Skip to main content

Net Blocking

At some point this week the school's blocking software went into overdrive. Of course this happens just as I begin a research project... I'm wondering if a parent started complaining or if some elementary school child started chatting during math.

On Monday, I have write a letter to someone decrying this henious move. First, do this net nazi realize that the library doesn't bother to stock research materials any more? All of the "books" are several years old and magazine subscriptions were stopped because it's all online. Categorizing the New York Times as "adult" and thus being blocked is stupid. Especially since not all the NYT URLs were actually blocked. For my part, I'm a bit disgruntled that anything with blogspot in the url is blocked because now my students can no longer check homework for class at school or download various forms. (the school does have it's own site that I could use, but the URL is too long for any of them to remember and takes approximately 10 minutes to drill down to from the main page. Not a good option for transient users who can't set up a "favorites" list.) Nor can I send them to any of the valuable blogspot sites. Thank God the research papers are about biographies and not bodily functions, because anything remotely connected to "naughty bits" on the human body is blocked. Cancer and pregnancy are horrible things that no one under the age of 18 should even be aware of... While we're talking about it, I haven't seen any porn on the Nascar website, but there are some pornographic chat logs on the Spokesman-Review site, detailing the ensuing mayoral scandal. Guess which one this software currently has blocked?

Yes, there should be some blocking on school computers, but do we need to set the blocking software on extreme? Why bother with paying for internet connection? Instead of wasting all the time (and money) with blocking software, pay someone to build an intranet and start buying books again. That's the only way you're going to keep anyone from really finding the "bad stuff".

Or we could educate the students on the usage guidelines of school computers and give actual consequences for those caught violating those guidelines? It is still a school and education is our purpose.

26 days left

Comments

Fred said…
Our filter is a bit stingy, also. I can't get MSNBC.

Who knows? Maybe Microsoft isn't giving the district a good price on software!
6:03 AM
Bud Hunt said…
I hate Internet filters. I wrote a poem about my hatred that I shared at a poetry slam at my school earlier this year.
I'm glad, though, that my district's filter doesn't seem as limiting as yours. I wonder, though, how long it will be . . .
And how we can fight back.
7:03 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

“They Don’t Get It”

I hear that a lot these days. It used to be mostly from various teens trying to negotiate the drama unfolding in their lives as they wandered into that no-man’s land between adult and child. These days it’s from adults trying to navigate the education scene these days. So many people talking and no one listening. The other day I was reading a post by a blogger I’ve been following for several years. Before there was such a thing as “blogging.” We all know spring is IEP review season. This blogger wrote about his daughter’s. Among the various elements, there was the discussion about the state assessment tests. She did not pass. There was discussion about what this means… and why said student needed to pass this test. Would she be taking a modified test? While reading, all I could think about was what would happen to that child as she entered middle school and high school. A history of not passing the assessment test vs. teachers who will now be evaluated on how many students pass t...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Cruelest Month

I know T.S. Eliot favored April as the most cruel, but we teachers know that May is… even more so these days. Most importantly, it is the final testing month. National ‘assessments, state ‘assessments’, district ‘assessments’, school ‘assessments’… on and on. It’s impossible to actually get anything done. Toss in graduation activities, planning for the upcoming year and the 2011 bonus, lay-offs and transfers, and you have to wonder if it wouldn’t be better to save money by simply shutting down school entirely except for a few test proctors. Meanwhile, there seems an air of hopelessness permeating the education world. Plans to lay-off thousands are coming to fruition. Schools are being closed, despite protests. Charters are increasing where they can whether they should not. Unions have lost a lot ground and teachers are trying to decide if it’s even worth it any more to continue talking about education . ( not that I blame anyone for that, we all have lives to live ) For myself, I...
Post a Comment
Read more

Campaign Promises

While purusing the Sunday paper, I came across an article describing some local candidate forum held over the weekend. Apprently they either weren't able to say a lot or what they said was pretty boring because the article was skimpy on specifics. What caught my eye was a position of Randy Dutton. He wants "higher standards for teachers." My interest was piqued... what kind of standards? In looking at his website, apparently those standards will be raised by carrying a gun to school, finally; "full days of school"-whatever that means - personally I'd love to put in business hours. No more 5 am wake ups; increasing the number of k-8 schools - because those kindergartners don't swear enough; sending disruptive students to placed like Habit for Humanity - babysitting is what people volunteer for; and teaching more American History- too bad that with all the testing, no one ever gets past the Civil War... I'm not sure how any of these apply to teachers, ...
Post a Comment
Read more