Facebook doesn't have to be just a distraction from homework, as so many parents see it. I'm not going on assumption, here; I just spoke with a number of Swiss secondary school students whose parents see it as exactly that, not to mention a lot of peers in my own country. Now there's a study-session and teacher's office hours tool for Facebook called Hoot.me, KQED's Mindshift reports. "Like other … [Read more...] about Facebook as a study tool?!
students
Where students are learning about free speech: Study
Not so much in school. But I'll get to that in a minute. In its fourth report on the future of the First Amendment since 2004, the Knight Foundation found that "social media are good for the [US] Constitution." The study, which surveyed more than 12,000 high school students and 900 teachers, found that 91% of students who use social networking to get news and information on a daily basis believe … [Read more...] about Where students are learning about free speech: Study
The freedom to *not* fit in
...and to be oneself is something every young person deserves, President Obama said this week, when he spoke of his sadness over the suicides of gay youth. "We've got to dispel this myth that bullying is a rite of passage, some inevitable part of growing up. It's not. We have the job of ensuring our schools are safe for all of our kids." Ensuring that every child not only has that freedom but is … [Read more...] about The freedom to *not* fit in
Watching students relate to a president
In its coverage of President Obama's back-to-school speech this week, Youth Radio led with his point toward the end that gets to the core of defeating bullying and cyberbullying (among other social ills!): "If you take away one thing from my speech," the President told students at Masterman Lab School in Philadelphia, "I want you to take away the notion that life is precious, and part of what … [Read more...] about Watching students relate to a president
Fresh takes on ‘cyberbullying’ & how to deal with it
A subhead to this post might be "The flaws of laws" – but also the flawed term "cyberbullying" itself. Every kid is very individual, so every case of bullying or cyberbullying is very individual. It's therefore difficult and probably very unwise to make generalizations about the cases, the children involved, or bullying in general. And increasingly I'm hearing from risk-prevention experts, even as … [Read more...] about Fresh takes on ‘cyberbullying’ & how to deal with it