The Scandal of all Scandals. I was around 7 years old when the Lewinsky Sandal broke. I remember it a little, but only when my parents let us see a moment from the TV news. I teach first graders of the same age now. I can say that these days, we let our 7 year olds see and hear way too much from the public arena. During the last election, I would hear my 6-7 year olds say things like “Trump is bad and its horrible that he won”. I tried to maintain a mutual stance because as educators, we really shouldn’t be imposing our political party ideas or religious ideas, for that matter. I think the government has easy access to our private data and information when we spread it all over the internet. At the end of the day, when we post on the web, its public for all to see. I think my family had a strong grasp on this concept (I’m not sure why they did) but I knew from an early age that posts are forever. I feel like some of my childhood friends still don’t understand that. If the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal had occurred during current times of Social Media, things would have been very different. Lewinsky thought her sad infamy was overnight, but these days, things go viral in minutes. These days, people are so mean online. They have a seemingly anonymous wall where they feel as though they can say whatever they want, without regard to humanity or empathy. I identified with Lewinsky in her TED Talk when she noted that we can change this vicious cycle by becoming upstanders and showing empathy to counteract humiliation of cyberbullying (2015). We know how horrible online harassment is; however, we need to develop plans to directly educate our impresionable students about its concerns. Unfortunately, I can relate to online shaming in my recent community discussions. In local news, there was online outrage with our Public Library having a ‘Drag Queen Story Time’ (2018). The comments made on their Facebook page were “sick, poisonous, disgusting”. It was a very dividing story and is still undecided upon whether a parish funded location will be able to have the event. I can say that it is disappointing to read the comments on either side. I wish for a more empathetic and compassionate online community. Garcia, D. (2018, August 21). Mixed feelings over Drag Queen Story Time in Lafayette. Retrieved from https://katc.com/news/around-acadiana/lafayette-parish/2018/08/20/mixed-feelings-over-drag-queen-story-time-in-lafayette/ TED. (2015, March 20). Retrieved December 11, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_8y0WLm78UTED. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_8y0WLm78U Preventing Cyberbullying and Promoting Kindness. I am a huge Ellen DeGeneres fan, not just because she’s from the same town as my family, but because she advocates “being kind to one another” as she says at the end of every Ellen show. I also think of that author unknown quote “In a world where you can be anything, be kind.” It may all just boil down to promoting kindness, standing up for what is right, and sharing how words online can be very hurtful, much like in real life. In an inspiring TED Talk, Shane Koyczan poetically compares the dark bullying side of school as a circus (2013). Koyczan brings words, digital arts, and music together to tell a story of how we must acknowledge the dangerous bullying happening in schools and even how some adults seem to mold students in a fashion that they want.
I hope to promote kindness in my first grade classroom in real life so my students will grow to become productive members of society. I hope to teach my students that saying mean things really hurts people’s feelings and that they should be self aware of others’ feelings. I hope the foundation I set in first grade builds as they grow older. Interestingly, my state of Louisiana ranked highest in students being bullied in a study by McCann (2018). I hope that my state is able to do the right thing in terms of being responsible and respectful. McCann, A. (2018, September 6). States with the Biggest Bullying Problems. Washington, D.C.: WalletHub. Retrieved from https://wallethub.com/edu/best-worst-states-at-controlling-bullying/9920/ TED. (2013, March 08). Retrieved December 11, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sa1iS1MqUy4 |
AuthorTaylor Pons Digital Learning & LeadingePortfolio Blog Digital Waves BlogA Splash of Professional Learning NetworksClass Dojo MentorDigital Learning and Leading |