The bastards!

Neverseconds is a blog by a 9th grader.  In it she analyzes and compares (and some times criticizes) her school's lunches.

But she learned recently that she is banned from taking pictures of the school lunch.

Funny how that is.  Maybe she isn't in a public school, where students actually pay for their lunches.  But even if she is in a private school, her parents pay tuition, which goes in turn to paying for the food, so why should she be banned from discussing it?

This is the type of stupidity that I'm afraid runs rampant in schools.

Instead of fully understanding an issue and looking at both sides and discussing it, school authorities had a knee jerk reaction and banned the student from taking pictures.

Luckily, the public outcry will likely allow her the freedom to chronicle the lunches again.

Here is an excerpt from the article -

He said the council had been concerned about criticisms of dining hall staff in an article about Martha's blog in the national media, but accepted that it should have raised the issue with the newspaper concerned rather than taking action against the schoolgirl.

Who cares about criticism of the staff?  When is criticism such a bad thing?  Are we all so stellar that we can't get better at what we do every day?

I just used this girl's blog as an example of the power this younger generation wields with their social media savvy.

I also used youtube footage of students videotaping teachers bullying them.  To this, I say YES!

I say bring your cell phones to class and capture the awesome things that are done and share them.  Likewise, if the class is boring and a waste of time, document and share that too.

Enact change!  If you are afraid you'll end up in the boring or waste of time category, then be more engaging in the classroom.  Be a better teacher.

If not, simply, be something else . . . be retired, be a mailperson, be a business owner, be a truck driver . . .