? So someone old enough to legally drink is actually barely old enough to drive? Excuse me, but thats messed up...
Another thing that surprised me was the number of text messages sent per day. The first text was sent in 1995; now the number of texts sent per day is more then the population of the world. I am proud to say that I am not contributing to this statistic, seeing as my phone doesn't have text messaging on it.
Its hard to find someone now who doesn't have a myspace. This is understandable, because if myspace was a country, it would be the eighth largest in the world. I'm not sure how current this information is, but on average, 230,000 people join myspace per day. This number could be increasing drastically, or diminishing, but it seems like the number of people joining would be falling. It seems like everyone readily available to the Internet already has one. Ill admit that I have TWO, but I forgot the password to my first so it shouldn't count.........
Something that pleasantly surprised me was that 3,000 books are published per day. As a published author, this makes me feel kind of special. It made me wander how man of the books I am published in have been read. I wander how many times my poem was read, and what people thought of it.
The truth is, shift happens, whether we like it or not. The only thing we can do about it is get used to the changes going on in the world.
I first saw a "Shift Happens" video last year as a part of my literature class. What I was able to read fast enough astonished me. Now, watching another, 'I'm equally surprised. The first thing that read across the screen was the number of babbys that would be born in the time it took to watch the video. More kids were born in China and India then America. This didn't so much surprise me as much as it made me wander how their lives would differ from the lives of the children born in the US. Then I was informed that in the not to distant future, the number one English speaking country in the world will be, not America, not Britain...China. My jaw dropped. I had a hard time believing this at first, then I really thought about it. Every other country is being taught English as a second language. What are we learning here? Spanish.Because the population of China is much larger then America's- and constantly growing- it would make sense that all these children would be speaking English. While this is taking place in China, children here are being taught Spanish.
The next bit of information I received disgusted me. The average 21 year old has spent 20,000 hours watching TV, 10,000 hours playing video games, and 10,000 hours emailing or IMing. That's a combined amount of 40,000 hours. One year has only 8,766 hours. Put simply, the average 21 year old has waisted more then 4 and a half years of their life watching TV, playing video games, and emailing/IMing. So does this mean that the average 21 year old is actually only 17? So someone old enough to legally drink is actually barely old enough to drive? Excuse me, but thats messed up...
Another thing that surprised me was the number of text messages sent per day. The first text was sent in 1995; now the number of texts sent per day is more then the population of the world. I am proud to say that I am not contributing to this statistic, seeing as my phone doesn't have text messaging on it.
Its hard to find someone now who doesn't have a myspace. This is understandable, because if myspace was a country, it would be the eighth largest in the world. I'm not sure how current this information is, but on average, 230,000 people join myspace per day. This number could be increasing drastically, or diminishing, but it seems like the number of people joining would be falling. It seems like everyone readily available to the Internet already has one. Ill admit that I have TWO, but I forgot the password to my first so it shouldn't count.........
Something that pleasantly surprised me was that 3,000 books are published per day. As a published author, this makes me feel kind of special. It made me wander how man of the books I am published in have been read. I wander how many times my poem was read, and what people thought of it.
The truth is, shift happens, whether we like it or not. The only thing we can do about it is get used to the changes going on in the world.
Monday, September 24, 2007
News Blog 2
When I hear the word "anniversary", I think of good things. A wedding anniversary, the anniversary of an organization. Not today... Today is the one year anniversary of the Platte Canyon High School shooting, where 16 year old Emily Keyes was killed. A gunman walked into the school and took 7 girls hostage. He shot Emily, then shot himself.
I remember last year when news first came out. My Current Events class started, and the teacher broke the news. Everyone was completely blown away. I kept thinking about Columbine; I kept thinking about how these things seemed to only happen in Colorado. I kept thinking about how this girl didn't deserve this. I kept thinking about how life wasn't fair. Then I thought of "Emily".
From the description of Emily Keyes, she sounded like a model student and a great family member. She had a twin brother(who is now a Senior) and caring parents until September 27, 2006 when she was killed. This reminded me of the song lyric "There's no one in the world like Emily."
I wanted to get into the mind of the killed. I wandered how anyone could do such a thing. He just walked into this high school and took 7 hostages. He killed Emily, then himself. I wanted to know what his motifs were, if he had any. Then I thought about the victims. I wanted to know what was going threw their minds while this was going on. I wanted to know what it was like to know you might not make it through the day, that any minute you might be dead. I wanted to know what Emily was thinking when she was shot, and what she was thinking when the ambulance came to late. Then again, I was completely thankful that I DIDN'T have to know what everyone was thinking. I was thankful that I DIDN'T have to go threw that terror of knowing I may not ever see me friends or family again.
