Just read a great article by greatschools.org, one of my favorite sources of education news. This article discusses kids' aspiration to fame as a career field, like the Kardashians, or the Hiltons.
I'm really glad someone brought this up. I remember when we first started hearing about Paris Hilton and her family on TV. It seemed normal to others that she was in the media's spotlight, but I remember feeling a little ... irritated when I would see her on TV. Why in the world were we watching her? She couldn't act, sing, play sports, dance, etc ... She was the daughter of a powerful and wealthy individual and for that, she enjoyed the attention of voyeuristic America, setting into spin a wheel that continues to spin, sucking us all in to its seemingly irresistible vortex.
How do we, as educators and parents, resist? This article mentions that kids who aspired to help others still spent time on social media, took and tagged pictures of themselves and their friends, met new people online.
Are we setting the example? Spending free time enjoying a good book, taking a walk, helping a friend or stranger? It takes work to fight against the forces of technology, an ever-increasing presence in our lives, full of really cool, intriguing, engaging applications, many of which are designed to propel us in to the public's eye. How can we use technology to expand our mind and our intelligence, not our image?
While my own sharing of this article almost negates my message, I'll be thinking about this challenge this week. I know I don't aspire to "be" famous, but what ways can I influence children to want to help others, and perhaps use technology to do so? Or perhaps not use it to help others?
Your thoughts? Would love to hear them!
No comments:
Post a Comment