Blogging Around: Sam and Sebas

Sorry about the blue but for some reason when I copied and pasted the text did not show up too good. This was the best solution I could think of, if it is hard to read please let me know and I will change it.

Sam's last blog entry about Facebook really got me thinking about the various implications that social networking has on our lives and I briefly explored my feelings toward it.

Okay let me preface everything by noting that I may have already posted a response to this but I think I deleted it so I will try to retype my response (rant) from memory.

Facebook is a guilty pleasure. I think we can all agree on that fact. Even now among the 13 pages I have open; Facebook is one of them. On a personal level I utilize Facebook a lot and there a lot of pros and cons attached to it. On the pros side I will never have to write down Academy homework again and there is no risk of me forgetting because I have Andy covering my back. Of course in the scenario that Andy is kidnapped or worse our lives become the plot of the TV show Revolution then I am screwed. More pros are that I have at least a dozen on call at any time to help me with whatever it is that I am too lazy to do myself. On the cons side it is worth noting that Facebook is a constant distraction to both myself and probably most teens. Sra. Cosgrove also brought up an interesting point about Facebook in class and about how there used to be a time when all your actions were not tracked. However now there is really no way to escape the constant stream of updates, statuses, and whatevers that follow you around. We have gotten to the point where anyone, anywhere, at anytime and basically cyber stalk you (lets not even pretend privacy exists on the internet). I think that that is a scary thought at the very least.

Going on to the second part of Korsky's post I think on the global or macro scale Facebook is a very powerful tool. It can organize revolutions and usurp nations, that is the awesome power wielded by Facebook. The even scarier thing is that any one of us can hold that very same power. There is no need to reiterate Korsky's statements but I agree with him that as of recently Facebook's global influence has increased dramatically. He also brought up a point I had never thought of before. As I looked through my own profile I realized that I "followed" posts from celebrities to shoe companies. All of them just vying for attention and using the free publicity of Facebook. There is a profound socio-economic effect that Facebook has on us all and the mere fact that we know what Facebook is means that we subscribe to its all mightiness. I mean seriously...if robots ever rise up against the human race I am half expecting them to use Facebook to track us down and systematically eradicate us.

Moving back to a more relevant stand point I have a slightly different view of Facebook than Korsky. In poems we have read and in class we have all make mockeries and satirical references to Facebook when in reality it has the power to cripple nations, proliferate ideas, has a population of over 600,000,000, and its owner is a billionaire. I would say that that is a pretty darn impressive resume. Now many may think that Facebook is the spawn of Satan but I think it is too early to tell. In a couple thousand years historians may look back and say the Facebook Revolution was as bad as the Agricultural Revolution for humanity but for now it is too early to tell. All that I am sure of when it comes to Facebook is that for better or for worse it is here to stay.

As for Sebas his blog entry about the educational system also got me thinking about how inconvenient it really is to face some of the hard facts. I explore my personal feelings about our school systems in my comments to that blog.

Sebas, I like your thinking. I agree that school systems are the type of things that constantly need to be innovated and updated.I personally would hate longer school days. The fact is that it would have to trade off time wise with after-school activities, clubs, sports, and just down time in general. Time is definitely of the essence and both GBN and GBS offer so many different opportunities that longer school days would subtract from the overall experience.

When looking for solutions I think they all have to be uniquely crafted to fit the school and community. Our teachers at the Glenbrook school are arguably some of the best in the state, if not the country. However, I see your point come across more clearly when you examine schools in impoverished areas and even inner city schools. The matter at hand is that we need quality over quantity. Teachers should teach because they truly wish to enrich and educate the lives of kids. As for your specific accounts of good teachers, I have to agree. In the Academy we have some of the finest teachers our two schools have to offer. In English we are able to tackle complex, in depth, topics successfully because the teacher is able to keep the entire class engaged and focused. Yet at the same time there is a certain level of interest and participation that I feel a student should reciprocate to a teacher. A teacher can lecture, play games, and even yell at the class but if his or her class chooses not to listen to him or her then it is their loss.

The conclusion of my rant in response to your rant is that I feel the only way to create a successful educational environment is through competent teaching as well as engaged learning. The responsibility starts primarily with the teacher especially in the younger grades but by the time you get into high school I believe it is about a 50/50 split of responsibility to teach and learn. By the time kids go to college I think you may have to learn a lot on you own without a teacher to guide you. I may have gone out on a tangent towards the end of this response but I am just putting in my two cents about the educational system. (Of course all my thoughts are subjectively biased since I can only speak from my personal educational experiences with school and the Academy).