I can't even remember when I joined Facebook but it was long ago. I had never joined Myspace because it was such a superficial site but when Facebook came along I found it to be a great place to find and stay in touch with old friends. The tides have turned though and I find that Facebook is not as interesting or as fun as it used to be. It is becoming an extremely superficial and boring place lately. It seems like people don't use it to communicate anymore which is what I used to love about it.
I loved to check out what my friends were up to through Facebook. I have enjoyed finding old friends there too. It is also a great place to advertise my writing. However of late I find that most people no longer really communicate there. It has become a place where people forward, forward and once in a while comment. I write posts hoping to spark a conversation but only get likes and a random comment from people I talk to in person most of the time anyhow.
Don't get me wrong, I have been guilty of skimming along and just hitting that like button because it is fast and it is easy. However I realize recently that it is all just too impersonal and the likes, while appreciated, are not the same as actual communication. I feel like it is a place people go to mindlessly pass time. I find my own self just skimming around for a while wondering why I even bother. I wonder why I am there and well, don't find much about my friends and what is happening in their lives because no one really puts much out there anymore.. I just think we have all strayed from communicating with each other and society as a whole is becoming too detached with each other as humans. I know that for most it isn't that they are too busy because they are on Facebook, just not communicating much.
I don't spend much time on Facebook anymore, there are a lot of forwards and such which I find interesting sometimes however most of the time I just pass on by. So my goal is to try to communicate more, I mean that is why I joined. I am going to strive to limit the forwards I share and to share more of what's up in my life. I hope that it can become a place to keep and stay in touch again with those who I don't get to see on a regular basis.
Sunday, February 28, 2016
Saturday, February 13, 2016
Valentine's Day: The Most Superficial Holiday of All
I have never liked Valentine's Day as an adult. When I was married I did not like it and I don't like it as a single person. I guess there was a time I did like it but that was when I was a kid making cards and valentine boxes. I also liked it when my kids were young because I liked helping them make boxes so I guess I did like it as an adult but not in an adult way. But other than that, as an adult I really do dislike this holiday of "love".
I am sure many wonder why I do not like Valentine's Day. Well I think it is a holiday for stores to sell candy people cannot afford and certainly do not need. It is a time for that husband who cheats on his wife all year long to buy her a bouquet of flowers or some beautiful jewelry so he can feel better for being such a cad and cheat. It is also a time for many people to buy gifts for their significant other to appear loving and wonderful to others around them when all the while they treat their spouse like they hate them behind closed doors.
It is also another time for people to show love to those they say they love that they should be showing all year long. It is very superficial to take people for granted and treat them horribly all year long but on this one day, buy flowers, candy and trinkets to "show you care."
Granted, there are those who show the same love all year that they show on Valentine's Day. They buy the gifts just because they care, they show that same love on the 3rd of Feb that they show on the 14th. But for the many the love on Valentine's Day is a superficial kind of love and it is a superficial kind of day.
I think it is fine to buy a card or even gifts on Valentine's Day and I am sure people feel happy to receive them but, I don't think people should feel sad if they get nothing, I would hope they do not feel unloved because the love on that one day is not always the true love that we feel all year when our loved ones do really show they care.
For me Valentine's Day will come and it will go without much thought. I love my family and friends every day of the year just the same and do not feel the need for a holiday in which to show that love.
I am sure many wonder why I do not like Valentine's Day. Well I think it is a holiday for stores to sell candy people cannot afford and certainly do not need. It is a time for that husband who cheats on his wife all year long to buy her a bouquet of flowers or some beautiful jewelry so he can feel better for being such a cad and cheat. It is also a time for many people to buy gifts for their significant other to appear loving and wonderful to others around them when all the while they treat their spouse like they hate them behind closed doors.
It is also another time for people to show love to those they say they love that they should be showing all year long. It is very superficial to take people for granted and treat them horribly all year long but on this one day, buy flowers, candy and trinkets to "show you care."
Granted, there are those who show the same love all year that they show on Valentine's Day. They buy the gifts just because they care, they show that same love on the 3rd of Feb that they show on the 14th. But for the many the love on Valentine's Day is a superficial kind of love and it is a superficial kind of day.
I think it is fine to buy a card or even gifts on Valentine's Day and I am sure people feel happy to receive them but, I don't think people should feel sad if they get nothing, I would hope they do not feel unloved because the love on that one day is not always the true love that we feel all year when our loved ones do really show they care.
For me Valentine's Day will come and it will go without much thought. I love my family and friends every day of the year just the same and do not feel the need for a holiday in which to show that love.
Saturday, February 6, 2016
Children Should Be Given Time to Recharge in School
I read today about a school in Texas where they decided to give kids more recess time, more free time, more unstructured play time. The administrators were worried this experiment would fail however they have found kids are doing much better in school. They are listening better, paying attention better and getting more accomplished than before when they were worn to a frazzle each day with limited free time.
It amazes me how adults never stop to think that kids are just small people who are subject to the same stressors and feelings we adults have. Think about it, how do you feel as an adult when you work all of the time, rarely finding time to rest, relax, or just simply play? You feel restless, and find it hard to focus on tasks set before you. We all need time to recharge our internal batteries, we all need time to unwind and we all stress out when worked too hard. I know this is how I feel when I am working too hard. I become overly stressed and have a hard time focusing on things I need to accomplish.
So, then why do administrators do this to children? They must think these young people who have experienced so little in life are super human and able to handle stress that adults struggle handling. Children go to school and in some schools begin their work day while eating breakfast. Almost every second of their school day is structured from the time they arrive until the time they leave in the afternoon. The younger students get recess in the afternoon if their work is done. The older students get one recess break before lunch. Usually that is 10-15 minutes long. That is about all. These young people work hard all day long, they listen, sit still and are expected to learn without ever really getting to re-charge.
I find it sad that so many administrators around the United States believe working children this hard is the way they will learn. Learning is stressful and well in all honesty I can't see how it is fun for these young people. So that said, it is no wonder the drop out rate in the US is so high. I commend Texas for giving more recess a try. Kids need to have fun, they need frequent breaks, they need to play and re-charge so they can learn.
It amazes me how adults never stop to think that kids are just small people who are subject to the same stressors and feelings we adults have. Think about it, how do you feel as an adult when you work all of the time, rarely finding time to rest, relax, or just simply play? You feel restless, and find it hard to focus on tasks set before you. We all need time to recharge our internal batteries, we all need time to unwind and we all stress out when worked too hard. I know this is how I feel when I am working too hard. I become overly stressed and have a hard time focusing on things I need to accomplish.
So, then why do administrators do this to children? They must think these young people who have experienced so little in life are super human and able to handle stress that adults struggle handling. Children go to school and in some schools begin their work day while eating breakfast. Almost every second of their school day is structured from the time they arrive until the time they leave in the afternoon. The younger students get recess in the afternoon if their work is done. The older students get one recess break before lunch. Usually that is 10-15 minutes long. That is about all. These young people work hard all day long, they listen, sit still and are expected to learn without ever really getting to re-charge.
I find it sad that so many administrators around the United States believe working children this hard is the way they will learn. Learning is stressful and well in all honesty I can't see how it is fun for these young people. So that said, it is no wonder the drop out rate in the US is so high. I commend Texas for giving more recess a try. Kids need to have fun, they need frequent breaks, they need to play and re-charge so they can learn.
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