Sorry Dave, I didn’t realize we had blogjacked you. 🙂

Teaching our students how to make a cohesive argument is one of the most powerful things we can give them. Teaching them how to use technology to help them make that argument…that means they’re “loaded for bear.” When a student questions why some policy is the way it is (let’s not start on dress codes) the answer is often an unsatisfactory, “Because.” I’m a firm believer in not accepting the answer “because” to my question “why?” However, complaining and whining about the rules does not change them. No one over the age of 18 ever gets what they want by pouting in the real world, especially when dealing with authority.

Rosa Parks did not quietly step away when told to move to the back of the bus, but nor did she sneak through the back door. She made herself heard and stood for what she believed in. Show them how to research references that bolster their stance while minimizing the positions against their own. Teach them to use social networking to band together, gather facts and support, and then make their case in an intellegent and confident manner.

There are societies in the world that are far, far more repressive than schools…illustrated by the fact that we are able to have this conversation at all. Teach them what it is like to truly have your access to information repressed for no other reason than because the powers that be do not agree with the content.

For the most part administrators filter information only when pressed to by circumstances beyond their control (being one I can say that with a fair amount of confidence.) Rarely do you see censorship and blocking information unless pressure has been placed on them to make it happen. The majority of technologists believe in the free flow of information and it pains us when that doesn’t happen or is suppressed. Help your students understand the motivations of administrators, teachers, and parents, whether you agree or disagree, so they are better prepared to work with or work to change the status quo.

The power of the web is it’s ability for people to share ideas. It’s not the “groupthink” that often occurs when people are willing to let others shape their opinions for them. Teach your students the power and strength they wield with their own opinions and ideas, and the knowledge and information to support them.