CROCKETT COUNTY, TENN– Tuesday night parents of Crockett County Middle School students gathered in the cafeteria to listen to an agent from Homeland Security offer free parent safety training on the dangers of social media and internet use by students.
“We just feel like as a school system, in order for our children to excel, we have to do our part in educating the parents as well as the children,” said P.A. Pratt, the Director of Crockett County Schools.
During the presentation, the Homeland Security agent spread awareness to parents about social media apps and cyberbullying, gave examples of specific child exploitation cases that affected children in our area, and taught them how to safely monitor their child’s internet usage.
“There are predators, there are people out there that exploit our kids and I think as parents, we sometimes, you know I did as a parent, we sometimes give too much leeway to our kids and we just want the homeland security to tell them the dangers that exists,” said Pratt.
Pratt says they want to educate their faculty and staff on these topics as well, and he and the school system carry a responsibility to pass that knowledge on to the parents.
“We’re not doing this to say the parents don’t do a good job, we’re doing this because P.A. Pratt, the Crockett County School System, we need to be educated and in turn we want to push this education to our parents,” said Pratt.
Pratt says that after listening to the presentation, he was shocked at the amount of dangers internet access and social media pose to children.
“Everyday there’s new things coming out that we don’t know about. So, just having an expert that deals with this on a daily basis from the criminal justice side, I think it’s important for them to hear that it’s not just coming from the school system, it’s coming from an expert in that field,” said Pratt.
This meeting was held just one day after Governor Bill Lee proposed legislation in his State of the State Address that would require parent’s permission before their child creates a social media account.
Tyler Fields is your internet guru, delving into the latest trends, developments, and issues shaping the online world. With a focus on internet culture, cybersecurity, and emerging technologies, Tyler keeps readers informed about the dynamic landscape of the internet and its impact on our digital lives.
