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Posted on December 11, 2015 December 11, 2015

Ridgewood High School was not portrayed in the best light in the stands or in the parking lot at MetLife Stadium

Tradition_of_excellence_theridgewoodblog

High School Problems

Dear Parents/Guardians and Students:

We were excited that our football team made it to the final round of competition at Met Life Stadium on December 5. It was great to see so many people from our community support our team, band, and cheerleaders for this final event. The high school even ran student fan buses for close to 90 students. Although the final score did not go our way, we are extremely proud of our coaches and players.

Unfortunately, despite previous warnings and pleas for assistance, Ridgewood High School was not portrayed in the best light in the stands or in the parking lot. Administrators and faculty members spent much of the game dealing with students that were under the influence and/or involved in disruptive behavior. In addition, the parking lot in the Ridgewood section was left in a very poor state with trash and broken bottles.

As we move forward, we hope this event will be a learning experience for all. The incidents referenced above are not unique to this one weekend and come on the heels of the most recent issues at RHS regarding students and postings on social media sites, i.e., Yik Yak, Finstagram, Instagram, etc. Many of these negative behaviors we have been experiencing are illegal, disruptive, and/or dangerous. These incidents give us a chance to pause, reflect, and engage in meaningful discussions about character and decision-making. We do not want to have these conversations after a tragic or permanently harmful event occurs.

Students, parents, and educators are continually being challenged to set limits in children’s lives that effectively support growth and healthy behavior. Although initially frustrated, children thrive and are grateful in the long run when parents and educators set parameters and limits. These concerns are not unique to Ridgewood but must be shared as a community.

At RHS, we will continue to have educational discussions with our students about the effects of drugs and alcohol; assist in the emotional, psychological, and physical development of our teenagers; and teach about character and decision-making through class lessons, athletics, and the arts.

In the weeks and months to come, we will be engaging in conversations with students and parents throughout the community. We encourage you to do the same. If you have any suggestions or feedback you wish to share, please reach out to any teacher, coach, or administrator as we work on determining the best course of action to help our youth reach their fullest potential.

Sincerely,

Thomas A. Gorman, Ed.D.

Principal
A Tradition of Excellence

Posted on November 9, 2015 November 8, 2015

Instagram confession: The ugly truth behind my perfect model shots

Rebecca Pearson is a jobbing model and for the last year has been creating the ‘perfect life’ on Instagram in order to get work. Here she reveals the truth behind some of her most popular snaps.

Before this week you may have never heard of Essena O’Neill; a bikini toting, beach leaping glossy teen who, with over 800,000 followers, was bit of a star on Instagram – one of the world’s most popular social media sites. But when she switched off her account, decrying her life as a vapid popularity contest in which she no longer wished to compete, her story made headlines across the world.

By re-captioning some of her most liked posts to reveal the creative licence that went into creating the ‘perfect’ photographs of her ‘perfect’ life , the 19 year old Australian model said she wanted to expose the artificial world of social media. After spending her teen years curating her life into a polished, barely-clothed sun-kissed world her followers, she said, would finally see the truth. One photo, she explained, had had to be taken over a hundred times to get absolutely right and in another she revealed she was paid hundreds of pounds to wear a certain dress. She told how she would starve herself for days to get the perfect flat stomach, and a new caption under a smiling selfie ends with a disclaimer all in upper case: ‘There is nothing real about this’. Often, she said, she felt utterly alone. While some users applauded her honesty, days later other commentators were calling the whole thing a hoax, a clever marketing ploy whereby Essena was simply making herself (and a her new website) even more famous.

It’s a sorry tale for a platform that started out as simply a means to share and discover experiences through photographs; where users can ‘like’ another person’s picture to show their appreciation for a beautiful photograph before scrolling onto the next shot. Today, Instagram has 400 million+ users which is probably why after it was launched five years ago, it has mutated into a behemoth of self-promotion where the more likes a person has, the more prestige and earning-power they can command.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-life/11980031/Instagram-confession-The-ugly-truth-behind-my-perfect-model-shots.html

Posted on July 5, 2015 July 3, 2015

Government Trolls Are Using “Psychology-Based Influence Techniques” On YouTube, Facebook And Twitter

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 07/02/2015 21:15 -0400

Submitted by Michael Snyder via The End of The American Dream blog,

Have you ever come across someone on the Internet that you suspected was a paid government troll? Well, there is a very good chance that you were not imagining things. Thanks to Edward Snowden, we now have solid proof that paid government trolls are using “psychology-based influence techniques” on social media websites such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. Documents leaked by Snowden also reveal that government agents have been conducting denial-of-service attacks, flooding social media websites with thinly veiled propaganda and have been purposely attempting to warp public discourse online. If we do not stand up and object to this kind of Orwellian behavior, it is only going to get worse and worse.

