Are Bullies Criminals?

After reading an article handed to me by Ms. Mayo from Seventeen Magazine a class disscussion resumed. The summary below should be enough to spark conversation around the issue.

A mother who lost her son to the damaging psychological effects of bullying is trying to push legislation through the Florida State senate making bullying illeagal . Should bullies be treated as criminals? What is the school's responsibility to stop bullying? How far can a school go? How far should they go? What are our responsibilities as members of society to stop bullies?

Sahiba's Visit

Today we were honored to have a guest speaker from the freshmen class across the hall. I would love for us to focus our comments on two issue here.

Her delivery : Please give her constructive honest feedback on her presentation skills.

Her content: What further questions do you have for her?

(I will ask her to check the blog once responses are posted.)

FLYING WHILE MUSLIM

Although we had a reduced crow on Wednesday the conversation centered around How much freedom are we as AMericans willing to give up to be safe? Is ethnic profiling ok by government employees? Have you ever been the victim of "profiling"?

The class seemed to accept "profiling" as a necessary evil. Do you agree with this?

$$$ TO SCHOOLS?

How much money has been awarded the NYC school system on the court’s most recent decision? What was the court’s decision? What was the dissenting opinion? What does the last paragraph of the article imply?

Spitzer (governor elect) has carefully made a statement regarding the matter,

”We must provide more funding than this constitutional minimum, so that all of New York’s schoolchildren have an opportunity to thrive in the 21st century workplace…”

How has his opinion on the matter changed since the election?

Arlington West

Which image from the “documentary” stuck with you the most? Which person would you like to further question? Is this accurate portrayal of America’s opinion of the war? Who is the intended audience for this movie?

Public $$$ for Single Sex Schools?

After reading this article (click here) we tried to take the a serious look at the legallity of publically funded same sex schools. The questions we left off with was; Why fund public schools at all?

What court rulings are connect to this case?

What needs to change in co-ed public schools to remove the percieved necessity of same sex schools?

Same Sex Schools

Are same sex schools, legalized discrimination? What are the benefits of same sex schools? What are the drawbacks? What danger does allowing same sex public schools pose? How can legislators guarantee equity in funding? Has the Supreme Court ever addressed the issue? How did the format of the disscussion help you better understand the topic? What further question do you have around this topic?

If you want a leg up on the debate in class READ the decision of the SUpreme Court in 1982 (Mississippi University for Women et al vs. Hogan)

Election Day 2006

How will the tremendous change in party affiliation in the House of Reps and the Senate change the everyday lives of Americans?

Why did so many people vote Democratic?

P.S. I apologize for the delay!

Republican Ad Shocks Some in Tennessee

After reading the article and watching the videos; What is the "unsiad" messsages in these adds? Who is Ken Melhmen? How are voters suppossed to inform themselves? What are the real issues?