Response to Emily Nussbaum's article:
Should parents monitor everything that their middle-school aged children write online?
My response to this question is no. Middle school children should have some freedom over what they do online. Blogs and live journals allow them to express themselves. Not all parent would necessarily agree on how their child is presenting themselves, or even agree with their decisions or beliefs. That is not fair to these teenagers. Isnt that part of gorwing up? Shouldn't they be able to express themselves? Online journals also help them to let out their built up emotions. Being a teenager is so hard, there is too much pressure to keep inside of you. Emily Nussbaum describes in this chapter the difficulty of being a teen. "So much high school pain comes from the sense of being alone with one's stupid self destructive impulses. With so many teenagers baring their vulnerabilities, there is the potential for breaking down isolation. A kind of online breakfast club, perhaps, in which a little surfing turns up the insecurity that lurks in all of us." (Emily Nussbaum p.360) Online journals help to relieve your stress. Telling someone why you're stressed almost always relieves a little bit of emotion for everyone. During the adolescent ages there is so many new feelings that just need to be expressed, and so many new questions, and doubts that just need to be said outloud. Parents should not hold their children back from doing this. In my opinion an online journal may be a good idea. Parents need to accept that their child is growing up in a different time period than they experienced. Things are different. The pressures of being a young teen can wear you down, they need someplace to let their emotions, and questions be heard.
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2 comments:
While I agree that kids need to be able to express themselves, it's also their parents job to protect them from the risks that they don't know about because they are too young and inexperienced.
Kate, nice integration of the quote from the text here--you clearly introduce it and then explain it after. Your defense of privacy for middle-school children's writing is well argued.
For MLA style, you just need the citation to say (Nussbaum 360), not (Emily Nussbaum p.360), but most importantly, you've included the in-text citations in the right places.
Don't forget to spellcheck.
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