Is the Internet hurting children?

By Chelsea Clinton and James P. Steyer, Special to CNN

updated 10:04 AM EDT, Mon May 21, 2012

Chelsea Clinton and James Steyer says there's evidence that the explosion of computer use has changed the way kids think.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Chelsea Clinton and James Steyer say we must ask: How are social media effecting kids?
• They say explosion of online access for kids has opened Pandora's box of privacy issues
• They say it's changed the way kids think, interact with others; discretion is abandoned
• Writers: We need laws, norms, education to maximize benefit, minimize disasters of online use

Editor's note: Chelsea Clinton is a board member of Common Sense Media, a nonprofit advocacy organization focused on media and technology's effects on children and teens, and wrote the foreword to "Talking Back to Facebook." James P. Steyer is founder and CEO of Common Sense Media and the author of "Talking Back to Facebook."

(CNN) -- Amid the buzz over the Facebook IPO, the ever-evolving theories about how Twitter is reshaping our communications and speculation about where the next social media-enabled protest or revolution will occur, there is an important question we've largely ignored. What are the real effects of all this on the huge segment of the population most affected by social media themselves: our children and our teens?

The explosive growth of social media, smartphones and digital devices is transforming our kids' lives, in school and at home. Research tells us that even the youngest of our children are migrating online, using tablets and smartphones, downloading apps. Consumer Reports reported last year that more than 7.5 million American kids under the age of 13 have joined Facebook, which technically requires users to be 13 years old to open an account. No one has any idea of what all of this media and technology use will mean for our kids as they grow up.

By the time they're 2 years old, more than 90% of all American children have an online history. At 5, more than 50% regularly interact with a computer or tablet device, and by 7 or 8, many kids regularly play video games. Teenagers text an average of 3,400 times a month. The fact is, by middle school, our kids today are spending more time with media than with their parents or teachers, and the challenges are vast: from the millions of young people who regret by high school what they've already posted about themselves online to the widely documented rise in cyberbullying to the hypersexualization of female characters in video games.

Chelsea Clinton

 

These challenges also include traditional media and the phenomenon of "ratings creep" in the movies that our kids consume. Movies today -- even G-rated ones -- contain significantly more sex and violence, on average, than movies with the same rating 10 or 20 years ago.

James P. Steyer

 

The impact of heavy media and technology use on kids' social, emotional and cognitive development is only beginning to be studied, and the emergent results are serious. While the research is still in its early stages, it suggests that the Internet may actually be changing how our brains work. Too much hypertext and multimedia content has been linked in some kids to limited attention span, lower comprehension, poor focus, greater risk for depression and diminished long-term memory.

Our new world of digital immersion and multitasking has affected virtually everything from our thought processes and work habits to our capacity for linear thinking and how we feel about ourselves, our friends and even strangers. And it has all happened virtually overnight.

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It goes without saying that digital media have also altered our fundamental notions of and respect for privacy. Young people now routinely post and share private, personal information and opinions on social media platforms without fully considering the potential consequences.

The immediacy of social media platforms, coupled with vulnerable youngsters who are socially inexperienced and not fully developed emotionally, can create a combustible mix. Kids often self-reveal before they reflect, and millions of kids say and do things they later regret. The permanence of what anyone posts online and the absence of an "eraser" button mean that the embarrassment and potential damage can last forever.

We urgently need a public conversation in our country among key stakeholders: parents, educators, technology innovators, policymakers and young people themselves. The dialogue must focus on the ways social media and technology enable our kids to give up their privacy before they fully understand what privacy is and why it's important to all of us. We should also discuss how social media can help empower kids to find their voice, find their purpose and potentially create the next technology revolution.

All adults know that the teen years are a critical time for identity exploration and experimentation. Yet this important developmental phase can be dramatically twisted when that identity experimentation, however personal and private, appears permanently on one's digital record for all to see.

In the 1990s, as a reaction to an explosion of television programming of increasingly questionable quality for kids, Congress passed the Children's Television Act. There was universal recognition that given all the time kids were spending in front of the television, the nation had a collective responsibility to offer positive, educational programming with limited commercials. We are at, arguably, an even more important crossroads when it comes to digital media and technology.

