Power of Social Media

On August 27, the middle school is completing the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.  While I hope this provides us with some fun and laughs as well as increase knowledge about the disease and its effects, I want to spend some additional time discussing the immense power of social media. 

Too often we only focus on the negative impacts of social media.  Things that go viral are often negative or pointless.  This is neither.  With imagination and simplicity this campaign may have changed forever how we raise awareness and funding to special causes that more often than not go unnoticed. 

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge started with the story of one man, Pete Frates.  Using his story as an inspiration, a simple and direct fundraising idea was born.  It success has shocked everyone.  According to Wikipedia between the dates of July 29^th and August 21^st, $41.8 million dollars have been donated to aid ALS research and education compared to $1.8 million a year ago.  Between June 1^st and August 13^th 1.2 million videos have been posted to Facebook.  Lastly, between July 29 and August 17 there have been 2.2 million tweets. 

Why do you think the Ice Bucket Challenge has been so successful?  What did you learn about ALS this week?  

Summer 2014

Welcome back to school.  I can only imagine many of you feel as through the summer went by way too quickly and are stunned to think we are back in school for another 9 months.  While it may have seemed to go by at the speed of light, this has been an incredible summer for world news.  Here are some highlights:

The Ongoing Issues in Ukraine

Not a week can go by without another incident concerning the ongoing border dispute between the Russians and the Ukraine.  This dispute has not only resulted in the constant threat of military actions, but on July 17^th 283 passengers tragically lost their lives when flight MH17 was shot out of the sky.  The United States and European countries have issued numerous sanctions against Russia, but with little effect to date.

The World Cup

Brazil hosted the world’s largest sporting event.  The FIFA World Cup was held between June 12th and July 13^th.  The attendance and viewers from all over the world was phenomenal.  In the end the men from Germany defeated the Argentinians to host the cup for the fourth time in the history of the tournament.

Trouble in Israel

Beginning July 8^th, the Israeli military and the Hamas have been engaged in an ongoing conflict.  The conflict continues to escalate and the casualties continue to rise as neither side is able to find a reasonable resolution.  One of the great tragedies of the conflict is the loss of the lives of civilians caught in the middle of this war zone.  The Egyptian government has been working diligently with both sides to enact ceasefires to provide civilian aid, but with limited success.  The latest ceasefire is set to expire at midnight August 18, 2014.

Iraqi ISIS

The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has been working to create a militant Islamic state at the expense

of religious minority groups in the region.  ISIS has been working to rid the area of Sunni Muslims and Yazidi.  The acts committed against these minority groups have prompted the United States to attempt to provide humanitarian aid. 

Racial Tension in Missouri

On August 9, 2014, Michael Brown, 18, was shot and killed by a police officer in Ferguson, MO.  Michael Brown was unarmed, but according to reports Brown assaulted the officer.  The candlelight vigil held the next evening turned into a riot claiming 30 injuries.  As more information and action is taken, the community continues to struggle with the relationship between law enforcement and the people they are to protect. 

These are just a sample of the many news stories from the summer of 2014.  In your opinion what was the biggest news story from the summer and why?  You can choose from one of the items above or whatever other news stories captured your attention.  What types of news stories are you more likely to pay attention to?  What about these stories interests you?