What is a bully? Why do people bully? So many people try to figure this out, yet no one can ever seem to stop it or even define it. As a teacher, I've done as much as I can to stop bullying in my school. I read The Misfits, by James Howe, with my students, but that seems to have no effect. I teach "mini-lessons" almost daily about the dangers of bullying or the cruelty of name-calling, but it doesn't stop. Even I have become a victim of bullying this year.
I don't know if it's the feeling of power a person gets when they bully, or if they just enjoy making other people feel worthless, but it is something that affects me in a way that sometimes makes me feel sick. I see people being unkind, rude, and downright cruel every day, and it makes me wonder why they feel the need to act that way toward another human being.
I've listened to speakers, read books, attended programs, started assemblies, gotten my students involved, all with no success. What is the driving force behind bullying? I wish I knew the answer. All I can do is keep trying with the hope that someday, people will realize that bullying hurts, and when we hurt other people, we may feel good for a while, but in the end, we only damage ourselves.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Monday, November 28, 2011
Book Review for 11/22/63
Over Thanksgiving break, I read Stephen King's latest book, 11/22/63. This is a story about a man who is able to travel back in time to change the course of history. The main character of this book, Jake Eppings, not only decides to go back to 11/22/63, but along the way, he decides to save a man's family who were brutally murdered.
The catch? He can only go to one time, and that time is the year 1958. In order to get to 1963, he must stay in that time for 5 years. If he returns back to the present, the results of his actions change history, but if he goes back, it's 1958 all over again and everything is "reset".
I'm not going to talk about the book here, because if you want to know what happens, you'll have to read it for yourself. What I do want to talk about is, "What if I could do that? What if I could go back in time? What would I change? What would I do?" These questions are really interesting to me.
Growing up, I always thought I was a "child of the 50's". I've always been conservative in my thinking, and have longed for those seemingly happy and more carefree times. To me, I would be perfectly happy without tv, computers, cell phones, and all the other gadgets we can't seem to live without.
I've always been fascinated by the events of 11/22/63. I've read several books on the subject, and for me, now it seems that the experts were right. For those who don't know what happened on that day, this was the day that John F. Kennedy was assassinated. There have been probably 100 books written about this assassination, most of them saying that Lee H. Oswald was not alone in killing our president. I do think now, though, that he was alone, and that sometimes, a crazy person can do what many think is impossible.
Going back to the question at hand, if you could travel in time back to 1958, would you? What would you do? Would you want to change history? Most important of all, would you want to come back? I think if I could go back to 1958, I would stay there. I don't know if I would try to change history, but sometimes I think that less is more, and that our lives have become way too complicated for us. 1958 wasn't perfect, no year or decade is, but for me, I would like to have a slower, simpler life.
Read 11/22/63 if you like stories about changing history, Stephen King, or both. It's a great book, and it gets you thinking about history.
The catch? He can only go to one time, and that time is the year 1958. In order to get to 1963, he must stay in that time for 5 years. If he returns back to the present, the results of his actions change history, but if he goes back, it's 1958 all over again and everything is "reset".
I'm not going to talk about the book here, because if you want to know what happens, you'll have to read it for yourself. What I do want to talk about is, "What if I could do that? What if I could go back in time? What would I change? What would I do?" These questions are really interesting to me.
Growing up, I always thought I was a "child of the 50's". I've always been conservative in my thinking, and have longed for those seemingly happy and more carefree times. To me, I would be perfectly happy without tv, computers, cell phones, and all the other gadgets we can't seem to live without.
I've always been fascinated by the events of 11/22/63. I've read several books on the subject, and for me, now it seems that the experts were right. For those who don't know what happened on that day, this was the day that John F. Kennedy was assassinated. There have been probably 100 books written about this assassination, most of them saying that Lee H. Oswald was not alone in killing our president. I do think now, though, that he was alone, and that sometimes, a crazy person can do what many think is impossible.
Going back to the question at hand, if you could travel in time back to 1958, would you? What would you do? Would you want to change history? Most important of all, would you want to come back? I think if I could go back to 1958, I would stay there. I don't know if I would try to change history, but sometimes I think that less is more, and that our lives have become way too complicated for us. 1958 wasn't perfect, no year or decade is, but for me, I would like to have a slower, simpler life.
