I read this blog post from the Washington Post this morning entitled Smart design + school = health. It described beautifully why atmosphere is important in the classroom. The final quote stood out to me:
“We really focused on what kids need. What I see in that space are kids gravitating to that atmosphere because they know it’s for them, about them. Everything is tailored to their needs.”
Dina Sorensen, project designer, VMDO Architects
There are some days when I think the last couple of weeks have been a twisted reality TV show. People have been sequestered in their homes with whatever they could scrounge at the grocery and instructed to live within the confines of their home with the kids while they attempt to work from home and homeschool their kids. Whew!
It has reminded me of a time or two when a class could get unruly and devolve into an out-of-control reality show atmosphere. Oh, how I long for those days!
They will be coming soon. Sometime late spring or in the summer, Sunday school classes will be back in session. It may take some time for students and teachers to get their bearings again. In the meantime, hold on for today. If you are feeling you are in a bizarre reality show, see if you can ask the director for a raise or bonus. Just beware of that added twist that those shows like to add just to make things interesting.
YouTube was well on its way when I wrote and drew this cartoon in 2009. We have done so much more with social media since then. According to a site, 300 hours of videos are uploaded to YouTube every minute. That’s a lot of cat videos!
Should every moment be shared? It no doubt affects the behavior of people if they are performing for social media. It may be tempting to do something outrageous if the goal is to get as many views and likes that you can.
Discretion is a word that isn’t used much when it comes to social media. It is something that comes with maturity and is easy to forget in the heat of the moment. But it is something we all need to keep in mind. It takes wisdom to do this. Wisdom comes from experience and experience comes from making mistakes. Unfortunately, it can be very embarrassing and life-changing if you make your mistakes on social media for all to see.
Before you get ready to post that video, before you post your opinion or respond to that obnoxious post with an equally obnoxious response, consider discretion. Use your better judgement. Let’s keep ourselves from wishing we could take that comment or video back.
Social media is a powerful tool. Let’s use it wisely.
Cartoon of a lamb and wolf. The sheep says, “This year, I resolve to stay away from unnecessary risks.”
One thing I have discovered over the years is that if I make a resolution to avoid something, that temptation doesn’t necessarily go away. Resolutions just don’t work if I phrase them as a negative. I can give up soda pop as a resolution. But if I don’t replace it with something, such as water, I usually fail.
So instead of thinking about what you’re going to give up this year, think about what good habit you can replace it with.
This month, my goal is to write five hundred words a day. Hidden within that goal is to regulate how much time I spend online. If I’m going to write those words, something will have to give. So while I may not be surfing as much, this will give me a better opportunity to write my blog. I also plan to explore writing my next book.
So what is your resolution for the new year? Feel free to leave a comment and let us know.
Cartoon of one boy staring at another boy who is upside down. The boy on the ceiling says, “Today in class, I got in trouble for doing this.”
Kids can get in trouble for the most interesting things. There have been times when outwardly I’ve said, “Stop that!” but inwardly, I was thinking, “That’s amazing! I would’ve never thought of that!” Kudos to kids and their creativity!
