Bethel Middle School is warning parents about a dangerous new game: “The Eraser Challenge”

Bethel Middle School students are partaking in a dangerous new game: The Eraser Challenge. Parents are baffled and teachers don't know what to think, or how to stop the weird activities. Many kids continue to play the game, although it said to be painful. Adults are also noticing the dangerous medical risks the game may influence.
 
The Eraser Game is basically when "teens use an eraser and rub it back and forth on their arm between the wrist and elbow while reciting the alphabet and coming up with a word for each letter" (Krafcik). After finishing the game, students compare wounds. Many have gone to the nurse complaining of burning and irritation even hours after playing the game. Nurses and parents have realized that playing the game, if done vigorously, can break the skin and cause bleeding. The administration of the school sent out a letter to parents of Bethel Middle School, explaining what their child may or may not be partaking in, and asked them to explain to their children the risks of the game.

Teachers have discovered that students share, or pass around a single eraser between groups of friends, spreading bodily fluids, such as blood and puss. Though most students know not to get someone else's blood in their blood stream, these students don't realize that this game is one way to do just that. This medical mishap has caused severe irritation and infection, although it has not yet caused a serious problem, such as contracting some sort of disease.

 Sixth grader Of Bethel Middle, Alexandra Luhrs, says she's seen classmates play the game in the hallways of her school, though she never really had the urge to play. Luhrs stated that “They were like, 'oh it stings so bad', but they just kept going", referring to her schoolmates (Krafcik). Teachers worry that the leading cause of the game's rising popularity is peer pressure within the school. Alexandra's father, John Luhrs commented on the matter, stating that “[he didn’t] understand why kids [were] mutilating themselves or doing things to hurt themselves” (Krafcik). Many parents had no idea of the game until the school had notified them.

Although stopping this game is a serious matter, teachers will not reprimand students for partaking in this game. They are not worried about disciplining them against the game, as if a crime. They just want to keep the children from harming themselves.

I think that this game is very harmful, and can have effects that students may not fully understand. This game effects me personally because I know some people that play this game, and I have seen the damage it can cause. People should really try to inform their friends, family, children, and/or parents about the game, and how it can do damage to a person. I haven't had a friend who has been seriously hurt form it, but I wouldn't be surprised if it did occur.

This relates to what we're doing in class, because in English 10, we talked about self harm and suicide prevention a little bit. Some people give themselves eraser burns as a source of self harm, rather than something else, such as cutting. Even though this is a game, and not an issue as bad as self harm and suicide, it is still a serious thing that needs to be addressed as much as possible.

I feel that the author's point of view is that the game is harmful and should be prevented. You can tell by finding textual evidence in the article such as when he states that the game is "dangerous" and "concern[ing]" (Krafcik). You can also tell because he is only showing the harsh and negative aspects of what parents and teachers were saying. The author talks about how the teachers and parents should stop the game from being played, and how they can tell their kids about the game's dangers. Their negative tone towards the game influences the article by letting the reader know that the game is a bad thing, and that it shouldn't be played. 


Muharem, Derek D. "Parent Letter". Letter. Fox. Tribune Broadcasting Company, 27 March 2014. Web. 30 March 2014.

 Krafcik, Mike. "Students Warned Of Danger Of ‘Eraser Challenge’". Fox. Tribune Broadcasting Company, 27 March 2014. Web. 30 March 2014.

Mr.E?. "Ouch 3". Flickr. Flickr, 11 January 2011. Web. 30 March 2014.

Reading reimagined: Speed Reading with Spritz

Spritz is a new tool to help people reader at a faster rate. The application's creator, Frank Waldman, "claims it can increase a user's reading speed, without any special training, to 1,000 words per minute" (Reading). The tool works by displaying moving words or phrases across the screen at different speeds to increase the reader's comprehension speed.

This tool is great for practically everyone because reading is an important task to master no matter how old you are. You can be in preschool, high school, working, or retired; it doesn't really matter! And for those who master this tool, "reading Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone [would take] 77 minutes"(Reading).



The technology used in this tool is based off of the RSVP method (rapid serial visual presentation), which is when text is shown one word at a time on the screen at a constant speed. Increasing the speed after a slower speed is mastered, is what helps readers see and comprehend the text faster.

This tool increases your comprehension process because "only around 20 percent of your time is spent processing content, [and] the remaining 80 percent is spent physically moving your eyes from word to word", so when the speed is at a faster rate, your brain sorts through the text faster, because your eyes have to see the text first.

I think that this is a great tool because its versatile, its handy, and it helps with the one tool that everyone uses. So many different people can use this and any language can be programmed into the tool, giving people the option to learn a new language through Spritz. Virtually anyone can use this tool, except for those who cannot read, and those who are blind.



This invention does effect me, and the people around me because I actually have this app installed on my phone. It works great and has effectively helped me read and understand what I am reading at a faster speed. It also helps my sister read, who has always had problems reading because she has troubles focusing her eyes. With this tool, she can see the text and understand it with no problem.

The purpose of using statistics in the article and video is to inform readers how this invention works. By stating that readers only use one fifth of the time they read to comprehend, the author explains how Spritz would help strengthen a person's reading. The statistics also give the reader a sense of professionalism, and also lets the reader know that actual experiments have been tested for this invention.

"Reading Reimagined: Speed Reading with Spritz." The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, n.d. Web. 16 March 2014. <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/technology-video/10692164/Reading-reimagined-speed-reading-with-Spritz.html>

Blain, Loz. Spritz reader: Getting words into your brain faster. Photograph. Gizmag. Gizmag, 04 March 2014. Web. 16 March 2014. <http://www.gizmag.com/spritz-speed-reading-galaxy-s5/31063/>

Physicians' Stethoscopes Spreading Disease?

"Physicians' stethoscopes more contaminated than palms of their hands." ScienceDaily. n.p., 27  Feb.2014. <http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/02/140227134841.htm>



Recent studies performed by investigators at the University of Geneva hospitals have shown that physicians' stethoscopes often contain more dangerous bacteria than their hands do. These studies have proven that these doctors actually spread many of the germs that infect and make citizens sick. Discovering these results is the first of many steps to learning new and more effective ways to prevent the spread of bad bacteria.


                                        

Sergey / Fotolia. Untitled. n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2014.

The numbers of deaths from viruses and the flu have increased over the past year, but doctors couldn't understand why. Now that this discovery has been acknowledged, many physicians have made the connection between the two. More precautions have been made to lessen the spread of contagious germs such as MRSA.

This article relates to my First Aid class the most because we learn about the different diseases you can contract from performing CPR on a victim, and how to prevent it. Even though a doctor's appointment isn't as dramatic and hectic as giving or receiving CPR, it is always good to know how to prevent the contraction of a disease. It is good to know they are doing something about the matter because after finding out about this newly found discovery, I didn't feel very safe going to the doctor's office.

This does effect me substantially because the germs from the patient before me may have been the thing to make me sicker than I was before. This is a problem, because then if people start associating doctors with further sickness, then no one will want to go, increasing their chances of dying from untreated illness. This also effects me because if my friends or family die because of germs caught from the physicians' stethoscope, I will be very upset and distraught.