Raising Digital Leaders has been a book in process for almost two years; life has changed so dramatically in that time. We are more dependent on our devices than ever before and it has been a means to connect with others. I have written about screen time issues recently as I know it is a growing concern, but in this post, I would like to share an excerpt from the Foreword for my book by Merve Lapus.
Merve is responsible for the overall outreach and engagement strategies for Common Sense Education and oversees a team that works directly with leadership to impact communities using technology for learning and life. Collaborating with school networks, state-level organizations, community leaders, and national partners, Merve is committed to fostering a whole-community approach to digital well-being, and establishing supportive learning spaces for all children and families to thrive in a world with media and technology. He is also a photographer, and dad for whom I have a ton of admiration and respect (and who I have actually never met in person-YET).
Growing up in a new country as a young immigrant of color, I
did not know the value of my voice. As a matter of fact, I felt the
pressure to mute my words and my presence. I was sheltered from
information, forced to follow a narrow line of expected behavior.
“Don’t call attention to yourself,” I was told daily. The only space I
had to amplify my voice was in an education system that valued processes
and communication foreign to me. Opportunities for growth
didn’t necessarily run in my direction, so I had to do my own paving,
often using third-rate materials and working ten times as hard to get
half the distance.Now, as a father of two amazing children and living at a time
when information, access and creativity are just a swipe and tap away,
I have an opportunity to help my kids delineate their own limitations
and help them on their paths. But the pace of life has increased since
I was a child, and experiences that were often spread over days or
week can now be wrapped up in scrolling on a device in literally just
a couple of hours in a single day. Technology continues to grow in
its ubiquity, and our kids are growing up in an era whey they—and
the screens in front of them—have the potential to always be “on.”They’re bombarded with messages, and it’s become far too easy for
their voices to get drowned out. As a parent, I must both model how
technology can be used effectively to effect positive change and provide
my kids with a platform that amplifies their voices.
Today, ensuring that our children’s voices are heard and developed
is not only important, it’s essential. Empowering them to assess
how they are feeling, communicate their needs, and amplifying
constructive change will help us to prepare young people for an
ever-evolving future. Agency is an essential foundation to building
leadership skills. As parents, educators, and community members,
we all play a role in deciding whether the tech our children use is
passive and consuming or active and engaging. We can redefine
what it means to raise our kids to be leaders.We live in an age where we are not just teaching our kids to be the leaders of tomorrow but
empowering them to be the leaders of today.
Merve believes as I do that technology can and must be a platform to amplify the voices of young people and that our role as educators, parents, and school leaders is to work together to be by their side to guide them and support them along the way.
I am so grateful to Merve for sharing his voice in Raising Digital Leaders and for the work he continues to do in the world to amplify the voices of young people.