Page 4 - Florida Sentinel 1-23-18

Feature
Changing My Social Media Ways
BY BILLY WHEELER
Why would someone with thousands of friends and hundreds of followers cancel their Facebook account? I did.
Of course, people called to ask. Many would men- tion it when we met in public. Some said, “I under- stand.” But more often it was, “You’re really missed.”
Social media offers amusement and info sharing. Getting multiple “likes” as feedback is fine. But for me, loitering in the cyberspace bubble became a time snatcher with no real return on the investment. I could never shake the sense that people of substance - the ac- tive and influential decision makers, don’t devote their online hours to useless debating and trading in sarcas- tic memes.
Fake news is the word of the day, whether generated from a company, person, or hate group. Misinforma- tion is big business. The current scandals at Google, Facebook, and Twitter reveal the degree to which un- reliable data floods social media.
Trolling (posting nasty remarks), bullying and hos- tility flourish on the internet. Our egos are blown up, filters are disengaged, and we insult and name call each other into oblivion, not stopping to consider the person behind the wall of anonymity.
Relentless faith bashing betrays our beliefs from times past when God was our strength. We’re now en- lightened and evolved to the point where finding be- liefs to tear down has become more important than finding beliefs to uphold.
Scientists say our brains can influence their own ac- tivity; thus, some people become stuck in a sort of neu- ral gratification loop. They hunt likes and shares as if they’re genuine personal connections.
I think real life is better.
Hillsborough Alliance Of Black School Educators To Host Forum
JEFF EAKINS Superintendent, Hillsborough County School District
MS. RENEE BEST
MS. COLLEEN CARR
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
The Hillsborough Alliance of Black School Educators will host their 2017-2018 Educa- tor’s Forum on Saturday, Feb- ruary 3, 2018. The event will take place from 9 a.m. until 12 noon at Greco Middle School in the Media Center.
The forum is earmarked for members of the organiza- tion as well as non-members or any educator who is inter- ested in extending their influ- ence beyond their own classrooms. The forum will also provide information on how current leaders remain competitive and make prepa- ration for continuous ad- vancement in the Hillsborough County School District.
Ms. Bridgette Blake is the current president of the organization. Her goal is to create a forum for the ex- change of ideas and strategies to improve the success rate of African American students in the public school system. She also wants to develop and cul-
MS. BRIDGETTE BLAKE HABSE President
YINKA ALEGE
MS. KIM HUFF
tivate a support system for educators to share resources and to identify the best prac- tices.
Ms. Blake said, “Pro- grams, such as our Educator Forums, are hosted because of our “service” to our mem- bers. We serve HABSE be- cause we work to improve the condition of education for children of African descent and support those who teach and lead them. We serve HABSE so we can influence legislative policy and help promote members into lead- ership positions. We also cel- ebrate our members in our leadership pipelines who have been promoted and have pro- gressed into leadership posi- tions.
“However, we serve best by supporting the black edu- cators who do join our ranks in the classroom. If we want them to be successful, then we have to provide them with the professional development they need to flourish. It fol- lows that “effective teachers become effective principals” Ms. Blake said.
Jeff Eakins, Superin- tendent of the Hillsborough
MS. KELLY McCLUNEY
ROBERT BHOOLAI
MS. JACQUELINE HAYNES
County School District will deliver opening remarks at the forum.
Other educators involved in hosting their forum are:
Ms. Jacqueline Haynes, Executive Leader- ship Coach; Yinka Alege, Area Leadership Coach; Ms. Kim Huff, Educational Leadership & Professional Development; Robert D. Bhoolai, Principal, Robin- son High School; Ms. Renee Best, Assistant Principal, Shaw Elementary School; Ms. Kelly McCluney, As- sistant Principal of Instruc- tion, Cork Elementary School; and Ms. Colleen Carr, who is the Assistant Principal, Shields Middle School.
Other officers of HABSE are: Ms. Tressa Jones, First Vice President; Ms. Karen Fletcher, Second Vice President; Ms. Valerie Wilkerson, Financial Secre- tary; and Ms. Jessica Vega, Community Liaison.
The first 30 individuals who RSVP will receive an “Educator Tote Bag.” Those interested in attending the forum are asked to RSVP habse.edu@gmail. com.
PAGE 4 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2018