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21st Century Learning, American history, citizenship, curated resources, digital citizenship, digital learning, First Amendment, informed citizens, NewseumEd, web resources

All About the First Amendment at NewseumEd

Posted on March 10, 2019March 17, 2019 by Marti Weston

These days I hear many people talking about the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, but as they talk I often wonder how much they really understand about the document? Can they describe the five freedoms and how those freedoms affect people’s lives in the United States? Children and adults probably need to learn lots more.

An excellent NewseumEd activity, designed for students in grades three through eight, introduces the First Amendment using materials, discussion, and scenario examinations that explore how the First Amendment works in real-life situations. Similar resources are available at the website for high school and college learners.

Below are some interesting facts from the activity, although students will discover much more. Continue reading “All About the First Amendment at NewseumEd” →

21st Century life, choosing reliable resources, citizenship, civics, democracy and civility, informed citizens, news on social media, social media

Are People Well-Informed if They Only Consume News that Suits Their Point of View?

Posted on April 12, 2017March 17, 2019 by Marti Weston

Lee Hamilton served for 34 years in Congress and was Vice Chairman of the 9-11 Commission. — Lee Hamilton served in Congress for 34 years in and was the Vice Chairman of the 9-11 Commission.

In this age of fake news, one of today’s challenges for educators and parents is guiding young people toward an understanding of what it means to be an informed citizen.

An important responsibility is helping children, pre-adolescents, and teens learn how to identify news sources and writing that come from responsible journalistic sources.

Months before the 2016 election former Indiana Congressman Lee Hamilton penned a thoughtful commentary, Social Media Challenges Democracy, considering what is required of an informed citizen, and predicted — intentionally or otherwise — some of the questions about news consumption that citizens have asked since November 2016. It’s an excellent discussion resource for educators and others who work with youth groups.

Lee Hamilton heads The Center on Representative Government at Indiana University.

In his commentary he asks: Continue reading “Are People Well-Informed if They Only Consume News that Suits Their Point of View?” →

21st Century parenting, 21st Century teaching, American history, citizenship, connected learning, digital learning, frightening events, Japanese internment, Library of Congress

Japanese Internment in the U.S. — Information to Share With Today’s Students

Posted on February 3, 2017March 17, 2019 by Marti Weston

dr3a35053 — https://loc.gov/pictures/resource/cph.3a35053/

I have known six people whose families were forced to move into United States government Japanese internment camps. It’s been an honor for me and my family to listen to their stories — though not always easy to hear about or imagine the cruelty they experienced. The internment, a reaction to the war with Japan and called an evacuation by the United States government, began in 1942 and essentially imprisoned more than 117,000 people. Two-thirds of them were born as American citizens and over half were children,

February 19th, the day in 1942 that President Roosevelt signed an executive order known as the internment order, is a Day of Remembrance in many states. Educators and parents can use the day to understand more — and help 21st Century children learn more — about the internment of Japanese families during World War II. Today, as we deal with the challenges of increasing diversity in the United States and recognize our immigrant history, it’s more important than ever to understand what happened and why the United States now recognizes the internment policy as a mistake.

As U. S. President Gerald Ford said, “Not only was the evacuation wrong, but Japanese Americans were and are loyal Americans.” Continue reading “Japanese Internment in the U.S. — Information to Share With Today’s Students” →

21st Century life, 21st Century parenting, 21st Century teaching, children and civility, citizenship, civility, democracy and civility, democracy and digital life, digital life, parents and technology, teaching civility

Teaching Civility to Kids? Excellent Resource @ WikiHow

Posted on December 10, 2016March 17, 2019 by Marti Weston

Civil behavior is a fundamental building block of our democracy, and throughout our history, both children and adults have strived — and occasionally struggled — to demonstrate it through their behavior. In our 21st Century connected world, civility has become even more difficult for many people to understand and attain because certain aspects of digital life can thwart many individual’s good intentions.

unnamed If you are seeking useful information about civility to share in your school or community, check out How to Teach Civility to Kids, over at wikiHow. The article is, in essence, a tutorial, explaining what adults should do to encourage young people to grow into civil and kind individuals, and it offers specific ideas for conversations and activities.