In the UK, the Joint Threat Research Intelligence Group (JTRIG) is a specialized unit within the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ). If it wasn’t for Edward Snowden, we probably still would never have heard of them. This particular specialized unit is engaged in some very “questionable” online activities. The following is an excerpt from a recent piece by Glenn Greenwald and Andrew Fishman…

Though its existence was secret until last year, JTRIG quickly developed a distinctive profile in the public understanding, after documents from NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden revealedthat the unit had engaged in “dirty tricks” like deploying sexual “honey traps” designed to discredit targets, launching denial-of-service attacks to shut down Internet chat rooms, pushing veiled propaganda onto social networks and generally warping discourse online.

We are told that JTRIG only uses these techniques to go after the “bad guys”.

But precisely who are the “bad guys”?

It turns out that their definition of who the “bad guys” are is quite broad. Here is more from Glenn Greenwald and Andrew Fishman…

JTRIG’s domestic and law enforcement operations are made clear. The report states that the controversial unit “currently collaborates with other agencies” including the Metropolitan police, Security Service (MI5), Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), Border Agency, Revenue and Customs (HMRC), and National Public Order and Intelligence Unit (NPOIU). The document highlights that key JTRIG objectives include “providing intelligence for judicial outcomes”; monitoring “domestic extremist groups such as the English Defence League by conducting online HUMINT”; “denying, deterring or dissuading” criminals and “hacktivists”; and “deterring, disrupting or degrading online consumerism of stolen data or child porn.”

Particularly disturbing to me is the phrase “domestic extremist groups”. What does someone have to say or do to be considered an “extremist”? For example, the English Defence League is a non-violent street protest movement in the UK that is strongly against the spread of radical Islam and sharia law in the UK. So if they are “extremists”, how many millions upon millions of ordinary citizens in the United States would fit that definition?

When conducting operations against “extremists”, psychology-based influence techniques are among the tools that JTRIG uses to combat them online. The following comes from one of the documents that was posted by Greenwald and Fishman…

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-07-02/government-trolls-are-using-psychology-based-influence-techniques-youtube-facebook-a

Posted on March 19, 2015 March 19, 2015

Chicago High School Superintendent: Teen Sexting Is a Police Matter

Chicago High School Superintendent: Teen Sexting Is a Police Matter

Two teens send nude selfies. Police spend several weeks, interview 25 students to “investigate.”

Elizabeth Nolan Brown|Mar. 18, 2015 5:15 pm

From suburban Chicago, another tale of teens being treated like criminals for sharing sexually oriented photos with each other. Four students at Ridgewood High School, in the suburb of Norridge, now face possible charges for “dissemination of harmful material to a minor,” police said. Those charged include two girls, 15 and 17, who sent nude photos of themselves via Snapchat and two male teens who received the photos and forwarded them to others. Another student overheard classmates discussing it and ratted them out to school officials, who ratted them out to the police.

Why the sex lives of teens should be subject to school discipline is suspect enough, but it’s extra perplexing what interest the government has in such matters. We’re talking about teens using private phones and communications platforms to exchange photos. It may not be the most wise move to send nude selfies to your crush, but criminal? Surely police resources could be used in better ways?

https://reason.com/blog/2015/03/18/high-school-superintendent-teen-sexting

Posted on March 14, 2015 March 14, 2015

Bob Braun Reports that Pearson Is Spying on Social Media of Students Taking PARCC Tests

Bob Braun Reports that Pearson Is Spying on Social Media of Students Taking PARCC Tests
By dianeravitch
March 13, 2015

[Note from Diane: The link now says, “This Account Has Been Suspended.” I am not sure what this means. Some think his site crashed because of so many people trying to open it at the same time. Perhaps it will be back up soon. I hear it is posted on Bob Braun’s Facebook page. Read the comments below for that link.]

