Empowering teens (was Re: Operation Delete Internet Fear ... Continuing)
EDTECH Editor-Hogan
> Hello, Larry,
>
> I think you're missing the point.
>
> What Nancy (and, frankly, most people who do not have a financial
> interest in a company selling fear-based curriculum, or blocking
> software/hardware) is advocating is an approach that takes a rational
> approach to a very real problem: learn about the risk, learn how to spot
> it, and learn how to avoid it.
>
> Predators exist in malls, yet we (rightfully) go there.
>
> Predators exist in churches, yet we (rightfully) go there.
Actually, based on the data of sexual abuse, we should be far more concerned
about "predators" in the home (especially if mom has remarried or has a
boyfriend), at church, in a youth group or sports group, or at school. The
stranger predators at the mall are rare - but dangerous situations can arise
in the community.
For example, I have a 16 YO daughter. Last summer she was with a
now-ex-friend and they were at a bus stop. A car with some young adult males
pulled up and one asked, "Hey girls, do you want a ride?" The other girl
said, "Sure, that would be fun." My daughter whipped out her cell phone and
said, "<expletive deleted, no. And if you don't get the <expletive deleted>
out of her, I'm calling 911." They left - quickly. She knew what the danger
was and she knew how to effectively respond. That is our objective.
Here is an experiment you might try. Go into a high school classroom. Tell
them you want them to create a guidelines that you can take to the middle
school addressing four things: how to safely set up a profile on Facebook or
MySpace using the protective features, standards for posting personal
information on these sites, standards for establishing friendship links, and
how to respond if someone sends them a hurtful message or posts something
harmful on their profile. Have them work in small groups and then report to
the large group and then refine the standards. Actually, it would be
insightful for you to do this is an class of seniors and a class of freshmen
- and see if there are some things the freshmen have not yet figured out.
If you want some background write to me privately and I will send you some
of my draft material. But in this experiment all you can do as an instructor
is act as "guide by the side." You can ask guiding questions - but no
lecturing. As I tell teachers, "If you try to act like a sage on the stage,
you are going to trip on your toga."
I can guarantee you that the guidance your high school students come up with
will be of far higher quality than anything those DOJ-funded organizations
have. AND if you have them turn this into a Powerpoint presentation and
trundle them off to the middle schools, the middle school students will be
far more attentive to these older students and more willing to follow their
guidance than then would any adult lecturer, especially a law officer.
Then your next step is to have your middle school students create the same
kind of presentation for 4th and 5th grade students.
And if you want to get really venturesome, have your older high school
students prepare a presentation for high school and middle school parents.
Try this and report back to us. OK.
Nancy
--
Nancy Willard, M.S., J.D.
Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use
http://csriu.org
http://cyberbully.org
http://cyber-safe-kids.com
http://csriu.wordpress.com
nwil...@csriu.org
Cyberbullying and Cyberthreats: Responding to the Challenge of Online Social
Aggression, Threats, and Distress (Research Press)
Cyber-Safe Kids, Cyber-Savvy Teens: Helping Young People Learn to Use the
Internet Safely and Responsibly (Jossey-Bass)
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