I remember last year when news first came out. My Current Events class started, and the teacher broke the news. Everyone was completely blown away. I kept thinking about Columbine; I kept thinking about how these things seemed to only happen in Colorado. I kept thinking about how this girl didn't deserve this. I kept thinking about how life wasn't fair. Then I thought of "Emily".
From the description of Emily Keyes, she sounded like a model student and a great family member. She had a twin brother(who is now a Senior) and caring parents until September 27, 2006 when she was killed. This reminded me of the song lyric "There's no one in the world like Emily."
I wanted to get into the mind of the killed. I wandered how anyone could do such a thing. He just walked into this high school and took 7 hostages. He killed Emily, then himself. I wanted to know what his motifs were, if he had any. Then I thought about the victims. I wanted to know what was going threw their minds while this was going on. I wanted to know what it was like to know you might not make it through the day, that any minute you might be dead. I wanted to know what Emily was thinking when she was shot, and what she was thinking when the ambulance came to late. Then again, I was completely thankful that I DIDN'T have to know what everyone was thinking. I was thankful that I DIDN'T have to go threw that terror of knowing I may not ever see me friends or family again.
Monday, September 17, 2007
News PLN 9-17-07
And news is coming in on yet ANOTHER accident involving a car and a pedestrian. This is what, the hundredth hit-and-run in a mounth? Im not even kidding. The first one I heard aboot was the toddeler running across the street to his dad. He ended up dying at the scene(I think....). Then a ten year old got hit and dragged aboot 50 feet. He suffered massive brain injerys and ended up dying shortly afterwards. Early Saturday mourning, a 5 year old was hit by a 99 Ford Ranger and thrown 30 feet. The driver shifted into revers and attempted to drive backward to flee the scene. He failed miserable and drove into a utlilty pole and some bushes. The front passenger ran from the car back to the scene and tryed to help out, the driver however......
As someone going through Drivers Ed, this is becoming increasingly frightening. Im always picturing cardbored cut outs of children being thrown at me when im driving, or blow up beach balls being rolled infront of the car wheels. All of the accidents were, well, ACCIDENTS, but still... Either Drivers Education should be repeated when some one renews his license, or the "Look both ways before crossing the street" rule should be be its own class in schools.
As someone going through Drivers Ed, this is becoming increasingly frightening. Im always picturing cardbored cut outs of children being thrown at me when im driving, or blow up beach balls being rolled infront of the car wheels. All of the accidents were, well, ACCIDENTS, but still... Either Drivers Education should be repeated when some one renews his license, or the "Look both ways before crossing the street" rule should be be its own class in schools.
Education PLN 9-17-07
I was assigned a PLN on something that Mr. Fisch wrote on his blog. After reading a rant aboot technoligy and another on staff devlopment, I realized this wasn't exactly sinking in. I scrolled down untill I saw one on "What Matters". Ah, yes, I've done this! I read through it and clicked on some of the links. In his blog, Mr Fisch said "Many of [the students blogs] seemed similar to mine...". Well yea, isn't that kind of expected? When the students ask for a more specific topic. The answer they got was "I dont kno, What matters?" Not much of an answer, is it... Because they were put out on a cliff hanger like that, most(or all) of the students did what was easiest- what matters te them.
"I am just having a difficult time trying to find the line between feeling like I am leading them to the answer I am looking for (i.e. my what matters example) and having them struggle to find their own understanding- what I feel like they should be looking for." After reflecting for a few moments, I began to fully understand what Mr. Fisch means by this. The reason behind not giving a straight forward answer when asked "What do you mean by what matters?" was that he wants his students to do it on their own. Fisch wasnt looking for them to answer the question his way. He wanted them to answer the question how they think it should be answered, be it what matters to them, what matters to the world or what metters to their second cousin twice removed. What ever the case may be, the whole point of that activity was to get a look into the heads of each of the kids.
"I am just having a difficult time trying to find the line between feeling like I am leading them to the answer I am looking for (i.e. my what matters example) and having them struggle to find their own understanding- what I feel like they should be looking for." After reflecting for a few moments, I began to fully understand what Mr. Fisch means by this. The reason behind not giving a straight forward answer when asked "What do you mean by what matters?" was that he wants his students to do it on their own. Fisch wasnt looking for them to answer the question his way. He wanted them to answer the question how they think it should be answered, be it what matters to them, what matters to the world or what metters to their second cousin twice removed. What ever the case may be, the whole point of that activity was to get a look into the heads of each of the kids.
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