Dear Grade 7 mothers,
A big thank you to all who were able to attend our meeting, as well as to those who couldn’t make it but expressed their interest before and after. It was proof once again that we all truly share the common goal of helping our daughters navigate this technological age in a healthy and Torah true way.
Here is a summary of the comments and suggestions from the meeting and those who sent in their views. If anyone would like to add comments and/or suggestions before an official draft of an agreement is written and sent out, please feel free to reply to this email address before Thursday, February 28. Please note that our goal is to work toward a common consensus among the whole grade and every opinion is welcome and wanted. (The notes below reflect the opinions only of those mothers in attendance at the meeting this past Tuesday.)
1. There was a
general consensus that we felt that it was a priority to respect each of the
families’ differences and that the best way to do so is by hearing permission
from the girl’s parents before allowing them access to any device in your home.
(Use of any device requires the permission of both the parents of the home and
of the guest.)
2.
There was a general agreement that there is no reason for an internet capable
device to be turned on in school, whether during school hours or during an
extra-curricular activity. To this end, it was felt that it would be beneficial
to suggest to the school that they could provide better access for the girls to
a telephone in order to call home after hours.
3. It was agreed by all present that there was no need for there to be any form of social media chats among classmates, with a separate discussion on whether this included one on one or only group chats. Beyond the other dangers of online chat groups, those girls who are not connected will end up left out, which is not the sense of achdus and ahavas Yisrael that we hope to generate among our girls.
4. Along with parental oversight, there was a discussion of the importance of filters and parental controls on all home and personal devices. Mothers were reminded by those with more technical knowledge that the password on a router can and must be changed from the one that is printed on the router itself, that other children (and our own) can bring in devices that can be connected to your wifi if it does not have a secure password, and that all devices should have at minimum a password for access.
5. A separate, tangential discussion was offered concerning music and permitting non-Jewish(/secular) music at school. This again is an issue of respecting the boundaries of other families rather than prohibiting this type of music.
6. A general conversation was held about helping to teach our girls about respecting themselves and respecting others and about not judging or pressuring others who do or do not use technology.
7. It was agreed that no seventh grade student should have a personal social media account on any platform.
This meeting was part of a larger initiative known as M.U.S.T., Mothers United to Stall Technology. While recognizing and accepting that many of our children already have some access to internet enabled electronics, the goal of this program is to slow down exposure and provide a responsible environment for the entire class.
If you have any comments or suggestions, please reply to this email no later than Thursday, February 28. The above, along with the comments received, will be used to create a class protocol that will be distributed to all lass parents. It will be requested that parents sign and return the protocols, so each families’ independent voice and opinion is very important. The protocols will be set for this school year and open for revision in Grade Eight.
Sincerely, Sarah Rochel Hewitt
P.S. Mrs. Cipi Schechter asked me to include a note that she will be giving a technology tutorial presentation on Tuesday, February 26, at 12:30 at the home of Sarala Schondorf.
