Media Policy

Children enrolled in the Early Childhood programs at Green Meadow should be given the gift of a media-free childhood. Teachers are available and willing to assist with transitions to a media-free environment. Consistent with Waldorf Education’s emphasis on learning through direct experience, children in the lower grades (1-5) should be allowed to develop new ideas and attitudes based on real personal interactions, without the distortion of mediation through technology.

Children in the lower grades should not be exposed to electronic media in their daily lives. They should not watch television, movies, or videos, play video games, or use computers. Additionally, exposure to radio and recorded music should be limited and age appropriate.

During Grades 6, 7, and 8, it is appropriate for students to have a gradual and guided introduction to the applications and use of electronic media. During these transition years, use and exposure to media should be very moderate, under clear parental guidance and participation, and not work to the detriment of the social and educational climate of the class. Media exposure can be a socially divisive influence in these years and often works directly against what is brought in the classroom.

Children in Grades 6, 7, and 8 should not be exposed to electronic media during the school week and should have, at most, limited exposure on weekends and vacations.

Any exposure in Grades 6-8 should be in keeping with the following:

Television and Movies: It is important that parents carefully select and monitor any visual and audio media to which their children are exposed. Movies rated R and many PG-13 movies are clearly inappropriate at this age; parents are urged to preview movies to make their own informed judgments. As a courtesy to other families and to nurture a positive social climate, parents should not allow children who are guests in their homes to be exposed to visual and audio media that has not been cleared with the visitor’s parents. Students in Grades 6-8 should not watch television or movies during the school week and should never have a television or computer in their bedrooms.

Video Games: Children of this age should not have access to video games, including online gaming sites. Video games can be addictive and can adversely impact students’ work, as well as the social life of the class.

Music Players: Any use of music players should be limited and through docking stations rather than headphones. The use of music players with headphones both isolates the listener and has real potential to damage children’s hearing.

Internet Access: Children of this age should not have unrestricted or regular access to the Internet. If they do access the Internet or use the computer, such access and use should be carefully monitored, for limited time periods, and never on school nights. Please protect computers in the home with passwords to control access. Do not allow computer use when a parent is not at home. Please locate computers in open areas of the home and never in children’s bedrooms.

Social Networks: No grade school student should have access to any social networking site. These sites (examples of which are Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter) limit their ability to interact in socially healthy ways.

Cell Phones: Students should use cell phones as telephones only, not for Internet access, as cameras, or as gaming or audio devices. We have seen text messaging create damaging social situations in our community. Accordingly, the text messaging feature on these students’ phones should be disabled or restricted to emergency situations (and never to be used between schoolmates).

Email, Instant Messaging (IM), and Chat Rooms: Students should not make use of these technologies as forms of communication between classmates, as experience shows that such use creates serious social problems in the culture of the classroom.

The media policy in the High School recognizes that it is appropriate for 15- to 19-year-olds to learn to critically approach and effectively use media. The school recognizes the importance of media literacy, including educating students to understand the technological principles underlying (and the social transformations resulting from) electronic media, and seeks to meet this need through a curriculum that includes Internet research skills, computer programming, the science behind new technologies, and the social consequences of the ongoing media revolution.

However, because inappropriate or excessive use of electronic media undermines teenagers’ living relationships to other people, the world around them, and themselves, parents should continue to monitor and limit their teenagers’ exposure to electronic media and maintain an open dialogue with their teenage children about the role of media in their lives.

Internet and video game use can become addictive, consuming time that could otherwise be spent in more productive pursuits, and can give rise to increasing emotional and intellectual detachment. Social networking sites (current examples of which are Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter) pose a significant and well-documented threat, not only to students’ safety, but also to their ability to interact in socially healthy ways. Email, instant messaging, chat rooms, and text messaging can create serious social problems in the culture of any school, workplace, or community.

Parents should monitor and limit student exposure to media, locating computers and video games in open areas of the home. It is important to maintain a space of media-free quiet for the challenging and creative schoolwork of the High School, particularly during the school week.