Slice of Life: Crude language

Roasting

If the words bring marshmallow on the sticks, peanuts on the wok or food on grill to your mind, you are my kind of people.   Come and join me.

On the other hand, there are other kind of roasting.  e.g., Comedy Central has set to roast Bruce Wills in Summer.   Yesterday, while on drive back home from work,  I was listening on the radio about the roasting someone and how it is no holds bar.  That made me  think:

Where are we headed as a society?  

Why these people think use of cuss words in regular communication is acceptable? 

Why are we laughing when someone is saying R-rated jokes demeaning someone’s loved ones?

How are we expecting to raise kind and thoughtful children when we are allowing crude language in our homes?  

Why?

What are we doing to discourage this kind of talk permeating our lives? 

 

The use of curse word does not mean open mindness.  Use of curse word means the speaker has limited vocabulary and/ or have lost control over thinking process and good behavior. -Purviben K. Trivedi-Ziemba

What are your thoughts?  I would love to hear from you.  If you leave your blog url in the comment,  we can visit you as well.

Let us keep the conversation going.


Books I recently read:

 


Slice of Life

Each Tuesday reflective writers are invited to share their slice of life at Two Writing Teachers.  Come and join us.  If you would like to read more posts like this, search by category Slice of Life or hashtag #SOL18.

Participate 1 – Character Traits

 

The goal of this assignment is to share 3 most impressive character traits of exemplary digital citizenship (EDC) & share what makes each of these characteristics worthy of recognizing & emulating.

Please note that when possible, I have used gender neutral pronoun they instead of he or she.

Online Learning is no longer a novelty.  In today’s classroom where flip learning, hybrid education and connected learning is a norm, a teacher must be prepared to guide their students in the intricacy of navigating the beauty and perils of digital education.  First step of delving into the digital world is to know what it means to become an exemplary digital citizen (EDC).  Let us briefly review characteristics of an EDC.

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A digital community is one where participants interact with each other online.  A class blog, Google Doc, Social Media sites, email correspondence with a colleague and cross-continent collaboration using internet are some of the examples of digital communities.  Each person who uses electronic media within a community is a digital citizen. By practicing digital citizenship, one can communicate, navigate, and prosper in the digital world.   Dr. Mark Ribble identifies overarching characteristics of digital citizenship as respect, educate & communicate and protect.  He further breaks down these characteristics into nine elements. For a digital community to thrive, its citizens must conduct themselves as good neighbors. 

Just like in the real world, the virtual world has both exemplary citizens as well as online bullies, hecklers and hackers, identity thieves and others with malicious intent. A survey conducted by Pew Research Center shows that 80% of teens using social media have seen someone being cruel or mean to another.  I visited edublogger, Common Sense Media and International Society for Technology in  Education (ISTE) standards for teachers to get more information of digital citizenship.  Based on these and other sites, I came up with these three characteristics for exemplary digital citizen..

 

EDC Exercises Kindness, Self-respect & Respect for Diversity.

EDC Has a Thirst for Knowledge & Sharing.

EDC Honors Laws, Rules & Norms.

 

Kindness and self-respect goes hand in hand.  If each of us follow a 4-way test adopted by Rotarians, the community will become more harmonious; we will decrease instances of online bullying, gossiping and their aftereffects.  Before posting, sharing or selling anything online we should ask the following four questions and proceed only if the answer is yes to all.

 

 Rotarian 4 Way Test

Image from http://orangevillerotary.ca/rotary-international/four-way-test/

 

A self-respecting individual will always strive to do best for self and others.  They will make ethical decisions and will be transparent while interacting with others.  Having a healthy self-respect will also help a person become more cognizant of other’s feelings, culture & beliefs. e.g. While working on a collaborative project, my Jewish colleague is not available on the weekend.  Being an EDC, rather than getting upset for delaying the project, I will respect his belief in Sabbath and work around his availability.  Similarly, when my child does not return a text message immediately while hanging out with friends, I will remember that they are having fun and does not mean any disrespect towards me.  Obviously, I will check on them if I do not hear back within a reasonable amount of time to make sure they are okay.  In current political climate, being cognizant is crucial to carry out the discourse and stop hatred from spreading.

Having a thirst for knowledge and the enthusiasm to share the knowledge is what makes me a Mom, an educator & life-long learner.  I am also one of the people who reads the terms and conditions for an account before checking the “I accept” box.  By knowing my rights and responsibilities, I can make sure that I do not tread on anyone’s toes and do not come to harm or harm others.  Since technology is changing rapidly, continuing education and self-reflection are a must in the EDC’s toolbox. These tools will allow an EDC to keep abreast of technology and help out his students/family & self while facilitating knowledge sharing.  Please take a moment to view the You tube video  Students thoughts on Digital Rights & Responsibilities.  The video was made by office the Children’s eSafety Commissioner in Australia

 

 

An EDC knows and abides by digital laws, rules and norms of the vast digital community.  They knows that piracy issues and giving proper credit when due are equally true in both the digital and virtual worlds.  While working online one needs to protect themselves as well as others.  An EDC is protecting self, devices and community against hackers by taking steps such as not leaving computer open, having good passwords, installing and updating anti-virus programs on devices and reading the fine print before clicking “I accept”.  Often people hide behind anonymity of the net to harass, heckle and harm others.  While not engaging in every little skirmish, an EDC will stand up against wrongdoing(s) by reporting an unethical use, bullying and malware.   An EDC will adhere to the Roatarian’s pledge and teach their students for check for legal aspect of social media posts. They will  promote following message found in many of the classrooms.

