FIRST DRAFT OF MY DOPA LETTER

Thanks to Doug Johnson for his model, which I borrow from.

Dear Representative :

First of all, thank you for the work and time you have spent on behalf of us, your constituents. Second, as a voting educator and school administrator, who serves in one of the largest school districts in San Antonio, Tx, I have some concerns. These concerns pertain to the Deleting Online Predators Act 2006 (a.k.a. DOPA) legislation proposed May 9, 2006. The points I'm sharing with you are informed by over 15 years of experience as a technology-using educator, published author, child advocate, and, most importantly, parent.

This amendment is too broad and far-reaching in its restriction of educators' use of social networking tools for legitimate purposes. Legitimate purposes include using these tools to foster democratic dialogue and cross-cultural communication so essential in today's society. Fostering two-way communication, modelling appropriate use of technology must be one of our primary goals in schools today. Everyone in our community must know how to use technology appropriately. This is not just a matter of modelling civil discourse, as you do every day, but also allowing teachers to foster digital citizenship.

Students are reaching out to each other in the same ways we do as adults. Unfortunately, they are mis-appropriating adult spaces for children's purposes. In one school district in San Antonio, some have embarked on a journey that takes advantage of social networking tools that bring the best of these tools to education. I invite you to visit school district in the heart of San Antonio to see how blogs and podcasting are enhancing students' voices in a safe and responsible manner.

Being safe and protecting our children is often not a matter of just blocking web sites of legitimate educational value, dis-empowering educators and parents. Rather, it means allowing our children to become proficient in the tools they will need to succeed in a global education race. The American Revolution was about shaking off the restraints of tyrants. More appropriate modelling of technology use in schools is needed, not authoritarian lockdowns that are the slippery slope DOPA starts us down.

Join with your constituents in developing digital citizenship among our children and demand that it be made a critical part of content-area (e.g. Math,Science, Reading/Writing) curriculum being adopted. I pray that you will foster open-communication regarding these issues. Please feel free to call on me at [number removed] or via email at "mguhlin@yahoo.com"

With appreciation of your efforts on behalf of us all, especially my children,

Miguel Guhlin
Director of Instructional Technology
San Antonio, Tx
http://www.mguhlin.net
Email: mguhlin@yahoo.com

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