WHAT SHOULD CANADA DO WITH IT'S YOUNG OFFENDERS?

Crime is an unfortunate but inevitable part of every society that we are forced to face. There are many different views and opinions on Canada’s criminal justice system, but one of the most frequently debated questions is: what should Canada do with it’s young offenders? Not yet adults but offenders nonetheless, the question of what to do with juvenile delinquents is complex and controversial.

On April 1, 2003, the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) officially replaced the Young Offenders Act that many felt didn't give proper guidelines on how to deal with young offenders. The YCJA applies to any criminal between the ages of 14 and 17. It’s aim is to “prevent crime by addressing the circumstances underlying a young person's offending behavior, rehabilitate young persons who commit offenses and reintegrate them back into society, and ensure that a young person is subject to meaningful consequences for his or her offenses, in order to promote the long-term protection of the public.” 

Deviance, according to symbolic interactionism, is a learned behavior. I agree with this theory especially in the case of young offenders. I don’t believe that people are born criminals, but that they turn into criminals because of outside influences. Even if young offenders’ criminal behavior may be a result of unfortunate circumstances (broken families, living in a bad area, etc.) they do, as the YCJA states, need to be punished to a certain degree for their crime, whether it be through time in a juvenile detention center or community service, because I don’t believe that any crime, however big or small, deserves to go completely unpunished.

The second step that needs to be taken with our young offenders is to properly reintegrate them back into society. This, in my opinion, is the most important difference in the way that we deal with our young offenders as opposed to our adult offenders because, unlike adult offenders, young offenders have their whole lives ahead of them. Before young offenders are released a social worker should do a thorough assessment of the offenders family situation or any other outside influences that may affect his/her behavior. If criminal behavior is something that is learned then the chances that he/she will re-offend in the future is much higher is he/she returns to a bad neighborhood or bad home situation. If their home situation or neighborhood is judged to be a bad influence on the child then certain measures, such as the involvement of a social worker in the child’s life, need to be taken.

At the end of March 2007, the average number of young offenders in custody in Canada totaled 205 and a very large number of these young offenders re-offended. It is that number, the number of re-offenders, that the Canadian justice system needs to focus on. While it is very important to keep Canadian youth out of jail, this is not something the justice system can control nor is it their job to control. The best that the justice system can hope to accomplish is to reduce the number of re-offenders by properly reintegrating them back into society in the hopes of a better future.

An interesting video on youth crime:

WEB 2.0: TAKING EDUCATION TO THE NEXT LEVEL

The world wide web has affected absolutely everything. It has affected our businesses, our various forms of media, the way we socialize and communicate and it has also begun to affect our education. However, I feel that the web has not had as big of an impact as it should have on our schools and the way we educate our students. So today I will be exploring the following question: In a Web 2.0 world, what should education be like?

First off, I feel that the most important and obvious impact that the web should have on our education is in the astronomical amount of information that it offers. Whether it be online encyclopedias, fun educational sites or podcasts of ivy league university lectures, there is a wealth of information at our fingertips just waiting to be grabbed. However, instead of extending our hand and taking all of these resources, most teachers cower away and stick to our old ways. It truly is a shame because the web has the ability to totally revolutionize the way we learn. Why stick to old, boring, outdated textbooks when credible sites such as Wikipedia offer over 2000 articles in all different languages and is updated several times a day? The information available to us is virtually unlimited, now it is time for us to start taking advantage of it. 

Another huge impact that the web should have on our education is collaborative learning. As explained in the video we saw of Kevin Kelley we are now entering the third stage of the Internet: linking data. Tools such as Google Docs, Google Video, Wikis and so much more allow us to share and communicate in a way that was never before possible. Communication between students and teachers and students amongst themselves has been totally revolutionized. Although some teachers have already begun to take advantage of these tools, I feel that they have yet to implement them to their full capability. These tools offer an opportunity for students and teachers from different schools, different neighborhoods and even different countries to all learn together. Whether it be collaborating on a project or practicing a second language, Web 2.0 has the ability to bring culture, excitement and adventure into a classroom.

In conclusion, in a Web 2.0 world, education should be an adventure. History class should be a virtual tour of New France, French class should be a video chat with a student from Paris and English class should have a new guest speaker everyday. Web 2.0 should allow us to escape the four walls of our classrooms and learn in a way that is fun and exciting. We have all the tools. We have all the resources. Now it’s up to us to utilize them and take education to the next level. 

Web 2.0 in Education:

THE WEB: HELPING OR HURTING?

In the early 1990’s Internet access became available for the common public and it’s use exploded. Since then it has become the center of our social lives, an integral part of our economy and has revolutionized the way we learn. Yet still the question is asked: is the web helping or hurting? With all the amazing tools, resources and opportunities that the web makes available to us how can we deny that the web is most definitely beneficial?

The benefits of the web are truly unbelievable. Whether it be through blogs, online courses, search engines or other great tools, the web has something great to offer everyone. Personally, the way the web has most affected me, as a student, is the way that it has changed me as a learner. The internet has given me access to a wealth of information and resources that were never available to previous generations. Whether it be by sharing documents on Google Docs, group note taking on Pirate Pad or researching topics on Dogpile, Metacrawler or any of the many metasearch engines available, the web offers me all the resources I need in order to be a productive, first-class learner.  

Though it is undeniable that the web is a useful tool, many feel that the web is harmful due to dangerous online predators, cyber bullying and inappropriate content. While these are all valid concerns that should not be taken lightly, I still stand in support of the web. In my opinion, the benefits of the Internet far outweigh it’s detriments. As like everything in life the Internet is not perfect and has it’s dangers. Should we not explore a beautiful city for fear of walking into a bad neighborhood? No. We should simply know where to make the right turns. The same principle applies with surfing the web. Dangers on the web are very easily avoidable through firewalls, anti-virus systems and just plain common sense. Above all, the web is a helpful tool that shouldn’t be brushed off because of it’s imperfections. 

The web is the core of our generation. It’s our social network. It’s our library. It’s our bank. It’s our education. It’s our future.