Reading Reflection on Children and Internet Useage

The NY Times printed a piece about a curriculum designed to teach children about internet usage and its dangers. The piece; http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/09/education/09cyberkids.html?partner=rss&emc=rss , doesn't assume children already know these dangers or that parents are aware. The truly amazing thing is that a curriculum like Common Sense, as mentioned in the article, hasn't been implemented sooner. Children don't seem to realize that the world wide web is a public domain, that things they write can be read by everyone, parents, friends, and enemies. And that information on the web lives on indefinitely. At a young age children may learn to type or blog or search for popular toys or clothes, however I don't think they understand the breadth of what they may put out into the electronic world. As they point out in the article kids forget that this information will still be out there years from now when they apply for college, look for a job, interview for bank loans, and move forward with their lives. The immaturity of their internet actions can have serious consequences to their future selves. This needs to be just as important a lesson as using Word or learning Photoshop. Lectures about bullying in the schoolyard are just as important as lecturing about bullying online. As the suicide of a freshman girl who was being bullied points out-words can hurt. Children are always taught "sticks and stones may break my bones but names can never hurt me".. and now, as adults, we unfortunately know that is not true.