The Golden Rule 2.0

Learning the Golden Rule

golden-rule-2-0When I was a kid, my parents taught me about the golden rule.  I still remember the first time my mother told me about this rule.  I had just gotten in a fight with my sister and was calling her names.  My mother entered the room and bent down to my level and calmly asked, “Would you want someone to call you names?”  I replied, “No.”  Then she said, “Why would you do it to someone else?”  I had no answer.  It’s a great lesson and the world would be a better place if everyone followed it.  But this rule, like most other things in life, needs to change with the times.

The Rise of Cyber Bullying

With the advances of modern technology and the rise of social media came cyber bullying.  Now students are able to post mean and hateful things about their peers 24/7.  Most of these hateful things are things they would never say to their peers’ actual faces.

Introducing the Golden Rule 2.0

The golden rule needs to adapt along with the times. shareit for android As a speaker, I introduce students to the Golden Rule 2.0.  Whereas the Golden Rule instructs to “do to others as you want done to you,” the Golden Rule 2.0 instructs to “post of others as you would want posted about you.”  This is covered in both my Bullying Prevention Edutainment presentation and my Social Media Dangers and Responsible Posting presentation.

Stop and Think…Would I Want this Posted About Me?

Students often post without thinking.  This is especially true when the student is upset and emotional.  When this happens, the students can say very hurtful things without stopping to ask themselves, “Would I want someone to post this about me?”