Programs & Events

The Parents Council welcomed outgoing representatives from member schools to a Thank You Coffee and information session about the results from the Student Leadership Breakfast and the Dean’s Luncheon (See summaries of the events for results.)
This resulted in a lively discussion among the reps on the subjects most talked about at the two gatherings – camera phones and academic integrity.Some selections from the conversation:

• Kids think Facebook insures privacy and don’t realize it doesn’t;
• Can a data block be used on a phone to prevent the sending of photographs and to help in blocking “sexting?”;
• Kids use their phones at all hours of the night;
• Kids don’t realize that sending suggestive photographs by text or email can result in “distribution of pornography” charges.

The question of how people teach their children about the use of technology was answered in a number of ways:

• Grant privileges when you think you child is ready to handle them;
• Have a conversation about values;
• Fathers have a strong influence on the way young girls view relationships;
• You need to keep talking with your children and make sure they are aware of the consequences of their actions;
• Don’t rely on technology to stop kids from sending photographs – this has to be done through education and conversation about basic values and the potential consequences of their actions.

On the subject of academic integrity, and especially how it relates to technology, these were among the points of conversation:

• Lower the pressure on students so they don’t feel they have to cheat to succeed;
• Students can use camera phones to text questions and answers;
• Parents and teachers are behind in the technology and so they are not even aware of the kinds of tools students have at their disposal.