Bob Braun, an investigative reporter in New Jersey for the past 50 years, has learned that Pearson is spying on the social media accounts of students taking the PARCC tests.

Bob Braun writes:

Pearson, the multinational testing and publishing company, is spying on the social media posts of students–including those from New Jersey–while the children are taking their PARCC, statewide tests, this site has learned exclusively. The state education department is cooperating with this spying and has asked at least one school district to discipline students who may have said something inappropriate about the tests.

This website discovered the unauthorized and hidden spying thanks to educators who informed it of the practice–a practice happening throughout the state and apparently throughout the country. The spying–or “monitoring,” to use Pearson’s word–was confirmed at one school district–the Watchung Hills Regional High School district in Warren by its superintendent, Elizabeth Jewett.

Jewett sent out an e-mail–posted here– to her colleagues expressing concern about the unauthorized spying on students. She said parents are upset and added that she thought Pearson’s behavior would contribute to the growing “opt out” movement.

https://dianeravitch.net/2015/03/13/breaking-news-bob-braun-reports-that-pearson-is-spying-on-social-media-of-students-taking-parcc-tests/

Posted on December 15, 2014 December 15, 2014

Chris Christie crushed on Twitter over Cowboys rooting

Chris Christie crushed on Twitter over Cowboys rooting

By Jonathan Lehman

December 15, 2014 | 11:15am

Chris Christie knows all about outrageous three-lane traffic snarls, so the New Jersey governor should be well prepared for the backlash he’s facing for backing the Cowboys over the Giants or Eagles — the two favorite teams of his constituents and the Cowboys’ sworn rivals.

Christie, the pivotal figure in the Bridgegate scandal and a long-rumored Republican presidential candidate for 2016, opened himself up to venom with a nationally televised appearance Sunday night in Cowboys owner Jerry Jones’ suite at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field.

https://nypost.com/2014/12/15/chris-christie-crushed-on-twitter-over-cowboys-rooting/

Christie responds to backlash

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie defended his longtime love for the Dallas Cowboys on Monday after his cheering for the team sparked a social media firestorm.

Christie was spotted high-fiving Cowboys owner Jerry Jones in a luxury box Sunday night at the Cowboys-Philadelphia Eagles game.

The interactions prompted a wave of hate on Twitter from angry Eagles fans, who apparently were unaware the governor has long been a Cowboys fan despite his New Jersey roots.

Christie responded to the meltdown Monday morning with an unscheduled appearance on WPG Talk Radio 1450.

He told listeners he’s never made a secret of his Cowboys fandom and said he would never change his team loyalties to score political points.

“I love passionate sports fans. I really do. I’m a passionate sports fan. And so I can’t say that I was the least bit surprised by the reaction of some Eagles fans,” he said

https://espn.go.com/dallas/nfl/story/_/id/12033229/new-jersey-governor-chris-christie-rebuts-furor-dallas-cowboys-fandom

Posted on December 12, 2014 December 11, 2014

Survey shows Internet’s broadening political role

Survey shows Internet’s broadening political role

NEW YORK (AP) — Would-be 2016 presidential candidates take note: the Internet may potentially make or break your campaign.

More Internet users than ever view online efforts as key to political campaigns, according to a survey released Thursday by the University of Southern California.

The USC Annenberg School’s Center for the Digital Future has polled more than 2,000 U.S. households about their Internet and technology use each year, starting in 1999. It has published the results every year since 2000, with the exception of 2011.

The latest results from the 2013 survey show that that 75 percent of Internet users age 16 and older agree that the Internet is important for the political campaign process. That was up from the previous high response of 72 percent in 2010.

And 37 percent of users in that age range said that by using the Internet, people like them can have more political power. That’s up from 29 percent in 2000.

“We may be entering a realm where the Internet plays a larger role in political campaigns than television does,” Jeffrey Cole, director of the Center for the Digital Future, said in a statement.

In 2012, television ads were the primary communications tool for the campaigns of President Barack Obama and his Republican challenger Mitt Romney, despite the gradual but persistent shift of viewers from television to the Internet. But both teams maintained a robust social media presence and used online ads for micro-targeting voters based on their reading and shopping habits.

https://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2014-12-11-US–Internet%20Survey/id-83a238d062af4f839815cf5db3e8518a

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