Reactions to story from The New York Times

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  Gossip, Gossip, Gossip...

  http://mustangreporters.blogspot.com/2008/04/gossip-gossip-g...
  34 days ago in Millbrook J-school · Authority: 1

  “Weaning Teenagers Off Gossip, for One Hour at a Time,” by journalist Dan Levin, demonstrates why the New York Times is renowned for its quality, excellence, and creativity. In the article, Levin reports on a national campaign at Jewish high schools that use religious teachings to raise awareness about the power of speech. According to Levin, this anti-gossip program is sponsored by the Chofetz Chain Heritage Foundation, a religious based group in Suffen, NY. There are numerous reasons why this article stands as a great piece of journalism; the information is thorough and there are many reliable sources. But all reporters CAN follow the journalistic “guidelines,” so what sets this article apart from the others? In the title and introduction to the story, Levin refrains from including any information about the anti-gossip program, but rather draws in the reader by showing the ways in which the students and the school are fighting gossip: It would seem an odd, perhaps even absurd, announcement to make over a high school’s public address system. But at 11:15 each morning at the Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls on Long Island, the voice of Emi Renov, a 17-year-old junior, buzzes over the intercom, gently reminding her fellow students to refrain from gossiping for the next 60 minutes. What was that? Was she kidding? Telling teenagers that they should not talk about other students behind their backs is like telling them not to try to get a driver’s license. Yet for one hour after Ms. Renov’s announcement, her schoolmates make an honest attempt to avoid mocking one another’s outfits or whispering the latest shocking rumor. By not mentioning the program in the title and first several paragraphs of the article, Levin leaves the reader puzzled but wanting to read more. Also, I noticed that the teachers and people interviewed in the article did not explain the religious reasons behind the program/campaign. That being said, I liked Levin’s explanation of the religious principles behind the campaign because it shows the reader why the power of speech and gossip is so important to these Jewish high schools. The campaign at the Jewish high schools has incorporated “shmirat halashon,” the Hebrew expression that translates to “guarding speech,” in a faith-based approach to fighting gossip. According to the Torah, God forbids the sin of gossip, which is known as “lashon hara,” or “evil speech.” In the Talmud, some rabbis viewed the sin of gossip to be as grievous as murder. Furthermore, Levin’s commentary in between the facts and quotations transform the hard news report into a story with texture and creativity. Levin adds life to the article with his amusing and entertaining descriptions of high school “warfare”: In the secret lives of high school students, social warfare is often waged with words. Plots are hatched during a quick trip to the lockers, rumors destroy reputations at recess, and friendships crumble at varsity practice. Usually, the deep emotional wounds are invisible to teachers, coaches and parents. As a high school teenage girl, I found the information about the program and people’s responses to it really interesting. As the article states, for high school students, “social warfare is often waged with words,” and often this behavior is invisible to adults (teachers, coaches, parents). So to learn about a high school program that attempts to resolve these hidden issues seems of interest to not only me, but also the many other high school students. Therefore, I think Levin did an excellent job; while the article is balanced, thorough, has many accountable sources, the journalist’s greatest success is his ability to transform the potentially boring news report about a school program into a creative story that draws the reader into the tricky high school gossiping situation that schools are working to resolve.
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  Sunday Reading

  http://www.wearyparent.com/sunday-reading-4/
  35 days ago in Weary Parent: Parenting Tweens & Teens · Authority: 182