Read 11/22/63 if you like stories about changing history, Stephen King, or both. It's a great book, and it gets you thinking about history.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Been A While
It's been a while since I've blogged, and a lot has happened in the past year. I'll try to catch us all up, and hopefully I'll keep writing.
Since my father passed away, I finished and published his last work, Stories My Dad Told. I am quite proud of that. I've also been working on his other unfinished work, a genealogical study of my family. It is very interesting to learn about my family's colorful past. I will probably write a blog about that sometime soon as well.
At school, I began teaching both 7th and 8th grades. It has been a challenge, but it's also been very rewarding. Being able to spend two years with middle school students gives me the chance to get to know them much better.
We're still working on Name calling and bullying in the middle school, but progress is made every year. I continue to hope that name calling will become a thing of the past before I retire.
My cross country team is on top of the world this year! The Middle school boys team has won 8 invitational races, and are quickly becoming THE team to beat this year. I can't describe how proud I am of them.
In ELA, New York has come up with a new way of teaching students, and we are really doing our best to work our way through this new process. I can only hope that students will become more successful with each passing day. It is my hope that soon, ALL middle school students at Afton are successful in their academics.
To be continued....
Since my father passed away, I finished and published his last work, Stories My Dad Told. I am quite proud of that. I've also been working on his other unfinished work, a genealogical study of my family. It is very interesting to learn about my family's colorful past. I will probably write a blog about that sometime soon as well.
At school, I began teaching both 7th and 8th grades. It has been a challenge, but it's also been very rewarding. Being able to spend two years with middle school students gives me the chance to get to know them much better.
We're still working on Name calling and bullying in the middle school, but progress is made every year. I continue to hope that name calling will become a thing of the past before I retire.
My cross country team is on top of the world this year! The Middle school boys team has won 8 invitational races, and are quickly becoming THE team to beat this year. I can't describe how proud I am of them.
In ELA, New York has come up with a new way of teaching students, and we are really doing our best to work our way through this new process. I can only hope that students will become more successful with each passing day. It is my hope that soon, ALL middle school students at Afton are successful in their academics.
To be continued....
Friday, May 28, 2010
A Young Girl's Ideals
"In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart." This is a quote from Anne Frank's diary. In these days of terror and hatred, I wonder if she would still believe this.
Anne Frank had to live in fear for two and a half years before she was finally captured and sent to a concentration camp. In that time, she never stepped foot outside, never talked to her friends, and the only human contact she had with the outside world was from the people who brought her family food. She heard the horror stories of the persecution of the Jewish people throughout Europe, and even knew about the camps. How is it then, that she still held this optimistic hope that people were still good at heart?
I often look at the world we live in today, with all the war, hatred, fighting, and senseless violence, and wonder if people really are good at heart. I read somewhere that it is human nature to fight, that human beings instinctually have something within them that makes them want to hurt their fellow humans. This thought makes me very sad. The last thing I want to do is hurt someone, yet even at our own school, I see people doing just that every day. I watch as young people push, punch, kick, hit and bully their fellow classmates, all in the name of fun. Who is it fun for? Are these people really good at heart? I see our youth growing up in a culture where violence is normal, and often wonder if we have lost the ability to care about others.
On the other hand, I know that people do care, and that maybe Anne was right, and people really are good at heart. I try to talk to my students on a personal level as often as I can, and when I do, I find that they are caring, good people, who just want someone to share that caring and goodness with them. I know that inside everyone there is the ability to show compassion for others. This became very evident for me when I had my own personal tragedy this past month. When my father passed away, my students made a sympathy card for me that I will treasure forever. I don't treasure it because of what it says, but because for me, it represents the goodness inside every person. If only for a few moments, my students were able to put aside all their negative feelings, and show me that "in spite of everything, they were really good at heart." I can never thank them all enough for that.
So, I think Anne Frank was right. There are influences in the world that make people do horrible things to one another, but in spite of it all, they are still good at heart. My hope is that there is no one in the world with an evil heart, and that we all can someday break free of doing cruel things to each other. My hope is that we can all show the goodness in our hearts, and leave behind all the negativity that makes us do things we regret.
