Using smartphones as humans should

Which source would you rely on today? What would you do if you had to write a presentation for school about the school caretaker or the school's heating system? There is nothing on Google about this. You would have to do your own research!Where does our knowledge come from and how do we filter out what we can believe to be true from the vast amount of information? How do pupils become information literate?

The German Association of Waldorf Schools (BdFWS) reissued its Guide for Parents through the Media Jungle a few weeks ago. Previously it was called Struwwelpeter 2.1, today it is called Media Compass. It gives specific tips on the amount of media use depending on the age group and, for example, how to encourage pupils to produce creatively rather than receive passively. You can find the Media Compass for download on the BdFWS waldorfschule.de website.

There is nothing wrong with Waldorf pupils using Instagram, TikTok or YouTube. And it is not the end of the world either if Waldorf and all other pupils read the newspaper or watch the news less often than the generations before them. In the history of humanity there have always been media changes that made the respective older generation sceptically fear the apocalypse. The important thing is that we show children and young people how to use the freedom that smartphones and computers offer us in a responsible way in line with human potential.