From the Principal
It was wonderful to see the students return to campus this week and commence Term 2 with poignant and reflective ANZAC Services across the Prep, Junior and Secondary Schools on Tuesday.
On Monday we held a productive Staff Professional Learning Day, and to conclude the day I shared some provocations with all staff as stimuli to reflect upon for the term ahead.
One of these provocations stemmed from a book I have been reading over the last few weeks: Jonathan Haidt’s, The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness. Many parents would be familiar with this book as, since its publication just over a month ago, it has sat atop the New York Times bestseller list, garnering widespread acclaim but also criticism, not just in the United States, but worldwide. As one recent article stated, it has certainly “hit a nerve”.
Much of the debate surrounding the book has focused on the validity of Haidt’s research and whether or not the relationship between the increase in mental health challenges and explosion of smartphone and social media usage in young people over the past 10-15 years is causal or correlative.
However, there is general agreement in the three premises he sets out in his book: that there has been an increase in psychological distress and a decline in the mental health of young people over the past 10-15 years; that there has been a decline in “play-based” childhood in the late 20th and early 21st centuries; and that there has been an increase in “phone-based” childhood since the early 2010s.
Haidt claims in his book that as a society we have been mistakenly overprotecting children in the real world (where they need to learn from direct experience) and underprotecting them in the virtual world (where they are particularly vulnerable during puberty). Haidt goes to propose recommendations for policy makers, schools and parents based on his findings.
Over my seven plus years at Redlands, I am pleased to say I have personally seen us thoroughly addressing the issues raised in The Anxious Generation and continuing to evaluate and evolve our approaches as a school.
The publication of our Student Wellbeing Framework last year outlined how we nurture the wellbeing of our students in a continuous curriculum from Preschool through to Year 12 by developing their social and emotional competencies, so that they are empowered to embrace the opportunities and navigate the challenges of each stage of their schooling.
While we see digital technology as an incredible learning tool for students that is vital for them to be adept at using so they are truly life-ready for the world they are moving into, we also have a balanced and ethical approach in recognition of the challenges posed by digital technology. For example, restrictions on smart phones in the Secondary School have been in place since 2018 and have continued to tighten.
Play-based learning has been a key focus of our earliest years curriculum, and we are hopeful that our Moonbah Program commencing next year will give our Year 9 students an opportunity to disconnect from the virtual world and engage in more real world learning and experiences.
Further to this, we have a Secondary School Parent Webinar next Tuesday evening on Managing your teen’s stress, anxiety and other big emotions. Similar presentations were held for Junior Campus parents last year and in Term 1.
While Haidt’s book has certainly struck a nerve with parents, educators and policy makers around the world, I am confident that at Redlands we will continue to be adaptive to these ever evolving areas so that we are best supporting and challenging students to thrive both at school and in the world they are entering.
Mr Sean Corcoran
Photo Caption: This week we commemorated ANZAC Day with services for Secondary, Junior and Prep School students, which provided the opportunity for all to reflect and show their respect for those who have served and sacrificed for our nation.