Last Day at Kita

Finishing up my year long contract in Tarui Japan, and reflecting on how I have been able to connect with my students.

The Luong's Adventure- Tarui Japan

Today was my last day working at Kita Junior High school. I have been so lucky this year to be able to work the fabulous English team of Miho Fuseya sensei and Noriko Kobayashi sensei. These ladies let me plan my own last lessons. In grade one we played colored clothes Battle Ship. In grade two we had some fantastic People Bingo. Finally the third graders experienced some fabulous Block Buster action. (and the best part the kids didn’t even know that they were studying).

Over the last couple of weeks we had been doing a unit on FAIR TRADE with my third grade classes. At the end of the day one of my students came up to me with a smile on his face.

S said “Ms. Erin, yesterday in class I heard  you say that you really liked coffee… so last night I went out and bought you…

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Social Networking in the Classroom: Talking to Students about Sexting

Responsibile digital citizenship is something that everyone should be addressing in schools. It is important to be proactive in our approaches, rather than simplying reacting to all situations. Josh provides a variety of suggestions for opening up discussions and learning opportunities.

Breaking Down Digital Walls

The issue of sexting is starting to come around again big time and causing a lot of problems for schools. Problems arose when 10 students, aged 14 to 18, at Walpole High School in Massachusetts found themselves being questioned by police regarding illicit messages being sent around the school.

One important piece of information to highlight from this Fox 25 report is that in Massachusetts and many other states, sexting falls under child pornography and comes with many serious consequences including federal charges and possibly having to register as a sex offender.

Police in Walpole are not planning on bringing such serious charges against these first-time offenders but there will be action taken.

This series of events is a great learning opportunity not only for the students involved, but for students, educators and parents everywhere.

I highly encourage teachers to look into this story and take advantage of some great…

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