Questions

My kid is new to the web and I’m trying to figure out how to introduce him to it appropriately.  Where do I start?

Teaching Kids to Search the Web

Kids need to search the Internet, but helping them doing it safely takes some planning and training.

Kids can start by practicing these basic steps to find the information they are looking for quickly and safely.

Use the search box. Kids should make it a habit of searching for information or even web addresses by first typing the name into the search box. Students who directly type in a long web address in the URL address can make mistakes that lead them… Read more…

I have a son in 6th grade and I am still reeling after reading some of his texts.  He seems to be a well behaved boy and does not get in trouble.  But I was shocked at the kinds of sexual comments he was making and his use of violent talk.  For example, he made a sexual comment about a friend’s girlfriend.  The friend threatened to tell on my son.  My son’s response was I will KILL you, stab you if you tell.  Please don’t tell.  I am sorry!!! I have never heard him speak this way.  He said all his friends talk like this.  I am so shocked I don’t know what to say or do.  Does he need counseling?  Is this normal?  This was not the only time in text that he used the expression to kill, die, or stab.  He a few times opened his texts comments with die and stab like he was saying hello almost like  a greeting!! I am lost and confused.  I confronted my son.  He was embarrassed and very upset.  He said it made him sad that I saw the messages.  Can someone advise me?

Response: Most likely, your son is using this threatening language because it makes him feel powerful and perhaps even cool. For today’s youth, email, text messages and IM give kids a sense of distance and even anonymity from the messages they send. Mixed with adolescent impulses, kids often say things online or through texts that they would never say in person. While this may be startling to you, this scenario is not uncommon among today’s tech-savvy youth.

The fact that your son became regretful and sad when you discovered the… Read more…

One of my daughter’s classmates did not return to school this year – instead she is attending a virtual school. Is this the same as home schooling?

Response: While some kids will ride the bus to school this fall, almost a million students will arrive to class through an Internet connection as they log into their new academic year at a virtual school.

The only thing similar between a virtual school program and a home school program is that a large part of the learning occurs outside of a traditional classroom. Unlike home schooling programs, virtual school lessons are assigned by certified teachers, there is a principal and administration at a virtual school, students must meet… Read more…