I was reading this article called “Averting Tragedy in a Digital World” (http://bit.ly/cf31Th) and I was thinking about the rash of incidents dealing with cyberbullying that have been in the news recently. Bullying has always been a problem in schools and now has simply moved into the digital realm. It’s not acceptable to bully another person, either in real life or online, to the point that the person sees death as the only way out, yours or their own. Nor is it acceptable for parents to threaten children who are bullying their kid. We need to establish a set of procedures for parents and educators to be followed when bullying or cyberbullying occur, but we also need to take preventative measures.
Citizenship education has been around for a very long time. It was intended to make better citizens, but now we need better digital citizens. So the solution is obvious: digital citizenship education. We can combine regular citizenship education with the new needs of a digital citizen. Rutgers University established Project Civility to raise awareness and sensitivity, but we really should start in elementary school. Students need to receive the same message at school and at home, so that they understand the damage they can cause by bullying.
Some resources:
http://www.digitalcitizenship.net/uploads/09-0489_AWAY__26_DIGKIDS_.pdf
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