Howard Gardner, a professor and researcher at the Harvard Graduate School of Education who developed the concept of multiple intelligences, calls kids' use of digital media and technology "epochal change." He compares the revolution in digital media to the invention of the printing press because of its extraordinary impact on the way we communicate, share information and interact with one another. As a society, we have no choice but to engage with this new reality and work to ensure that it affects our kids in healthy, responsible ways.

The promise of digital media to transform our lives in positive ways is enormous. If managed well, technology can improve our schools and education, deepen social connectedness, expand civic engagement and even help advance our democracy. But for these positive outcomes to occur, we as a society must confront the challenges endemic in our 24/7 digital world.

We need legislation, educational efforts and norms that reflect 21st-century realities to maximize the opportunities and minimize the risks for our kids. Only then will we be able to give them the safe, healthy childhood and adolescence they deserve.

What do you think our public schools should do to prepare our children for these technological advances?

Minnesota's No Child Left Behind Waiver Proposal

Multiple Measurement Rating (MMR)

 Data Release Timeline and Key Terminology 

In February, Minnesota’s No Child Left Behind waiver request was approved by the U.S. Department of Education. As a result of this waiver approval, Minnesota is now transitioning to a new system of school recognition, accountability and support.

The heart of this new system is a new way of measuring schools called the Multiple Measurement Rating (MMR), and a new set of school accountability designations. One condition of Minnesota’s approved waiver is to calculate the MMR for all schools in the state before the end of this school year using previous year’s data, and to designate Reward, Focus and Priority Schools based on the MMR calculation. MDE has been working with data from 2011 and 2010 to satisfy this requirement, and now has a timeline in place for releasing this data to districts and the public.

On May 14, 2012, all districts will have access to MMR data for their district, and will be able to see which of their schools have been designated as Reward, Focus and Priority Schools through the secure data center on the MDE website. Following that release, districts will have an opportunity to prepare for the public release of MMR data by working with MDE staff to understand what it means for their schools going forward. On May 22, all MMR data and school designations will be made available to the media and posted to the MDE website for full public release.

This is a major transition for districts. There are several help documents posted on the Minnesota Department of Education website (http://education.state.mn.us/mde/index.html). For your convenience, here are definitions of some key terms:

Multiple Measurement Rating (MMR) – Minnesota’s new measurement of school performance. The MMR measures proficiency, student growth, achievement gap reduction, and graduation rates. Schools earn points in each category. The percentage of possible points that a school earns is the school’s MMR.

Focus Rating – Minnesota’s new measurement for identifying Focus Schools. The Focus Rating is generated by combining the proficiency and growth of the seven subgroups for which there is an achievement gap (Black, Hispanic, Asian, American Indian, Free/Reduced Price Lunch, Special Education, and English Learners).

Priority Schools – The 5 percent most-persistently low-performing schools in the state. These schools will be identified in one of two ways: 1) status as a SIG (School Improvement Grant) School, or 2) the lowest MMRs in their grade classification group (elementary, middle school, high school, other). These schools will be required to collaborate with MDE and the statewide support system to develop a school turnaround plan based on the federal turnaround principles. These schools will be identified once every three years.

Focus Schools – The 10 percent of Title I schools making the biggest contribution to the state’s achievement gap and high schools with graduation rates of less than 60 percent. These schools will be identified in one of two ways: 1) the lowest Focus Ratings in their grade classification group (elementary, middle school, high school, other), or 2) graduation rates of less than 60 percent. These schools will work with their district to develop a school improvement plan that directly addresses poor performance either within a subgroup, or in graduation rates. These schools will be identified once every three years.

Reward Schools – The highest-performing 15 percent of Title I schools in the state. These schools will be identified based on being in the top 15 percent of their grade classification group (elementary, middle school, high school, other) in the MMR. These schools will be publicly recognized for their good work and will be identified every year.

Based on these definitions Crookston will fall in the middle.  We have made some gains and we have areas to improve. Crookston Public Schools is doing well over all with our test scores in Math and Reading and will not fall under any of the above categories.