 

Think Before You Post on Social Media
Image created using http://www.addletters.com

 

T – Is it True?

H – Is it Helpful or Hurtful?

I – is it Illegal?

N – Is it Necessary?

K – Is it Kind? 

 

 

 

I hope that you learned along with me while reading this post & reviewing my PowerPoint presentation.  Feel free to use anything from the post/presentation.  Just remember to be an exemplary digital citizen and give the proper credits.  Happy learning & teaching.

 

References:

http://www.openteachertraining.org/

http://www.digitalcitizenship.net/Nine_Elements.html

http://www.pewinternet.org/2011/11/09/teens-kindness-and-cruelty-on-social-network-sites/

https://www.theedublogger.com/2017/01/20/copyright-fair-use-and-creative-commons/

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/cyberbullying/what-should-i-teach-my-kid-about-safe-online-behavior

http://www.iste.org/standards/standards/standards-for-teachers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHamPKNdI7o

 

Be

Love, kindness, family

 

Be.

Kind, Joyful, Hopeful

Beating heart, bringing luck

Blessing to Family, friends, community, 

Sharing, caring, daring to be different.

Respect, Grace, Courage to live with freedom

Take charge, forge ahead, Honor thy parents

My beating heart, Listen.

The heartbeat of your child, your love.

Do you hear, the song of solitude?

Are you playing a catchy tune?

Be still, race ahead, stay rooted while soaring to sky

Be yourself. 

Before you can be anything else.

 

 


I am writing this post for March Slice of Life Challenge hosted by Two Writing Teachers.  You are invited to join the reflective writing community too.

 

#SOL18

 

Aim

 

Life without an aim is like a ship without sails. Both will be pushed around whicheve way the wind blows; neither will reach their destination in time. -Kishorbhai Trivedi

 

My father is a wise man.  Long time ago, as we were walking around the market, he asked me,

“Beta, what is your goal?  What would you like to do with your life?”

A teenager me had no clue what I wanted to do besides be happy, have fun and read books.  My dad, the wise & kind man continue the conversation.  With a smile on his face and love in his heart he said:

Life without an aim is like a ship without sails. Both will be pushed around whicheve way the wind blows; neither will reach their destination in time. -Kishorbhai Trivedi

 

It is my turn to ask my teenagers,

“What is your aim in life? How are you achieving it?”

 

Peace (in living and sharing)

 

Beta = my child, my daughter, my son.  Beta is a term of endearment used by elders to younger person in

 


I am writing this post as as  a part of writing community hosted by Two Writing Teachers.  Come and join us in sharing a Slice of Your life each Tuesday and whole month of March.

#SOL18

 

Slice of Life

Slice of Life: Upchucking

Slice of Life

 

I am writing this post for Slice of Life challenge hosted by  Two Writing Teachers .   On Tuesdays, we write about small moments in life that brings us greater joys, at times  sorrow and a meaning.  You are invited to join too.

 

 

 

Couple weeks ago, Awesome felt sick at school.  He hold out all day and kept going without a complain.  To his distress, he upchucked  during  the dismissal.   He had a curious observation: “Mammy, when I was throwing up, the 7th graders around me, even the once who did not know me,  helped me.  They ran around, grabbed me napkins & water and told me that It is OK;  I will be fine.  On the other hand, the 8th graders were mean; they were laughing and pointing fingers.  Why 7th graders were kind but 8th graders were so mean?”

 

Why indeed.

 

His questions made me think of us as society.  Are we losing empathy as we grow old or are we helping our fellow human beings?  It reminded me of a bumper sticker on my friend’s truck

HumanKind: Be Both

 

Shall we?

 

 

 

 

Educator Personal Blog Challenge

Why did I join the Teacher Personal Blog Challenge?

Being away from classroom for a while has eroded some of my self-esteem.  There are questions in my mind:

Question in my Mind

Am I relevant any longer?

Do I know enough?

Am I still capable to deliver the instruction in fun & focused way to increase my students learning?

Will I keep up with changing environment where even Kindergartners uses personal learning devices & flip learning is the name of the game?

 

 

There are steps I need to take before I go back to classroom.  By accepting the Teacher Personal Blog Challenge, I am taking baby steps to build my “teaching muscles”.  This challenge will allow me to

  • Replenish my teacher tool kit
  • Connect with other like minded individual / group in safe environment
  • Build & maintain Personal Learning Network
  • Recognition & constructive criticism for my ideas
  • Help me with my quest of being the best version  of myself

 

I am glad you are traveling me with a little in my voyage.  Let us share some thoughts and make the journey pleasant for all of us.

