A question of ethics

Jon and I heard something quite interesting on NPR yesterday during "All Things Considered."

A lady called in with an ethics question. Here is the story: The high school in her community had all their students sign a pledge that said they would neither drink alcohol nor be around alcohol at parties, etc. However, these same students posted pictures of themselves at parties with alcohol on their myspace pages. The school administration found them and disciplined the students.

The question: Is this ethical?

Should school administration be allowed to discipline students based on what is posted on myspace?

Though I can see both sides of the issue, the two important things in the case in my opinion are that:

1) the students ALL signed the commitment form, giving the school the authority to control this (the argument could have been made that it is not the school's right to monitor off-campus behavior, if it were not for this). Regardless of how you feel about the school demanding that kind of behavior, the fact is that they signed.

2) the pictures were posted ONLINE. The lady on the internet used the argument that even though the internet is public, "the students don't view it that way- they view it like a locked diary." Why does what teenagers THINK matter? (I have also heard students say that they thought that in writing a paper, if they changed one word in a sentence of a book they read, it wasn't plagiarism. Regardless of what they think, that IS plagiarism, and it is wrong.) If they think that what they post online isn't visible by everyone and their pedophiliac brother, they need to be educated in it- not excused for it. (As a sidenote, myspace allows you to set your page as "private" so it can ONLY be viewed by the people you allow. Most teens look at it as a "way to meet new friends," so they don't use this feature.)

Also, take a look at the recent VT shootings- the school is being blamed for NOT monitoring what he posted online! If a high school student posted on his myspace that he was going to kill students (even off campus), would the administration have a right to take charge then? If so, what makes that any different from other harmful vices?

And if the students are posting/ commenting on myspace on school computers (which, as a former teacher, I can guarantee you happens frequently), does that make a difference?

What do you think? Is this an infringement of privacy, or did the school have grounds to suspend these students?

Mosquito Test

It's been a while. A couple times I have even opened blogger dashboard to write something, then have utter writer's block.

I officially got the Kids Church contract! I'm excited to really start working on that now... but I sure am staying busy!

In lieu of anything interesting going on in my mind, I will refer you to Jesse's site. He just posted something quite fascinating about how as people get older, they lose hearing at high frequencies (he was even kind enough to post different frequencies you can listen to to see where you rate!) What's interesting about this is that apparently (I had never heard of it), kids can set this as a ringtone on their cellphones, so they can hear them in class while their old-fogey teachers can't! You really need to read this!

ETA: Follow the Earl's lead and post how you rated in the comments section!

an oddity

I woke up stiff this morning.

The front of my thighs felt like I had done a serious work-out...

Thing is, I haven't been to the gym since Friday...

It hasn't gotten better- "What did I DO?"

Then when Jon came home from work, he said he experienced the same thing.

He figured out why:

Yesterday at Kids Church, he led us all in "I've Got the Joy" (an updated version of the old Sunday School classic). The verse has the word "joy" in it 18 times- he had us jump up/ every time we said the word "joy"... then the same with "love" and "peace"- basically we did 54 squats...

Man alive, never would I have thought that children's ministry could be so exhausting...

PWOC Retreat & More Army Life

I'm beat.

The last thing in the world I wanted to do this morning was get out of bed... even after I did, watching the rain beat down on the deck made me desire a cup of coffee and good book.

Alas and alack, I headed off to Kids Church...

We had our PWOC retreat this weekend. It was just for one night, but I wish we could have stayed longer! We had a great time of fellowship- I didn't go to bed until 2am! (If you know me from college, that was the norm then... if you know me now, you understand that that's a good 4 hours after my bedtime...) Because of block leave (the couple weeks soldiers get off before they're deployed) and childcare issues, not many were able to attend, so the group is a bit sparse and not representative of what a Wednesday morning would look like... those of us that went loved it though! The little house that's pictured was our private dining room!

As a side note, please remember to keep our soldiers and their families in their prayers. As you probably heard this week, they just found out that their tours will be extended to 15 months. That is a long time to be away from home! (to add salt to the wound, the media published it before they were supposed to... our spouses heard it for the first time on the news with the rest of us, and had to then tell their husbands, who had NOT yet been informed! As if this news wasn't bad enough, hearing it on the nightly news made it so much worse...)

I actually was speaking with a lady this week who has been married for 15 years and not once spent her anniversary with her husband.

Though most families love the military, that doesn't mean these things aren't hard...

Our Anniversary Trip

We had a fantastic time in Charleston!!

