Letter From The Headmaster - December 2017
Many of you will be familiar with the term IQ (Intelligence Quotient – a way of trying to measure one’s intellectual capacity) and some will have heard of EQ (Emotional Quotient) – a way of talking about emotional intelligence. In this letter I want to talk about DQ (Digital Quotient) and how we are looking to improve the “Digital Intelligence” of our pupils.
As part of our DQ planning, we have been developing our strategies to support all members of the Princethorpe Community in becoming good Digital Citizens by helping pupils, parents and staff to use digital technology and media in a safe, responsible and effective way.
Digital Citizenship covers a wide range of areas which are neatly summarized by the DQ Institute. The specific area I want to focus on in this letter is the use of mobile phones and Screen Time Management (STM) as we believe that many of our pupils struggle to manage their mobile phones, screen time, multitasking, engagement in online games and social media with the necessary self-control.
Over recent years there has been a huge culture shift regarding mobile phones, particularly smart phones. Whilst their utility and versatility are undeniable, our experience is that they have also had quite a negative impact upon the school community. Our concerns can be summarized as follows:
- For some members of our community there is an apparent dependency on mobile phones, which can affect manners and social interaction.
- There has been a dramatic increase in unkindness associated with inappropriate use of mobile phones.
- We are very mindful of the inherent health and safety issues: not only that of walking around whilst preoccupied but also the much debated longer term impact on health, particularly surrounding the negative impact of excessive screen time on sleep.
- Finally, there is considerable peer pressure for boys and girls to have the latest phones and to subscribe to numerous social media platforms, all of which come with potential costs and risks, and we hope to help mitigate those burdens and enable us all to better manage those risks.
Whilst offering potentially hugely exciting educational benefits, digital technology presents many challenges for teachers and parents. Consequently, we are reviewing our mobile phone policy to address the above concerns. We also want to work with and support parents as we know it can be difficult to monitor children’s use of digital technology and agree (and adhere) to sensible restrictions and guidelines on the appropriate use of digital technology at home.
Before making any policy changes I would like to get some feedback from parents. I am therefore inviting parents to share any thoughts, ideas or concerns you have by completing a brief questionnaire which can be accessed here. I would be grateful if you can complete it by Friday 17 December. For parents who are interested, I can recommend looking at the Parentzone website which has a number of good articles, guidance and advice for parents and school in relation to Digital Citizenship and on-line safety.
Yours sincerely
Ed Hester
Headmaster