Teaching critical thinking can minimize risk
Print Edition
BEING in the middle of a world you don’t understand is a challenge we all have to face at some point; but with the explosion of social media in recent years, parents and teachers alike are having to relive the feeling on a daily basis, long after we thought we’d left it behind. It puts us in a difficult situation; after all, as parents and teachers we are supposed to know more about the topics we discuss with young people than they do, and very few of us can make that claim when it comes to social media. So how can we teach them to use the internet wisely?
Perhaps this is a predictable solution for a teacher to give, but I believe the answer comes in how well we all educate our children to be wise to the world around them. For example, we can’t stop the proliferation of fake, or heavily biased news stories on our timelines, but we can teach our children to be healthy skeptics. We can teach them not to be satisfied with the easy answer. We can show them that their voice, their insight, and their confidence to express their doubts about the stories they are told will make a huge difference in their lives.
Teenagers are going to ignore a lot of — if not most of, if not all of — the advice we give them, right? It’s hard for parents and teachers to swallow, but think back to when you were their age. Did you truly listen as your experienced and well-meaning parents/teachers gave you nuggets of wisdom from their misspent youth or did you smile and nod and then ignore them before finding out the hard way that they were right all along? So how can we advise them best?
We cannot stop children from going online, nor should we. The Internet is an incredibly rich resource which has improved lives, educated millions, and, in the case of the recent “ice bucket challenge,” actually helped bring us closer to curing a disease. I think using the Internet is like crossing a road. There are numerous upsides that can benefit you, but no matter how many times you do it, you still need to be careful.
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