Thank you Anne Frank, for continuing to give us hope!
Anne Frank had to live in fear for two and a half years before she was finally captured and sent to a concentration camp. In that time, she never stepped foot outside, never talked to her friends, and the only human contact she had with the outside world was from the people who brought her family food. She heard the horror stories of the persecution of the Jewish people throughout Europe, and even knew about the camps. How is it then, that she still held this optimistic hope that people were still good at heart?
I often look at the world we live in today, with all the war, hatred, fighting, and senseless violence, and wonder if people really are good at heart. I read somewhere that it is human nature to fight, that human beings instinctually have something within them that makes them want to hurt their fellow humans. This thought makes me very sad. The last thing I want to do is hurt someone, yet even at our own school, I see people doing just that every day. I watch as young people push, punch, kick, hit and bully their fellow classmates, all in the name of fun. Who is it fun for? Are these people really good at heart? I see our youth growing up in a culture where violence is normal, and often wonder if we have lost the ability to care about others.
On the other hand, I know that people do care, and that maybe Anne was right, and people really are good at heart. I try to talk to my students on a personal level as often as I can, and when I do, I find that they are caring, good people, who just want someone to share that caring and goodness with them. I know that inside everyone there is the ability to show compassion for others. This became very evident for me when I had my own personal tragedy this past month. When my father passed away, my students made a sympathy card for me that I will treasure forever. I don't treasure it because of what it says, but because for me, it represents the goodness inside every person. If only for a few moments, my students were able to put aside all their negative feelings, and show me that "in spite of everything, they were really good at heart." I can never thank them all enough for that.
So, I think Anne Frank was right. There are influences in the world that make people do horrible things to one another, but in spite of it all, they are still good at heart. My hope is that there is no one in the world with an evil heart, and that we all can someday break free of doing cruel things to each other. My hope is that we can all show the goodness in our hearts, and leave behind all the negativity that makes us do things we regret.
Thank you Anne Frank, for continuing to give us hope!
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
War: What is it Good For?
In light of the recent news on bullying in schools, and the fact that we've been reading The Outsiders in class and have just read about the big rumble, I thought it might be a good time to blog about fighting.
In the book, Ponyboy talks about why people fight. Sodapop fought for fun, Darry for pride, Two-Bit for conformity, and Steve for hatred. Ponyboy himself said he couldn't think of any good reason for fighting, except maybe self defense. While all of these reasons seem legitimate, what's the point? Does beating someone to a pulp really prove that you're better than they are, or that if you pound on someone, you'll fit in with the rest of us? To me, it just doesn't make any sense.
How can it be fun to fight someone? I don't see how a person could enjoy hurting someone else physically. Maybe the fun is in the competition, to see if you're better than the other. I sometimes wonder though, what pleasure do bullies get from hurting other people?
Pride and honor were the number one reason my students said they fight for. They feel that the only reason to fight someone is to prove you're better than they are. I think the sport of boxing falls into this category. Boxers fight to become the champion, the ruler of all those who dare to challenge. At least in boxing, the fighters are of equal weight, and they wear gloves. I never understood how a bully could ever be proud of beating up someone half their size.
Conformity. This one just doesn't make sense. Why would anyone get into a fight just to be like everyone else? So often we see in the news that a student was bullied by a group of other students. Most of the students know that bullying in wrong, but they are led by a "ringleader" with the hopes of being accepted. One student in class labeled this as students being "sheeple". I couldn't agree more. When the need to feel accepted by others outweighs common sense, there is a problem.
What if you just hate someone so much that your rage takes over, and you just have to let it out? Is that a good reason to fight? Too often these days, I hear students say they "hate" someone. What is it that fills young people with such strong emotion? What can we do to help alleviate some of that emotion to help young people control thier urges to hurt one another? These are questions that I wish I could find the answers for.
So this leads us to self defense. When someone hits you, you should hit back. It has been my experience that this only escalates the problem, and bigger problems ensue. I've been very lucky. In my life, I've only been in one fight, and I was the victim. I didn't fight back. I got hit 4 times, fell to the floor, and I started crying. The person who beat me up, of course, bragged all over school about what a whimp I was. The fact remained, I was still in school, he was suspended for 2 days. Who won?
