Last weekend, Professor Jean M. Twenge was a key speaker at The Festival of Dangerous Ideas convened by the Ethics Centre. Her presentation, entitled "The Machines Killing Our Kids," was extremely thought-provoking. One of her main themes of discussion was the impact of changing technologies on social interaction behaviours. The findings suggest that the ability of our young people to read nuances of body language, engage in eye contact, walk into a shop and order over the counter, or show courage by expanding their social network is becoming increasingly difficult. “In the next decade, we may see more young people who know just the right emoji for a situation but not the right facial expression” (Twenge, 2024). Twenge's research on the impact of protecting our children from physical harm was even more captivating. By always wanting our children to be safe, have we limited their sense of adventure, independence, self-reliance, and, most importantly, their capacity to be courageous?
Whether one agrees or disagrees with the aforementioned findings, at Queenwood, we recognise that the lives of our girls are very different from what we once knew. Knowing this, the Wellbeing Program K–12 explicitly targets the social and emotional needs of our students to ensure they are equipped with the necessary skills and opportunities to foster student voice, autonomy, social connection, and the recognition of their capacity to flourish. This week, our students in Year 10 had the opportunity to work with the team from Burn Bright. Together, they were encouraged to not only consider the strength of the individual but also to recognise the power of their strength when they have each other. They were asked to be courageous, to make generous assumptions, and to embrace growing up.
This week was the inaugural Year 7, 8, and 9 assembly. A range of students were asked to run the assembly, and it was incredible to witness the capacity of these young girls when given the opportunity to shine. There is no doubt that their peers will be captivated by their wisdom as they tackle the importance of empathy and diversity in building belonging or listen to an extract from a novel written by one of our Year 9 students. At Queenwood, we pride ourselves on being guided by research-based evidence, and while we may not all agree with Twenge that machines are hurting our children, rest assured, at school we value relationships.