Week 4 - Articles and A Better Understanding

This week I learned how to use the articles portion of the Leatherby Libraries. I found the tutorial on “Finding Articles using the Library’s database” very useful in discovering new ways of researching journals and articles. It was helpful that the search gave you the ability to narrow your search to scholarly (peer-reviewed) journals as well as narrowing your search by date. I found it frustrating how  difficult and time consuming it was having to read and review several articles, only to find out they would not work for my specific topic. I looked at several articles that were full of great information, however they did not suffice for the research I am doing.  I preferred last week’s book search to this week’s article search. It was easier to jump ahead in the books to certain chapters to find the information most useful to my research.

This week I learned about the effects homophobic bullying has not only on student’s mental health, but also their academics and school performance. It is un-nerving to think that other students bullying someone can cause a serious effect on a student’s grades, attendance, testing and extracurricular activities in school. All these things ultimately affect a student’s future. If a student does poorly in high school, it can affect their chances to get into college and obtain an education and a successful career.  

I am hoping to learn more about the psychological effects that homophobic bullying has on students as well as ways to prevent bullying from happening. I believe it is important for students to learn acceptance at a young age. This will help to keep the bullying due to differences in gender, race, religion and sexuality to a minimum. I am hoping the research I do for this class will help me to gain the knowledge needed to make a difference in the lives of my future students. I am passionate about touching the lives of my students and being a positive influence in their lives.