#21 Harassment articles

Harassment is whatever makes you uncomfortable. I beelieve that people make up these harassment lawsuits based on feeling unsafe or uncomfortable. There are actual definitions and proper wording for the term "Harassment" but our society seems confused about what it actually means. This confusion is lead to the fact that our society is a "sex based society" meaning that our tv shows, magazines, movies, songs etc. are all based on sex appeal. When people are surrounded by this type of advertising they will start to form their own mind around it. Thinking that staring at attractive males or females or hitting on people or even touching someone inappropriately. This is why people are confused by the actual definition of harassment. They see sex being advertised all over the place and don't understand what the difference is between that and what they are doing in real life.

We also hear around us all the time as people being the "victom"."Self-victimization is part of the problem"http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/the-hot-button/half-of-us-students-face-sexual-harassment-survey/article2228114/comments/ Ken in Paris. I think this statement is so true. The fact that people crave attention now because of media and feminist acts makes it seem like everything is wrong. When someone does a little look or says something, people take it as offensive because of the attention it creates. Don't get me wrong I am definitly against serious problems like sexual abuse and continous harassment(bullying), but when one guy or girl looks or says something that is kind of in a compliment form like attractive ness or something I don't think it's a big deal. I was reading the comments in the same article and they were talking about a 40year old man calling you attractive, now that would be reported but if a young bough 22year old called you attractive you would love the attention you get. Same thing but different person.

Harassment over the internet is common in highschools. For me I love facebook, twitter, and other social networking sites because I love to see the positivity from it. I use it for that reason to see what people are doing and to stay in touch with friends. It has the ability to take a turn for the worst when people start posting the negative stuff on facebook. Although a lot of negativity stuff goes on with that do I think that we should get rid of it? or think of an alternative? no. People need to realize the positivities that come from it. You will never get a non negative thing. There will always be something wrong with whatever your new idea is. No matter what people do it won't change. What people need to do is realize what positive things come from using it and how they could use it in a positive way.

#23 Joe Paterno Penn State scandal

I don't think anyone that knew about it or heard something about it should get any lead way by the court or by the school because of the football program. They should all deserve some kind of legal punishment for the kids and for people to learn a lesson.

I first of all think that Sandusky should get fired and sent to jail. I don't think he should get any special favours from anyone. What he did to those boys was wrong and shouldn't happen ever. Also the university superiors should get punished as well because Paterno did tell them what was going on and they did nothing about it.

I also think that the head coach of Penn State Joe Paterno should be in court as well because he could've done more. Especially if he is viewed as a heor and a role model. It should of ended nine years ago with him going to the police about what he had seen. It would of saved a lot of kids from being victims and would've been better to put a guilty man behind bars. He would've felt so much relief and would've been viewed as a bigger hero. I really don't care if he was king of the world, he should of done more with it once he saw that the university superiors weren't doing anything.

Yes he created a good program and yes he has a high reputation in the states but that doesn't give him the right to do whatever he wants. What I've learned from my athletics this year is that the ideal teams don't last forever, it changes. What Penn states football team needs to realize is that yes he created a winning team and he was apart of the team for a long time, but he had a good run. It is time for change and see what another coach can bring to the table. I am sorry but those people that want to keep him as coach and saying to "give him a break" they need to realize the bigger picture of what actually happened.

Overall everyone who was involved should be punished by the court because that whole situation was wrong and everyone should realize that. No matter what it wasn't right doesn't matter who they are and how they were involved. There should be no place for that anywhere or anytime.

#22 Thoughts on the Touchdown Story

I think it was a great idea to let that guy run for a touchdown. It was great to see both teams show that much sportsmanship for a player. For that boy it would've made his day to score a touchdown heck might of been a dream. I am also glad they did it during the game and not make some special event, exhibition game or maken it before or after the game. They had it during so it meant more.

#24 challenge day and challenge week

What I think of the whole week? I think it was great!! Challenge day was awesome and it was a great experience. I felt so close with the students and adults in that room and it made me open up. I also think that day changed how I look at things and how I look at my life and my future. It has opened my eyes to what actually goes on around the school and with other people. I can honestly say that I appreciate everyone in my life more now.

As for the week? I think the challenge week was good and the assembly was awesome. I think other students that weren't involved in that day kinda have an idea about what it was about. I feel bad for those students who didn't get to go, but they should appreciate and respect the selection process and the people that went and learned. I also think for the future we need to focus on anti-bullying ideas for IDCI and not try to compare it to challenge day. Yes it was a life changing experience but we can't recreate the day unless we hire them to come back and do it. Having our own school ideas or even re-creating or re modeling the ideas from the challenge day is what our school needs to look for in creating a anti bullying week or day.

Overall I think everything went well and it was a complete success even though issues did erupt from the day.

#18 Can schools stop teen suicide?

I believe it is possible for schools to stop teen suicide. For one thing if you read it in their writing or see it in class it should be reported no matter what. That should be the main concern of teachers. It said in the article that teen"s develop mental health issues related to their highschool experience and that teen suicide is the second highest cause of death by teens first is car accidents. I don't understand why this doesn't concern the teachers or the staff of highschools?

They said in the article that the teachers weren't trained well enough to see the signs. I think we should train them then! look at the statistics we see teen suicide is a problem in Canada and it is cause by highschools. Schools can fix this problem by making the teachers more aware of what students are going through or in order to be a teacher have the right personality and attitude in order to lift up a school not bring it down.

“We don’t want teachers to have to become diagnosticians,” agreed Van Buskirk, the Peel board’s chief social worker. “That’s not fair or appropriate for them. They have their plates full.”

Is that a serious statement? I don't think teachers would mind learning the trick of the trade in order to save kids lives. That is ridiculous. I am rattled for the first time ever.

#20 Challenge Week

I know you already know this idea but I am gonna remind you of it because I did come up with it and I have no other good ideas. My idea was to dress up on a certain day of character on tv or movie that gets bullied. We could get name tags so people could write down the names of the character they are trying to be. I just want to dress up as Blaine. That is all.

#19 Stair Climb

YEAH BUDDY! 8 years is pretty sweet and being apart of 5years of the 8 that is also pretty sweet. I am going to start this blog by saying howe proud I was to be apart of the IDCI stair climb this year. I remember being on the ice and looking up to the crowd and seeing my school cheer and yell. It has probably been the highlight of my year so far. well done IDCI. secondly I would like to say that we beat CASS twice in one day...no big deal. Thridly I would like to say is 8 years and counting....

How IDCI could make it better... I think more people, more money, and more spirit. In the beginning our leadership class was a little worried about participation. I think we could of made it a bigger thing by advertising and presenting it better or sooner. This way we get more peoples attention sooner which means more participants. I also think that most grade nines didn't really know about it, but when we came back and everyone was still pumped and representing the blue and white they started to see how much fun it was. You could tell that some of them were jealous. This got me thinking that maybe this is why we have so many people come. Next year they will remember what they saw this year and they will sign up.

United Way... could get better speakers so they can control IDCI. Yah I just said IDCI because lets face it we we aere most of the noise in that arena. But we couldn't hear anything. I don't think they should have anything to do with the competitive nature of things, I think the schools should bring that out.

#17 Steve Jobs commencement speech

What I will take from that speech is not to settle. Most of my life so far I have went with the flow so I wouldnt cause problems. I have done many things that I didn't want to do or things that didn't interest me, but for the sake of whoever wanted me to do it, I did it anyway. Don't settle on anything. That is what I am taking with me in my current stage of life. With jobs, school, relationships etc. It has become an important part of my life and saying that I want to live by. I don't want to settle for anything that is the right thing to do. I want to do what I want and what is important in my morals, values, and goals.

I also took from his speech to never give up. He didn't graduate from college, was fired from his job, has cancer and was still successful in his life. This to me is inspirational. I now know that nothing can bring me down or take me of my course to success but myself. Giving up is the only thing that will cause me to be unsuccessful. Looking at his life and comparing it to mine, I don't see myself having anything durastic happen like his did, but I can still use it for the little things like sports games, a career, or finishing university.