Facebookphilia

When they make a movie about how a social network system came to be, then you know it has taken over the very fabric of our lives. Facebook is everywhere, and like anything, it can be used for productive healthy interactions or it can be used for shady dealings.

In New York, several educators lost their jobs for inappropriate behaviour with students which, in some form, involved the use of Facebook. In the New York Post article, Teachers fired for flirting on Facebook with students, it calls for the education boards to make policies governing social networking between teachers and students. Talk about chucking out the baby with the bath water.

These adults acted inappropriately not because of Facebook. They were simply caught because of it. They used this online network to prey on the young, but calling for a ban of its use by all teachers because "you have too many teachers who won't think this out" is an insult to the hundreds of thousands of teachers who are not pedophiles and will not prey on their students, with or without Facebook.

School papers, teams and clubs have Facebook pages to communicate events, practices, rehearsals, and scheduling. Teachers use Facebook as extensions to novels, as homework clubs, as ways to obtain missing work.

I use blogs for this purpose, but I have a handful of former students as friends on Facebook, at their request. They sometimes reach out to tell me about what they're doing in their lives, how their university experience in going, when they can visit their alma mater. But other than that, I hardly hear from them. The last thing they want or need is to hang out with their former teacher. They just want to keep a part of their high school experience with them a little longer, and they feel secure having an adult they trust be available to them.

I consider it an honor.

And one day, when they graduate, get their first job, find their soul mate, get married, have their kids, I will learn about it, and be happy for them. These handful won't have gone into the vacuum of life, but be a part of mine in some small way.

Do I deserve to lose my job?

If an adult preys on a young person for any reason, especially sexual, they deserve all the wrath that society has to dole out. However, I find it insulting that just because I happen to share a profession with them, I have to be reprimanded and treated like an imbecile. I find it insulting that just because I have a connection with students beyond the classroom, that I would be suspect of wrongdoing. They are like my children. According to the Education Act, I am their in loco parentis (in place of a parent) and I take this sacred task seriously.

When parents are caught abusing their children, is there a public outcry to remove all children from their parents' care?

We have to decide what kind of society we live in. Do we let the criminal element determine how everyone should be treated? Do we label everyone who happens to share the gender, or race, or family tree the same as them? Or do we use all the available adults at our disposal, parents, teachers, pediatricians, day care workers, cross guards, coaches and club advisors as a team of people looking after our young, protecting them against the likes of  those who would put them in harm's way? I think we all know the answer to that.

And it's time we stop burying our Facebook in the sand.

Seriously?

Do you use Twitter or Facebook or Myspace or any other online social networking site? Well, here is a cautionary tale.

In Quebec, an insurance company stopped benefit payments to a woman who filed a disability claim on the basis of photographs she posted on popular social networking site. Seriously?

This woman who is suffering from clinical depression posted a few pictures from a birthday party she attended and from a sunny vacation she took. The insurance company somehow accessed her page, saw the picture and suspended her payments pending further inquiry.

The insurance company insists that they use any tool they can to aid their investigations. Granted. Social networking sites have been used in court cases as evidence against a defendant. Why not in an insurance claim? But a site alone cannot be used as the sole reason for suspending benefits. It's not a medical professional. A picture might tell a thousand words, but it very easily can be telling the wrong words. There is a huge margin of interpretation here.

Granted, the woman should have been more discriminating in what she posted on the social network site. The internet is not the safest place to entrust your life. Though most websites have security settings, it's not impossible to contravene them. What happened in this case? Did she not have sufficient security settings on? And if she did, how did they access her profile? Do they have hackers on their investigative team?

It boggles the mind...

But more importantly, the issue at hand is clinical depression and the attitude many have towards it. Many believe that one dealing with this condition should simply "snap out of it". That those suffering with clinical depression can control their feelings, that they are wallowing in self-pity. That is far from the truth.

Though I have suffered from bouts of depression, I have never had clinical depression. I know those who do have to live with this condition, however. And it can be debilitating. The fact that this woman is taking steps to deal and live with this, on orders of her doctor, should be commended, not punished.

The underlying urge is to hole up in a room, to hide from life and people, to sleep away a feeling that is darker than solitary confinement. In many cases, it is solitary confinement. Clinical depression is like being trapped by feelings of abject darkness that color and pave every single experience.

On the other side of ignorance is the notion that those with clinical depression must logically be sad all the time. They are not allowed to crack a smile, go out with friends, try to change settings in attempt to deal with the problem. It's obvious the insurance company bases their decisions on such preconceptions.

Guilty until you hire a lawyer, go to court and try to prove yourself innocent.

You can read the full story here!

Hibernation

I don't know if I was incredibly overextended or I needed some time out, but this weekend I took a break from the world. I literally did not step out of the house. This made for creative meals and a lot of down time.

I have been feeling bombarded by so many things, I decided I would stop or short-circuit.

