A recent article in Teacher Magazine online raises the issue of whether students should be held accountable by schools for what they post in their own personal blogs outside of school. The article, Student Free Speech Still an Issue, describes a teenager who sued her high school principal and superintendent claiming that her constitutional rights were violated when she was removed from her position as class secretary because of a derogatory comment made about school administrators in her personal blog.
The teenager’s mother felt that she, rather than the school, should “determine whether or not there had been a consequence.”
The school principal stated that school leadership positions are a privilege, not a right.
The teen feels strongly that her rights have been violated.
“This is something that I felt was really necessary to stand up for, because you really have to stand up (for) the little things about democracy, the little things that make democracy really work in the big world,” she said.
Who is right in this controversial issue which certainly will become more commonplace as the popularity of blogs continues to grow, both inside and outside of the educational setting? Can schools invoke consequences against a student for actions that are taken outside of school? How can we promote and ensure the appropriate use of blogs that are integrated into the school curriculum? Please click to add your comments to this timely issue…
Recently I visited middle and high school classrooms at NHS talking to students about their use of technology, both in and out of school. I learned, not surprisingly, that while gaming is popular (especially with middle school students), many students spend a significant amount of their time on social networking sites, primarily MySpace. This is simply a part of their social life – it’s a way to keep in touch with friends, listen to music, and even chat about homework (that was a surprise!) This generation is very comfortable communicating via this online tool, mostly keeping in touch with people they know through school, sports, family, etc. but occasionally chatting with others they may not actually have met except online. I took the opportunity to remind students not to share personal information online and most said they didn’t or that they posted false information to protect their own privacy. Some were convinced that their pages were private and only “friends” could see or communicate with them. How many friends? Oh, anywhere from 30 to 300!!!
As I am not a “digital native” – not having grown up surrounded by technology as these young people have – I worry about the digital trails these students leave behind and whether they think about the potential consequences of actions they may take while online. A comment or picture upload that might seem innocent one day may come back to haunt them if a “friend” gets angry and decides to use it against them, or a future employer or school admissions officer decides to do a background search. When I raised these concerns with students, I got that “deer in the headlights” stare from many or total dismissal from others. “But my page is private.” “They can’t see my page unless I want them to!” Really? Don’t be so sure.
While I think there are many positive uses of social networking sites and I would never suggest that they be banned, I think it’s important to have discussions with young people about how they use these sites and plant the seed so that they are aware of potential misuses. The video “Think before you post” is an launching point for this discussion. I would encourage teachers to show this video to their students, and parents to show it to their online teens and tweens followed by a discussion about online safety.
There are many resources for online safety that you may want to review before having this discussion, and then visit again with your students/children. Here are just a few:
“Did You Know?” is a thought provoking video that explores the global shift that is affecting the world we live in. You can’t turn a corner anymore without hearing references to “The World is Flat” by Thomas Friedman, “globalization,” and Web 2.0. All anyone seems to agree on is that we are educating students today for jobs that don’t even exist yet; so how do we prepare them for a world we can only begin to envision? Are we giving them the skills they will need to function successfully in the 21st century? What skills will they need? Even the definition of “literacy” has changed in today’s world. It used to be enough to be able to read and write text. Literacy for our students and future generations will certainly involve so much more than that: using all forms of media (text, audio, images, video) to communicate and collaborate, to create a compelling message to broad audiences. If that’s true, how can we help our students develop those skills while they are in school? Does it mean that school itself will be forced to change – reflecting the understanding that education is less about a place, and more about a process that can happen anytime and anywhere.
If we accept the fact that our students spend a significant amount of time on social networking sites, such as MySpace, or texting friends – is it our duty to make sure that they know how to use these tools safely, constructively, without malice, and that they can communicate their ideas in an articulate way? If so, would it make sense to set up and moderate a blogging site where students would be expected to share their ideas, make constructive comments on other’s posts, and communicate with experts to seek additional information? Are we willing to allow and support the use of these tools in OUR school?
Just a thought…. please feel free to add your own comments.
This blog is a place to collect and discuss ideas for supporting the learning needs of our students.
What challenges to learning do our students face?
How can we support their learning?
What resources do we have & use well?
What resources don’t we have that we should be using?
How do we prepare our students to participate in the interactive global community?
What skills will our students need to be truly “literate” in the 21st century?
Please join me in writing posts, comments, adding links, audio, or anything else that will contribute to this collaboration for the benefit of our students.
The teenager’s mother felt that she, rather than the school, should “determine whether or not there had been a consequence.”