Judge, Jury, and Executioner...

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Almost on a daily basis I see the immediacy needs of our society enacted in both children and adults feeling the need to play the role of Judge, Jury, and Executioner. Technology and social media are wonderful tools and are debate-ably the worlds most meaningful inventions. However, if not used appropriately, can be the worlds most devastating force. There is a phrase that goes something like this; "It took centuries to build an empire but only days to destroy it." This phrase is indicative of our current society's desire to use social media and the internet to make rash judgments about things without truly knowing what's going on. There's a reason why our English teachers and Social Studies teachers are struggling to teach kids about proper/legal citations for writing papers and the concept of freedom of speech. Our children are growing up to 'think' that everything on the internet is accurate and that freedom of speech means you can write or say whatever you want about a topic/person with the protection of the computer screen.

The bigger question I raise is what are we doing about teaching our children compassion in this society of immediacy? You used to hear the phrase, "innocent until proven guilty", frequently in our society. Today, we rush to judgement on people and events because of our thirst for immediacy. We have lost the concept of compassion and have become short sighted enough to forget that we are all human beings. In schools, we actually encourage our students of today to attempt tasks and fail. We encourage risk taking in hopes that students will make a mistake and hence learn from it. As a society though, we have lost that. Our overall sense of compassion and understanding when individuals make a mistake have disappeared in favor of the Judge, Jury, and Executioner lifestyle that many currently live, because this method makes us feel better about ourselves when we see others falling. I hope that it won't be long before our children help us relearn the art of forgiveness and compassion. As a community, let's LISTEN to each other and seek to understand before we make up our minds about what is real and what is fiction.

Black Knight Kudos ...

Congratulations to the Vex-Robotics team on their victory this past weekend at the Saratoga Springs competition which qualified them for the State Championships.

Congratulations to the ladies indoor track team after being crowned champions at their MVITA Relay Meet #1 over the weekend. Full results can be seen at www.leonetiming.com

Thank you to the Rotary Interact Club for their involvement with providing elementary students with a day of joy this past week at the Fort Stanwix Men's Club event.



This Week at RFA...

12/14 - RFA Winter Concert Performance at Strough Middle School, 8:15 am
12/14 - Boys (v) Bowling at Notre Dame
12/14 - Boys (v) Hockey at CNS
12/14 - Girls (v) Volleyball at Central Valley Academy
12/14 - District Parent Advisory Meeting
12/15 - Boys (v) Bowling at Central Valley Academy
12/15 - Girls (v) Bowling vs. Central Valley Academy
12/15 - Boys (v) Basketball at Baldwinsville
12/15 - Girls (v) Basketball at Whitesboro
12/15 - District Attendance Committee Meeting
12/16 - Select Choir Field Trip to Bethany Gardens
12/16 - Boys (v) Bowling at CNS
12/16 - Girls (v) Bowling at CNS
12/16 - Board of Education Meeting
12/17 - RFA Winter Concert, 7:00 pm
12/17 - Sophomore Seminar on Media/Communications, period 4
12/17 - Boys (v) Swimming at Cooperstown
12/17 - Girls (v) Volleyball vs. Whitesboro
12/18 - DWI Awareness Presentation to Seniors, period 8
12/18 - Girls (v) Bowling at Whitesboro
12/18 - Boys (v) Wrestling CSC Tournament at Camden
12/18 - Boys (v) Hockey vs. Watertown
12/18 - Boys (v) Basketball vs. Whitesboro
12/19 - Travel Club hosts Breakfast with Santa, 8:00 am
12/19 - Boys (v) Wrestling CSC Tournament at Camden

Worth the Read...

Take a Moment to Self Reflect and Grow...

Over the coming weeks, seek to understand before making judgement. When a student comes to you with a concern or didn't complete their assignment, seek to understand what may be happening in that child's life prior to making judgments. The ensuing conversation may just be the best conversation you've ever had in your life.

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