Yesterday in church the minister was teaching on the topic of freedom and the context in the context of Galatians 5. Within a few minutes, my brain was thinking beyond this context to that of technology, culture, and education.

As our society (as many societies have) made a move for freedom hundreds of years ago and has continued to fight for freedoms for all since then, it brings with it the need for responsibility. Democracy and freedom without responsibility quickly becomes a disaster. Laws are good and important, but if society only acts because it is forced to be in compliance with the law, there will always be those who will jump at every opportunity to circumvent the law. Yes, freedom is a right, but it must be accompanied by responsibility.

If freedom is not just release from obligation, but rather the freedom For something – the freedom to pursue the fulness that freedom can bring, then this requires the individual to also make responsible, informed choices.

It seems that where technology is concerned, this is the concept that many are struggling with and is what often drives policy decisions (the law). Schools struggle with finding a balance between trust (read: responsibility) and law. Often, the resulting policies are very restrictive due to legal and ethical implications for students who don’t make responsible decisions. Critics of such restrictive school policies often argue then that responsibility needs to be modeled and taught within the multiple contexts of learning. I don’t disagree at all! In fact, responsible citizenship is an important aspect of a public education. However, the school cannot be the sole agency here. Until all concerned make a concerted effort to instill this essential ingredient in our youth (read: parents and other significant influencers) and in general culture, we will continue to experience this constant pull of freedom v. law. Our youth are being bombarded with messages of irresponsibility from every possible direction – with many coming from adults… and we expect them to suddenly become good, responsible citizens within the school context… and always use technology-based/networked freedoms in healthy and productive ways.

This morning (as I am many mornings) I was utterly disgusted by the mainstream news and the stories that it chose to “tell us were important”. The “family hours” of TV programming are increasingly filled with junk and (from my perspective) inappropriate messages. I find myself frequently in conflict with the content and ratings of “kid friendly” movies (not to mention the parents who bring their children to movies with clearly adult ratings).

Schools and teachers play an incredible role in the lives of maturing adults. Are these roles always fulfilled perfectly? Of course not. Are policies always perfect? No. But I am beginning to feel, as my own children begin mature beyond those sweet innocent years,  that we, as a society, are really failing here. Freedom without responsibility is not what the founders intended for this country. We need to wake up!

Sorry for the rant, but it’s how I’m feeling right now. As always, your comments are much appreciated.

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