SPECTRUM: The importance of being civil

The prophesized 21st century is here. As in Now. Trying to distinguish between digital native vs. digital immigrant is passé because technology innovations change so quickly. We are all immigrants- not crossing a border, but crossing through the Cloud.

Throughout a lifetime spent tethered to a chalkboard, I watched Xerox and Google morph from proper nouns to becoming everyday verbs. I Xerox copies and Google absolutely everything. I’m not a digital immigrant; I am a 21st century survivor.

Unfortunately, it is true I invested poorly in the overhead projector. For whatever reason, 3M never earned verb status. Both projector and Vis-a-Vis pen went the way of the ditto.

But, this time around, I am betting the farm. If Google is right, then the 21st century’s new learner, prepared for a new economy, desperately needs the ability to discuss, debate, and dialogue with civility, now more than ever.

The power of the digital age is not lost on me. True, it may overwhelm me, and I have been known to curse-profusely- searching for passwords. It may baffle me at times, but the Internet’s power is not lost on me. Embracing the digital revolution is not the issue. (Albeit, not drowning in it might be.)

But, I am a public school educator, and my role as teacher remains where the rubber meets the road. So, even as I work to personally take advantage of the digital age, my daily mission revolves around helping my students make the most of this revolution.

The digital age has my attention with two interlocking notions necessary for the 21st century: problem solving skills and Twitter.

I condense these two ideas needed for success- problem solving skills and Twitter-into one goal: teaching civil discourse, the ability to discuss and solve opposing ideas with respect and decorum. Civil discourse can’t be ignored in this era filled with fear, cacophony and change, all powered by a tweet.

The enormity of social media’s energy and its role as change agent is boggling to the mind.

Our youth live in social media, with immediacy and with a constant stream of communication. They do so with absolutely no adult guidance or chaperone. It is an independent universe for them, void of rules, boundaries, or limits, sans any sense of civil discourse. Let alone punctuation.

Their role model for such conversation is limited to ridiculous 140 character tweets and adults’ offensive comments in the comment section of news, Facebook, et al. This causes me much concern as I watch the devastating effects of cyber harassment, cyber bullying, and FOMO selfies on my students every day.

If we as educators sincerely want to prepare our students for the future, our efforts go beyond an app, or a click for an ooh and an awe. We must dedicate ourselves to teach and model civil discourse in our classrooms, our assignments, and our lives.

We can do so by asking complex Why?, How? and What If? Questions that demand multiple perspectives. We can engage our students in the classic argument, including counter claims that validate the opposing idea before the rebuttal.

Students have to also be allowed time to listen and respond thoughtfully- in 140 characters or less. They should be held accountable for civil and intelligent conversation as the norm and not the exception. Yes, that means putting down the device. It should include eye contact.

Our work lies beyond Google’s reach. Code it, design an app, Xerox it. But, whatever we do, remember our kids are watching us to know how to behave as a digital survivor in our brave new world. #nopressure.

Emily Forstner teaches at Wasilla High and is the adviser to the Wasilla High newspaper the Warrior Word.