Tuesday, June 02, 2009

Peer Education

I am a huge fan of peer-to-peer education, so loved seeing this article about how teens are being trained to talk about the dangers of the internet. OK, so I wasn't thrilled about the "danger" framework, but I think the best way to teach internet safety is by having young people do the talking! Thoughts?

3 comments:

Sherry said...

I agree, because most often, when parents try to tell their kids about such things, the kids just roll their eyes (or wish they could, without being seen) and say, "I already know that!" But of course already having heard of bad things happening to other people doesn't mean it (whatever "it" is) will happen to them, so.... many go ahead and do it anyway! I think it's great and probably most effective when kids can be told by other kids who have "been there, done that" about things that might very negatively affect them.

Dr. Kris said...

Thanks for your comment, Sherry! I am actually reading a report from the MacArthur Foundation that suggests that when it comes to most tech things, young people prefer to learn from peers. And interesting parallel!

Anonymous said...

Certainly. I agree with you.