 

 

Participate 1 – Character Traits

 

The goal of this assignment is to share 3 most impressive character traits of exemplary digital citizenship (EDC) & share what makes each of these characteristics worthy of recognizing & emulating.

 

Please note that when possible, I have used gender neutral pronoun they instead of he or she.

 

Online Learning is no longer a novelty.  In today’s classroom where flip learning, hybrid education and connected learning is a norm, a teacher must be prepared to guide their students in the intricacy of navigating the beauty and perils of digital education.  First step of delving into the digital world is to know what it means to become an exemplary digital citizen (EDC).  Let us briefly review characteristics of an EDC.

 

A digital community is one where participants interact with each other online.  A class blog, Google Doc, Social Media sites, email correspondence with a colleague and cross-continent collaboration using internet are some of the examples of digital communities.  Each person who uses electronic media within a community is a digital citizen. By practicing digital citizenship, one can communicate, navigate, and prosper in the digital world.   Dr. Mark Ribble identifies overarching characteristics of digital citizenship as respect, educate & communicate and protect.  He further breaks down these characteristics into nine elements. For a digital community to thrive, its citizens must conduct themselves as good neighbors.  Just like in the real world, the virtual world has both exemplary citizens as well as online bullies, hecklers and hackers, identity thieves and others with malicious intent. A survey conducted by Pew Research Center shows that 80% of teens using social media have seen someone being cruel or mean to another.  I visited edublogger, Common Sense Media and International Society for Technology in  Education (ISTE) standards for teachers to get more information of digital citizenship.  Based on these and other sites, I came up with these three characteristics for exemplary digital citizen..

 

EDC Exercises Kindness, Self-respect & Respect for Diversity.

EDC Has a Thirst for Knowledge & Sharing.

EDC Honors Laws, Rules & Norms.

 

Kindness and self-respect goes hand in hand.  If each of us follow a 4-way test adopted by Rotarians, the community will become more harmonious; we will decrease instances of online bullying, gossiping and their aftereffects.  Before posting, sharing or selling anything online we should ask the following four questions and proceed only if the answer is yes to all.

 

 Rotarian 4 Way Test

Image from http://orangevillerotary.ca/rotary-international/four-way-test/

 

A self-respecting individual will always strive to do best for self and others.  They will make ethical decisions and will be transparent while interacting with others.  Having a healthy self-respect will also help a person become more cognizant of other’s feelings, culture & beliefs. e.g. While working on a collaborative project, my Jewish colleague is not available on the weekend.  Being an EDC, rather than getting upset for delaying the project, I will respect his belief in Sabbath and work around his availability.  Similarly, when my child does not return a text message immediately while hanging out with friends, I will remember that they are having fun and does not mean any disrespect towards me.  Obviously, I will check on them if I do not hear back within a reasonable amount of time to make sure they are okay.  In current political climate, being cognizant is crucial to carry out the discourse and stop hatred from spreading.

 

Having a thirst for knowledge and the enthusiasm to share the knowledge is what makes me a Mom, an educator & life-long learner.  I am also one of the people who reads the terms and conditions for an account before checking the “I accept” box.  By knowing my rights and responsibilities, I can make sure that I do not tread on anyone’s toes and do not come to harm or harm others.  Since technology is changing rapidly, continuing education and self-reflection are a must in the EDC’s toolbox. These tools will allow an EDC to keep abreast of technology and help out his students/family & self while facilitating knowledge sharing.  Please take a moment to view the You tube video  Students thoughts on Digital Rights & Responsibilities.  The video was made by office the Children’s eSafety Commissioner in Australia

 

 

 

An EDC knows and abides by digital laws, rules and norms of the vast digital community.  They knows that piracy issues and giving proper credit when due are equally true in both the digital and virtual worlds.  While working online one needs to protect themselves as well as others.  An EDC is protecting self, devices and community against hackers by taking steps such as not leaving computer open, having good passwords, installing and updating anti-virus programs on devices and reading the fine print before clicking “I accept”.  Often people hide behind anonymity of the net to harass, heckle and harm others.  While not engaging in every little skirmish, an EDC will stand up against wrongdoing(s) by reporting an unethical use, bullying and malware.   An EDC will adhere to the Roatarian’s pledge and teach their students for check for legal aspect of social media posts. They will  promote following message found in many of the classrooms.

 

Think Before You Post on Social Media
Image created using http://www.addletters.com

 

T – Is it True?

H – Is it Helpful or Hurtful?

I – is it Illegal?

N – Is it Necessary?

K – Is it Kind? 

 

 

I hope that you learned along with me while reading this post & reviewing my PPT presentation.  Feel free to use anything from the post/presentation.  Just remember to be an exemplary digital citizen and give the proper credits.  Happy learning & teaching.

 

References:

http://www.openteachertraining.org/

http://www.digitalcitizenship.net/Nine_Elements.html

http://www.pewinternet.org/2011/11/09/teens-kindness-and-cruelty-on-social-network-sites/

https://www.theedublogger.com/2017/01/20/copyright-fair-use-and-creative-commons/

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/cyberbullying/what-should-i-teach-my-kid-about-safe-online-behavior

http://www.iste.org/standards/standards/standards-for-teachers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHamPKNdI7o