A problem that I'm consistantly hearing about in the staff room at the high school I'm teaching at is students' sense of entitlement. At some point in academics there was a shift; suddenly self-esteem was being confused with accomplishment. Teachers began building self-confidence boosters into their curriculum and trying to make students feel good instead of being real with them. Students were being showered with compliments for doing something they were required to do. I am constantly hearing teachers complain about how students are questioning authority, mouthing off, and acting like they are above an assignment.
A way to fix this problem via new media would be to expose them to students their age who do not have as much. There is a documentary about students in Africa who are risking their lives everyday to go to school. Perhaps showing the students that documentary would begin to set them straight. As a follow-up, teachers could find successful members of the community who had to work hard to get to the top. Students would be required to interview these people using face time in class on the laptops. I will give them questions to ask to start off with, but they will be required to ask more than that. Students would write an essay on My Access reflecting on their interviews and how their perspectives have changed.
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