Middle School Hosts its First Book Fest

Yesterday, I drove east on the shoulder of the 2^nd Watchung Mountain Range, down into the heart of Bridgewater’s Washington Valley; up and across the 1^st Watchung Mountain on a narrow and curvy Mine Road; then down onto Foothill Road, still heading east.

Main entrance to the Bridgewater-Raritan Middle School

That early morning drive on a brilliantly sunny day would take me to the Bridgewater-Raritan Middle School where I had been invited, along with many others, to participate in its first annual Book Fest. 

As I neared my destination, turning right on Merriwood Drive and onto the school’s grounds, I came upon the daily lineup of empty yellow school buses tightly parked along the curvature of the entrance’s driveway, waiting for their cue to depart. 

If you’ve never seen it, it is a truly efficient sight to behold, because that row of buses speaks to the competency with which the B-R Transportation Department runs a tight ship, maintaining a schedule which leaves little room for error.  They departed just as I reached the main entrance, with a school employee waving them past, accounting for each vehicle as it roared by.

This would be an interesting day.  Kristy Shurina, 7^th grade teacher of Language Arts and Literature, had asked me to speak to students on the topic of Internet blogging.  Mrs. Shurina, who has been on maternity leave, is returning to the classroom in the fall.  She and I, working as a team, were to engage the students.  I would cover the nature of blogging, and she would speak about how to comment responsibly to blog authors.

It worked out quite well.  I covered the first part of each of three back-to-back classes, while Mrs. Shurina segued into the second half.  These young students are pretty savvy.  During the presentation, a show of hands revealed that well over 50% of them were already using Facebook and/or Twitter on a regular basis, while just as many play Internet games.

Although not a scientific survey, this result emphasizes what seems to be a fact today:  Young people are interested in the ‘Net as a form of connecting with their friends and acquaintances.

Another show of hands revealed that of those students who do refer to blogs, their interest is very specific:  One young boy explained how he was part of a robotics team that has its own web site and which, remarkably enough, has won a U.S. national championship in its class.  He and his team will participate in the international RoboCup 2011 competition in Istanbul, Turkey this summer. 

Another young lady in the class volunteered that she regularly points her computer mouse to the URL for Seventeen magazine.

Politics&Prose Bookstore, Wash. D.C., hosts notable authors.

For my presentation and discussion, I had designed a new blog specifically for that day (private and restricted to the class) which addressed the formation of the Internet, the World Wide Web, and the various ways in which blogs can be used. 

But the most important part of that discussion from my point of view, centered not just on the open-ended opportunities of the ‘Net, but also on its many potential pitfalls, and of how not only young people but also how adults (don’t we know that?!!!) can get themselves foolishly entangled by what they say or do over that medium.

Appropriate behavior on the ‘Net, whether on Facebook, Twitter, e-mails, comments on blogs, or via other electronic means of communications, was the main lesson that Mrs. Shurina and I wanted those students to take-away with them.  The mechanics of the Internet are easy.  Behavior on it is quite another matter.

During her portion of each class, Mrs. Shurina employed a Web site specifically oriented to middle school students.  It’s in the form of a very compelling and well-designed electronic newspaper replete with articles aimed at “tweens.”  Like most online newspapers and blogs, readers are able to leave comments.

However, one of the main features of that particular Web site – and this is important for parents and educators to know – is that before they are posted to the Internet, comments of classroom students can be reviewed and moderated by the specific teacher responsible for her own classroom in her own school.  

Authorizations must be set up in advance, and the teacher can control the identity of a student. This makes the process an appropriate way to initiate students into the proper use of Internet commenting while having a teacher maintain control of the environment.  

All-in-all, this was a good day for teacher and student interaction.  Thanks for reading.  Enjoy the weekend.