How are schools preparing our kids for the world of social networking? Not so well from my experience.Maybe this is one of those things that people argue should be left to parents, like sex education, but the fact is that too many parents are closing their eyes and crossing their fingers that their kids don't get in trouble. Schools have always had a role in imparting survival skills to our kids -- teaching everything from home economics to shop, not to mention driver's ed and reproductive education. They should do the same with social networking, if only they have the expertise.

I have noticed that some schools are contracting with private non-profit groups to come in and talk to the kids, but their programs are aimed at the lowest common denominator -- meaning, rather than engage in a discussion that involves nuance and teaching kids about common sense, they simply teach them a list of don'ts; don't post pictures of yourself holding a beer can, don't give away your real identity, don't friend anyone you don't know in real life.

There's nothing wrong with that advice, other than it's about as effective as making abstinence the sum total of sex education. You know some kids aren't going to obey that rule, and yet by keeping them in the dark, you're effectively consigning them to the worst possible outcome.

The fact is that our kids are going to be engaged in all kinds of social activities, both physical and virtual, over which we'll have increasingly little control. And as they grow older, our ability to coerce them through parental authority alone diminishes unless we can provide a fairly cogent rationale for our rules.

There are a few things our kids can consider, some of which we've learned through our use of older forms of electronic media:

School is about to come back in session, but more than just a new school year, for a lot of kids, it's a chance to start over in a new school. The temptation (and advantage) is that they get a chance to reshape their images and make new impressions on new faces. The same opportunity exists online, and as a parent, I'm teaching my kids how to take care while remaining true to themselves. I hope our schools are also up to the task.

Please feel free to suggest other guidelines I should add to the list above.