Bruce Hood: "I Can Make a Difference Because of the Internet" --pp. 260-261
At the end of my student teaching semester at Rockford High School, students, faculty, and parents were buzzing about a YouTube video created and uploaded by a Rockford grad. I didn't know anything about the contents of it but it seemed that there was some controversy around it. Some teachers were showing the video in their classes while others were saying that its something students can watch in their own time. Parents chimed in and some voiced their opinion that this is a video that all students should watch while others said it didn't have a place in education and parents could choose to watch it with their children if need be. My students were talking about it and within a matter of days, a school that is normally covered in blazing Rockford orange was speckled with baby blue. Students and members of the community were sporting baby blue shirts and hoodies with the letters "ELE" written across the chest. One of my students wanted to share it with me so we watched it together and had a great conversation about it afterwards.
When I read Hood's "I Can Make a Difference Because of the Internet," I thought about what the internet has made available to us. I have been able to do so much because of the internet but how have I used it to make a difference? Teaching students to make a differences in their lives or in the lives of others is something I am passionate about. I want to empower students to be the voices and agents of change. Instead of undermining and belittling students because of their age, I want to empower them and demonstrate that they can make a difference. Jacob Schemmel's video called "My Story" is a great place to start to illustrate that it doesn't take much to take a stand or make a difference on the internet. Jacob's story is a powerful one and the perfect illustration of how we can all make a difference because of the internet.
When I read Hood's "I Can Make a Difference Because of the Internet," I thought about what the internet has made available to us. I have been able to do so much because of the internet but how have I used it to make a difference? Teaching students to make a differences in their lives or in the lives of others is something I am passionate about. I want to empower students to be the voices and agents of change. Instead of undermining and belittling students because of their age, I want to empower them and demonstrate that they can make a difference. Jacob Schemmel's video called "My Story" is a great place to start to illustrate that it doesn't take much to take a stand or make a difference on the internet. Jacob's story is a powerful one and the perfect illustration of how we can all make a difference because of the internet.
Post-Production Notes:
I contemplated about whether or not I should add this and I made the last minute decision to add this for the sake of transparency for our community. My original intention for using this video was to share how while we can do so much on the internet, we cannot just rely on the internet by itself. We still need human connection and we need followup and physical action. Where is this coming from? Jacob recently lost another friend to suicide and I lost one of my students and sadly this is not the first student I am losing to suicide in my ever so short teaching career. This student who was a big part of the ELE movement committed suicide and was found by the mother on mother's day. This student was a senior and had a week left of classes before graduating and moving onto CMU. This was devastating news. I share this to emphasize that the internet alone might not be enough. Its not to say that the suicide could have been prevented. I am not saying that at all for I do not know. What I am saying is that to make a difference we have to also live it and take action. The internet is a great start to making a difference and in some cases can be all that it takes, but there are times when physical contact makes just as much of an impact. A hug, a smile, a shoulder to cry on? The physical ones are so much more moving than virtual ones.
Making a Difference?
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