In the end, the question remains, why fight at all? There are so many other ways to resolve conflicts...a good chess match, a debate, mediation, avoidance, counseling, or even sitting down and just talking to the person you have a conflict with. To me, there's no point to fighting, it never proves anything, and many times, all it does is make things worse.
What's your opinion?
In the book, Ponyboy talks about why people fight. Sodapop fought for fun, Darry for pride, Two-Bit for conformity, and Steve for hatred. Ponyboy himself said he couldn't think of any good reason for fighting, except maybe self defense. While all of these reasons seem legitimate, what's the point? Does beating someone to a pulp really prove that you're better than they are, or that if you pound on someone, you'll fit in with the rest of us? To me, it just doesn't make any sense.
How can it be fun to fight someone? I don't see how a person could enjoy hurting someone else physically. Maybe the fun is in the competition, to see if you're better than the other. I sometimes wonder though, what pleasure do bullies get from hurting other people?
Pride and honor were the number one reason my students said they fight for. They feel that the only reason to fight someone is to prove you're better than they are. I think the sport of boxing falls into this category. Boxers fight to become the champion, the ruler of all those who dare to challenge. At least in boxing, the fighters are of equal weight, and they wear gloves. I never understood how a bully could ever be proud of beating up someone half their size.
Conformity. This one just doesn't make sense. Why would anyone get into a fight just to be like everyone else? So often we see in the news that a student was bullied by a group of other students. Most of the students know that bullying in wrong, but they are led by a "ringleader" with the hopes of being accepted. One student in class labeled this as students being "sheeple". I couldn't agree more. When the need to feel accepted by others outweighs common sense, there is a problem.
What if you just hate someone so much that your rage takes over, and you just have to let it out? Is that a good reason to fight? Too often these days, I hear students say they "hate" someone. What is it that fills young people with such strong emotion? What can we do to help alleviate some of that emotion to help young people control thier urges to hurt one another? These are questions that I wish I could find the answers for.
So this leads us to self defense. When someone hits you, you should hit back. It has been my experience that this only escalates the problem, and bigger problems ensue. I've been very lucky. In my life, I've only been in one fight, and I was the victim. I didn't fight back. I got hit 4 times, fell to the floor, and I started crying. The person who beat me up, of course, bragged all over school about what a whimp I was. The fact remained, I was still in school, he was suspended for 2 days. Who won?
In the end, the question remains, why fight at all? There are so many other ways to resolve conflicts...a good chess match, a debate, mediation, avoidance, counseling, or even sitting down and just talking to the person you have a conflict with. To me, there's no point to fighting, it never proves anything, and many times, all it does is make things worse.
What's your opinion?
Friday, March 12, 2010
Reflecting
I was talking to my students yesterday, telling them that I had an epiphany. We were reading a reflective essay on tornado chasers. After reading the essay, we then wrote our own relection on what we read. The students then exchanged papers and reflected on each others comments. It was then that I realized that what we were doing was blogging on paper!
For weeks, I've been trying to figure out a way to get the students involved in this blog, and the tornado chasers article finally gave me the answer. If I put a blog on my blog page for students to comment on, this give us all yet another avenue of discussion that we might not get in the classroom. I quickly put together a mini-lesson on blogging and how it could be used in my ELA classes. Some of the students seemed quite interested and excited about getting involved with all the discussions.
For now, I will be using the blog as extra credit, with each post students share worth extra credit points. Reflection is a great tool when trying to implement new strategies into the course of study. Though we often reflect, I sometimes wonder if we really act on our reflections.
My classes change constantly, and though each class learns the same material, it oftentimes is delivered differently from class to class. This is because I always evaluate (reflect) on every class I teach. I figure out what went well, and what didn't go so well, and alter the instruction to suit the needs of my students.
This tool can be used by students as well. I always want students to journal. In relecting on a day's events, we can sometimes see what things we could do to improve our quality of life. Sometimes writing things down helps us to make better choices, as we can see on paper what our options really are.
