It has long been established that K-12 education should go beyond academics to provide our children with practical knowledge important to every-day life.
Fifty years ago, when gender roles were laughably rigid, girls attended Home Economic classes to learn the basics of domestic life – cooking, sewing, etc. — while boys took Shop where they learned to use basic tools for woodworking, metal working and other crafts.
Times certainly have changed. Today, the emphasis is on financial literacy — 1 in 8 American adults don’t even know their credit score — and cybersecurity.
Cybersecurity presents a unique challenge for parents, who grew up in a time before cell phones, tablets, and computers. Their children, meanwhile, have an innate grasp with these technologies through familiarity with them.
Kids have few reservations about the technology that their parents may have viewed with skepticism and reluctance. Children have the capacity to master technology, but often lack the maturity to understand its dangers. That naivety can be dangerous.
Just as it would be irresponsible for a parent to give his child a hunting rifle or shotgun without providing close supervision and putting a heavy and uncompromising emphasis on gun safety, a child left to his own devices with technology can have tragic consequences.
By teaching children cybersecurity basics — including both the why and how — adults can prepare them for the risks they face and what to do when they encounter them. All children (and their parents) should have a basic understanding of how to protect their identities online. Teaching kids to use anonymous screen names, strong passwords, and avoiding suspicious apps and emails is important
Predators and bullies who once roamed the playgrounds now prowl the internet looking for potential victims.
Some parents may provide this critical information to their children better than others, which is why schools play a key role in reaching a broader audience of children. The more children armed with this knowledge, the safer all of our children will be.
Thursday evening, the Starkville Police Department, in conjunction with local businesses, provided students and parents with information focusing on how kids use the internet and social media with a program called “Let’s Talk About It.”
Until the day when all schools devote classroom time to this topic, these programs will serve to fill the cybersecurity information gap. A generation ago, boys learned how to use a saw without cutting a finger off and girls learned how to bake without burning themselves. Today, kids face cyber dangers that are potentially far more dangerous.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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