PRO by Davey Jackson
There are times in life when it is completely acceptable to slack off and do nothing, like a lazy Saturday morning at home. But there are other times one should be actively mentally engaged in what they are doing — school obviously fits under the latter.
The whole point of working on a school computer is to buckle down and get work done — whether it be an essay, PowerPoint or research paper. However, being a teenager with a developing brain, it is often hard to direct all attention on being a good student, as I and many others know all too well.
This is exactly why websites such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube should be and are blocked on school computers. If you have ever gone to the library or computer lab during class to work online, you know how easy it is to get away with doing other things instead of your assignment. Adding the aforementioned websites to the large list of already accessible websites would be disastrous.
Sure Facebook, Twitter and other social networking websites can be extremely handy for journalism students looking for current events or hot topics for story ideas, but are these sites actually benefiting the majority of the student population in completing their school work? Definitely not.
While students may be able to access helpful how-to videos or clips on YouTube to use in projects, that work can easily be done elsewhere and takes little time. It is also very tempting to watch viral videos such as “Beyonce Clown,” “David After the Dentist,” and others.
However, this brings up the question, if Texts From Last Night, Urban Dictionary and other sites are blocked, why aren’t sites devoted to games blocked as well? Aren’t they equally as distracting? Well, truth is, they are just as distracting. Most kids working on a webquest or online practice test find their minds drifting elsewhere to gaming sites like Sporcle, Bloxors, and Jigzone to cure their boredom.
At least while playing games, though, their minds are actively engaged. Which is exactly why gaming sites should be, and for the most part are, accessible from school. Unlike aimlessly browsing through trite and cliche Facebook statuses or daily horoscope tweets, memory games like those found on Sporcle, puzzles, strategy games and even computer classics like Bejewelled and Solitaire involve at least some degree of thinking, concentration and problem solving. If students are going to get distracted, which they most likely are, they might as well be distracted by something that is mentally stimulating.
In all honesty, kids will find ways to distract themselves from school work — if they don’t absolutely have to do something, they won’t, regardless of a few blocked websites. While it’s impossible to block every website at school, the most distracting and mind numbing websites should be blocked. While there are some uses for social networking and video sites at school, most students don’t have any reason to be using them.
CON by Hannah Strader
Websites have always been blocked at school. It may seem normal, but it never really gets less annoying. A lot of helpful websites are blocked from student usage due to a law called the Delete Online Predators Act, which prevents people at schools and public libraries from accessing what qualifies as a social networking site. The qualifications for a social networking site, however, are almost too vague for this law to be enforced. Even news sites allow comments back and forth between users and use Twitter and Facebook to update viewers.
Social networking sites, when used with teacher supervision, could prove to be a new and fun way to teach. For example, Facebook could be used as a creative tool to keep students interested in their school work. A teacher could create a group for students to discuss ideas for the classroom or trade helpful hints on homework. Also, online discussions that currently take place on Moodle could attract many more users. It could bring education to a place students already feel comfortable and teach them how to use these sites responsibly. Any abuse of this privilege could be monitored by a student’s individual web history or the adult present when the computers are accessed. Students rarely have the opportunity to access the computers without a teacher present.
Blocking websites could also prevent students from accessing mentally stimulating material. There are several gaming websites that are not blocked at school that give students the opportunity to be engaged and learn in a more creative manner. Games make students forget they’re even actively stimulating their brain and could even be used for stress relief at the end of a class period. However, at the rate school districts have been banning sites these could be the next to go.
High school students are expected to behave like adults, yet many of the chances are taken away in order to “protect” us from things we’ll see anyway once we get home. The law may be protecting elementary-aged children, but with these websites blocked in schools, we’re being treated the same way. Teachers are allowed to access blocked sites in schools to show content they deem educational or beneficial to students. In allowing educators access to these sites the district makes clear that they believe sites such as YouTube have educational value if used appropriately. Students, especially those in high school, should be treated as adults and trusted to budget their time wisely and face the consequences if they choose not to. High school is all about learning responsibility and we should be given every chance to do that.
