Would single sexschools narrowthe gap?.Boys outnumber girls in special education classes three to one, according to the U.s. Department of Education..In 1998-99, boys took fewer Advanced Placement tests than girls, 45 to 55 percent..After noticing girls were scoring 72- points lower than boys on statewide math tests, Presque Isle High School in Maine began offering an all-girls Algebra I section. The test-score gap dropped to 16 points..Of American children taking Ritalin, the drug commonly prescribed for atten- tion-deficit disorder, three-fourths are boys..Girls currently outperform boys by 15 points in reading and 19 points in writing on the National Assessment of Educational Progress tests.P arents warn children about predators: “Don’t talk to strangers;” “Don’t go anywhere alone;” and “Always let an adult know your whereabouts.” But what do parents do when the public place is the Internet and strangers can bypass the security of a locked front door? Many families still are unaware of the dangers existing when the uncensored world is at everyone’s fingertips, but fortunately, guidelines now exist to help parents cope with this sometimes angerous medium. “The cornerstone is parental involvement and parents spreading the word to other parents,” says Troy Williams, a community specialist for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Maryland, who offers public demonstrations for parents and schools. Most parents, he says, don’t realize how easily preda- tors can access children. Williams demonstrates this by posing as a child on the Internet and then reveals dozens of likely predators who quickly respond. “It’s like going fishing in a pond,” he says. “Every time you cast your rod you can get a hit.” But the most comprehen- sive tool for parents recently was released by the FBI in cooperation with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children: “A Parent’s Guide to Internet Safety,” accessible at http://www.fbi.gov/library/pgu ide/pguidee.htm. The report provides dozens of tips for parents to help determine if their child is targeted by an online predator. Danger signs include:2A child spending an inordinate amount of time online, espe- cially at night.2Pornographic material found on the computer.2A child receiving phone calls from strangers.2Mail or gifts sent by someone unknown to parents.2A child quickly changing screens or turning off the computer when a parent enters the room.2A child using new e-mail iden- tities or receiving e-mail from unfamiliar accounts. The report divides predators into two categories. The first is individuals who “listen and empathize with the problems of children,” and are adept atdiscussing current trends, such as popular music and chil- dren’s interests. They “lower children’s inhibitions by slowly introducing sexual content into their conversations.” The second category “immediately engages in sexually explicit conversation with children.” The FBI report provides keys to minimizing the chances a child will encounter such predators:2Talk to your child about online dangers.2Spend time with your child online and learn favorite online areas.2Keep the computer in a high- traffic area of the house, not in a child’s bedroom.2Retain the ability to access your children’s accounts.2Teach children there are other areas online than chat rooms, where many child predators access innocent children.2Perhaps most important, utilize parental controls provided byyour Internet provider, or available commercially. While parents are the first line of defense, America Online and other service providers allow parents to set up sub accounts to structure their children’s online access, including blocking the ability of children to send or receive “instant messages”, eliminating certain internet sites, preventing children from entering chat rooms, and specifying with whom a child may send or receive e-mail. For those intent on more home computer security, a software package may be in order. Among the dozens available, IamBigBrother is perhaps the most complete. Accessible at www.IamBigBrother.com for less than $30, it can monitor 11 different Internet programs, including AOL, Compuserve, Compuserve Instant Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape. Rated No. 1 and featured in a recent issue of Family PC Magazine, IamBigBrother performs unbeknownst to users and covers the following functions:2Monitors all computer users and accounts.2Saves all web sites visited on every account.2Reviews all printed and saved material.2Can filter web sites accessed by certain keywords.2Captures keystrokes and monitors files opened on the computer. But most experts recom- mend that nothing replaces parental involvement with a child’s Internet activity. This growing medium can be a rewarding, educational and entertaining part of family life, but if the dangers inherent in any public place can infiltrate the Internet, it’s better to be prepared now than to be sorry later.Protecting Your Child on the ‘NetExperts recommendthat nothing replaces parental involvement with a child’s internet activity.