I started by not turning on the TV until it was time for my Sunday must-sees.

Television, especially television news has taken to fear-mongering and graphic scenes of violence to garner viewers and may I say I do not like it one bit!

Opinions and subversive messages have been creeping up more and more in what should be unbiased and objective reporting. Every day, there is a health scare of epidemic proportions. The weather is a looming disaster even if it is only 4 centimeters of snow. The economy is suddenly in crisis; we will all be homeless unless we buy the new thingy. Inflation and recession have been around since there has been an economy. Why is this suddenly a crisis? A scared public is a public that can be easily manipulated. Pharmaceuticals dictate medicine, not the other way around. The banks dictate our standard of living. The conglomerates dictate our needs. Enough is freaking enough!

I holed up in my modest Queendom and said, "No, thank you," to outside influence. This is what inspired "The Devil" card which I have renamed, aptly I think, Subversion.

Now onto to happier things.

• I took the day off today! YAY for mental health days. :)
• I made an appointment to get a mani-pedi done (yes, finally!). I had to cancel my last appointment because of work responsibilities.
• I am going shopping at my favorite Arts Supply store for the workshop I will be doing with the grade 9s next week. We will be re-enacting the "Mad Hatter's Tea Party" from Alice in Wonderland using masks, puppets and animated objects. How fun!
• I am going to treat myself to a healthy lunch and some time at my favorite coffee shop.

Even happier things!

My Tarot deck concept is coming to quick fruition. It is certainly something I have not seen and I will be publishing it. Yes, will. :) So if you have been asking me about it, or gathering the cards, just know you will be able to own a deck and an accompanying book in the near future. My shadow voice is whispering right now, like a blind mosquito in my ear. "You are so arrogant. What makes you think it will be published, or that people will even buy it?" I swat it away. I just know :)

You have all experienced it. That moment of knowing. It's a deep conviction that something will happen and happen successfully. There is no ego involved. Just knowing. It feels good, doesn't it? We often remember the negative knowing, that feeling in the pit of our stomachs that knows the bottom just fell out. I want to focus on the knowing that makes the butterflies in our stomachs wake up from their hibernation and dance circles around each other in glee. I am feeling that. I know something wonderful is about to happen. That my life will become as I envision it in my happy space.

I awoke from my weekend cocoon ready to fly. How about you?

May the butterflies in your stomach awaken and help you feel the great knowing of possibility!

Blessed be :)

Standing Proud

This picture, to me, epitomizes hope and achievement. These are the finalists of So You Think You Can Dance-Canada. I have always loved dance- watching and experiencing it. I am fully aware that, if my life had taken a different course, I would have been a dancer. This is one reason I celebrate this show.

Another major reason is, it reinforces pride in being Canadian. Unfortunately, I don't see a lot of pride fostered for our country. We practically have to force students to stand quiet during the National Anthem at school. When confronted, at least half will say, very ignorantly, "It's not my country." (And this almost always said by someone born here.) I always reply, "I don't care which country you call your own. You stand at attention and respect for any country's National Anthem, much less the one that at the very least provides you with a free education!" Grrr @ ignorance!

Canadian sports and athletes are well supported by the general public, but most Canadian television shows, arts and movies are not. They snub their noses at them, like they are inferior to those of our neighbours south.

This show, has engendered a following and pride in being Canadian that few others have. We Canucks like to make fun of ourselves, but rarely do I hear anyone say "I am proud to be Canadian!" I have heard it on this show many times.

It also highlights the incredible versatility and talent in our country. Niko is a contemporary dancer; Miles is a popper; Allie is a ballerina; and Natalli is a Latin dancer. They represent the vast flavour and potential of this country that is so often unsung. So, I had to take a minute and say... YAY CANADA! :)

Now, for today's card.

So far, I have been designing the cards with "positive" meanings. Then, like a lightning bolt, realization came. All the cards are positive. With happiness we are rewarded, with challenge we learn. There is nothing negative here. So, when the, up to now, dreaded Tower card asked to be introduced, I experienced a twinge of trepidation. The card's images gently wiped all that away.

In upheaval, new ideas arise. In sorrow, humanity is expressed. From the rubble, new ideas are born. There is always someone to catch our fall. There is always a hand to steady us. Support will rally. New beginnings will unfold. A new dawn opens up, as we soar away from our troubles.

And here it is - The Tower. Today's card.

In relevance to my life, the meeting with all the staff went incredibly well. Attendance was historic for that school. The audience was rapt. I might even venture to say, we impressed them.

The avalanche is beginning. We are usurping those who sit secure in their tower, oppressing us.

In the ensuing upheaval, a new, more benevolent rule will arise. Peace will come upon the land, and we will be free to go about the business that we are there to do - inspiring, educating, leading, and helping shape our country's and the world's future. Allowing young minds to form their own opinions, strengthened by knowledge, empowered by their own creativity, cognizant of the infinite potential that they own.

Blessed be :)