(via Anne) Finally, a parent who gets it. (Hmmm…I’m writing a lot about parents lately…) From “Kids and the Internet - it’s a good thing” comes some very common sense advice from Laura Matthews:

We read a lot of alarmist commentary about the dangers of the Internet for youngsters. How it puts kids at risk, erodes social skills, lays traps for the unwary and innocent, and contributes to the long slow spiral into illiteracy.

I’m the first to admit that there are risks involved with letting kids online. In raising two children, I’ve had to face and circumvent the pitfalls - strangers attempting contact, enticing popups, too-good-to-be-true downloads, casino-like games. I’ve had to aggressively impose safeguards for my own peace of mind.

Yet, from what I’ve seen, the educational benefits of online access are worth it. Yes, parents have to be vigilant. But the opportunities for communication and self-expression the Internet provides are bringing benefits to everyone - especially children.

Well halleluljia! It’s funny, but it strikes me how I constantly seem to be arguing for the Web in schools. Is there anyone out there who doesn’t think the Web is the most transformational technology out there? That it’s the most incredible resource of information? Why is it we’re constantly finding fault with it instead of developing ways to mitigate the bad stuff and take advantage of all the good it has to offer?

And I know I seem to discredit myspace.com and xanga blogs a lot, but the bottom line is the kids are writing.

To keep a blog going, you have to have the discipline to write daily. This puts today’s young bloggers on the fast track to future Pulitzers. To keep your friends coming back, you have to be interesting, funny, intelligent, relevant. These kids are all that and more. Once I got past the immature spelling and punctuation (along with usual teen slang and vulgarity), I was treated to some of the best poetry I’ve ever read. All of their blogs together are a veritable anthropological study of high school life. One senior I know has, in four years, transformed from what seemed like functional illiteracy - incomplete sentences, poor spelling - into a blossoming philosopher headed for a major university.

As Anne says, you don’t have to take every word of this one parent’s experiences to be gospel. But there are many important, educational benefits of the Web, and as educators, we need to get over our fears and deal with them head on. Articles like this only remind us how much our kids are missing when we don’t.

So I made it to my hotel in Pensacola at 1 am CST last night after the pilot of the plane I was supposed to catch in Atlanta announced, and I quote, “Sorry ladies and gentlemen but the plane is broke.” That was my second broken plane of the day…not a good trend. And I almost didn’t even make it to Atlanta as I had to go back to security in Philly to get the full pat down treatment when the boarding gate guy said my pass hadn’t been punched correctly. Not a good day for traveling all around.

But today has been better. I spoke to and with a very enthusiastic group of library media specialists about the new technologies of the Read/Write Web and while I think they left overwhelmed, I also think they left really excited about going home and trying to dive deeper into what I’d showed them. Now this was a 2.5 hour talk, no hands on, and by the end we were pretty much all mush (especially me, working on about four hours of sleep.) And now…free wifi at the Pensacola airport! Despite the thunder clouds brewing over the tarmac, maybe my luck is changing…

Anyway, here the most interesting (I think) observation of the morning: Just about every person who came up to me at the break and at the end introduced themselves by saying “I have a 15 (or 13 or 18) year old at home and he’s (she’s) always on the Web…” It was really striking. The ideas were resonating with them on a parent level almost more than an educator level, which I guess shouldn’t surprise me at all. But it does remind me that these ideas need broad understanding, that parents really are just as much of an audience as educators. And more and more I’m thinking if we don’t teach them as well, we’re missing the boat.

And, as always, I’m left with much to think about, many great questions and concerns to mull over as I try to make it home to Philly, which I see is “experiencing delays…” Go figure.
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