What is a Dastard?
I came across a blog today that a girl had obviously just started--she probably started it at a friend's house, or at the library, or in the school computer lab when no one was there.... In her first and only entry, in big letters, she told us she was 11 years old and then gave her first and last name, elementary school and a picture of herself! I felt like saying to her, "Hello!?" Does your mother know what you're up to?" But then I knew she wouldn't listen to me. I ended up sending her a little comment, though, that just said she should take some of that info off the blog. Hopefully she listens.
Internet safety is just like sex education in junior high school. Remember (well, I guess it's still happening, so I guess the word shouldn't be "remember") the whole teaching birth control vs. abstinence thing? I always thought it was stupid and reckless (and I said this a few days ago) to just teach abstinence and not have a backup plan. You need to prepare for what happens if they don't listen to you. You know, give them some knowledge they can use to protect themselves. I'm sure many a parent out there has forbidden their child to go online unsupervised or to start a blog. But what do you do if they blow you off and do it anyway? At least make sure they know how to blog relatively safely.
Kids nowadays are smarter, yes--they have to be. But it scares me sometimes how vulnerable they are, too. They can freely play in the grownups' world now--no one is stopping them--but they don't necessarily know all the rules.
....Funny, I've been doing other things for a few hours here, researching for work (shocking, I know), and I somehow came back to square one. I ended up on some websites for textbook adoptions (where certain states hold meetings to vote on what textbooks they'll allow schools to use), and from there I pulled up a list of letters from parents and community members to the Texas state textbook adoption committee. Almost all of the letters were about (buh buh buhhh) whether textbooks should teach abstinence only or birth control/protection.
If you're curious, here are all the letters.
Wow, hearing the way these people think, am I glad I don't live in Texas. For a number of reasons.
Did you know there are whole networks of support groups for parents who home school their children in Texas? Home schooling is big there, and reading these letters you get an idea of just how many unsatisfied parents there are in Texas... thus all the home schooling. Thoughts? Anyone? Bueller?
Also, can I just tell you I have heard quite enough of the words "agenda," "propaganda," "pandering," and may I repeat, "agenda," to last me the rest of my life. People use those words in a heated argument, I automatically take the other person's side. They are deliberate gloves-off, throw-down words used to tear down the other side without having to rely on any real logic or factual information. Do they really think their side is pure and good and the other faction is comprised of dastardly evildoers? As if both sides wouldn't like to make the world better?
And also, there are bigger problems in the world they should be worrying about.
Anyway. Gosh I'm getting political. That's what happens when you give me a blog and no one to tell me to stop talking. But I do have funny little Becky observations soon. They are percolating. Maybe tomorrow...
Big Event of the Day: Load dishwasher
Percent Chance: 100% (I did it already...) (I think I need a new system--this big Event of the Day thing only works if I blog early in the day....)
Internet safety is just like sex education in junior high school. Remember (well, I guess it's still happening, so I guess the word shouldn't be "remember") the whole teaching birth control vs. abstinence thing? I always thought it was stupid and reckless (and I said this a few days ago) to just teach abstinence and not have a backup plan. You need to prepare for what happens if they don't listen to you. You know, give them some knowledge they can use to protect themselves. I'm sure many a parent out there has forbidden their child to go online unsupervised or to start a blog. But what do you do if they blow you off and do it anyway? At least make sure they know how to blog relatively safely.
Kids nowadays are smarter, yes--they have to be. But it scares me sometimes how vulnerable they are, too. They can freely play in the grownups' world now--no one is stopping them--but they don't necessarily know all the rules.
....Funny, I've been doing other things for a few hours here, researching for work (shocking, I know), and I somehow came back to square one. I ended up on some websites for textbook adoptions (where certain states hold meetings to vote on what textbooks they'll allow schools to use), and from there I pulled up a list of letters from parents and community members to the Texas state textbook adoption committee. Almost all of the letters were about (buh buh buhhh) whether textbooks should teach abstinence only or birth control/protection.
If you're curious, here are all the letters.
Wow, hearing the way these people think, am I glad I don't live in Texas. For a number of reasons.
Did you know there are whole networks of support groups for parents who home school their children in Texas? Home schooling is big there, and reading these letters you get an idea of just how many unsatisfied parents there are in Texas... thus all the home schooling. Thoughts? Anyone? Bueller?
Also, can I just tell you I have heard quite enough of the words "agenda," "propaganda," "pandering," and may I repeat, "agenda," to last me the rest of my life. People use those words in a heated argument, I automatically take the other person's side. They are deliberate gloves-off, throw-down words used to tear down the other side without having to rely on any real logic or factual information. Do they really think their side is pure and good and the other faction is comprised of dastardly evildoers? As if both sides wouldn't like to make the world better?
And also, there are bigger problems in the world they should be worrying about.
Anyway. Gosh I'm getting political. That's what happens when you give me a blog and no one to tell me to stop talking. But I do have funny little Becky observations soon. They are percolating. Maybe tomorrow...
Big Event of the Day: Load dishwasher
Percent Chance: 100% (I did it already...) (I think I need a new system--this big Event of the Day thing only works if I blog early in the day....)
posted by Becky at
12:50 PM
3 Comments:
You got me curious on what the word "dastard". On the old Batman t.v. show from the 1970's, the announcer would always accuse the villans of performaing "dastardly deeds". I always thought that it was a word that the Batman show just made up. Well, its a real word and it means: a sneaky malicious coward. Cool. It is only 8:43 AM and I already learned something new.
By
Anonymous, at 5/23/2006 08:46:00 AM
Cool! I like this idea. I say I wonder what something means, but then you look it up so I don't have to go to the effort! Nice. I'm glad dastard really is a word. Now I can call people it. = )
By
Becky, at 5/23/2006 09:22:00 AM
Wow. That's an interesting example, though. I mean, you could make a totally different argument from that--that you have to draw the line somewhere, and to illustrate how yeah, you are basically condoning something by allowing for people to do it anyway.
By
Becky, at 5/23/2006 10:37:00 PM
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