This semester we had the privilege of videoing in with Carol Todd, hearing her story, learning from her, learning about what we can do to address cyber abusive behaviours, and learning about the Amanda Todd Legacy. As educators, these are the stories that are so important to hear; these are the stories we need to be talking about, learning about, and learning from, and doing our very best to educate our students and each other on recognizing and addressing cyber abusive behaviours, in our tech savvy world.
I think part of recognizing and addressing these kinds of behaviours (especially in an educational setting) has to do with understanding how powerful the Internet really is, how one tweet CAN ruin your life (featured below), as it did for Justine Sacco. How even though you might think nobody is watching, somebody most certainly IS watching, and the Internet NEVER forgets. I believe that problem with cyber abusive behaviour is the dehumanizing nature of it — for the people who practice these behaviours, it’s not enough to harass or exploit someone, it’s the fact that they are able to harness the powers of the Internet, hide behind a screen, and tear someone’s life apart, but are so displaced from the reality of it, that they don’t have to address or even be confronted with the effects of their actions. Being able to shed light on these kinds of issues, I think, will be one of the many challenges we face, and will continue to face as teachers.
Back to Carol’s visit…There were two things that have really stuck with me since she shared with us — one was about the metaphors that she used. For example, she talked about driving cars. When teenagers are first learning how to drive, you don’t just hand over the keys and give them their license, they need to study, and practice — learning the rules of the road, laws, concepts, defensive driving, and practical application of their knowledge to their acquired skills; the same goes with technology and how we approach digital citizenship and online safety.
Children need to learn about online safety, but also how to apply it in real-life situations. Up until this point, yes, I understood the need for digital citizenship, but through the use of Carol’s metaphors, I was actually able to connect with how important it truly is. I think by using metaphors in the classroom, such as this one, students are able to better connect with what is actually being discussed. I think this is especially important when having difficult conversations, because if you are able to present a situation that can be looked at objectively through metaphor, rather than subjectively through first-hand accounts, there is less chance of your message or lesson getting misconstrued or misunderstood through bias or denial.
The other thing that stood out to me about Carol’s time with us, was how she presented herself with such grace and humility. She shared stories of people who had contacted her after Amanda’s death, with the intent to hurt her, but her reaction was to learn their name, and learn their story, and help them through whatever it was they were working through. She said, “Don’t advocate based on hate or negativity, you can create more awareness and education through positivity and hope.” As an educator, creating a positive classroom climate is so important, and being able to react to negativity with empathy and compassion adds to the strength and power of the environment, providing students with a safe space to be, a place of hope, and a place of love.
