Online Savvy & Safety for the Younger Grades: It's All About Relationships
Many Cedarwood students have a different relationship with the internet than they did a few months ago.
Parents and caregivers have asked for information and resources to inform and protect children as they venture into the online world, either for the first time or in a deeper way than they had before last spring. Some of you have expressed fear or sadness around this technology becoming necessary at an earlier age than previously expected.
These feelings are real and important. This is not the way we anticipated bringing these children into the digital sphere.
I have the joy and privilege of bringing the Cyber Civics curriculum to our vibrant Cedarwood middle school classes. In each group so far, there has been a wide range of knowledge and experience with technology, online usage, and social media. Students have taught each other as much as I have taught them, and the conversations that get jump-started in these classes are some of my favorite to date.
Under normal circumstances, 6th grade is a great age to dive into some hefty tech topics, but we are currently in a very different sphere of Waldorf education. Therefore, many of our younger students are getting a deeper, earlier internet experience than in previous years.
You and I both want them to be as safe and prepared as possible!
Though I cannot bring the entire Cyber Civics curriculum to our younger grades, I am bringing an introductory presentation and story to each cohort of grades 1-5 in our first month of school. In the story presented, two students of the same age, Damian and Lilia, separately navigate new presents of a bicycle and a laptop. Both children operate with the same ideals in mind:
Before and after you go online, talk about what you plan to do and what you did. Share the incredible wealth of information and experiences with your friends and family!
Damian and his mom come to agreements about how far he’ll ride his bike in the neighborhood, and that he’ll stick to the roads he knows well. Lilia and her dad come to similar agreements about which websites she will visit. Afterward, they are able to chat about their positive experiences and make plans for future adventures.Being a good digital citizen is just as important as being a good citizen of any in-person community. Kind words and actions are essential to good citizenship.
Damian speaks kindly to an elderly neighbor, while Lilia speaks kindly while Facetiming with her grandma.Safety first! Never share more personal information online than you would in person.
When Damian makes a new friend, he checks in at home before having a playdate. When Lilia wants to join an online red panda fan club, she checks with her dad before submitting personal information or engaging in online chat platforms. Lilia keeps track of her passwords as carefully as Damian cares for his new house key.You are as responsible for your actions online as you are for your actions anywhere, and what you do online stays around forever.
Lilia takes this knowledge into consideration when navigating the red panda fan club website, choosing not to post anything to it yet.Trust your gut. If you get into a communication or a site that seems like more than you are ready for, it probably is. Check in with a trusted adult before going any farther.
When Damian wants to ride his bike farther than he has before, he makes sure that it’s okay with his mom. When Lilia is tempted by a pop-up ad to go to a secondary website, she talks to her dad and chooses an alternate activity instead.Whenever possible, be an upstander. Counteract unkind words and actions, or offer kindness to those around you who others have mistreated.
Damian stands up for a bullied friend in person, while Lilia stands up for a fellow fan club member who was teased in a comment thread.
These presentations will be most effective if the information is reiterated and digested through at-home conversation and practice.
The number one tip that I can give you is that internet savvy and safety need to be guided and modeled by the adults at home.
Just as with topics such as sex education or anti-racism, this requires ongoing conversations that 1) start simple, and 2) begin before the children need to navigate the material on their own.
These conversations can then continue throughout childhood, puberty, and adolescence, building on the solid foundation that was set early on, in order for children to feel welcome and able to bring tough topics to the adults they trust the most.
Parents who bring comprehensive and effective sex ed from birth start with two things: the body parts involved and the relationships you have with yourself and others, which will someday build to emotionally and physically intimate levels. Educating children about technology and the internet is exactly like sex ed. To have it go well, start with the parts involved, then the positive potential of the relationships involved. Introduce the technology, show how to safely get from one site to another, and talk about what a privilege it is to use these tools to connect with other people, their work, and ideas. After these are set, you have a foundation upon which to build on themes of emotional and physical safety, personal preferences and limits, communication styles, and navigating uncharted territory.
Just as with sex ed and anti-racism, conversations around tech and media can be challenging and charged, or they can build over time and truly celebrate the positives available through the topic!
True holistic education begins at birth, and as with many topics in life, you can be your child’s first and best teacher. My goal is to empower you to have these conversations with your children, to boost the success of your work with “in-school” lessons, and support students and parents alike.
Additional parent resources can be found on the Cyber Civics parent hub. I encourage you to explore these resources and bring your findings to your children in the manner that feels best to your family culture.
Take time to explore the internet together and bookmark safe sites for them to explore, come to mutual agreements about how and when screens are used in this new school year, and let your children know that no matter what, you love them and want them to come to you first with questions or concerns about what they find online.
Please reach out via email if you have any questions or are seeking more information on any of these topics!
Claire Harrison is what you might call a Waldorf lifer. She attended the Portland Waldorf School for fifteen years, and though her daydreaming nine-year-old self would be shocked to hear it, she graduated high school determined not to be a teacher. However, by the time she graduated from undergrad, she was committed to pursuing a career in Waldorf teaching and accepted the position of First Grade Assistant to the Class of 2016 (who would later be her 8th graders!). She has worn many hats at both Cedarwood and PWS since 2008, and received her MEd in Elementary Education with a Waldorf Certificate from Antioch University NE while teaching full time. Now serving as the Educational Support Specialist, Mrs. Harrison greatly enjoys working with students in every grade, helping them find true success in their time here at Cedarwood and beyond.