  Vanessa Van Petten tells us how to handle senioritis. She also gives us five ways girls can be leaders. Adventures in Parenting has the sixth and final article on effective discipline. Check out the series. Online Teen Magazine has some tips for overcoming jealousy in a relationship. The WSJ has an article about teens abusing prescription drugs. A Long Island school tries to wean teens off of gossip one hour at a time. New teen driving laws in Boston seem to be working to keep teens safe on the road. Do you need some tips on how to talk to your teens about the upcoming election? BlogHer has you covered with links to several articles. Kidz World has an interview with the Guitar Hero World Champ, Chris Chike. Have you played Guitar Hero? It’s quite addicting. I’ve gotten pretty good on the easy level. A professor at Syracuse University walks out of class if students disrespect him by texting in class. How do you feel about this? SciFi.com is launching a gaming blog. I’m pretty sure my boys will be grabbing their RSS feed. Is using GPS to keep track of teens a way to keep them safe or is it just to spy on them? I know some schools have boys and girls rooms on the same floor, but now some schools have mixed-gender dorm rooms. I’m not sure I’m comfortable with that. The glamorization of drugs in rap music has increased considerably over the last several years. Emo bashing has become a big problem in Mexico. Nickelodeon is planning their own version of High School Musical, called Spectacular. There is a graduation gap between big cities and suburbs. Getting teens a credit card does not teach them to be responsible financially. In fact it does just the opposite. Tags: Adventures in Parenting, BlogHer, Boston.com, Chris Chike, Crazy Hip Blog Mamas, Daniel Hernandez, Discipline, election, emo bashing, girl leaders, glamorizing drugs, gossip, GPS, graduation gap, Guitar Hero, Hollywood Reporter, Inside Higher Ed, jealousy, Kidz World, mixed-gender dorm room, MomLogic, Nickelodeon, NY Times, Online Teen Magazine, SciFi.com, senioritis, Spectacular, Syracuse University, teen credit cards, teen-driving, USA Today, Vanessa Van Petten, WSJ, Ypulse Share This
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  4-2-2008 News Summary for Parents

  http://www.vanessavanpetten.com/2008/04/02/4-2-2008-news-sum...
  39 days ago in Teens Today With Vanessa Van Petten: A Guide For Parenting Teenagers · Authority: 151

  Breaking News WSJ: Prescription Drug Use and Teens Teens Throwing ‘Pharma Parties’ with Prescription Drugs NYT: School Bans Gossip Boston Globe: Stricter Teen Driving Laws Making Strides 20,000 Russian Teens Join Teen Suicide Club! Fun Stuff and Articles of Interest New Board Game to Teach Kids Internet Programming Languag Your Worst Nightmare: Teen Drops Out Of School to Start Video Game Company (he is making over 100k though) NY Mag: Teens Are Attacking Teachers on Facebook College Letters are Rolling in…and parent anxiety is high **Up to 50% on Kids and Family Stuff on Amazon! (thank you ParentHacks) I know this sounds crazy but if you click on the Amazon box on the right hand side of the page and shop from there (you do not have to buy my book) I get a small percent of those sales, so buy me a cup! Social Networking…on your genome? A new favorite blogger, Pundit Mom wrote a good article I wanted to include: “How to teach your kids about the Presidential Elections” Colleges Making Prospective Students Celebrities to Woo them What Parents Think of WebKinz Parents Are Responsible for Kid’s Online Safety (not Schools not Gov) Teens Protest Against Party Drinking (thank you Scott Edwards) Teens decide to hold a protest by throwing a large party and when the cops came to bust them…they were only drinking root beer. Yup, a big keg full of root beer and bottles of soda. They were making the statement that not all teen parties have alcohol… My Picks of the Week http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBGIQ7ZuuiU The April Fools Joke this week was that every youtube link took you to this video yesterday, it is all the rage with teens, and totally ridiculous. Sniffu Map where your friends are in the electronic space…new ability for teens to track each other. I was on a few radio shows this past week, you can check out: the Foz and Tina Show Cool Social Networking site for coaches, parents, students: WePlay and Takkle I was just added to Blog Catalog: http://www.blogcatalog.com/directory/personal/family Post from: Teens Today with Vanessa Van Petten ShareThisRelated Posts3-26-2008 News Summary for Parents3-19-2008 Weekly News Summary For Parents
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  Links of the Week

  http://mtc.vox.com/library/post/links-of-the-week-6.html
  42 days ago in Ben Guest · Authority: 8

