Over a hundred members of the community joined us at Balwyn Cinemas for the documentary ‘Screenagers’. This event was designed to support families in their discussions about healthy technology use. One of the suggestions made in the documentary was to develop a contract to clarify your family’s expectations about technology use. To aid families in developing a contract, we have provided a resource kit with some guidelines, an example contract and further resources. Download the Screenagers Resource Kit.
We believe that the School and families are a team when it comes to developing good digital citizens. Events like Screenagers are an important part of this; it helps us develop the conversation.
We have produced the Screenagers Resource Kit to help support families in their journey developing responsible digital citizens. Some parts of it might not work for your family; every family is different. For the most part, these resources have been selected as a starting point for you to develop the approach that best suits your family.
We would like our students to feel safe communicating and discussing the issues of technology with trusted adults, particularly their parents. Our aim is to foster young adults who can self-regulate, know the dangers and the power of technology and are confidently able to navigate these issues and new ones as they come up. To reach this point, we want them to use technology in an ‘age and stage’ appropriate way, where access and responsibilities grow as they mature and expectations (and consequences) are clearly understood by all parties. There may come a point where a young person can not self-regulate; at this point, the adults in their lives may need to step in and make decisions until they are in a safe place to make those decisions again. Strathcona wants to support families during these times.
A good first step for families is to work collaboratively to build a family contract. Many families find this a valuable way to create a clear and common understanding of the expectations about how your family sees technology and how it should be used. A family contract should also outline the consequences when those expectations are not met, while keeping the door open for communication and further discussion. After all, technology is constantly changing; the best way to stay up-to-date is to keep talking about it. Safety – in a physical, social and emotional sense – is also a concern; we want to ensure that young people feel that they can seek help if it is needed.
If you have feedback or want to seek further help, you can contact our Pastoral team, Sharon Turner, School Psychologist (Junior School), Kerri Rhodes, School Psychologist (Senior School), krhodes@strathcona.vic.edu.au or Michelle Dennis, Head of Digital Learning and Innovation, mdennis@strathcona.vic.edu.au