Inevitable Digital Devices

No matter where you go you will find that many, if not most, people carry a cell phone, smart phone or some other similar device such as an I pad.  Some schools are putting I pads in the hands of nearly every student.  Textbooks are being left behind in this world of standards-driven curriculum.  Textbooks are old as soon as they are printed.  The world is changing that fast.  In Minnesota much of what and how we teach can be found on the internet for free.  It doesn't matter if schools want more technology. Our families will demand it.  When I visited London I saw tourists from many different countries carrying their I pad with them everywhere.  It was their camera and source of multiple forms of data and entertainment.

This morning it occurred to me that since most of these devices have GPS (global positioning system) that we might as well put weather emergency notices on cell phones and other electronic devices.  People ignore the T.V., radio and local sirens anyway.  If your device let you know what you are to do and how serious the danger is in a tornado warning, for example, it might just prevent injury and panic.  Your phone could not only tell you your current level of danger, it could tell you where the nearest shelter is located based on your current location.

Future use of these personal devices reach beyond our current imagination.  Literally everything will become web-hosted as nearly unlimited amounts of memory are developed.  I often think of the old Star Trek series.  Many of the devices used back then in a science fiction television show are now a reality.  Someday ultra-sound  devices will be built right into a cell phone.  Blood pressure and blood testing  will be available through an inexpensive multipurpose digital device.  Breath testers for alcohol consumption will likely be available on phones.  I predict that one day people with seizures will have phones that give them an early warning for seizures.  Military, free market,  and medical discoveries will likely enhance the features of our electronic devices.  The sturdiness of these devices will continue to improve.  They will gain long battery life and they will be water and impact proof.  Voice actuated capabilities and predictive qualities will improve alarmingly.  Touch screen texting has already gotten better with new predictive processing of our text messaging.  It is likely that these devices will be able to interpret our personal thoughts one day without typing, texting or saying a word!

The brains, screen, and processing capabilities of these small hand-held devices are hard to comprehend.  My current smartphone is my phone, clock and alarm clock, note pad, movie player, text messenger, email, Facebook (social media), source of games, massive storage for music, digital library, internet, GPS for running, instant map,stop watch, guitar tuner, Skype (real time see you/see me capability while we talk), guitar chord finder, calculator, digital audio and video recorder, camera, and calendar.  My smartphone has replaced numerous other items that take up large amounts of space and money.  I can take a high quality picture/video while on vacation and sent it to my family with a smartphone.  This video/image can be shared with the world via the internet almost instantly.   The practical uses for this are nearly endless.

As educators this is a gold mine.  Our school will soon have wi-fi.  The technology flood gate will open and it will be good.  Students will soon have inexpensive highly advanced electronic devices that will take the place of the old antiquated computers.  School expense for this will decrease.  The wi-fi (wireless) technology will allow us to control the content and bandwidth of each user or quest.  Differentiated instruction will be enhanced.  Students will be able to learn at their own pace.  Individualized instruction will be at each learner's finger tips. Virtual dissections will happen in Science.  Interactive periodic tables will bring new facets of Science to life for our children.  Simulators of all types will aid in increased student learning with out the additional costs.  Individualized language instruction in multiple languages will be available to learners.  Countless books of the appropriate reading level will be available on each device for our students.  Math lessons can be viewed at any time.  Parents can view the lessons with their children in order to help them.  Guided practice and reteaching will be done at school instead of whole group lecture.  This is a much better use of instructional time.  Value-added assessment will give everyone immediate feedback.  Schools will know more quickly if a child is learning and we will be able to provide individual remediation instruction for that child. Technology tears down the walls of space, distance and time.  I could go on and on.  Technology is opening doors and creating new opportunities.  We, as educators, must be aware of this trend and stay current with what is happening.  If your children are dealing with your technology problems and fixing them, then you are probably not staying current enough with today's technology.

By nature I am a futuristic thinker.  My imagination allows me to picture incredible advances in technology.  We educators won't let technology replace the necessary human element.  It is a reality that students today are different because of the internet and technology.  Educators must embrace this change and be prepared to raise good decent human beings in this new world of unlimited technological change.

