I had an interesting experience last Thursday during our third annual Ripple Effect(see post dated April 4th 2008). We (student leaders, adult staff and participants) were able to create a safe container/place for life change to happen in the lives of the participants who attended. Within hours upon the participants arriving, they were engaged with one another, listening to each others stories and sharing their own story. As I hopped around from small group to small group, I noticed their authenticity reaching a level that I've never seen before with high school students. Something magical happens when a teen becomes fully "known". In other words, when they share the good, bad and ugly of their lives..... they are accepted and loved regardless.
So, I'm left wondering.....how can we create this safe container/place/community at our schools daily? To put another layer on top of that....how can we create this type of experience digitally. We've seen hints of this via, My Space, Facebook and other social networking .....but venues but my judgement is that what is posted on their personal page may not represent who they "really" are. It's my belief that teens are craving this type of deep emotional connection with other teens. It's this type of connection that offers support and healing.
Is there such a thing as a "digital safe place" for teens to be known, heard, and loved for who there really are? Just wondering....
So, I'm left wondering.....how can we create this safe container/place/community at our schools daily? To put another layer on top of that....how can we create this type of experience digitally. We've seen hints of this via, My Space, Facebook and other social networking .....but venues but my judgement is that what is posted on their personal page may not represent who they "really" are. It's my belief that teens are craving this type of deep emotional connection with other teens. It's this type of connection that offers support and healing.
Is there such a thing as a "digital safe place" for teens to be known, heard, and loved for who there really are? Just wondering....
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1 Comment:
To create this safe container/place/community at our school, the eye opening experience that all the participants had at the Ripple Effect must be brought to the school as a whole. One
way would be for teachers to incorporate this into the classroom.
The "digital safe place" is like that of the real world. Some teens want to belong to something, no matter what it might be. Feeling "safe" online means joining discussion groups, forum boards, and chat rooms to help them feel at ease. With the ongoing controversy of social sites like MySpace, some teens find themselves in a community with people who are
pretending to be like them. This falsehood does not help teens understand who they are.
Educating teens on a safe emotional connection with other teens is really important so they
know how to deal with it when they come in contact with it in life and digitally.
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