Celebrities and Their Influences

Ah, Miss Marilyn Monroe. The girl next door. Today in our Comp and Rhet class, someone in our class gave a presentation on Marilyn and the influence of her "quotes." However, it turns out that ironically many of her quotes were actually not spoken by her (you may visit here to see said quotes). But then why do we attribute them to her?

Marilyn Monroe was neither a poetic, wise speaker nor a huge diva. She was genuine, simple, gorgeous, and talented. I think that we attribute these sayings to her because of the mysterious influence she still has today. After all, many women look to her because she is considered one of the most beautiful women of all time, yet nobody had to throw a sandwich at her. She was an individual, an icon, and a human. Because of this, people try to attribute quotes to her said by Harvard professors. Do celebrities really have that much influence over us? Why do we care so much about what they think and what they say? What makes them more special than your average Joe?

Internet Safety

I get it — the internet is a vast, endless space filled with everything and anything. When you have such a broad tool, there are definitely just as many downsides as there are upsides. Internet safety is definitely a priority for all of us, and I think that as each generation matures we realize what is smart and what is not so smart to do on the internet. For instance, back when I was in 6th grade I can recall how HUGE MySpace was becoming, and how many news stories there were about predators. Maybe it was because MySpace was a very..... trashy.... social media, but I feel like you don't hear as many stories about teens making bad decisions as you used to. Ah, but I digress.
In high school, I would say that roughly 60% of the websites I would try to access on school computers were blocked for one reason or another. But why? is it because buried deep in the archives of that website there was a swear word? Who knows. But the point is that on all these sites I never got to access, there was probably very useful information — information that I will never know of (because realistically, the second I walked out of the computer lab I was never going to go look for that website again because I found a substitute).
I think that while safety is important, schools need to advance their means of blocking websites because ultimately they are hurting students. The point of the internet is for people to share information and absorb information. Should a student have access to every website out there while at school? Absolutely not. However, I think the schools need to put more time into advancing their firewalls because they are currently blocking too much. The internet is a great place and can be used in so many great ways. Schools should keep their students safe all the while maintaining access to more content.

#YOLO

Alright, now that I have forced myself to type such a terrible phrase, I will get to my blog. Today I saw a presentation on the term YOLO (in case you live under a slippery rock [see what I did there?], that stands for "you only live once") and the effect it is having on our culture.
By some, YOLO is seen as a modern day "Carpe Diem." However, I see it as the worst phrase to come to the world since Paris Hilton coined "that's hott." Carpe Diem is all about seizing the day. YOLO, on the other hand, is typically used by teenagers as a justification for doing something stupid. For example...

"Getting wasted tonight. YOLO!"
"I have an exam tomorrow? YOLO!"
"I'm pregnant. YOLO!"

See what I mean? This is particularly concerning because I think it encourages our students to act out and be okay with it. Don't see what I mean? Try it yourself. State something stupid you may do in the next week. Now say YOLO! Feel better about your actions? I knew you would.

On the very, very few occasions I found myself using this awful phrase, I really did feel less guilty about not studying for an exam, etc. But not studying for an exam is minimal compared to other YOLO cases.
What do you guys think? Does YOLO help the kids that will be our students justify making bad choices? How will this effect our classrooms? Is there a way around it? YOLO!

Technology is Here to Stay

I've been going through everyone's blogs for this week and I've noticed that a lot of people seem intimidated, perhaps, of technology.
I'm trying to understand why, though! Technology is an amazing thing. The freshman in high school now have so many more opportunities and options than I had when I was a freshman in high school six years ago. Technology presents so many new learning styles and has a way of making learning fun.
I know there are you nay-sayers out there who keep thinking to yourself, "Well, yeah, but what about the kids who don't like technology?" Maybe I am a bit biased because technology is so prevalent in my life, but I truly, truly do not believe that there are more than a very, very small handful of kids who dislike technology. I think that their intimidation and disliking of technology comes from the fact that they may just not know how to use it properly. While I am not saying that every technology is super-easy to use, there are PLENTY out there that are!
Take an iPad for instance. In the new iOS6 software update, the teacher has the ability to deactive native apps such as Messages and Safari so that a student can only be locked into the app specified by the teacher. I think that a lot of you are afraid to give students technology because it can be "distracting" or they can use it to cheat, but there are ways around all of that.
At the end of the day, technology is here to stay. Technology is constantly evolving, constantly pushing us forward, and constantly at the center of our lives. If we don't teach students how to utilize and how to learn with technology and technological devices, then we are short-changing the students.

Gangsta Rap...

For my Composition and Rhetoric class, we all have to analyze a piece of text for the class and discuss the text. Today there was a presentation on the lyrics of the stereotypical "Gangsta Rap."The presenter argued that this type of music degrades women, promotes and glorifies drug and alcohol use, and influences the listener to be a bad person.
I think this is relevant because the odds are that many of our future students will enjoy (how that is possible I don't even know) rap music. How do you guys think that this will effect the students in our classroom? How do you try to help students who maybe struggle with drug or alcohol abuse? Do you guys think that rap makes a person bad? Comment!

PS, here are a few examples of some rap songs that the presenter in my class used...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ic7KH1PpbMY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wa5B22KAkEk

*BE WARNED, EXPLICIT LANGUAGE IN THE SONGS!!!!

Week 1 Readings

My favorite reading of the week was Semali's Transmediation: Why Study the Semiotics of Representation? This reading talked about the usage of signs and the importance of them, and I found this relevant because signs are always all around us. We see signs walking down the hall, signs while driving, and signs while browsing the web, just to name a few examples.
There was an interesting question posed by Semali on page 2 of the reading — "Since signs are all around us, then why does the school curriculum not value and encourage the development of abilities other than verbal, given that only a small proportion of communication is verbal?" (Semali 2). The part about verbal communication being a small proportion of communication is SO right! How many of us really pick up the phone and call someone? How many of us would rather text someone than see them in person? Not only that, but how much news to we get from Twitter, Facebook, or online versions of CNN, etc.? There's no need to call someone to tell them news, its accessible right on your cell phone!
I'm not saying that this is right or wrong, but regardless it is just the way things work. So if this is the direction communication is going to continuously head in (because it is only going to get worse), why aren't we placing more emphasis on nonverbal communication in schools?
As future educators, it is our job to work on this. Our students should be learning the relevant ways of the world. Student's are becoming more and more visual learners and they love to learn through nonverbal means. I know when I was in high school I loved when we worked on the computers instead of listening to our teacher talk for 42 minutes. The world is constantly changing and it is our job to prepare our students for whatever the direction the world takes them in.

Intro to Me

Hello!  My name is Ryan, and to call me unique is an understatement. I am currently a Junior at Slippery Rock University and I am majoring in Secondary Ed English. My main interests are theatre and technology. I try to get to New York City two or three times a year (seeing two shows on Broadway per visit) and I am the President of the SRU Musical Theatre Society. If something has an Apple logo on it, I'll buy it. Some may see me as an "iSheep," but I just can't help myself! I'm a social butterfly that loves to make people laugh. Hope you enjoy my blog!