So go ahead … write about something … your plans for the summer, your wishes for next year, your gripes in life, thank a friend, say hello to a family member … just remember … try to work on good things….

1. What has been your experience so far in this one quarter of computers?
2. What have you learned so far about computers and blogging?
3. What lessons in life have you learned during our blogging activities?
4. What do you think blogging is for in your life as a 6th grader?
5. Will you be using blogs even after this class? Why? Why not?
6. What can you tell others about what you learned in this class?
7. What was a memorable moment for you in the class?
8. What was a moment in class you would rather forget?
9. Will you recommend blogging to others? Why? Why not?
10. A new set of of 6th grade bloggers will start next school year.  What are three pieces of advice you can give them (about blogging)?

HOW TO BE YOURSELF

It’s not always easy to be ourselves. Sometimes, when we’re with other people, we make choices or act in ways that are different from when we’re alone. Here are some ways to prevent that from happening.
• Know your values and stay true to them.*
• Make your own choices, don’t just go along with the crowd.
• Respect yourself.
• Think about your goals and act accordingly.

Think about these questions and see how you answer them.

1. When somebody says “just be yourself,” what does that mean?

2. Is it always easy to be yourself, or can it sometimes be difficult? Why? How? Give examples.

3. A lot of kids around talk about “fitting in.” What does “fitting in” mean? How do you do it?

4. Is it true that there is a lot of pressure in this school? What do you have to do to fit in here?

5. Does fitting in ever make it hard to be yourself?

6. What if you don’t fit in? Is that okay, or does it mean there’s something wrong with you?

7. Are there groups here in school? Cliques? (Gangs) What are they?

8. Why do these groups exist? What do they do for the people in them?

9. Does being in a group sometimes make it harder to be yourself? How? In what way? Examples?

10. Are there pressures to fit into these groups? If so, describe the pressures.

Brendan was in third grade when he was caught cheating on his math quiz. He had been doing poorly in math and his parents had threatened that if he didn’t raise his grades they wouldn’t let him play on the baseball team. So he cheated. When the teacher asked him about it, he denied it at first, but finally admitted to writing down the answers ahead of time.

A parent conference was called and Brendan had to sit with his parents, the teacher, and the principal to discuss the school policy on cheating and lying. On the way home, his father told Brendan he was deeply disappointed in him and expected more from him in the future. That night, Brendan felt like the whole world was against him, but he also felt guilty for letting his parents down.

That weekend, Brendan and his family went to a movie. When they got to the ticket window Brendan’s dad asked for children’s tickets for both Brendan and his 16 year old brother. Brendan looked over at his brother, who stared down at the sidewalk and hunched his shoulders hoping the ticket seller wouldn’t notice that he was well above the age for a child’s ticket. The ticket seller glanced suspiciously back and forth between the father and the brother, and then, with a doubtful look on her face, she handed them the the two child’s tickets. This happened every time they went to the movies, and it always made Brendan feel weird.

On the way home from the movie, Brendan asked his father why it was okay to lie and cheat the theater out of money but not to cheat on his math quiz. His dad responded that sometimes its okay to lie as long as nobody gets hurt.

Julia was in 6th grade and had been at her school since kindergarten. Her two best friends were Wendy and Erin. Erin was the most popular girl in the class and all the girls saw her as the leader. One morning Julia arrived at school and Erin was acting weird. When Julia said hi to her, she didn’t respond. She just looked away and smiled at a group of girls in the corner of the classroom.

It didn’t take long for Julia to figure out that Erin had turned most of the girls against her. But, she didn’t know why! She went to Wendy and asked her why Erin was mad at her. Wendy acted nervous and said that all she knew was that Erin told her that if she hung out with Julia, none of the rest of the girls would talk to her anymore.

The rest of that day lasted forever. Whenever the teacher was looking everyone was nice to Julia. But, when her back was to the class, Erin or another girl would throw pieces of paper toward Julia or whisper to each other and look in her direction. Julia thought Wendy would help her but Wendy just pretended nothing was happening.

That night Julia talked to her parents and they told her to wait and see if tomorrow was better. If not, they said, perhaps they could help Julia talk to Erin and work through the problem. Julia felt like that would make her look stupid if everyone found out that her mom and dad had to get involved. She knew that sometimes the class would pick on someone, but she never thought her friends would turn against her and do the same thing to her. She felt like she didn’t have any friends and nobody liked her.

The next day was even worse. No one wanted to hang out with her at recess and she had to sit by herself at lunch. At the end of lunch she went into the girls’ bathroom. While she was there, a girl from her class came in and said that Erin had sent her in and that Julia had to take off her shoes and send them back to Erin or no one would talk to her tomorrow. Julia just wanted to go home. She didn’t want to cry but she was confused and hurt and scared. She gave the girl her shoes.

Now she was late for class and was in the bathroom with no shoes. She headed to class and walked in quietly with her head down. Before she could get to her chair, the teacher asked her why she was late and where her shoes were.

To help you out a bit on the meaning of resolution, here’s a quote from Abraham Lincoln on resolution: “Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any one thing.”

Write about instances in your life at home or school where you exercised the virtue of “resolution.”

Did you celebrate Mother’s Day?  If so, what did you do?  Where did you go?  Why do you think it’s important to have a special holiday – Mother’s Day?  How were you able to make your mother (or someone who took care of you/is taking care of you) feel special on Mother’s Day?  Aside from Mother’s Day, we also have Father’s Day.  What other special holidays would you add to the calendar?  Why so?  What date should your special holiday be?