How much authority should school authorities have when students use the internet outside of the school setting? In my opinion, very little.
I tend to agree with an editorial that schools should not be used as internet police. In my opinion, the only reason a school official should have any say over a student’s internet use outside of school is if that use causes a disruption to learning in the school. Otherwise, cyber-activities are a matter of parents and police.
To be completely forthright, I am also against any type of internet filter in high schools as well. I know people fear students accessing sites which are inappropriate, but I feel that responsibility is two-fold: 1) supervisors need to supervise their charges in school, and 2) teachers and other school supervisors need to teach students how to use the internet responsibly if they allow students to access the internet.
I tire of leadership banning sites and other internet uses simply because they do not want to take the time (and it will take time) to teach responsible use. Many students have never been taught how to access cyberspace responsibly, and we can do it. I may be in the minority, but I definitely feel that I have a responsibility to not only monitor my students while on the internet, but also to teach students how not to repeat mistakes when using the internet.
Maybe this relates to my not having classroom rules.
