Social media in schools: The Meltdown

Social media addiction. Crackdowns on abuse. Passion for progress. Differing opinions have come to a head this week between those who would retain or recover pre-information-age social qualities and those who believe online social tools are an inevitability to be harnessed and prepared for. As with most things in life, education would seem to be the solution.

First, there's clear evidence that parents are largey unaware of the activities of even middle-school students. Many deny that their children participate in social media. Many simply don't know how pervasive social media are in their childrens' lives, both at home and at school. Before progress can be made with the students themselves, parents need to understand the reality of this modern age. They need to become involved and foster responsibility and safe behavior.

Next, the schools. There's still a harsh divide between classrooms that embrace technology as a learning tool and those that consider it a nuisance. Consistency must be attained with regard to expectation and enforcement. Not every classroom should directly utilize web-enabled devices, but the policy must be in place and understood.

Finally, the students themselves need training. They know how to use the technology, at least superficially, but they often don't have the mental maturity to make the right decisions. Bullying, inappropriate language or photos, and other abuse are sustaining and can be damaging to both mental health and reputation. What's online stays online for a long, long time. Children can't usually appreciate the permanence of their actions.

How this will all play out isn't entirely clear. What is clear is that we must all educate ourselves and be aware of what the children in our care are up to. The challenge is nothing new. Only the details are.

I welcome your comments.

Update: CNN did a story on Principal Orsini. Watch the video here.

Cyberbullying: Lowering thresholds of tolerance

After a decade or more online, many of us have become jaded or indifferent to the hostility people sometimes show toward each other in the relative anonymity of the web. If we stray outside social internet communities that are rooted in our physical ones, we find people we're likely to never meet, and they often don't show us the same respect or decency that they would face-to-face. Eventually we may reach a plateau of tolerance that's much higher than it should be, especially when children  are involved.

Schools around the world are struggling to keep up with social challenges in fully digitized youth. They're chasing the kids who are sprinting ahead into the cyber-abyss, sometimes encountering situations they're not prepared to handle. Sometimes they're actually the cause of shame and depression, or worse, in other kids.

It's about simple respect, really

Hello from Sydney! We spent today as tourists, (so far we have only been “travelers”), riding a bus to Featherdale Wildlife Park and The Blue Mountains. Featherdale started as a koala refuge and now is home to probably 50 different Australian critters—fins, feathers, flippers and fur all included. It was a delight to kneel next to (and pet!) a “free range” kangaroo relaxing in the sun and have a photo shoot with a snacking koala, (or his buddy in a eucalyptus-induced stupor!) Those non-bears are so adorable, and just watching a kangaroo move is a good lesson in physics. We loved the little penguins, and I think the wombat is probably the cutest thing on 4 legs.

What was most fascinating, however, was the behavior of some of the other guests at the park. We were “nudged” out of line by impatient adults and then waited through juvenile antics and various exhibits. Worse, though, were the folks who showed no respect for the animals. An eating wombat was pestered incessantly, first by folks putting their flash camera within inches of its face and then leaning over the rail of the enclosure trying to pet it. Later, a group of people took turns dancing with a kangaroo who was obviously not interested. As the roo got more and more agitated they tried harder and harder to be successful and get their photo, paying no regard to the animal and concerned only with satisfying our wants and needs.