Leon County, the county I grew up in, has always been very forward thinking in their fusing of technology and the public school system. This means that for many people that grew up in the early 2000's, some of their first experiences with technology, especially the internet, took place within the school system. This is true for me as well, since I didn't have unrestricted access to the internet until 5th grade, and my family didn't get Wi-fi until 3rd grade. So almost all of my experiences on the internet were at first in a school environment, for school work. Due to Leon County's forward thinking nature with regards to technology, all students of Leon County were given free access to all Microsoft programs, specifically Microsoft word. Due to this, I became acquainted with this software at a relatively young age, and am very familiar with it.
The term digital native refers to a persons relation to technology. A digital native is thought to be someone who has grown up with tech their whole life, and as a result, has an in-depth and intimate understanding of modern technologies, specifically the internet as a tool and a culture. However, I think there is a better way to describe this. Because under this definition, I am not necessarily considered a digital native. My family always tended to be behind on tech trends. I watched VHS tapes, listened to cassette tapes, and had next to no access to the internet for the first 9 years of my life. Yet, I am very internet savvy. How is this possible? I think it's because digital natives do equate closer to societal trends than we would think. The whole of culture is now shifted to revolve around the internet, and because of this, in order to be a part of the conversation, you must be "fluent" in technology. Due to Gen Z proximity to the birth of the internet, they understand this more intuitively. Yet, anyone can become fluent, and most people in the modern era must have at least some competency in tech and the internet. So in this respect, I do think that the majority of young people today qualify as digital natives, not only because they grew up around it, but also due the necessity of using technology in the modern day.
Out of the ISTE standards, I think that the standards for being a leader is most important. This is because our leaders are the ones who advocate for others, fight for what is right, and get important processes and tasks done. This is especially important as teachers will educate future leaders, and since leader provide a model to those around them, I believe that the rather general title of leader goes hand in hand with education. Because in many jobs, leaders will be teaching those around them how to achieve goal in the best and most effective way possible, and without a proper leader, there is no one to lead workers in the right direction.
