A counselor at Timber Ridge Elementary School has created a program that provides informational sessions with parents on issues such as cyberbullying and digital citizenship.
Joslin Maxwell recently held a “Cyber Power” session that informs school staff as well as parents. Here’s more from the Cobb County School District, which also submitted the photo above:
According to Maxwell, elementary schools like Timber Ridge can help parents prevent their children from falling prey to the negative aspects of the digital world.
“The Cyber Power event gave parents the tools to go home and put a cell phone contract and an Internet safety contract in place,” Maxwell added.
The school provided both contracts to the parents so they could outline cyber safety rules for their children now.
“You want to make technology routines and expectations a priority from the very beginning, or else there will inevitably be push back when parents asks their high school students to let them look at their phones,” the Timber Ridge counselor cautioned.
Timber Ridge is also boosting cyber awareness among parents by encouraging families to take part in the “Stack Challenge” and put down their phones, tablets and laptops, and plug-in to quality family time.
The goal of the “Stack Challenge” is to remind parents that their use of technology is the greatest example to their children. Maxwell said parents should be part of creating the “balance is best” practice when using technology in the home.
Many of the students Maxwell talked to about the challenge feared it would be a difficult task for their parents.
“When I talked to one of my fourth grade classes about the challenge, I had a student tell me that their mom needed her phone at all times because they were remodeling the kitchen, and she needed to be able to always look at the pictures of the tiles,” Maxwell recalled. “The added awareness of just how much we are all using our screens is a valuable take-away.”
According to the district, Timber Ridge will be having another parent night called Cyber Power 2.0 in May with Jeff Dess, the CCSD’s coordinator of prevention and intervention.