What do you think our future looks like with the rapid growth and change in the use of technology?

School funding article

Austin News

David Krenz: Legislature's treatment of Minnesota education is unacceptable

Posted: May 12, 2012, 6:57 am

By David Krenz


It’s very easy to say something is important, to tell other people it is important, and preach that it’s a priority. It’s another thing to then do something about it.

For years now, politicians have preached about the importance of education, but the choices they make at the Capitol have not prioritized educating our kids. This legislative session was no exception.

Minnesota owes a whopping $2.4 billion to schools. This is from an accounting gimmick called the school shift. A school shift is when politicians borrow funding from schools to balance the state budget, with a pledge to pay it back when they have the cash. When faced with difficult decisions in 2011, the legislature again decided to employ this gimmick.

Because of this, my district in Austin borrowed over $7 million to pay our bills and make up for this missing state revenue. That’s $7 million from our reserves that we could be using to hire teachers, buy up-to-date textbooks, or introduce an advanced level math program. Instead, it’s $7 million we’re waiting to see from the state as a result of mismanagement and bad choices.

That’s $7 million we should have had from the state, and there’s no plan to pay it back. As a school district, we need stable funding that allows us to invest in teachers, students, bus drivers, paraprofessionals and everything else in the district required to educate our kids. Every two years when the Legislature balances the state budget, education is the last item to be considered, usually at the end of the legislative session when everyone wants to return home. What usually happens then is whatever is left is given to education and that usually means the program is on the chopping block. This is unfortunate and unacceptable.

Our kids suffer the effects of these decisions. Minnesota now ranks 47th in the nation in class size and among the top 10 states making the deepest cuts to education. Politicians have made choices that underfund our schools and kids for years. Across the state, including Austin, we are seeing the direct impacts of their choices.

Politicians continue to say education is a priority but do nothing to address the root of the problem. There are other options available. Fair revenue could be collected by closing corporate tax loopholes in a bill proposed in the House and Senate this session — but voted down — that would have garnered $450 million per year for education.

The bill that made it the furthest in the Capitol for education funding actually did nothing to help fund our schools. It took spare change from one pocket and threw it into the other, while making no real impact on education.

Mahatma Gandhi said, “Action expresses priorities.” It is time the legislature took action on what they say their priorities are by making better choices and putting their money where their rhetoric is, by adequately funding schools. It’s time to finally "walk the talk" by making education a priority in Minnesota.

David Krenz is superintendent of Austin Public Schools.

Leo Club

Since Mary Ann Odland retired in 2010 I have grown to appreciate all that she has done and all that the Leo Club continues to do in the service of others with the current leadership of Linda Morgan.  LEO stands for Leadership, Experience and Opportunity.  The Crookston Leo Club has received the LEO "Club of  Excellence" award for 20 years in a row.  LEO Clubs are an offshoot of the Lions Club.   Lions International awards 20-35 Excellence Awards each year among the 5,738 LEO clubs in 142 countries. With local LEO club membership reaching 145 students (grades 9-12), 80% or more participate in multiple activities each year.  The LEO Club has raised over $200,000 through the years.  LEO club members volunteer for activities that benefit the young and old alike.  They will contribute to any cause or program that helps people. 


This service group has page after page of community events and activities broken down into the following categories: elementary school activities, high school activities, service to the elderly, literacy and cultural awareness, community wide activities, health awareness activities, fund raisers, program sponsorships, and community awareness.  Our Crookston LEO club has been recognized as the Athletic Boosters of the Year, finalist for the J.C. Penney "Golden Rule Award', Crookston City Council "Volunteer Award", Wellness Works "Wellness Award", "Prevention Excellence Award" from the Mn Cancer Society, "Outstanding Community Service Award" for enthusiasm and support sponsored by the United Way and two certificates of commendation from Governor Arne Carlson.

It is tempting to focus only on ourselves especially in high school.  Serving others is one of the greatest activities to turn our attention to others and to foster good mental health.  Service to others benefits everyone.  LEO Club members are good students.  The giving spirit positively impacts the school culture.  The LEO club has helped make Crookston a better place.  



How has the LEO club or other service group impacted your life?

