Life is not a computer game

Sometimes my mother's heart cannot bear the pain I hear and today is no exception. During the debates that have ensued after the posting of my eleven ways to monitor your child online, I have read the words of a mother (and educator) whose child has been a mourner at Dawson College.

She said this banner was hung at the college:

Life is not a computer game;
there is no 2nd level,
there are no extra lives
You’ve lost your reality.

It so moved me, that I have posted a question of the week entitled Life is Not a Computer Game for my students as follows:

This week the Dawson College killings are in the news. I have recently been blogging about it.

Kimveer Gill, the killer spent time on a website posting hate filled words and terror that foreshadowed what he would be doing. An eighteen year old girl is dead.

In response, a mother in Montreal posted her thoughts including the banner that was at the college (her daughter goes there) that said:

“Life is not a computer game;
there is no 2nd level,
there are no extra lives
You've lost your reality.”

Here is your question:

What are the dangers of becoming immersed in a virtual, online world? Do you think that online and offline worlds are easily separated in your mind or are they merged together and why.

Lives are not completed wasted if we can learn something. Let the lost life mean something. This is a topic worth discussing in your older level classes. It is also important to share information with the parents at your school. If you have differing opinions, then let us have dialog and start discussing these things.

The movement online of parental and school supervision is perhaps one of the single greatest challenges that we face over the next few years. We are in denial if we think we can keep the off the Internet and block everything!