Big Brother and Blogging

While I understand that blogging can potentially pose a danger to anyone who posts personal information, I don't think schools should order students to remove their personal blogs. A Catholic school in northern New Jersey recently did this, and I hope they change their position. What better opportunity to teach students how to be responsible and careful about what they post? And what about free speech? Students are required to abide by Internet rules anyway, so why not just address the specifics of blogging as well?

As an English teacher, I love the medium. Can you imagine telling students "Please don't write"?! Finally we have a device that teens love to use, and the adults are saying sorry, too dangerous. It's ridiculous.


As we wait for possible indictments to be issued, I'd like to create my own new White House--I want Chris Mathews as President, Maureen Dowd as Vice, and Jonathan Alter as chief of staff.
I'll take Dan Abrams, Tim Russert and Keith Olberman too. It's depressing to watch all the lies and incompetence. Fitzgerald is awesome--here's a guy who talked about truth--something so sadly missing in this administration.

Last week a senior at Penn killed himself at his home. He had played in the football game 2 days before--they beat my brother's alma mater--Bucknell. Kyle was being treated for depression. There can't be a more traumatic event than the loss of a child. Kyle's mother said that he was a great kid, that he was being treated, and that it's nobody's fault. She's right. It's so easy for people to say why didn't anyone see the signs, or how could someone feel that there was no hope? For a 21 year-old to feel that suicide was his best, or only, option, tells us the grip that depression has on people. My daughter's friend is also a senior at Penn, and I told her about Kyle. She talked to her friend, who also happened to go to high school w/ Kyle--and he said he was a great kid--everyone wanted to be him, that's how well-liked he was. What a tragedy. Like his mother said, there's still a stigma attached to depression, mental illness, etc. Some won't talk about it. We need to change this--it's too common, especially among college students--but also so treatable.

Reading

Yesterday my daughter called me when I was driving home from work--she couldn't wait to tell me that she just finished a book and she loved it--she bought it on Monday and couldn't put it down. She very excitedly told me how she came upon the book, and how I have to read it. As an English teacher, this makes me so happy--as a mother, I'm so proud of her--I love it when people discover how much pleasure reading is--and of course, I want my own children to discover it--well, I'm one for two--I had to pay my son to read! Maybe he'll enjoy it one day too. I'll be thrilled to death if I spend the rest of my life talking about books with my daughter.

There are a few new titles that I hope to get to soon--The Tender Bar, Harold Bloom's Shakespeare book, Joan Didion's memoir--she lost her husband and her daughter--gosh--now that the weather is turning colder, I'll have more time to read. I'm so glad I have a job that lets me read as much as I do.