Source: http://www.newsday.com/news/nation/prom-queen-prank-backfires-as-community-rallies-1.4043178

Prom queen prank backfires as community rallies

Published: September 26, 2012 5:37 PM
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Photo credit: AP | Students at Ogemaw Heights High School in West Branch, Michigan pranked Whiney Kropp, 16, by nominating her to the homecoming court. (Sept. 19, 2012)

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Community turns tables on school prank

WEST BRANCH, Mich. - A Michigan community is trying to make things right after a 16-year-old girl was named to a high school homecoming court as part of an apparent prank.

Whitney Kropp told WNEM-TV she felt betrayed after some of her classmates at West Branch's Ogemaw Heights High School suggested that her selection announced this month at the 800-student school was a joke. She said she had been picked on in the past, but it intensified afterward.

"I thought I wasn't worthy at Ogemaw Heights at all," she said.

As word spread, however, community members rallied behind the sophomore. She's expected appear at Friday's homecoming football game. And The Detroit News reports businesses will buy her dinner, take her photo, fix her hair and nails, and dress her in a gown, shoes and a tiara for Saturday's dance.

Whitney's mother Bernice Kropp said the support has helped make a bad situation right in the community about 140 miles northwest of Detroit.

"This was something that was really awful, could have ended awful, and because so many people came together, it just turned right around," she said.

Jamie Kline, 35, started a Facebook support page, which drew hundreds of messages of encouragement. Shannon Champagne, 28, and another beauty salon worker offered their services and asked other businesses to do the same. And Donny Winter, an Ogemaw Heights graduate, made a YouTube video to show his support.

"Bullying cannot be resolved by silence, it has to be resolved by actually stating what's happening and actually saying it's wrong," Winter said.

Cyberbulling infographic.

Click to enlarge. Source: Power to Learn

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12 Things Your Kids Should Never Do on Social Media

Source: Digital Smarts Blog

Ok, you have probably been over it again and again with them, but here is a succinct article on the subject of the 12 things that students should never do on a social media site. It is a good reminder that even if their profile settings are set to private, you never know who is watching, reading, listening, and worst of all downloading, things your children would not want spread around.

http://mashable.com/2012/09/04/students-social-media-warnings/

Maily - A Safe & Fun Email Application for Kids

Maily - A Safe & Fun Email Application for Kids:

Maily is a free iPad app that provides young children with a safe and fun way to send emails to parents and selected family members. To use Maily parents have to create accounts for their children. Parents select and add contacts for their children. After the account is created children can then send and receive emails only from the people that their parents have added to their children's contacts list. The user interface that children see in Maily is very kid-friendly. Using Maily children can draw pictures, use templates to create emails, and or upload pictures to send. To send an email children click the send button and the select the image of the person to they want to receive their messages.

The video below provides a good overview of Maily. Introducing Maily for iPad from Maily on Vimeo. Applications for Education Using Maily could be a great way to introduce young children to email in a safe environment. You could use the Maily app to have students send weekly emails to their parents about what they did in your classroom each week.

This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers .

Teens are learning distracted driving behavior from parents

Teens are learning distracted driving behavior from parents

Sep 18, 2012 4:00 PM

Risky driving behavior by teenagers is too often learned through observing their parents, according to a new survey. About 90 percent of the teens report observing their parents talking on a cell phone while driving, while 88 percent said they saw them speed.
Conducted by Liberty Mutual Insurance and SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions), the survey of 1,700 11th and 12th graders finds these teens witness frequent, dangerous driving behavior by their parents. And the teens mimic these bad practices.

Behavior	Parents (observed)	Teens (self-reported)
Talking on cell phone while driving	91%	90%
Speeding	88	94
Texting	59	78
Driving without a seat belt	47	33
Driving under the influence of alcohol	20	15
Driving under the influence of marijuana	7	16

"The best teacher for a teen driver is a good parental role model," says Stephen Wallace, senior advisor for policy, research and education at SADD.
Whether you're a parent, friend, or sibling, set a good example. Stop the car in a safe place if you need to use a cell phone. And if you're riding with a driver compelled to talk or text with a phone, offer to do it for them. Using a phone behind the wheel can be tempting, but the risks are real and truly not worth it.
Driving under the influence or not wearing a seatbelt are foolish choices. These are not new risks and the consequences are well established. Any responsible driver knows better.
For more information, visit our guide to distracted driving. 

—Jeff Bartlett

Austin Police Department & LGPOA-Austin - It Gets Better HD

The Lesbian & Gay Peace Officers Association produced a video comprising of LGBT officers and civilian members of the Austin Police Department to send a message to LGBTQ youth that it does get better. This is part of the It Gets Better Project (www.itgetsbetter.org) and The Trevor Project (www.thetrevorproject.org) to reach out to LGBTQ youth who may be struggling due to bullying, harassment, and non-acceptance, and who may be thinking of committing suicide. Our message is to let those youth know that even though it is difficult today, tomorrow will bring hope, love, and life. We are here to help you make it there!

If you are considering suicide or need help, call the Trevor Project now: 866-4-U-TREVOR (866-488-7386).

"IT GETS BETTER"
The It Gets Better Project was created to show young LGBT people the levels of happiness, potential, and positivity their lives will reach — if they can just get through their teen years. The It Gets Better Project wants to remind teenagers in the LGBT community that they are not alone — and it WILL get better. The website itgetsbetter.org is a place where young people who are lesbian, gay, bi, or trans can see how love and happiness can be a reality in their future. It's a place where straight allies can visit and support their friends and family members. It's a place where people can share their stories, take the It Gets Better Project pledge, watch videos of love and support, and seek help. Take the pledge to help make it better for others.

Should educators and students "friend" each other online?

Dr. Sameer Hinduja: Not at all. "Online communication tends to lead to candid sharing of world views and self-disclosure...Then you think of a teenager on a very vulnerable, lonely night, dropping you a message; and (the educator) wanting to encourage them, it could be read the wrong way...In this sort of society, we've got to be all about propriety...


Dr. Justin Patchin:  Maybe.  "The key in any environment to the way teachers interact with students is boundaries...If you have a social networking page that is completely professional — where you separate out your friends from your students — then I think it's completely appropriate.  But it's all about boundaries.  To assume that teachers are automatically going to be crossing those boundaries is unfair, I think, to most teachers..."



Click here to view Dr. Patchin &Dr. Hinduja.