Parent Edge presentation on impact of digital era on youth
Mercer Island Parent Edge will present a talk and discussion by Kate Davis, entitled, ‘The App Generation: How today’s youth navigate identity, intimacy and imagination in a digital world.”
The event is at 7 p.m., March 30 at the Mercer Island High School Performing Arts Center.
Dr. Davis is an assistant professor at the University of Washington Information School where she studies the role of digital media technologies in adolescents’ academic, social and moral lives. She also serves as an advisory board member for MTV’s digital abuse campaign. Davis holds a doctorate in Human Development and Education from Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Davis’ discussion will cover the challenges of growing up in a digital era:
• How today’s youth navigate intimacy, identity and imagination
• The potentials and drawbacks of new media technology for young people, based on an extensive research program at Harvard university
• What it means to be “app-dependent” versus “app-enabled” and how life for this generation differs from life before the digital era.
The metaphor of the “app” will serve to illuminate those uses of technology that promote a strong sense of identity, encourage relationships, and creativity, and those that thwart youth development in these three realms.
As a non-profit group and part of the Mercer Island School District PTA, Parent Edge is a team of engaged parents from public and private schools on Mercer Island who strive to facilitate conversations within and among families, schools and the greater community. The event is free for PTA members, from either a public or private school and $10 admission for non-members.
Workshops set for prospective school board candidates
This fall, three of the five Mercer Island School Board seats will be up for election., board positions 1, 3, and 5. In anticipation of these elections and to educate prospective candidates, the Washington State School Directors Association is hosting several free, two-hour workshops in the months of March and April.
The nearest workshop will be held on March 26 at the Seattle Public Schools, Administration building auditorium at 2445 3rd Ave. S. in Seattle. For a list of other workshops, go to WSSDA.org.
The Mercer Island School Board recently hosted two information sessions for prospective candidates and reviewed the Board’s policy governance.
Board members are elected to four-year terms by Mercer Island voters. Specific responsibilities of board members include, monitoring superintendent performance; setting district policy; adopting an annual operating budget; placing levies and bonds before voters; and ratifying contracts.
To run for election, an individual must be a registered voter living in Mercer Island. Individuals who wish to run must file with King County Elections between May 11 and May 15. The general election will take place on Nov. 3, and if more than two people file for a single position a primary election will take place on Aug. 4.
More information can be found at www.KingCounty.gov/Elections.
