What Do Others Think?

It's time to "hit the streets" and see what other people think about anti-bullying programs and zero tolerance.  Here are 5 questions you need to ask 5 different people:

1. What does or does not constitute bullying? (In other words, what is bullying and isn't bullying?)
2. Were you ever bullied or teased?  Explain.
3. What should be the punishment for bullying?
4. What is your opinion of zero tolerance?
5. Did you ever bully someone?  Explain.

Be sure to take good notes on the responses you get, especially if they say something really interesting (make sure you have it written word for word - even read it back to them to confirm) because when you're done, you will come back to your blog to summarize the general consensus in a new post. (In other words, what do most people you talked to seem to think?  Do you see a pattern in the responses?)

Diggin a Little Deeper into Bullying

Research both sides of the argument a little more...
SIRS link
See if your opinion changes and tell me about what you learned in the articles from SIRS.

Anti-Bullying & Zero Tolerance

Just last month a week was recognized as Anti-Bullying Week.

Review these articles and then write up your opinion on the topic by responding to these questions.  Do you think zero tolerance is an acceptable solution to the problem of bullying?  If so, why do you think it works?  If not, what do you think would be better? 

Article 1 from UC Berkeley

Article 2 from CS Monitor (be sure to click through all 5 myths)

Article 3 from Psychology Today

Gun Control & Safety

In light of the recent tragedy in Newtown there has been much discussion, as there typically is when such gun related tragedy strikes, about gun control and whether or not tighter restrictions on guns would reduce the risk of such events occurring again.  What do you think?  Read up on the recent tragedy (at NY Times or Google News or CNN or other site of your choice) and review this research site for information and then present you opinion in a new blog post.  Back up your thoughts and opinions with information or examples from what you read.

What's Important

1.What's important to you? 
2.What do you care most about? 
3.What goals do you have for your future? 
4.What motivates you to do your best and keep you focused on your goals?

Most people can answer the first two questions easily, but sometimes the second two are harder.  If you're stumped to respond to these questions, why?  Explain why you don't have goals for your future or something that motivates you.  Consider setting a goal now and think about the ways in which you could work toward that goal.  It doesn't have to be extreme, just realistic.

If answering all four of these questions was easy for you, what could you say to someone that found it hard.  How could you encourage someone to set goals and stay motivated to reach them?  Do you have an story about setting a goal and reaching it that you could share as an example of successfully reaching a goal?

Respond to these questions in a new blog posting titled What's Important by the end of the period today.

Playing the News

Today, you will be accessing a Play the News site where you interact with the news.  Watch this short video to learn about how it works.

Then click here to create a free account at Play the News.

Choose a news story from the homepage depending on your interests: Breaking News, World, U.S., Politics, Entertainment, Technology or Sports.  Follow the instructions given by clicking on the HELP button in the top right corner of your video screen.

You will be asked to choose a side or perspective.  Then you will be asked to make a decision about what should happen.  Finally you will be asked to predict what you think will actually happen.

Once you've completed this task, you will create a new blog post that answers the following:
1) Which news story did you select? Why?
2) Which perspective or side did you choose? Why?
3) What did you decide should happen? Why?
4) What was your prediction? Explain.
5) What do you think about this kind of interactive news approach? 

The Value of Photojournalism

I was concerned that I wasn't doing enough to educate you about the value of photojournalism.  We talked about what photojournalism is, looked up information about the career itself, but we didn't talk about what it isn't. 

Photojournalism ISN'T people taking any random picture and putting it up on the web for all to see.  Photojournalism ISN'T anyone with Photo Shop knowledge tweaking a photo beyond recognition.  Photojournalism ISN'T easy.  It takes dedication, focus and patience.  Not to mention - talent.

I decided to present some more examples of quality photojournalism and reiterate some of its merits.  You have three links to view.  At each of the links you have a task to complete or a question to be answered.  Create a new post in your blog titled Impact of Photojournalism and submit your responses and completed tasks no later than Wednesday of this week.

Task 1:
CNNs iReport
How do these images affect your connection to or understanding of the story being reported?

Task 2:
NOUPE
Select an image that speaks to you.  Then click on it to get more on the story and see additional images and the story that goes along with them.  Do you think these stories would have as much impact without the images that accompany them? Explain.

Task 3:
TopDesignMag
Select an image and tell me the story you think it tells.  Who/What is in the image?  When/Where is this happening?  Why has this subject been selected?  Why is this topic worth reporting on?  How did the photojournalist gain access to get this photo?  How does this image help tell the story?

Final task: After completing these exercises, tell me if your opinion on photojournalism has changed or stayed the same.  Explain.