Public education has been invested with the responsibility of molding the American citizenry since the days of the Common School Movement. Based in the Judeo-Christian belief that man is born with an evil nature and must be closely guarded, the schools have been tasked with teaching responsibility, honesty, civil obedience, and, in more recent years, tolerance. These ideals have been shaped to fit the contours of a society in which interactions take place in physical rather than cyber space. The term "citizenship", as with so many other words in the basic vocabulary of democracy, is poised to be stretched and twisted now as we apply them to contexts that the architects of our country never dreamed of.
Being a digital citizen now incorporates staying perpetually informed, in touch, in tune, and intertwined with the global village that we never completely see and only, as yet, barely understand. Because this digital domain springs from the human genome, it is a fair assumption that the cyber world will be subject to the same human frailties as its physical counterpart, and, thus, notions of what constitutes "citizenship" will continue to be debated and imperfectly instituted. Whatever principles of citizenship end up carrying the day, it will be teachers who shoulder the primary responsibility of assimilating their young charges according to those requirements.
Perhaps it is because I have too much faith in the durability of Locke, Jefferson, Webster, and Mann's democratic ideals, but I suspect that, when Apple has rolled out its last computer and the final vestiges of our Internet institutions have crumbled , the definition of what it means to be a citizen will have changed very little. For there will always be walls in human neighborhoods - born of human ignorance, insecurity, and fear.
"Before I built a wall I'd ask to know," Frost cautioned, "what I was walling in or walling out."
Perhaps the answer to that question lies somewhere at the heart of what it means to be human.
Your post brings to attention the stark fact that many children and adults fail to act humanely online, although they act humanely in their lives offline. Hiding behind a digital wall creates a sense of secrecy and separation that sometimes leads people to exhibit behaviors they would not exhibit when interacting with others in person. It is the responsibility of educators to model and explicitly teach what appropriate and humane behavior looks like online and offline. In an effort to avoid inappropriate behaviors, many districts build walls to keep students from certain websites and platforms. Doing so presents us with an incredible missed opportunity. It is through modeling and guided practice with sites such as these that students can learn and practice citizenship.
ReplyDeleteDr. T, as always, your perception is fascinatingly profound. I would expect nothing other than for you.
ReplyDeleteI love the reference to the Judaeo-Christian belief, and how it swayed and impacted our society. I also agree that out society is on the verge of a new reality & definition of what it means to be a citizen. We are currently at the brink of having to re-educate our society in morals & decency, for an online world. My question is, "Why do we have to reteach something that should already be innate within all of us?"
This was a very detailed blog, as well as educational. Thanks for sharing.