  Here is a nice piece about a drive the Delta, written by one of our first-year teachers, Anna Morrison: The towns, with their quaint names and 50s style slogans, also feel stuck in the past. Hollandale, population 3,000, proclaims itself: "A small town with a BIG welcome!" Continuing my drive through the Delta, I happen upon similarly faded signs for Sledge, Bourbon and Alligator, Mississippi--all which don't quite qualify as "one stoplight towns" because there aren't 500 residents, let alone a stoplight. Hand-painted advertisements implore drivers to turn off; "We buy, sell crack, pecans" says one, clearly unaware of its amusing punctuation error. The first line from an in-depth, well-written, film analysis piece: Essentially perfect, Die Hard is much more than an exciting and visually stunning film.  Weaning teenagers off gossip... Jackson City Council debates an ordnance banning the wearing of baggy and sagging pants. Is homophobia associated with closeted homosexual arousal?  Science says yes. A day in the life (such as it is) of a Guantanamo detainee: The end of a day is signaled at 10 p.m. by the arrival of the bedsheet. But a Guantanamo detainee's day doesn't end with the usual prison ritual of "lights out." Lights are kept on in the cells 24/7 for what military jailers said were security reasons. Some prisoners grow their hair long and drape it across their eyes to aid sleeping, as Australian David Hicks, transferred home last year, told his lawyer in explaining his nearly waist-length tresses. Writer discovers his sister, in a porn magazine: The last time I bought a porn magazine was in the fall of 1996. My girlfriend, Amy, had gone down to New York to meet some friends from college. As soon as she was safely out of the parking lot of our apartment building, I got in my car and drove to an adult bookstore in Enfield, CT, a town and a state far enough away from where I lived that I could be sure I wouldn't run into anyone I knew. When I got home, I went straight into our bedroom and lay down on our bed. Then I looked at all the pictures from cover to cover before choosing one woman to focus on.  I was paging through the phone-sex ads when I saw a picture of my sister. The last two articles were discovered on the website Brijit, which employs a team of readers to go through numerous magazines and newspapers and link to (as well as do a short write-up of) the best pieces. You can see expanded links on my delicious page.
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  Jewish education/educators in the news

  http://schmoozed.lookstein.org/2008/03/jewish-educationeduca...
  43 days ago in schmoozED · Authority: 3

  Two interesting NYTimes articles on education have come my way recently, both of which are success stories that have drawn the attention of the general media. The first is a report on an effort in Jewish schools to stamp out gossip. You can see the story at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/27/nyregion/27gossip.html? The second story relates the success of Shimon Waronker as principal of a difficult junior high school in the Bronx - see http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/08/nyregion/08principal.html? This story has been picked up in other places, as well - see, for example http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/23590816#23590816
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  Jews in the News, a Weekly Roundup

  http://www.jewcy.com/post/jewish_news_roundup
  44 days ago in Faith & Spirituality | Jewcy.com · Authority: 34

  Author: Tamar Fox Posted to Jewcy: March 28, 2008 6:25 pm ===== Schmeltzer: put on muteThere was bad news for the Ultra-Orthodox this week: A huge charity concert in Madison Square Garden was cancelled when 33 rabbis condemned Lipa Schmeltzer, the Chassidic singer scheduled to perform, and declared that public musical performances were a no-no. Schmeltzer has vowed to never sing another song composed by a non-Jew, and the charity, which benefits "Simchat Tzion, an organization that covers the cost of catering weddings for poor Israeli orphans," is out more than $100,000. Nobody wins, nicely done. More than a few tongues are wagging over the previous story, but not at the Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls on Long Island, which is pushing one hour of gossip-free time every day. Anyone want to declare a daily, freak-out-free hour for the Jewish people? A U.S. Jewish security network is warning us all of an increased risk of threats and attacks, though it’s not clear what that means or what we’re supposed to do about it. In more uplifting, inspired news, a Jewish woman with a simple idea—give solar cookers to women in Darfur so they don’t have to go out looking for wood and risk being raped by militiamen—was awarded a $100,000 prize from the Bronfmans. While we're on the subject of bright ideas: A holistic...
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  Weaning Teenagers Off Gossip, for One Hour at a Time

  http://www.mommywarriors.com/blogs/?p=2417
  44 days ago in Mommy Warriors · Authority: 46

  March 27, 2008 By DAN LEVIN It would seem an odd, perhaps even absurd, announcement to make over a high school’s public address system. But at 11:15 each morning at the Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls on Long Island, the voice of Emi Renov, a 17-year-old junior, buzzes over the intercom, gently reminding her fellow students to refrain from gossiping for the next 60 minutes. … continue reading Weaning Teenagers Off Gossip, for One Hour at a Time

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