EdTechTrek

This video, titled “What I Want for My Children”,  is a good follow-up to my last post. I think it speaks for itself. So much gets in the way of this message becoming a ubiquitous reality in U.S. schools.

The answer isn’t PowerPoint, digital whiteboards, blogs, wikis, PRS systems, high-speed Internet, Web2.0, … But, they can be part of a solution. [Generalization coming...] Why are we not pushing many of these attributes presented in the video with the same passion that we are pushing (and adopting) new technologies? As a geek-at-heart, it sure is much easier to get excited about “potential” or promise of new technologies rather than focus what we already have that is not working. Much of the time, things are not “working” because of much bigger issues than old technologies or technical support (don’t get me wrong… technical support is crucial). So, if your students are not excited about your language arts (math, science, social studies…) program, ask yourself “Why?”. My guess is that it’s not mostly because they are not using the aforementioned technologies.

I would encourage you to read one of David Warlick’s recent posts titled, “If it’s not about technology, then what is it about?“. Be sure to have a look through the comments as well. Lots of food for thought. (It’s where I discovered this video, too.)

Here’s today’s headline:

Teen Dating ‘08: Nude Pix On Cell Phones

The CBS news article describes unabashed teens sending sexually explicit photos and videos of themselves to others. A psychology professor at San Diego State University who studies young people’s trends, is quoted as saying:

“Adolescents are not known for thinking things through - that’s a generational constant,” she said. “Now, with the technology that is out there, instead of taking a picture and passing it around the classroom, it’s online, which is a whole different ball game. (Teens) don’t see it that way.”

It reminds of the video series on YouTube, Think Before You Post. There is absolutely no control over the content once it is sent, as the article briefly touches on.

Where are the parents in all of this? Where is the village that is required to raise a child? It would seem like there are a large number of children raising themselves in these digital times. Kids, more than ever, need involved and caring parents, teachers, and significant others in their lives like never before. Peter Benson, from the Search Institute, has a short article with some great information titled, “What Happened to My Little Angel”. See also the document, Building Assets for Youth. Kids need us more than ever! Here are a few of the Search Institute’s findings when it comes to adult responsibilities for growing healthy children:

• helping young people feel loved, supported, and accepted;
• giving young people appropriate boundaries and structures;
• providing constructive, healthy activities for young people;
• helping young people stay committed to education and learning;
• nurturing positive, caring values in young people;
• building basic life skills and positive views of themselves and the future.

These are things that happen week after week and year after year in families, congregations, schools, and communities. These are the things that make a difference! It makes a real difference when . . .

• parents make it a top priority to spend time and talk with their teenagers;
• adults in a congregation or from the community volunteer to be mentors for youth;
• youth ministry programs provide positive activities that involve youth;
• young people learn how much they have to contribute to their community and world through volunteering to serve others;
• teenagers get involved in positively influencing public policy;
• schools learn about assets they can offer youth and seek to strengthen those assets for all students.

We can’t abandon kids. We must engage them in positive and healthy ways, in the classroom, at home, and in the community - this includes the digital community (see Freerice.com or GlobalNomads). We must empower them and equip them for success in a highly connected, complicated digital age.

The recent media frenzy (see eschoolnews article here) over the 16 year old Florida girl who was savagely beaten by eight other teens for the expressed purpose of posting their conquest on YouTube and MySpace brings up so many issues to think about. We have Internet safety, bullying, violence, media influence, morality,… But the question that keeps coming to mind for me is that of parenting and family. Parents have about 12 or so years to really influence their children before peer pressure begins to complicate things. Here we have teen children premeditating a terrible assault to be captured on video to share with the word. This is not typical teen deviation. Where are the parents? What have they been doing for the past 16 years? It is increasingly obvious that parents today need a new level of awareness and involvement in the lives of their kids - their digital lives. But putting all that aside for a moment, this behavior is foundationally about parenting. I must confess, I know nothing about the parents of the eight accused. However, their actions lead me to believe that something is severely lacking there.

It is so easy to blame the YouTube generation and YouTube itself. Blame the Internet. Blame pack mentality. Or, blame the school for not being aware of the underlying tensions that may have precipitated this attack. Even the victim’s mother is allocating some blame to the YouTube generation for being desensitized and warped by the media culture it has helped shape. However, true that this may be, kind, caring, service- and social justice-oriented, compassionate, responsible, intelligent, proactive, ethical, productively engaged people do not do this sort of thing. These are the attributes that any good parent would seek to cultivate in their child. Parents need to wake up. Parenting 2.0 is still a great deal about parenting 1.0. Kids do not teach themselves these positive behaviors. The “Golden Rule” is still something to be highly valued, taught, and modeled, no?

Okay, I know just about anything can get out of hand. But do we have to ban it carte blanche when it does? Here is a story of a few schools banning the time-tested game of tag on the school playground because of misunderstandings during the game and some children getting chased when they did not want to play. Parents complained. Tag is banned. Having supervised children on playgrounds for many years, I have come to know that molehills can be made into mountains by children and just about anything can be made hazardous or annoying. Hence, supervision. If children get too physical while playing soccer, do we ban soccer? If pushing ensues during a hopscotch game, do we ban that too? If a student misuses internet privileges, do we ban internet use for all? Somehow, we have to address the roots of undesirable, hurtful, or destructive behavior, no?