The importance of digital citizenship and character education
I saw this tweet and have obviously heard of Monica Lewinsky and the ‘scandal.’
I was interested in what she would have to say and have never thought of her as the 1st victim of cyber bullying. When the ‘scandal’ happened I was 16 years old. I don’t remember a lot but I do remember the infamous blue dress, the lying, hearing talk show hosts discuss and argue about it. Looking back on it, I didn’t doubt for a minute that it was Monica’s fault. The media, newspapers, and TV was blaming her, and Bill Clinton was THE PRESIDENT. Shouldn’t we be able to trust who is in charge?
After watching this amazing speech, it reminded me how important it is to teach critical thinking, to teach character education, and to teach digital citizenship to our students. To be completely honest, I was shocked at what Monica went through, and at what I didn’t know about the scandal. How does the media only show one side of the story? Oh wait. NOW, I know we have to look at the source, now I know we have to look at both sides of the story but when I was growing up, we didn’t talk about critical thinking. It is so dangerous to not talk about these issues.
As Educators, we must:
talk about age appropriate news stories
look at what the media is telling and teaching our students and kids
teach character education
teach digital citizenship
