A Reprieve for Six-Year-Old Zachary Christie

There is a reprieve for Zachary Christie. He will be back to school next week. In the glare of the national and international spotlight, the school board reconsidered:

“… The seven-member Christina School Board voted unanimously Tuesday to reduce the punishment for kindergartners and first-graders who take weapons to school or commit violent offenses to a suspension ranging from three to five days.

Zachary Christie, 6, had faced 45 days in an alternative school for troublemakers after he took the utensil - a combination folding knife, fork and spoon - to school to eat lunch last month…”

link: Delaware 1st grader has 45-day suspension lifted

It is somewhat amazing how good sense surfaces when the media becomes involved. It is interesting to note the 45 day suspension as compared to some sentencing for criminal matters. For example, the actress Lindsay Lohan served “at least 24 hours in jail in her drunken-driving cases“. Ms Lohan can count herself fortunate that she was dealing with a court of law and not the Christina School Board.

Catherine Forsythe

Zachary Christie Learns a Lesson About Adults

Zachary Christie must not be reading the newspapers - or following security issues online. Perhaps he is not a regular viewer of the twenty four hour news channels. It may be that he is simply too focused on lunch. After all, Zachary Christie is just six years old:

“A Delaware mother whose 6-year-old son was suspended for 45 days for carrying a camping utensil to school is speaking out against the suspension and saying he should not have to face reform school as a consequence.

Debbie Christie’s son Zachary, a first-grader at Downes Elementary School in Newark, Del., was suspended for carrying a camping utensil that contained a spoon, fork, bottle opener and knife to school.”

link: Boy, 6, Faces Reform School for Carrying Camping Utensil to School

This should teach Zachary Christie a lesson. Perhaps that lesson is that adults will apply a regulation, without consideration to the extenuating circumstances and without regard to the harm that it will do. It is regrettable that Zachary has to learn that at such an early age.

Catherine Forsythe

School Lacks Basic Essentials

It sounds like what one might expect from a start-up school in a developing nation. The plea is for basic essentials, like light bulbs and toilet paper. The need though comes not from a developing nation. The school is in Detroit:

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Some Closure for the Julie Amero Case

The legal proceedings of the Julie Amero case have been settled. It remains unfair. The felony charges against Ms Amero have been dropped but she has lost her teaching license:

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The Economic Crisis Reaches Academic Campuses

Academic institutions are not immune from the present economic crisis. Many students are following the news closely and are concerned. The simple fact is that, for a majority of students, going to university or college is financed through loans. When financial institutions are in jeopardy, there are concerns about what is going to happen with those loans.

An alternative is leaving school and working. And that alternative looks grim as the unemployment numbers are staggering and business are trying to survive this economic downturn.

Catherine Forsythe

YouTube and Cheating 101

YouTube is known for entertainment. It is also the place where some creative hacks are found and a place to boast. For example, there are videos about how to solve a Rubik’s cube - blindfolded. YouTube is becoming the place to learn how to cheat academically:

“…Kiki’s video is one of several dozen on the popular Internet site YouTube that show detailed ways to cheat on tests. Students no longer conceal answers in the sole of a shoe or the underside of a baseball cap’s bill. In the age of continual access to the Internet and laser-precision printers, cheating has gone high-tech.

And some techniques, like Kiki’s, come with a guarantee.”

link: Kids spread cheating methods on YouTube

It just seems sad that all this creativity and inventiveness goes into cheating. It doesn’t say much for one’s self esteem and achieving without assistance. Undoubtedly, schools and educators also are looking on YouTube and learning how to catch the cheats.

Catherine Forsythe

Protecting the Computer “From Frying”

I have been doing a series of articles about suggestions for students returning to campus. A small group of tech professionals at two schools were wagering on whether or not I would mentioned one item. To those who thought I would, my apologies… I didn’t think of it.

Here is an excerpt from a note I received:

“…A surge protector should be basic equipment. Some of the older campus buildings have electrical issues. You don’t want to know what the damage from an electrical surge can do…”

Further on in the note, it mentions “computers” and “frying” in the same sentence. So if you are leaving soon for university / college, buy a surge protector, a good one with a stated guarantee. Thanks to Brent, Ed, Charles, Kate and the other for the reminder - and for following along in this DogReader space.

