Angi D. on What's Your Memo to President-Elect Obama?

I want to see some changes in how we pay for our education. Most of us had to get student loan after student loan to get to college. Most of us are paying those back, and will be for years.

NCLB requires us, as teachers, to have all these qualifications but there is no money to help us get them. I’d like to see a little more incentive for people to go to college. I’d like for us (not just teachers, but everyone) to be able to go to college and have some other funding available besides student loans.

Angi D. on The Live Piracy Map: A Treasure Trove for Student Discussion

This is great! I just know sooner of later my second graders will be asking me about the pirates they’ve heard about on the news. Thanks for helping me find a way to take a question aobut a current event and turn it into a lesson.

Julie on Judge: School was Right to Suspend Student over Fake MySpace Profile

I definitely think the punishment was acceptable. Just think if the students were not caught right away. They could have added REALLY offensive information to the false MySpace page just to keep the “buzz” going around school. Also, we can’t let students get away with hurting a school official’s reputation. I have seen too many teachers and administrators get into trouble to know that sometimes the teachers and administrators really are to blame for their unethical or illegal behavior, but sometimes vindictive students are the ones to blame. If the school and judge let these particular kids get away with such an action, only more would follow. Also, if my child were to do something that terrible, I would never have supported her by suing the school. She broke the rules. She attacked an administrator’s reputation. She deserves to be punished.

Kelly Cookson on Internet Orgs Weigh in on Lori Drew Prosecution

When people violate TOS with the malicious intent to injure someone through harassment, slander, or theft, then they are engaging in criminal behavior. I don’t see a problem with the government prosecuting these people. They will get to have a jury decide if they are in fact guilty. This is certainly not a perfect system. But right now it’s the only system we have in place to deal with these kinds of criminals. If the lawyers who wrote the brief want to do something really constructive, have them lobby to get better laws passed instead of complaining about the government trying to seek justice with the only laws available to them.

Julie on Congress Passes Bill Mandating Online Safety Education

I think educating students about internet bullying would be a great thing. Students, of course, would likely view the educational session as a waste of time, but if we could even get to a few students, perhaps some of the mean words posted on MySpace pages would stop. I teach a particular group of high school students who seem to think that fighting is “normal” and “acceptable.” Most of the fights these particular students have gotten into in and out of school have started on the internet. Perhaps education would could stop some of these fights before they begin.

I also agree with Melissa—Instead of restricting students’ use of the internet on school grounds, we should have them sign a code of conduct to follow. We need to teach students how to be use the internet like responsible adults.