On Thursday, the Elms and Tamaracks signed an Internet contract (Click on link for text). This is a very important document for us and we take a lot of time with the students explaining our expectations for computer and Internet use. If students purposefully break the contract, they are not allowed to use computers while they are at Prairie Creek.
We believe that the Internet is an invaluable tool in a progressive classroom. It allows us instant access to amazing information, stoking the fires of curiosity. There is so much power in being able to celebrate a child's question by stopping everything and finding an answer. The Internet gives us that ability. But, sadly, the Internet is also a place filled with commercials, bad information and false identities.
We speak to students directly about what to do if an inappropriate site appears on a screen. We have filters on our computers but we teach the children how to do a search as though there were not filters. This prepares them to use the Internet safely regardless of the setting. We insist that they use a "kid friendly" search engine (all of which are linked from the Prairie Creek site) and that they go only "one step" from these search engines.
We insist that children protect their personal information and never give out their name, age, city, address or phone number. E-mailing is only allowed with an adult, using the adult's account. Children are not allowed to check or write personal e-mail while at school. We are frank about the number of people pretending to be somebody else on the Internet. Students have a surprising number of stories to share about this in their own lives.
Finally, we ask them to promise not to use the Internet at home or at school to hurt people. It is too easy to write hurtful things in an e-mail and we urge students never to write anything they wouldn't say in person. We also insist they never write anything anonymously. We talk to them about cyber-bullying and how students use social networking sites to gang up on individuals. I hope by talking about these things early, we can help students recognize unhealthy patterns when they arise. Perhaps if they are armed with knowledge, they will have the courage to stop it from happening.
We hope you will use this opportunity to have a long conversation with your child about computer use. Set your own expectations for their computer use at home and at friends. We use a written contract to emphasize the size of the responsibility -- you can do the same thing at home. Many parents have come to me after their child has left PCCS, wishing they had set limits earlier, before the technology use came to be seen as a right by their child.
I have a lot of resources about Internet and technology use and children. Please don't hesitate to ask questions if you have them.
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