As Susan Engel and Marlene Sandstrom were quoted in the article, "when a school and community adopt values that are rooted in treating others with dignity and respect, children's behavior can change." (p. 12) I fell as though this was one of the most pertinent points made in the article in relation to my future career. In early education (birth-3yrs) I will not have to deal with a lot of the problems mentioned in the article. However, I can instill in the children I will be teaching values that will help to build a strong foundation of morals that will prevent issues of bullying and unwise decisions down the road. I will also work with the parents to help them to become technology literate and to educate them on the potential issues that come with technology. Through parent education, I will be able to affect the conduct of the child down the road. This goes along with one of the four steps of change as recommended by the article, I will "support parents and the school-to-home connection with parent guides." (p. 15) My work may allow me to go beyond a 'parent guide' to being able to have a discussion face to face during a home visit or other meeting. I believe that the most important way to stop many of the troubles that arise because of the internet/technology is to educate the parents and to show them how to be support their children.
Even though I am not in early education I would love to work with younger students as a teacher so I am loving what you are saying in your post. I think even at a young age it is important to teach children how to become technologically literate as well as how to be safe. Often times as teachers we are with our students more than their parents are so we can be so impactful in what we are teaching our students. Educating parents is also something that I think is super important.
ReplyDeleteI really like that you connected the article to the area of education that you will be working in. It is great that you are so interested in teaching your students skills and values that will equip them for the internet world one day. If we all think like this and take steps to teach our students how to be responsible internet users early on, there will be a decrease in the amount of bullying and other online dangers in the future. These values you talk about are so important and students must grow up with them. It is great to read from a person who will be proactive about keeping students safe on the internet, even if it may not immediately relate to your students when they are with you.
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