Over the past 5 weeks MHHS students have been working through an orientation course offered during our SUCCESS! Period. The content in the course is designed to give students a foundation in everything from working in our digital environment, to getting organized, what to do in the event of emergencies, and understanding our grading system. The final lesson today focused on conflict resolution and how to solve problems in a healthy and productive way.
At MHHS, the number one cause of conflict that we see among students are things that are posted on social media. Smartphones open up an amazing number of ways in which teens can communicate with each other and many are using them at all times of day and night. While we restrict the use of phones during class time, the ubiquitous and addicting nature of the connections that are possible with peers means that the urge to use them is great. Many teens use those tools in very positive ways but there is also a tendency to spread rumors, post negative comments, or share private and potentially embarrassing information about others. When teens decide to confront each other over things that are often not even posted during school hours, conflicts on campus arise.
The solution to this problem is not simple given that fact that social media use is integrated into the daily lives of most of us. At MHHS we focus on digital literacy and the responsible use of technology as a common theme in our weekly advisory classes. We also want to make sure that you are aware as parents and ask that you reinforce the responsible use of social media at home.
The following articles from Common Sense Media (a site that we get a lot of our digital literacy curriculum from) give information about many of the popular apps that teens are currently using. Many of the apps such as Twitter, SnapChat, and Instagram are well known but there are a variety of others that are used in ways that you may find surprising. As one of the articles states, “The more you know about each, the better you'll be able to communicate with your teen about safe choices.”
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