Teach Tech Tx

10/05/2021

This is a TIKTOK guide got parents in collaboration with the National PTA organization. Really good info.

01/28/2020

Our school district just sent out a message with this link to a KHOU story that was updated a few weeks ago on apps to watch out for because that's where human trafficking predators are. According to many of my very own students they have lots of these apps on their devices and phones and that was from 1st through 5th graders. YIKES.

Predators start targeting early. Over the years, I have switched from blocking everything to monitoring and now with a 13 yr old in the house, I'm realizing that blocking wasn't such a bad idea. Kids make bad decisions ALL THE TIME. Trust me, with 4 of them, I've seen it over and over again. I just don't want them to make a bad choice or have a. lapse in judgment that could affect/effect their entire future and many of these apps can and will. Makes me crazy that all this stuff is out there but it's up to us to be educated and not turn a blind eye. It takes a village!

Before kids go back to school, police around the country are reminding parents about potentially dangerous apps.

12/24/2019

Being totally honestly with myself...this author is 100% correct and I have my 13 year old’s phone almost completely locked down that she can’t look at a menu from a restaurant where I’m picking up dinner without requesting access and me unlocking but she sees this stuff on friends phones. So even if I were to take it away, I feel it’s a bit of a losing battle unless we all unite.

Also being totally honest with you all, I told her no Snapchat until we could handle Instagram for one year, well she hasn’t had Instagram for 8 months and she went on a friend’s phone and created a Snapchat account anyway. So can she handle social media...nope I think not? Thank goodness for an older sibling 10 years ahead of her who lets me know all the stupid stuff my teen does. I realize not everyone has their own personal double agent like I do, this the HUGE dilemma.

I’m glad I waited til middle of 7th but I’m thinking with #4 I’m better off waiting til 8th.

Adults can barely handle the awesome, dangerous technology provided by such devices. Children shouldn’t be anywhere near it.

11/23/2019

I probably shouldn’t say this to my Teach Tech community because many of you know my 13 yr old but I am thankful that she is grounded from her phone 90% of the time because we have the standard of all As and only one Bs. And we are pretty strict and follow through. And she’s close but 89 is still not an A. And in 3 classes.

We know what happens when we don’t follow through because she is kid #3. Well hopefully later in life she’ll see that was helpful for her. She is fun to be around, happier to hang with friends and doesn’t miss it as much as you might think. When she has her phone, she’s irritable, cranky and down-right ugly to everyone in the family. I think she’s a better person without it. So there’s my unofficial research.

Amid our huge, unplanned experiment with social media, new research suggests that many American adolescents are becoming more anxious, depressed and solitary.

11/06/2019

As a teacher, doing unofficial research, I agree. Attention spans most definitely aren’t what they used to be when I started teaching 20+ years ago.

https://www.wcvb.com/article/mris-show-screen-time-linked-to-lower-brain-development-in-preschoolers-1572951863/29695410 #

"This is the first study to document associations between higher screen use and lower measures of brain structure and skills in preschool-aged kids," said the lead author.

10/30/2019

I love this article by one of my friends, Denise Beard Rhew! Words to live by. Trying to put my self out of a job. So hard and the struggle is SO real.

What parent of a teen hasn’t thought, “What should I do?!” when dealing with a moody, defiant, struggling, or withdrawn adolescent? While there is no 100%, foolproof way to parent a teenager, there are some generalities that apply in most instances. Here are some important reminders in parenti...

10/22/2019

This is scary. And I know several kids who are va**ng in class at my daughter’s middle school. I’ll be showing her this video tomorrow morning. Talk, talk, talk. That is something you will never regret.

James Bourgeois, a 2017 Willis ISD Graduate, details his experience with lung illness caused by va**ng. Features information from recent news articles.

10/11/2019

The 13 yr old told me about this app today. YOLO. Anonymity is never a good thing when it comes to pre-teens and teenagers. It leads to “keyboard courage” and they say things they would NEVER say in person. Why do developers think this is a good idea? Oh yea...it’s been the top downloaded app since it came of in May. It makes them money...but brings lots of bullying and drama which, as a family, we try our best to avoid. 😬 I will be saying no to this app.

There’s a new app called YOLO that’s hugely popular among teens. Just a week after its release, it has become the most downloaded iPhone app in the U.S. It’s a free add-on feature for Snapchat—when users connect YOLO to their accounts, they can add a sticker to their Snapchat Story that invi...

10/10/2019

Yep, yep, yep and yep...seven times. As a teacher and a parent, this kills me.

Why is challenging behavior such an issue these days? Academics and accountability in early childhood education are responsible for much of it.