Virtual PTA

For years, schools around the country have had organizations known as PTAs, or the parent-teacher associations. The PTA at my school held meetings to discuss issues and concerns about students and try to come up with ways to solve these issues. One concern at my school was after-prom activities. Many were worried about students and the dangers of partying after prom. Many other meetings were about the safety of children walking home or being safe in parking lots after nighttime events such as Friday night football games. With the new virual world, parents and teachers have the new concern of bullying, cyber stalking or online predators. This has become a main focus of media, the dangers of young girls being online. The anonymity of the virtual world is scary. There have been cases when young girls have met someone online and decided to meet them in person. The person then turns out to be a predator and the innocent girl has become another victim. This is definitely an important issue, and I believe parents and teachers should talk to thier children and warn them of these danger. However, as I have learned in my Virtual Girls course, girls are more likely to be harmed by someone they know than an online predator. The media has made it seem as though online predators attack victims all the time and that it is almost inevitable that your young girl will be a victim if she is allowed online unsupervised. However, this is not the case. I believe that, as I said earlier, parents and teachers should ensure that the young girls (and boys) are aware of this danger, but they should not invade their privacy or discount the advantages to the online world. Parets and teachers should just assure ther children that they can come to them if they need anything, with any questions so that the children feel comfortable talking to them. Just as PTAs come up with safe after-prom spaces for high school students, Virtual PTAs should assure the children that they have a safe space to go to if something happens online.