Comments for Kids 3

C4K 7:

This assignment was not actually a child's blog. Instead, I was assigned a specific post made on Mr. McClung's blog. This post was titled "Lessons Learned: Fat Cat Teachers". In this post, he linked a video from The Daily Show where they were discussing the debate that has been going on in Wisconsin. They are going through budget cuts and they have decided to cut back state employees and state education. The budget cuts for education include 8 million dollars from the Wisconsin School system over the next two years. Mr. McClung then talks about how he is reminded daily, by Fox News, that teachers are "pretty much worthless and a $50,000 salary is basically highway robbery for teachers in the state of Wisconsin".

In my response, I told Mr. McClung that I cannot help but be annoyed everytime I hear about cuts in the public school systems. The people in the the linked video that he shared should really think about what they are saying. They act like teachers are no big deal and that they do not deserve to be paid as “much” as they do. However, at the same time, politicians want to complain about our economy. Well, without teachers and educators, our nation has no future. We, educators/teachers, and the students that come in our classrooms, are the future of our nation and I think that makes us pretty important.

C4K 8:

For this assignment, my student's name was Connor. Connor is a sixth or seventh grade student in Ms. Thompson's class in Adelaide, Australia. This is his first blog and he started it on March 16. His most recent post was on March 24, 2011, and he discussed the numerous natural disasters that have been occurring recently. He pointed out that there has been five in the last three months.

I responded and told him that it was really unfortunate for all the people suffering from the loss of loved ones and damages. I also told him that I am taking a geography class and we are learning all about earthquakes and tsunamis.

C4K 9:

This comments for kids assignment is similar to the comment for kids assignment 7. This is not actually a child's blog; instead, it is Mrs. Yollis's Classroom Blog. Mrs. Yollis is currently in her twenty-fourth year of teaching. She states on her blog that she has recently finished a Master's Degree in Integrating Technology in the Classroom. "I always seek out new ways to improve my teaching skills and advance the quality of education at my school." Sounds like a great teacher to me! She is teaching third grade but has taught fifth grade as well. There are twenty-two students in her class, eleven girls and eleven boys.

As instructed for this assignment, I visited all her tabs and links. One of her tabs, that I already had bookmarked from the beginning of the semester, I have found very useful and that is her "Learn HTML Code!" Under this tab, she gives very clear instructions on how add italics to your text, bold your text, add a "button" to take you to a link, and shapes (♥,♔,♦). All of these things can be useful to new bloggers who would like to spice up a comment or post. Another useful link for new bloggers would be her "Video: How to Comment" tab. Under this tab she provides a video that shows you step-by-step how to leave a comment on a post from her blog.

Her "Time Zones of Friends" tab is just something interesting to see. Under this tab she provides a clock with the time zone of some of her classes blogging friends. "Learn About California" is a tab that provides of a video that provides interesting facts about their state, California, and the suburb in Los Angeles, California, which is where they live. The last tab that they have is titled, "Learn How to Shoot Great Digital Images!" Under this tab they provide an instructional video on how to take great digital images.

I was also instructed to comment, specifically, on Mrs. Yollis's post from Wednesday, April 6, 2011. The title of this post is "Quality Commenting During Family Blogging Month!" She talks about how April is family blogging month in her class and that everyone is working on writing quality comments. She has embedded a few examples of "quality comments" from family members of her students. This is such a great way to get the parents and family involved with their student's class.

In my response to them, I told them that I really enjoyed visiting their blog. I also told them that after going through there blog, I was even more certain that I want to have a class blog for my students when I start teaching!

C4K 10:

For Comments for Kids 10, I was assigned a student named Gracie. Gracie is a third grade student in Mrs. Yollis' class. In Gracie's blog post, she talked about her new mascot named Bunny. Bunny is 9 years old, just like Gracie. She tells us that she got Bunny when she was born as a gift from her aunt. When she was older, she got another bunny and it is now Bunny's sister. Bunny is Gracie's favorite stuffed animal. Bunny is also quite talented!! Bunny likes to dance, play the piano, and play Hide and Go Seek. Gracie says that Bunny always hides in small places that no one can find! At the end of her post, she asks three questions:

1. Do you have a favorite stuffed animal?
2. Have you ever had a mascot before?
3. Do you take your stuffed animal anywhere?

I told her that my favorite stuffed animal was the cow I got from my parents when I was younger. I used to take her everywhere with me! I, also, told Gracie that she was doing a great job with her blog and to keep up the good work.

Bunny playing the piano.