Crookston Teachers

During teacher appreciation week, it is good to think about our teachers that work so hard for our children.  Teachers often give of their own time and their own resources to benefit the students.  For most teachers they are thinking about lessons, curriculum, students issues and a host of other school-related matters outside of the regular school day.  Unlike a business, they are dealing with the hearts and minds of children; all children.  Teachers understand this major responsibility.

I am very proud of our Crookston Teachers.  Each teacher was carefully selected by a committee of educators and others from this community.  For six years I have watched excellent teachers make a difference in the lives of others.  I know this personally since my own daughters have benefited from these dedicated instructors.

Teachers have to not only understand and demonstrate good instructional practices, they have to be able to figure out students.  The home-life of a child is a major factor.  It is inevitable that baggage from home becomes part of the class room environment.  Mental health issues, chemical dependency, and poverty are just a few factors that can present a roadblock for learning.  If a well-educated child is our finished product then society needs to understand that education can not be compared to a business.  How do you put a price on the value of a good education?

To Crookston Teachers I say thank you.  I appreciate the time you take to develop specific lessons and curriculum to help our children.  I am grateful that teachers take time to seek professional growth and training opportunities.  Thank you (teachers) for the countless things that you do for children that go unnoticed or unappreciated.  Thank you for going the extra mile to help a child feel valued.  Thank you for helping a child believe and know that they can do something.  Thank you for listening to a child's concerns and fears.  Thank you for sharing your life with our children.  What you do has great worth.  

I have heard amazing stories about our wonderful teachers over the years.

How have teachers made a difference in your life or in the life of your child?

Pool Update

After many years the pool will begin to see some long over-due remodeling during the next year or two.  Bringing the facility up-to-date is the first priority.  We will review and revise our programming and promotion of the pool.  Facility improvements include a new roof, pool shell, new interior lighting, new filter, new cleaning equipment, and a new boiler.  The pool is more than 30 years old.  Much of the original equipment has reached the end of its life.  By replacing these items we will sustain the pool well into the future.  After the remodeling is completed, we will turn our attention to programming and promotion.  We will seek ways to collaborate with the hospital and other entities.  We will find ways to draw in greater numbers possibly increasing revenue.  All of this will be managed under a Pool Business Plan.  Meanwhile, if you have a comment or concern you can reach me at wegilman@crookston.k12.mn.us or 218-281-5313 ext. 1.  I will put the contact information up on the pool doors as well.  Our goal is to significantly "raise the bar" on the programs, communications and utilization. 

What ideas do you have to make the pool better?

Trip to London

Recently I visited London.  As an educator I was very curious about life in another country.  Talking to people about their homeland of England was very interesting.  London is one of the most diverse places on earth with a 1,000+ years of history.  With all of this diversity I asked a tour guide what additional languages are taught in British schools.  He said they taught French as a  second language.  London, I suspect, is like New York or any other large metro area.  It was a busy and fast moving place.  The streets were busy most of the time.  People were visiting London in large numbers from all over the world. 

The media was talking about comments made by the Prime Minister.  He was calling for merit pay for teachers based on student performance.  Again, I asked a London citizen about this and he found this notion to be ridiculous.  The real issue is whether ALL students can achieve at the highest levels given that their home life may be desperately inadequate.

Economically and politically England's problems seem to match our own.  This was my second trip to Great Britain and the one thing I am sure of this that America is a much better place to live.  Clean air and wide open spaces are a blessing here.  Opportunities for the average American is much greater.

London is getting ready for the Olympics.  Workers are busy remodeling London's buildings and roads.  The layout of the city is chaotic.  The streets are narrow and unorganized.  Many thousands of people literally run to work.  Even more people bike to work.  Business seems to be thriving.  If you watch the news, however, they struggle with a lagging economy just like the United States.

In my own opinion, I firmly believe that the United States does the best job in the world at providing an education for the masses.  Other countries offer a great education for a few.  Minnesota does it better than many other states.  For this reason I am very proud to be in education in the great State of Minnesota.  I encourage our staff to keep up the great work.  London, by the way, is a great place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there.

What can we do to make our Crookston School District even better?