Parents and teachers spend an enormous amount of their time and energy focusing with children on why it’s important to become civil individuals and emphasizing that these principles are the same either online or off. Yet educators and adults need continuing support and guidance as they go about the work of promoting and upholding civility. Their challenges are encouraging kids to learn how to be respectful and how to disagree respectfully and demonstrating to children the importance of being polite, even when they don’t feel like it. Encouraging children to assist others and be kind anytime ensures that children understand much more about what it means to be civil. The wikiHow article offers information and help. Continue reading “Teaching Civility to Kids? Excellent Resource @ WikiHow” →

21st Century Learning, 21st Century life, 21st Century teaching, citizenship, civics, civility, parents and technology

Post-Election Resources that Support Learning, Dialogue, and Understanding

Posted on November 15, 2016November 20, 2016 by Marti Weston

unnamed As an educator, parent, and grandparent, I’m heartbroken about the increase in hateful and offensive activities that so many children have witnessed, front and center, during the long months of the 2016 presidential campaign. Just how do we talk to kids when they’ve observed and heard so much?

I ask this question because we parents and educators know the actions to take (where to help and support others, places to volunteer, etc.), the values we want to model (kindness, respect, honoring differences, integrity), and the civics concepts that we need to be certain our students understand — but our task will far more difficult in the 2016 post-election world.

Below is a list or election response and media literacy resources that I’ve found especially useful this past week, materials that I selected because they offer ideas that we can use long-term, not just in the days following the election. Please be in touch if you find other resources that might be added to this list. Continue reading “Post-Election Resources that Support Learning, Dialogue, and Understanding” →

21st Century life, 21st Century parenting, citizenship, digital citizenship, digital world conversations, parents and technology, raising digital kids

6 Digital Life Conversation Starters to Use in School Meetings, Discussions & Presentations

Posted on October 2, 2016March 17, 2019 by Marti Weston

How much should parents know about the settings on children’s digital devices?

Now that back-to-school nights are about over, schools will be scheduling parent potlucks, curriculum nights, and educational seminars throughout the academic year. These activities offer lots of opportunity for educational communities to start conversations about the challenges — for parents and kids — of growing up in the connected world.

At all of these events administrators, teachers, and parents should plan to incorporate a few introductory comments that encourage parents to think about helping their digital children become stronger learners, savvier digital citizens, better consumers of content on their digital devices, and overall, more knowledgeable citizens.

Below are a few questions that can be shared at school events and classroom presentations, questions that encourage parents to talk about managing life with 21st Century digital kids. While there are no right answers to these questions, the conversations provide adults an opportunity to talk about what works — and what does not — in the context of young people’s school and social lives.

Choose one or at most two inquiries to use at each activity. Continue reading “6 Digital Life Conversation Starters to Use in School Meetings, Discussions & Presentations” →

21st century job hunting, 21st Century life, anonymity, anonymous apps, apps, citizenship, conversations on commenting, cyber-bullying, digital citizenship, digital parenting, educating digital natives, family conversations, parents and technology

Teach Children About Anonymity Before They Make Mistakes

Posted on April 29, 2016April 22, 2019 by Marti Weston

Anonymity presents digital kids with a complicated social obstacle — one they must confront and understand if they are to protect themselves from potential problems. Digital anonymity is not a friendly concept for growing children. I’d argue, in fact, that it’s downright dangerous, but app makers continue to offer the feature. For now these apps are a part of many digital kids’ daily lives, often negatively affecting their digital wellness.

No child with a connected device is immune from possible trouble caused by anonymity, because issues can arise in an instant, often as a part of routine online social interactions. Anonymous opportunities take advantage of kids’ developing brains, encouraging them to make public mistakes in judgment, and enabling young people, sometimes as young as third or fourth grade, to act and communicate with less and less restraint. A mistake made with an app’s anonymity feature can be hurtful or humiliating.

Continue reading “Teach Children About Anonymity Before They Make Mistakes” →