Stepping Forward

December 14th 2023

Martin Luther King Jr. famously stated, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

Corretta Scott King, MLK’s wife and an activist in her own right, said, “The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.” I’d like to ponder those two quotes and consider what they mean to UTS as we continue to grapple with the lasting impact of COVID-19 and the effects of social isolation on our students.

Across North America, schools are reckoning with post-COVID-19 changes in student behaviours and capacities. Collaboration, teamwork, conflict resolution and getting together face-to-face with friends (without technology) are just a few areas that have suffered. School absenteeism, anxiety and depression are on the rise, and time spent online is increasing.

It’s not only the amount of time students are spending online that is of concern. It’s the places they are going and the ways in which they are manipulated that should give us all pause. Highly sophisticated social media algorithms intended to increase user engagement are pushing students further away from the centre on social issues, reducing the likelihood that they hear multiple perspectives and negatively impacting their ability and willingness to communicate across differences. These algorithms place students in an echo chamber that fuels disinformation and distorts our natural social instinct to foster cooperation. The result is playing out in schools in a variety of disturbing ways.

We see students less able to talk through differences face-to-face, engaging instead online where the rules of civil engagement are weakened. Harsh words are said – words that would never be said face-to-face. Problems fester and grow into acts of relational aggression that undermine the fabric of our school community. It’s nothing new in the sense that social difficulties, friendship problems, disagreements and arguments have always been a part of adolescence. But what is new is the near normalization of disrespectful (sometimes hateful) language and harmful behaviour that permeates from social media influencers, public figures and even some politicians.

The mark of a good school is its willingness and ability to face problems head on. UTS is definitely a good school – we believe an exemplary school – so in the face of this social dilemma, we’re choosing to act rather than stick our head in the sand or cross our fingers and hope that things improve. After all, ignoring problems rarely ends well and hope is not a strategy.

One of the things we are doing in response to these social changes is engaging bravely in conversation with students and families to ask for help in reigniting compassion and kindness across our school. We do that by identifying problems when they arise and calling students “in” (rather than calling them “out”) to engage in reflection and learning. When hurtful words are said or harmful deeds occur, we need to apply a combination of accountability and kindness.

Speaking up can be hard for students but we don’t want that challenge to limit the learning that needs to happen. This is what drove the creation of The Stepping Forward tool at UTS, a digital platform which allows students to share concerns responsibly and (if they wish) anonymously. It can be found by students in the password-protection Student Portal. The goal is not to “tattle” or “snitch” but to identify problems within the school so that adults can guide students towards good, kind and responsible behaviour. We hope parents will encourage their child to speak up and step forward when problems arise.

Together let’s channel our inner MLK and Coretta King in rejecting silence and embracing compassion to make UTS an even stronger community.