Internet Safety

mshilary — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:59:51 +0000

Keeping yourself safe in the virtual world also keeps yourself more safe in the real world. If hackers gain access to your computer or web accounts, not only will they gain access to the manipulation of any information on the site (like facebook, myspace, blogs, etc.) but they will gain access to the personal information you provided once you signed up for the website, such as email addresses and other personal information. When someone knows your personal information, they can make accounts in your name, eventually leading up to things like identity theft and credit card fraud. There are serious consequences that can result from any lack of concern when you create a new internet account of some type. To keep yourself safer online, follow these simple rules:

1. Make your passwords hard to guess, and never use the same password more than once.

2. Never reveal your passwords or personal information on any social networking site or to anybody who emails you asking for them.

3. Keep your software, web-browser, and operating system up to date by downloading all updates whenever they become available.

4. Talk to your parents and set up guidelines for your internet usage. If you ever feel worried, nervous, or uncomfortable about something someone is asking you or something you may have done online, talk to your parents.

History According to Hegel

mshilary — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 22:39:39 +0000

I’m currently reading Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder with a friend, and we recently read the chapter on the philosopher named Hegel. The book is sort of a mix of a history of philosophy and plot involving two young girls, but as we read the chapter on Hegel, many of his ideas about history struck me. Here are some of my favorite passages:

“So to Hegel, history was like a running river. Every tiny movement in the water at a given spot in the river is determined by the falls and eddies in the water higher upstream. But these movements are determined, too, by the rocks and bends in the river at the point where you are observing it… And the history of thought–or of reason–is like this river. The thoughts that are washed along with the current of past tradition, as well as the material conditions prevailing at the time, help to determine how you think. You can therefore never claim that any particular thought is correct for ever and ever. But the thought can be correct from where you stand.”

“In fact, you cannot detach any philosopher, or any thought at all, from that philosopher’s or that thought’s historical context… Anybody who studies history will see that humanity has advanced toward ever-increasing ‘self-knowledge’ and ‘self-development.’ According to Hegel, the study of history shows that humanity is moving toward greater rationality and freedom. In spite of all its capers, historical development is progressive. We say that history is purposeful.”

“But it is a striking example of how people’s views of what is rational change all the time. It shows that Hegel was also a child of his time. And so are we. Our ‘obvious’ views will not stand the test of time either… history will prove that much of what we think is obvious will not hold up in the light of history.”

I think these are all important things to keep in mind when studying history. Just as we have our own “obvious” ideas today, many will probably be discounted as foolish in years to come. But we don’t think they’re foolish now, and neither did the people of the past who believed the things we today think are silly. We must study each person, thought, and event in it’s own historical context to truly understand and appreciate why they did what they did or people thought what they thought or what happened happened. I think this will be a challenge as a teacher, but I hope to be able to set an example of respect for each era of culture for my students as we study and learn together.

Edumagination

Internet Safety

History According to Hegel