'Flip It: Change Your Feed' teaches moms, daughters to safely navigate social media
Lakehead Public Schools, teachers groups coming together to offer one-day workshop in Thunder Bay
Mothers and their daughters in grades 7 and 8 are coming together in Thunder Bay, Ont., for a day long conference Saturday to learn how to navigate the highs and lows of social media.
Flip It: Change Your Feed aims to teach them how turn a negative messages into something positive through collaboration, craft, and powerful discussion.
The workshop is being organized by Lakehead teachers Tiffany Jarva and Tanya Gouthro. Gouthro, who teaches grades 5 to 8 French Immersion at Claude E. Garton Public School, said she was motivated to help organize Flip It:Change Your Feed because of the sometimes "graphic' content she sees young adolescents sharing on social media platforms.
"On the disturbing front, I'm seeing selfies taken, with big smiles and coquettish looks on their faces, with captions that are the absolute polar opposite to that, where you're insulting somebody while smiling at them."
Attendees at the conference will hear how that kind of behaviour affected Lynelle Cantwell of Newfoundland. She's sharing her story of standing up to cyberbullying.
There will also be workshops on mental health, dangerous apps and how to keep kids safe online.
"If all of those girls attending the conference know they don't need to be sucked into negative interactions on social media, then, Wow!, I'll feel like a super hero basically."
Registration is free at: Flip It Canada on Facebook or [email protected].
The conference is being sponsored by Lakehead Public Schools, the Lakehead Elementary Teachers of Ontario, and the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario.