The use of blogs and social networking websites by school age children has grown exponentially over the last decade. With technological advances often comes knew and unforeseen dangers for its users. I am familiar with the efforts certain private schools have made in order to dissuade students from misusing blogs and posting obscene material to facebook. I taught at a private, catholic Long Island school that monitored its student’s profiles through “dummy” accounts. For the deans of discipline it became an invaluable source of intelligence. Several students were suspended due to violations of our school’s “moral code.” I myself am undecided as to where the school’s boundaries begin and where they end. Do under-aged students have privacy rights that are being violated daily?
The first amendment to the Constitution protects a citizen’s freedom of speech. However this protection does not extend to individuals whose words could create hysteria (ie. Screaming “fire” in a crowded theater or saying “bomb” on a plane is an arrest-able offense. Does a student’s right to privacy supersede a school’s need to protect its population? Is it the place of a school’s administration to police its student’s web-pages, or would it be better suited to educate its students on appropriate internet usage?
That is definitely something to debate. I absolutely agree that at some level students rights are being violated. However I also believe that the job of a school or teacher is to enrich young minds and set students on the right path. In the past such technologies as social networking were not available, but if a teacher was to hear or investigate if a student was socializing inappropriately and reported it nobody would think twice. With new technologies that allow students to communicate easily outside the classroom, I believe that it is important to still filter what is being discussed. Cyber-Bullying is a major issue with students in high school; much can be stopped with proper filtering. I believe that select administrators should have the ability to investigate a profile or message only with reasonable cause. If a school or community has the ability to keep their children on the right path to success, how could they pass that up?
ReplyDeleteWe have left educational technology and entered the world of "policing technology." I suggest that we teach students social responsibility... remember, your blogs, as well as theirs started out "empty." You control the content and you control the posts. Cyberbullying is a real issue, and it starts much earlier than high school.
ReplyDeleteSocial responsibility is key. Why not take the time one would spend creating a dummy account and monitoring students' accounts for class time doing activities that would make kids think about the consequences of cyber bullying and technology misuse?
ReplyDeleteThat is a good idea Joseliana, I do think teachers need to promote cyber bullying awareness. I think it should be apart of the curriculum starting at the elementary school level and continue in each grade.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your statement professor. As I mentioned in my blog, a school cannot control what a child does outside of the school. The administration is better off teaching child social responsibility to prepare them for making their own judgements. In the future, no one will be there to tell them what to do and not do. Children must learn to act appropriately to prevent and dangerous or harmful situations.
ReplyDeleteThis is a controversial topic because nowadays, teenagers spend more of their time on social networking sites while they are surfing on internet. They find friends and classmates on popular social networking sites such as Facebook or Myspace. Also, social networking continues to grow in popularity and it is necessary to explain that kids should post only information that they are comfortable with others seeing, encourage the child to think about the language used in a blog, and to think before posting pictures and videos.
ReplyDeleteThose questions you ended with were really something to think about. Where do we draw the line in protecting our students? Do we leave it up to the parents to educate their children on appropriate networking? Its a tough call..
ReplyDeleteyes! social responsibility is a must, we have to empower our students if we limit our students and not allow them to use technology then we are stunting their growth socially and academically.
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