A Different Path

This article touched upon relevant issues, because just last month I had to help my daughter with the complicated decision about what college is the best for her.  What is the best career that will provide a secure future for her? Having been closely involved with all the college applications, attending open houses, and observing my daughter’s frustration in making the best decision. I had to realize that as the article mentioned there are different paths that parents must be aware of to help their children with their college decisions. 

 I heard many times how parents are so proud to mention the Ivy League’s schools that their children are attending. Also, I witnessed some cases in which students dropped their dream career after the first or two semesters of  college because the expectations were  overwhelming.  The negative aspect of college default on parents shoulder lots of debt, frustration and shame. I agree with the article that getting a degree from an Ivy League school does not necessarily guarantee a well paid job. Therefore, it is not wise for parents to force students to attend expensive colleges and so the alternative option of a community college appears more acceptable. However, I disagree with the author when he mentioned about Ted “you don’t have to go to college if you don’t want to, and that there other avenues to achieving that future.” I think that giving student’s freedom to obtain a degree or not, would not benefit them. It is well known that a college degree provides students with the knowledge and experience that is otherwise unable to receive from a secondary education, and nowadays the job market is increasingly more competitive than before. So, Why is it important to go to college? My answer is that, more than ever, attending colleges provides opportunities for graduates which are not as widespread to those who have not received  a higher education.

Banning Student Containers by Alan November

In this article, the author discussed important points of how technology become a powerful tool to teach students in today's society.  Adolescents at the turn of the twenty first century are being raised in an Internet- enabled world where blogs, social net-working, and instant messaging are competing with face- to -face and telephone communication as the dominant means and methods through which personal interaction takes place.  Apart from the obvious benefits of information at one's fingertips, entertaiment value, and speed of correspondence, participation on- line has valuable utility in teaching youth various social and emotional skills that are essential to successfully navigating life. He also emphasizes how important is to teach the students the positive and negative sides on the use of internet.
The Internet has become an essential part of daily life. While the Internet is an expedient mode of communication and has provided access to a wealth of information, it can also be detrimental to the well-being of children due to numerous online hazards. In one hand,online activity exposes children and adolescents to a wide variety of criminal acts. On the other hand, the Internet has now moved risk- taking behaviors into the behavioral arena. The majority of today's youth are using the Internet as a healthy venue for social interaction, sharing of ideas, artistic creations, photyography, school work, online journaling, or blogging.
This article examines the relationship between effective students learning with the use of the five containers:blogs, iPod, Instant Messenger, You Tube, and video games. I understand that teaching must be interesting and reliable but how much technology and access does a child really need to learn? Does a middle school child or younger possess the maturity,judgment, and social skills to use instant/ text messaging and social websites responsibly? Do their peers? When does too much technology begin to hurt a child? Is it healthy for a child to come home a nd plug right back into their social network versus having some time with their family?
All these questions show me  that educators, administrators, parents, and students working together must find ways to combat the negative exploitation of technologies that otherwise can be wonderful tools for education, information and communication.