9 March, 2015
Principal of Hopkinton Middle School Alan Keller recently sent the below letter to all Middle School Parents due to issues that have come up with 8th grade students;
"Dear Grade 8 Parents:
In the past three weeks, Mrs. Benbenek, Mr. Meehan, Mrs. Grady, Officer Powers and I have been working with several grade 8 students on issues of inappropriate use of social media, specifically the sending and forwarding of explicit pictures and messages. In speaking with many students, it is clear that we must do a better job of educating and preparing our students about the powerful tool that many of them now carry with them twenty-four hours a day.
As a school, we are working with our students and staff, and connecting with outside resources including the District Attorney in helping our students recognize the impact that a post or text has on others, in addition to conveying the legal consequences of certain actions. In addition, we firmly believe that it is imperative to partner with you in this effort.
Recently, I heard a colleague make an analogy comparing cell phones to a playground. As parents, when we take our child to a playground, we likely spend significant time there introducing, supporting, observing and encouraging our child in those early days. We teach our child how to use the monkey bars, the slide, and the swing set. As the child develops confidence and skill in using those pieces of equipment, we gradually release responsibility.
Unfortunately, when it comes to our children and cell phones, we typically hand over the keys to this “digital playground” with minimal introduction, instruction, or guidelines. Children are often left to their own devices with this incredibly powerful and potentially dangerous tool in their hands with little to no supervision, rules, guidance or expectations.
As Elizabeth Englander from the Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center reminds us, we have spent time and money monitoring and filtering home computers -- many of us opting to keep our home computer in a central location. Yet, without hesitation, many of us hand over a phone to our children without any thought to the fact that we are delivering to them an unfiltered personal computer that is with them throughout the day (and sometimes all night).
I would strongly encourage you to talk to your child about his or her phone, how he or she uses it, and establish or re-establish a conversation about its appropriate use. Our children are living in a world with tools that many of us do not fully understand. The volume of applications (“apps”) and the pace of new ones entering the market makes our task as adults particularly difficult as we are constantly playing a game of “catch-up.” Instead of being reactive by relying exclusively on filtering, blocking, and screening specific “apps,” we believe it best to engage students in a conversation in which we educate, encourage and set expectations about appropriate use.
In communicating with students, I believe it is important that we convey the following:
A sent text or posted image may go beyond the person or persons that they send it to.
Nearly everything that we post or send is both public and permanent.
A text or image that a child sends or posts using photo messaging applications like Snapchat designed to self-delete can be saved and shared.
It is illegal for anyone, with lascivious intent, to knowingly send pictures of a person under 18 in a state of nudity (or semi-nudity). As an example, a child under the age of 18 who photographs him or herself nude, and sends it to someone else, violates this statute. The person who receives this image and who knowingly forwards it may also be in violation of this law.
There are some outstanding guides and resources available online through a variety of sources. One that we find especially useful is Common Sense Media. They have created a Family Tip Sheet on Privacy and Digital Footprints as well as one on Digital Life.
Finally, from the archives is a Principal’s Newsletter from April 2013 for additional tips on encouraging safe online relationships and activity.
Thank you for your time, support and efforts. Please let us know if you have any questions, comments, resources or information.
Thank you,
Alan M. Keller
HMS Principal"
