frontline

I just saw the PBS "Growing Up Online" documentary and I was impressed with that one teacher that was saying that you have to embrace that fact that kids are going to be using on line sources for writing reports, etc... and that those are the skills they are going to be using once they leave school. I agree with him because you can't expect students to ignore all the short cuts available to them. I know that I don't have the time to do all the reading I need to do, so I skim through things, and pay attention to what my class mates say and try to add to that, say something constructive and mildly original, but it is not always the most relative. Over all I thought the show was neutral, they gave both sides of the story, parents and students points of view. Some stories were sad (eating disorders, bullying, suicide...) but I think "Autumn's" father said it all with his final statement. You find what you want online, if you are looking for something good, it's there, if you are looking for something bad it will be there too, everything is accentuated and privacy is almost entirely a thing of the past. :(