Appleman-Chapter 4

I really enjoyed Webb's chapter on youth violence. This topic does not seem to be a top priority in most situations but rather lightly touched upon. As a future educator, I see more and more various issues with education. For instance, the Virginia Tech shootings, Columbine, teachers having sexual intercourse with their students, and even some close to home (Loy Norrix drive by shooting in spring 2007). I can't help but wonder how that impacts me and my safety, as well as my students safety. The fact that our society has become so unpredictable and capable of so many destructive things causing people to feel unsafe in an educational setting is surreal to me. How did our society get like this? How has education gone from a place of worth and learning to a place where every students' safety can be at risk? I worry for my own sake, my students sake, and for my future children's sake. If schools are becoming this violent now, how are schools going to be 10 years from now? 15 years? 20 years? 100 years? Scary huh?
Webb presented many novels that allow different perspectives on the media. The Giver, Brave New World, 1984, Fahrenheit, and Anthem. In high school, I read only one of these novels (The Giver) and cannot remember that at any given time this book was ever taught to me with a emphasis of learning perspective. I wish I had these experiences, like many I have come across in Webb's book, and I see teaching as my destiny. By this I mean I get the opportunity to teach kids things that were never taught to me and because of it may have impacted my way of learning. Hopefully by incorporating this type of learning in the classroom will generate a way of thinking and a sense of understanding for every student I come across.