I took my lunch to go today. I stopped at a local park, turned on WMAY, and listened to Pamela Furr. Not a huge fan of the Furrburger, but I’ll listen from time to time. A topic that I caught the tail end of today was MySpace. Myspace..myspace..mycrap… I say this as I check my account religiously.
A caller had mentioned that Riverton has a parent supported group that scours Riverton students’ profiles for inappropriate material. Supposedly, those that are involved in extracuricular activities have to sign an ethics contract (along with their parents) that any material posted online through a blog, MySpace, or message forum deemed slanderous or inappropriate will get them suspended from that activity or activities.
The rebellious high schooler that I was once was would kick me in the pants if I posted this years ago. I actually support this type of action from parents. Too many times GTG and I have browsed through student profiles from the high school she teaches at and been shocked by the photos or generosity of information given out to the viewing public.
Hate to say it, but parents check up on your kids.
Years ago the internet was considered small and private. I mean like 10 years ago. There were not the tools that we have now (ex. Google) to search such in depth. And once something is posted on the Internet it does not go away. Almost all search engines cache pages that they index and there is a tool called the Way-Back machine that archives sites like this one.
Schools block MySpace access; kids fight back
So the schools block MySpace… this is really stop students from getting access to it during the day. I would so be one of the students hacking a way to the mother of the Internet. How do you do it? Well there are more than a dozen ways to do it depending on the software or hardware blocking the site. Anonymizer (a web proxy), remote access to a computer at home, using a mirror site…
And just when they [schools, parents, teachers, administrators, system admins] think they have it figured out; it won’t matter. With so much media attention, MySpace is just a fad. There are already a million other alternatives to the holy grail of social networking. And the rule of marketing is that kids will go where the cool kids go.
What should schools do? Obviously block as much as possible, but don’t exhaust your resources. The internet is meant for information. Once you start filtering and blocking you defeat the purpose as the Internet as a tool.
Put in place a code of ethics that puts the student responsible for their actions. In the same way I could be fired for saying something slanderous about the people I work, do the same for students. Once information is out there, it is public knowledge.
Not that long ago Xanga was the big thing to be blogging on. Now the fad blog is MySpace. People need to remember that anything you put there is open to the public. Don’t want folks to know something– don’t put it on your blog or don’t have an account. Duh!?
really, if teachers monitor their students in the computer labs, then there shouldn’t be the problem of using myspace at school. i do realize it’s difficult to watch all 22 students at once while helping those who need it (i do this on a daily basis, afterall), but that’s part of being a teacher. you have to be in 22 different places at once.
and my theory is, once a student finishes his or her work, it becomes their time. if they want to play on myspace (so long as they don’t have one of those scandalous accounts shoo mentioned), then i’m going to let them.
although, as shoo points out…i’ve gotten after a couple of my students for their myspace accounts. some of the things they put out for the public to see shocks me. they have nearly nekkid pictures, drug paraphenelia(sp.), pictures of themselves being drunk. these are simply the ones i’ve happened upon. it isn’t my job to monitor them in school AND out…that’s up to the parents, and i think more parents should get involved. i wish my district would organize something like riverton’s.
p.s. i think maybe i should’ve done my own blog on this…sorry for the giant comment.
p.s. horrible agreement errors in my comment. and i just got after my kids for not proofreading.
I think those contracts that schools make you sign are rediculous.
Kids already feel rejected and often unhappy, kicking them out of a sport or extra-curricular activity because of weekend drinking or dirty internet posts is counter productive. Schools should focus on teaching and supporting kids, not digging to find more things to get them into trouble.
The parents’ group, however, is a great idea. Parents are the ones who should police what their kids do online or on the weekend and should check into their 14-year-old girls’ webpage.
But not the schools.
i think those contracts are ridiculous simply because the school doesn’t actually adhere to them. i think they’re a good idea, as students shouldn’t be blatantly participating in illegal activities. if they do it quietly and don’t get caught, then good for them; however, if they do, then there should be repercussions for their actions. i don’t think the school should be monitoring their myspace accounts for it, but if they are somehow caught drinking on the weekends, then they shouldn’t be allowed to participate in extracurricular activities.
Correction:
The school selectively adheres to the contracts.
The more well-liked, high-ranked or athletically talented the student is the less likely they will ever be “caught” participating in these activities.
(from my expeirence)
I think in a lot of schools, that happens. I also know that some individual coaches follow those contracts, while the school as a whole doesn’t. And I know of schools where no one cares.
HEY - Thanks for listening to the show!!
– Furrburger