Topic: E-Communication
Last Sunday's newspapers contained two interesting stories about students and texting. The first, "Teen Texting Expert Insists on Being Perfect," appeared in the Washington Post. LG Electronics recently sponsored a national texting contest, and 14 year-old William Glass III was a finalist. Nothing remarkable about that until you learn that Glass refuses to use text-speak. He spells out every word and even uses proper punctuation!
Glass clinched a regional championship, but lost the national contest. That's okay. It's great to know that texting doesn't have to preclude spelling and punctuation. And--he had a great time!
The second article, THX 4 THE GR8 INTRVU! appeared in the Seattle Times. Apparently some of what we've taught kids about being polite has penetrated. High school and college students are remembering to send thank you notes after an interview. Unfortunately, instead of using traditional pen and ink, or even less traditional, but still acceptable formal email, interviewees are texting their appreciation and potential employers don't like it. Why? They say the practice "hints at immaturity and questionable judgment."
Employers also don't want to be 'friended' by interviewees. When one job candidate found the interviewer's personal Facebook page and invited her to be his friend, her reaction was extremely negative. "I'm not his friend. I'm not even his employer. I was somebody who just interviewed him. They call is social networking for a reason."
Seems to me both these articles would make a great foundation for life and career skills lessons on separating personal and professional use of technology.
Technorati Tags: texting students, Washington Post, Seattle Times, school administrators, Susan Brooks-Young
