Reflections on Digital Citizenship

I found Lisa Nielsen's framework for digital citizenship education especially powerful. She writes in terms of the importance of 1) Help teens take control of their digital footprint, 2) Help teens determine what their digital footprint says about them, and 3) Connect with others with your passions and interests.

In particular, the second component reminds me of the terms my middle school band teacher used to use in order to instruct us on appropriate behavior. I forget the exact words he used, but it was something along the lines of, "Your name is the only thing you've got. (Don't mess it up.)"

He was a bit of a legendary character; he had taught band at that middle school for decades, regularly (in his younger, pre-cancer days) went above and beyond to help out kids who were struggling in their personal lives, and maintained a stern, yet obviously caring demeanor that managed to keep all the trouble-maker middle schoolers in line (and inspire them).

Especially now that I'm lead teaching 120 eighth graders, I think about middle school psychology a lot. Now that the eighth graders are getting closer to high school ("lets blow this popsicle stand"), I notice more and more sassiness and unwillingness to follow direction simply because the authority figure said so. I think herein lies the brilliance of phrasing citizenship in terms of "Take control of your digital (or otherwise) footprint."

It is of utmost importance to teach in terms of how actions will affect students' lives, because otherwise sassy adolescents will disregard what they consider to be dated, (perhaps hypocritical) guidance from adults.

Thus, I really appreciate the fact that this piece took on a active student-focused tone, rather than the typical "students must be saved from online predators." Students should absolutely be approached as though they possess sufficient judgment to make decisions that are to their benefit. Assuming that adults can "save" students from the dangers of the internet is short-sighted; students must be trusted and trained to "save" themselves.