Own It

I got pulled into a 4th grade class to cover a teacher who was out for the afternoon. One of the assignments was for the kids to get on their Chromebooks and complete a book report they had been working on.

Everything seemed to be going well until I was told that some of the kids were looking at inappropriate things instead of doing their report. When I went back to confront them, the finger pointing immediately began.

I looked at one boy and asked him if he was on an inappropriate site. He said, “They were on it too!” LOL. I just said, “Buddy, I am not talking to them or about them. I am talking to you. If you messed up, fess up. Own your mistakes and make it right.”

He would not look at me in the eyes. It reminded me of my dog when she has made a mess in the house. She goes and crawls under the bed. I am sure he wanted to crawl under the desk, but there was no escape. He just nodded.

One of the biggest lessons a kid can learn is to own their decisions. They will never mature and become responsible adults until they do. The world has too many adults with kid attitudes. I try to model for the kids when I make a mistake: I admit it and let them know I am human too (even though I am Superman). If it is warranted, I apologize.

We have to monitor kids on the internet. Even with the filters they put on them it seems that evil is two clicks away at all times, just waiting for them to see what is waiting behind door number two. The internet has a lot of helpful information, but it also has a great deal of evil to corrupt the minds of kids (and adults for that matter).

I wish someone would invent a kid friendly internet. I know there are sites that are kid friendly, but I mean something that had no back doors to open. Just wishful thinking, but if they did, they would become both rich and famous. Who knows? Maybe someday…

Shalom!

Dan Skognes

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