Waldorf Schools are Media Literacy Role Models
The pandemic has brought about a whole new digital landscape to our lives - a Pandora’s Box of screen and media. Parents everywhere are asking themselves: “How do we control this?” What is this doing to my child? What can we do to help our kids help themselves?”
Waldorf schools have been quietly holding this conversation with intentionality and patience: asking families to be thoughtful, mindful, discerning, and slow with media access for children. Not to deprive them, but rather to give children the gift of childhood—the endless opportunities that come with downtime, boredom, and unscheduled freedom. To favor face-to-face interactions over abstract experiences. To work on self-regulation, problem solving, physical movement, and social-emotional regulation.”
-Soni Albricht, Cybercivics | Waldorf School Schools are Media Literacy Role Models
What is unique about the Waldorf approach to technology and Social Media?
by: Deirdre McEachern - former Director of SWS and present parent
While giving a tour of the school the other day, as we entered each classroom, one parent taking the tour kept saying "wow!" As I described the nuances of Waldorf Education this parent was asking great questions, was clearly very excited by the school and told me he was impressed by what he was seeing and hearing. Then, as we left the building he turned to me and said "This is an amazing education. I just can't imagine doing the no tv thing." Needless to say, I was surprised at his comment, which led into a great conversation about Waldorf and media. I wondered how many people mistakenly dismissed Waldorf education for fear of being forced to give up their tvs!
Let me set the record straight. At Seacoast Waldorf School every family, with helpful guidance from their child's teacher, chooses how much media exposure (if any) their children are allowed to have. Waldorf Education is not anti-media, rather, it is pro-imagination and family connection. Children receive access to television, video games, and computers with intentionality. Here’s why:
The pace of television today is not what it was when we were children. One minute of Sponge Bob Square Pants has the same amount of scene changes as one hour of Mr. Rogers. Rapid scene changes does not allow the young child's brain to correctly understand the image so it is sent to the fight or flight part of the brain. When this part of the brain is stimulated for a while it creates a low level of anxiety in the child.
TV, video games and online imagery are wonderfully larger-than-life! When a child sees the intricate details of a frog's eye on PBS Nature, eventually they lose interest in playing with just a plain old ordinary frog outside.
When a child is spending hours watching tv, playing video games or staring at a computer screen, they are not only engaged in a very sedentary, often solo activity; they are also being passively influenced by someone else's ideas. This is no doubt entertaining, however, when they do this for long periods of time -- they are losing opportunities to create and develop their own ideas and connect with family members. When in front of a screen, children are not engaged in imaginative play and are missing opportunities for developmentally appropriate (and important) activities and family connection.
At Seacoast Waldorf School we take an informed and strategic approach to screen time. We prefer no television watching during the school week or at least none before school. This is so the children’s imaginations are engaged in play at school without the clutter of things they have seen. We also ask that any media be age-appropriate and preferably without advertisements such as G-rated DVDs, PBS, or On-Demand films when possible. Lastly, avoiding exposing children to adult content such as news broadcasts or radio helps to reduce unnecessary anxiety and preserve the invaluable innocence of childhood.
You will be amazed at the level of creative activity that will blossom in your house when the television is off! Often the less media a child is exposed to, the less they depend on it or ask for it. Boredom generates creativity, or at least navigation toward other enjoyed activities such as music, art, outdoor time, sports or hobbies. Please feel free to ask your teachers for ideas, advice and help if you wish to pursue a more media-free family life.
During the school day, the way we teach with technology at Seacoast Waldorf School is also measured, thoughtful, and grounded in healthy child development. Being especially cognizant of the damage too much screen time can have on very young children’s cognitive development, as well as thinking, memory and language skills; we offer an intentionally low-tech, highly creative Early Childhood and Elementary Curriculum.
In Middle School we introduce technology in the classroom through the award-winning Cyber Civics Digital Citizenship ProgramⓇ, keyboarding skills classes, Google Classroom, student Google Mail accounts, Google documents for reports and papers, and using Google Slides for presentations. Students learn the skills necessary for academic online research, digital and media literacy, online privacy, ethics, screen time self-discipline and personal security in the digital age. This curriculum allows our students to become effective and informed digital citizens in the 21st century. They learn useful everyday skills to navigate the world of technology, social media and online entertainment in a safe and responsible way. We want our students to have the opportunity to develop critical skills and digital experience so that when they enter high school they have been well prepared and have a productive relationship to technology use. Our graduates feel empowered and knowledgeable to make healthy and ethical decisions about their screen use and online interactions with others.
“While many middle school students know their way around the device / app / platform, they haven’t been trained much in ethics, privacy, balance, and the decision-making aspects actually needed to survive and thrive in the digital age during adolescence.”