Thank you letters from elementary school students after “A Very Social Presentation” in November 2016

Dear Mrs. Cannon – The kids have spoken.

What a happy surprise to receive another stack of letters this year after speaking to the 4th, 5th and 6th grade students of Pleasant Valley Elementary School. These letters are humbling, heartwarming and the most invaluable feedback I could ever receive. I’ll let the kids words speak for themselves. The following are excerpts from some of the hundreds of letters I received.

“Anybody can teach internet safety, but you teach it the best.” – Noah

“When I heard you were coming to our school again, I got super excited! I couldn’t wait to learn more about social media and how to use it properly. I will always remember to think before I speak and the “Don’t Show Me” dare. You are an inspiration to many students around the world! I really appreciate your time coming and hope you have more research to improve the students in our schools.” – Ana

“I am happy you were generous with your time and gave everyone a life changing assembly. You have inspired me to be careful with the internet.” – Schuyler

“I will always remember “Don’t show me.” It was really fun. Your slide show was the best!” – James

“I enjoyed everything you taught me. The idea for “don’t show me” was astonishing… my favorite part was “don’t show me” it was so inspiring and I think everybody should know about it.” – Lily

“I’ve had some online safety difficulties and you’ve inspired me to stop what I am doing and start thinking.” – Simbai

“My favorite part was the “Don’t Show Me” challenge. I will be sure to do it!” – Ania

“You inspire me to do what’s right.” – Lucas

“Once I had an app and a guy asked me where I lived, so I told my parents and deleted the app. that happened after you came, so I knew what to do! I will always remember what you taught me.” – Hannah

“Thank you for coming to our school. You are such a great impact and inspiration on others and me. I appreciate you coming to teach me and my peers a lesson.” – Machai

“I just wanted you to know that I am grateful for your time and knowledge. I will tell my friends and family to turn off geotagging!!! I will also remember to #dontshowme.” – Bella

“You inspired me to do good things on social media like deny friend requests when I don’t know the person!” – Vicky

“I will always remember to make sure I know the person before I let them follow me. I will also remember to not share any of my personal information… p.s. I took the #dontshowme dare!” – Joleen

“It was a very inspirational assembly. I learned a lot.” – Ryan

“I love how you let other people talk about what happened to them or their friends. You are very inspiring.” – Leah

“You inspire me to be myself and never do anything that could hurt someone’s feelings. I thought that you were amazing and I can’t wait to see you again.” – Annabella

“I will always remember the things you taught us and I’m inspired to speak out about it myself. Thank you again for teaching us memorable phrases such as “Don’t show me.” – Peyton

“The most exciting part was everything. p.s. don’t show me.” – Andrew

“Thank you for coming to my school to tell us about internet safety. I would not know as much as I do now if you didn’t come in to tell us. Thank you for teaching me those things.” – Sarah

“I’ll always turn down the volume when another player is talking. I loved your book! If someone is bullying someone else I’ll report it! You’re very inspiring!” – Annabelle

“I will always remember to not let random people follow me on Musical.ly. The most interesting part of the assembly was when you stepped on the egg. I also loved your book.” – Sophia

“You inspired me to be more safe on the internet. I am very happy that you came. The most interesting part was when you stepped on the egg.” – Laura

During the assemblies there was a demonstration using an egg (the kids didn’t know I had removed the inside). We took turns talking about the egg and the kids could say whatever they wanted about it, positive or negative. Then I had a volunteer come up and step on the egg. Afterwards we discussed whether or not we would be able to put the egg back together and the fact that even if we could, it would never be quite the same. It was an effective analogy to talk about the power of our words and how once we’ve put them out there- even if we take them back- even if we apologize, things will never be the same as they were before.

“Thank you for your time to give us information about internet safety. I really most likely think that what you said matters to the school. Thank you.” – Nick

“I did the #dontshowme challenge on my Musical.ly. Your knowledge really inspired me in many ways. I read your book and it is amazing. I want to be an author one day. Thank you.” – Bryce

“One of my favorite parts was the “don’t show me challenge.” – Colin

“I will always remember the time you said to turn off the locations on your phone. You inspired me not to chat with other people in games.” – Mike

“I appreciate you doing this… I have learned a lot of things from you and what not to do on the computer.” – Alex

“You are such a great person to help people with the internet and how you understand how private isn’t always private. I am so glad that you were the person to tell me about the internet.” – Livia

“Thank you Mrs. Cannon for doing the “#dontshowme” challenge. I already did it twice. All over social media kids are doing it. I also learned that your account is never private, so don’t show personal information. Because of that I feel a lot more safe on social media. – Chase

These letters are a treasure. Looking forward to meeting and speaking to more amazing kids!

Thanks for stopping by,

xo J.J.