A connection between football, wrestling and fighting??

I just read an interesting research study done by Derek Kreager- prof of sociology at Penn State.
The pertinent part of the study is quoted here.

"The sports-violence relationship is a theoretically rich area with competing hypotheses from prominent perspectives. Contrary to the social control hypothesis,my results suggest that sports fail to protect males from interpersonal violence. Indeed, contact sports (e.g., football and wrestling) are positively associated with male serious fighting. This effect is mediated by peer football participation, such that embeddedness in all-football networks substantially increases the risk for serious fighting. These findings are consistent with hypotheses derived from social learning and masculinity theories and provide important impetus for further research. Although caveats exist, this study offers leverage on a potential paradox of youth sports, and this understanding may help inform schools’ sports policies.

Playing hypermasculine contact sports shapes subsequent violence."

This begs the question- Does participating aggressive sports like football and wrestling correlate with fighting for young men? What an interesting thought.

Skim through the study and weigh in on what you think about this issue.

Do teachers really understand?

I have been reading and hearing a lot lately about how teachers need to get in touch with the culture of the generation that they teach- the millennial generation. This generation is described in the following:
Wally Block's definition as a father
Generation X versus the Millennial Generation
The Progressive view of Millennial

My question is: do your teachers really understand this generation (their needs, their use and need of technology, their need to equate friends and family, their need to multitask and seek the Internet to answer questions, their need to rewrite or break the rules, etc)?

How do we as teachers try to teach this generation successfully?

Just a note for this blog

Four things
1. You are all high school age students and have taken keyboarding and know how to spell or at least how to look words up on the Internet- please do so.
2. Note the title of the blog- English- please use appropriate language and be respectful of others' opinions- we live in America and this country was founded on freedom (of religion and speech).
3. Back up what you say and believe in with proof. Your opinion, no matter how LOUDLY expressed, means little until you find others who support you.
4. No stereotyping- not all women are weak because they cry and not all Muslims are terrorists. Try to view things from multiple perspectives- this will not only make you a better thinker, but it will also make you a better human being.

If you don't follow the rules, I can't give you the credit.

February Book Review

Choose a classic novel of literary merit to read for this month (see the book list) and then create a PowerPoint in which you present a short biography of the author and a discussion of his or her style and how his or her life affected style, topics, themes, etc. and then discuss what literary period the work fits (Puritanism, Age of Reason, Romanticism, , Etc). You will need to do research on the literary periods as there are many that we have not yet discussed. Post your PowerPoint to your blog by Feb 22.

Use the following web sites as resources. If you find more add them in comments.
Literary Periods in American Literature
American Literature Sites
Literary Periods and Their Characteristics

Mandatory drug testing in high school

New Jersey high school athletes participating in post season events are tested for steroid use (since 2006) and Texas will begin testing all student athletes beginning next year for steroid use. What do you think? Find evidence of other schools who are doing the same things or things similar. Are there schools in SD who are testing students for drug use? Why is this a problem or is it?

Students in a technological world

Read this article from the Washington Post about a Virginia high school student who called to complain about an administrator's decision to hold school even after a snow storm which caused many problems. After you read the story, discuss just how digital immigrants (such as the people in my generation and older generations) fail to understand the importance of technology to the digital natives (students in the current generation). What about how technology is changing the rules of behavior and changing the ideas about what is appropriate and allowable and what is not?

What is real blogging?

I read this post and had an "A-HA" moment that I must try to deal with. Evidently I have not mastered the art of real blogging. Anyone care to discuss how, according to Will Richardson, the author of this blog, I can help my students learn to blog for real?

Wow, we have a debate going here. So let's get away from political parties, gender, race and stereotypes. What qualities should a person have in order to become president?

Eduation and Election 2008

Check out this list of the presidential candidates views on education. It is a bit tongue in cheek, but, oh, so true.

What should the next president focus on when it comes to educating America' students?

The Race for the Presidency

With a few primaries down and several months of campaigning to go, the contenders running for president seem to be ready to fight the long battle of words and promises that is necessary to become the president. Yesterday in NH's primary, Hillary Clinton and John McCain took the lead with Obama and Romney right behind. That still leaves Huckabee and Edwards as contenders. So Who would you vote for? Why? Is the United States ready for a female president or an African-American president? What a change that might bring. Be polite and use netiquette while commenting to this post. Who would make the best president?

What can people find out about you on Facebook and MySpace?

I heard in interesting story on the news today about how police in Sioux Falls are using pictures posted in My Space and Facebook as evidence to arrest and try underage alcohol and tobacco and drug users. What do you think?. This is all legal and social networking groups offer no privacy regardless of all the safeguards used to protect users. Will this change the way that you use these networking sites?

Real life and Facebook and My Space

Check out this blog about just what an impact the Facebook and MySpace and other social networking sites can have on you and your future- both positive and negative. I found it fascinating.

January Book Review- character study

For your January book review, please read a book by an American author, paying special attention to the characters in the book. Try to challenge yourself a bit by choosing a book at or above your comfort level. Try a book written in a style you haven't read before or about a topic that you have no experience in. Please blog about one or more characters, include the following information:
1. physical description of the character
2. personality of character
3. motivation of character
4. conflicts the character faces, how that character deals with the conflicts and the outcomes of conflicts
5. changes the character undergoes during the course of the novel.
6. personal connections (or a lack of) you made with the character
7. your opinion of the character and his/her/its effectiveness in the novel.

Be sure to include the title and author of the book you read.