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Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

This item is a bit peripheral to edtech, and a bit localized to the U.S., because most other countries don't have "everyday gun violence in homes and communities." But it does raise the question of what ought to be talked about ands what not. And here Alexander Russo is arguing that "reporting on school gun violence generates the possibility of creating a secondary trauma for survivors, witnesses, and the school community," and that therefore we shouldn't do it. Except. Many mass shooting happen in schools in the U.S. (and not elsewhere in the world) and this phenomenon, like it or not, has transformed school culture (and school technology) there and elsewhere. And it is arguable that a mass killing in a school is a particularly heinous act, and that discussion is necessary in order to identify the technology - guns - and the social environment that make it possible. The mass killings in the U.S. should be recognized as unusual and extraordinary compared to the experiences of schoolchildren everywhere else in the world, and to choose not to report that fact (and each of the many times it happens) would be reprehensible. Via Tim Stahmer. Related: "a story touting 'weapons detection screening' tech at K-12 schools", via Doug Levin.

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
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Last Updated: Apr 30, 2024 01:36 a.m.

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