We left Saturday morning and headed up the three hours to Charleston, South Carolina. It is one of the oldest cities in America, so it has a lot of historical significance.
On Saturday night, we went out for dinner with a friend of Jon's from CHOBC and his friend. We had an absolutely lovely time catching up with him, meeting her, and walking about the city!







Sunday morning we were determined to find a good church for our Easter Service! We found one that we were really excited about and got there ON TIME, only to realize that they only had an evening service... figures... we did find another service to attend and enjoyed it for what it was.

That afternoon we went to Fort Sumter. It is an island that was built as a defense in the Civil War. It is interesting because it was occupied by the North, then the South, then the North... can you even fathom all the history of that small little plot of land? Being an island, we had to take a ferry across... and boy was it cold!! (notice the picture of me huddled trying to keep out of the wind...)

After that we toured the Yorktown, the oldest Naval aircraft carrier still afloat today. Aside from a minor claustrophobic near-breakdown in the depths of the engine room, it was quite enjoyable!

It was really neat seeing the exhibits about the chaplaincy on the ship. The picture of Jon standing in a room is actually the chapel room itself- there is a picture hanging to the left of him of the chaplain doing a service in the same room. It made us feel a part of that heritage of ministering to members of the military- whether it's to soldiers, sailors, marines, or airmen- it's all ministry.

The whole weekend was wonderful. We stayed at a cabin at a campground (can you believe I went three days without wifi?) It was fully equipped with a bathroom and kitchen (including pots/pans and dishes!) Now that's what I call camping! Monday morning I accidentally locked us out of the house. We were enjoying our morning coffee on the screened-in porch overlooking the river, and the door was one of those that opens from the inside even when it's locked (I HATE that!) We found one unlocked window on the side of the house... we pulled the picnic table over and Jon hoisted me through. Only me, only me...

Enjoy the pics!

Two down, forever to go...

Three years ago today, I was living my life alone. I was the secretary for a church, also working at Pine Ridge Bible Camp. I was living in the basement of the camp office, not having any idea what I was going to do with the rest of my life.

Two years ago today, much had changed. I had met an incredible man who had asked me to be his wife, and we said "I do." He wore his dress blues, and I had daisies in my hair. It was perfect.

One year ago today, I was again living alone. My husband of 12 months was in Iraq, though was but a week away from redeploying. I had dessert with some friends to celebrate. The joy I found in my anniversary was knowing that I was soon to see Jonathan again.

This year, however, is much different. My husband is home and not leaving (long-term) for an indefinite amount of time.

To all of our friends and family who have been with us for the past two years, even if just for a season, Thank you.

To Jonathan, my love, here's to the rest of our lives...

Guess what I just did?

You might as well stop. You'll never guess.

I worked out at a gym.

Ok, go ahead, pick your jaw up off the ground.

One of the perks of having a husband in the military is free membership at the post gym. Right after lunch is a great time to go- all the intimidating soldiers are at work, so it's mostly a few wives. And I have a great husband who showed me how to use every machine so I didn't look like a complete exercise idiot.

I think I worked muscles today that I never even knew existed...

That's a good feeling...

The Life I Lead...

I spent the morning brushing up on my Army Wife Handbook. Though I don't need all the information now, I like to keep abreast of what's in it so I can remember to refer to it when needed. And the more Army experiences I have, the more that the things in the book make sense... It includes everything from Introductions (as in how-to), all sorts of correspondence etiquette, Coffees and Teas (which are quite different, by the way), seating charts, military weddings, funerals, roles of the wife of different ranks/positions, appropriate attire for various situations, etc- it's a must-have for any Army wife!

On a somewhat related note, I was named PWOC's President for next year! (If you don't remember, PWOC stands for Protestant Women of the Chapel- it's the Bible Study/ Wives Group I have been attending.) I am really excited about the opportunity and the chance to serve. And Misty (the one I talked about in my post about the Chili Dinner) is First Vice President of Programs, so it should be great to work with her. I was so honored that I was asked, though the task still seems a bit daunting!

Finished Product

But first... this is my 100th post! Yes, 100 glimpses into the life and mind of Sara...

Back to business- When Jon was gone last week, I purposed to busy myself... on top of getting together almost every day with some indivual or group of friends, I had a couple "projects"- one was, as I said earlier, to empty the spare room... here was the other one...






We wanted a bench in our entryway... I bought this unfinished at Michael's, patched up a hole with wood filler, apoxied hooks on the back of the mirrors (thanks to Lori!), screwed the hooks into the back of the coat hooks (also unfinished)... I'm quite proud of the final product- AND of my use of many things I have never touched before!!