Catherine

Three Buying (or Not Buying) Recommendations for the Student

It’s time to prepare for the forthcoming college semester and freshmen students especially will want to have everything ready. This means loads of spending and buying. However, here are a few suggestions to consider - and perhaps not buy:

• That printer may not be necessary. Unless there is a daily need to print out lecture notes or some other regular call for hard copy printouts, a printer may be an item to remove from the shopping list. In a small apartment or residence room, it simply takes up space. When a paper assignment needs to be printed out and given to the professor, there will be numerous facilities on campus that do the printing for a small fee. This means that there is no need to have paper and ink on hand. The printing facilities will make hard copies in an efficient and professional manner. The presentation material can be bound if requested. There is no need to worry about buying ink and having the printer working well. Those concerns are left to the printing services.
• Consider buying a USB flash drive. It is an easy way to exchange information with friends and classmates. Some lab classes will require these flash drives. However, it might be an idea to wait. The costs are dropping. - The flash drive that I bought a month ago is selling for approximately thirty percent less now.
• Consider buying a colourful lanyard for the flash drive. This will simply make it easier to find. And, if it is ever lost, the colourful lanyard makes it easier to identify as yours. It is surprising how many of these flash drives are lost about campus. They are small and convenient - but also easily to lose. For example, these flash drives can slip out of one’s pocket or backpack without notice. Some people put a file on these drives that identifies the owner and some contact information. However, when you put an identifier on a flash drive, remember not to place any sensitive, confidential information on that storage medium. In any case, a lanyard or some colourful cording is inexpensive but well worth having.

The college / university bookstore will be a madhouse during the first weeks of school. However, after all the initial course requirement material is bought, traditionally the school bookstores have sales to clear off the supplies and that includes some computer equipment and accessories. So after the initial start of school crunch, the bookstore will be clearing stock that they don’t want to be occupying space. That has been always a good time to buy, at a significant saving.

Catherine Forsythe

Preventing the “I-Hate-School” Syndrome

In a few weeks, it will be the most exciting and scariest day in the lives of some young children. It will be the first day of real school - grade one. It will be big buildings, different people, new rules and unfamiliar new friends. Another less obvious commonality is that these children want to learn. They are eager and enthusiastic.

The mandate for adults simply is to maintain that enthusiasm and eagerness to learn. If, by the second or third grade, there is a “I hate school” attitude, then somehow the adults have failed - and failed miserably.

The long term consequences are dire.

If children begin to dislike school and do poorly, it is havoc on their self esteem. It means that statistically they fall into the category of potential ‘drop out’. And, eventually, they will be part of the stress on the social support system.

The tragedy is that culturally the early school years are not seen as that important. That is not where the finest teachers are directed. However, it is in those early years that young attitudes are shaped. Perhaps the child development arguments pale in light of one simple comparison. That comparison is between the wages of the teachers in the early primary grades and the wages of the people who check out and bag your groceries. On a wages-per-hour comparison, the workers at the grocery market are paid better. With all due respect to the hard work of grocery store personnel, what does this say about the value placed on early education?

Catherine Forsythe

Five Questions for the Student to Ask - Before Buying That Laptop

That laptop for school will become essential equipment (more than just for gaming and music). Your class notes are there, along with possible essays, references, email and other “stuff”. In case your laptop breaks down, you want to know these five things:

• where will the machine be serviced?
• what is the expected turn-around time for servicing? - You will need to know how long you will be without your laptop.
• what exactly is covered in the warrantee? - If it has some ambiguous wording like “limited warrantee”, you want a detailed explanation. Ask for an operation definition of the terms. For example, you do not want to be paying for technical services after the problem is diagnosed.
• is shipping covered? - If the service centre is in a distant location, the shipping to have the machine repaired and the shipping back can be a shock. Find out prior to buying that machine.
• is an extended warrantee available? - Sometimes the cost for such a service is reasonable. Often it is not. Some companies will sell the extended warrantee as the owner nears the time limit of the original service plan. The policies differ from company to company. Be a curious consumer.

It may seem odd to be considering laptop problems prior to putting down your hard-earned dollars. However, these questions protect your investment and ease your frustration in case of problems. It is a good way of assessing how well a company does stand behind its products. If you are not happy with some of the responses to these questions, do look elsewhere. Your dream machine may be sold by another computer firm.

Catherine Forsythe