Were it not for reflection, my students might not have been able to see this blog, and it would have gone unnoticed among the thousands of other blogs out there. I think we should all take time each day to reflect, and in that reflection, make good choices for ourselves and those around us.
For weeks, I've been trying to figure out a way to get the students involved in this blog, and the tornado chasers article finally gave me the answer. If I put a blog on my blog page for students to comment on, this give us all yet another avenue of discussion that we might not get in the classroom. I quickly put together a mini-lesson on blogging and how it could be used in my ELA classes. Some of the students seemed quite interested and excited about getting involved with all the discussions.
For now, I will be using the blog as extra credit, with each post students share worth extra credit points. Reflection is a great tool when trying to implement new strategies into the course of study. Though we often reflect, I sometimes wonder if we really act on our reflections.
My classes change constantly, and though each class learns the same material, it oftentimes is delivered differently from class to class. This is because I always evaluate (reflect) on every class I teach. I figure out what went well, and what didn't go so well, and alter the instruction to suit the needs of my students.
This tool can be used by students as well. I always want students to journal. In relecting on a day's events, we can sometimes see what things we could do to improve our quality of life. Sometimes writing things down helps us to make better choices, as we can see on paper what our options really are.
Were it not for reflection, my students might not have been able to see this blog, and it would have gone unnoticed among the thousands of other blogs out there. I think we should all take time each day to reflect, and in that reflection, make good choices for ourselves and those around us.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Music is the Fabric of Our Lives
Our class just finished writing an essay about their favorite songs. What struck me as most interesting about these essays was the fact that many of my students are able to look beyond the literal meaning and rhythmic dance beats of the songs they like and were actually able to delve into the deeper meaning of songs and how they affect them.
Music plays a central part in almost everyone's life, and we depend on it to cheer us up when we're feeling down, give meaning to our lives when all seems hopeless, occupy our minds when doing some unpleasant task, (like writing essays?) or simply just to feel the sheer joy of listening to a song that means something to us.
I know that whenever a particular song is played on the radio, it brings me back to the memory that I've associated with that song. For example, I remember the day that Elvis Presley died. I was working with my father on a construction job when the song "In the Ghetto" started playing. After it was finished, the DJ came on and announced that Elvis had died. Whenever I hear that song now, it brings me right back to that hot summer day, and how sad the faces were on so many people that day.
I've posted a list of my favorite songs on this blog. That list changes from day to day, as music flows in and out of my life. The only constant will be my number one all time favorite song, "Thunder Road" by Bruce Springsteen. I first heard this song as I was heading off to college. It was 1982, and as the now-familiar harmonica started playing, I knew right then I would love that song forever. This song of hope and independence has stayed with me for the past 28 years, and I've always felt a kinship with the words that Mr. Springsteen offers us all at the end of the song. It's exactly how I felt that day as I left Deposit, heading off for my future...
"This is a town full of losers, and I'm pulling out of here to win...."
Music plays a central part in almost everyone's life, and we depend on it to cheer us up when we're feeling down, give meaning to our lives when all seems hopeless, occupy our minds when doing some unpleasant task, (like writing essays?) or simply just to feel the sheer joy of listening to a song that means something to us.
I know that whenever a particular song is played on the radio, it brings me back to the memory that I've associated with that song. For example, I remember the day that Elvis Presley died. I was working with my father on a construction job when the song "In the Ghetto" started playing. After it was finished, the DJ came on and announced that Elvis had died. Whenever I hear that song now, it brings me right back to that hot summer day, and how sad the faces were on so many people that day.
I've posted a list of my favorite songs on this blog. That list changes from day to day, as music flows in and out of my life. The only constant will be my number one all time favorite song, "Thunder Road" by Bruce Springsteen. I first heard this song as I was heading off to college. It was 1982, and as the now-familiar harmonica started playing, I knew right then I would love that song forever. This song of hope and independence has stayed with me for the past 28 years, and I've always felt a kinship with the words that Mr. Springsteen offers us all at the end of the song. It's exactly how I felt that day as I left Deposit, heading off for my future...
"This is a town full of losers, and I'm pulling out of here to win...."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)