Week 10: Sexting

I have heard many stories involving sexting. These stories and the readings we read this week further prove to me that sending nude or provocative images of one's self over the internet is never good. Parents must take the initiative and responsibility to educate their children of the dangers of sexting just as they would teach their kids to not talk to strangers. Sometimes, however, immaturity gets the better of today's youth and they do things anyway.  When the parents find out that this has happened, their child committing suicide is probably the last thing on their mind. Anger and embarrassment probably come to mind first.  Suicide must be considered, especially since bullying can weigh heavily on one's self esteem and self worth. The parent needs to be a leader. They must not only teach, but in a way, motivate their children to be the best they can be. Even when something of this magnitude has occurred. Lastly, parents put this technology in their children's hands.  If you insist on your child having a phone, then get one without a camera. Don't give them access to digital cameras or webcams. These are easy preventative measures. Sometimes parents can be too nice and too giving.  Set boundaries. You are their parent, not their friend!

As far as schools go, I don't believe schools should be required to educate students on the proper use of social media and personal images. They aren't the ones giving the students camera phones, webcams, digital cameras, and/or facebook/myspace use. This, however, gets into the grey area if schools should just do what's required or should they go above and beyond.  How long would it take to have a school assembly talking about these dangers? They could discuss the readings we read and the potential dangers of sending provocative images, bullying, and suicide.  Unfortunately, life skills are secondary when it comes to academics. It's all about doing well in the main subject areas so one can score well on college placement exams and then go to college. The 21st Century Skills could cover areas such as sexting, but will that be covered on a state standardized test or SAT? No. Standardized tests don't test life skills. Will it help them get into college? Debatable. This is why not many schools would take the time and effort to educate about this.

There's too much of a discrepancy between how the 21st Century Skills want students to transform their learning into real world skills and the SATs and ACTs. If I had my way, schools would teach about the dangers of sexting and bullying, regardless if it takes time away from algebra.