High School Internet Censorship
The common image that comes to mind on the topic of censorship is that of book burning. Dating back to ancient times, the easiest way to deal with unwanted writings has been to get rid of them, usually by heaping them into a blazing pyre. In his most famous science fiction novel, Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury warns of a futuristic society where all literature is destroyed under a kerosene flame and the citizens' freedoms are kept in check by the lack of written information. In fear of this kind of totalitarianism, many bibliophiles have fought against all manners of censorship, wielding the first amendment and the rights recognized by our fore-fathers. But with the technological advances of this the
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While elementary and middle schools have obvious needs for restrictions, Internet access at the high school level isn't as black and white. High school students are sensitive to their given rights, yet are officially minors under the law; teenagers are ever nearing adulthood, but are sometimes viewed as immature. So, high school administrators are challenged with designing an Internet policy that meets the educational needs of the students and the moral demands of society. Although software is being designed to "censor" the content of the Internet, student trust and responsibility might be a more reasonable route.
One of the two main technical solutions to the content problem is monitoring. Students may be informally monitored by teachers or administrators in the area of the computer. However, teachers cannot be continually "policing" computer labs or libraries with their previous classroom commitment. Also, too much of this type of "looking over the shoulder" can turn to questions of an unconstitutional invasion of privacy. Most web browsers keep a short list of sites that have been accessed, allowing a quick inventory for violations. The biggest problem with this kind of monitoring is that it shows what was viewed and when, but not who did the viewing, making disciplinary actions almost impossible. Certain software can actually monitor every action on a given computer, including programs
Book censorship today in America isn’t quite as drastic as that, but still is reflecting the same concepts. I remember in junior high school when we would have banned book week. This was where the school celebrated having the right to read censored and banned books. Written word is one of the most important aspects of free speech. In no circumstance whatsoever, should any piece of writing be censored. Writing thoughts and ideas and whatever else comes into someone’s mind has been a practice of humans ever since historians know that man existed. Telling people what they can and cannot read is an invasion of not only the reader’s rights, but the author’s as well. If someone doesn’t like what an author of a piece of literature has to say then that person has a right not to read it, or better yet form their own opinion and write about that. Book banning is and ungodly practice and the people of this world should learn from the mistakes of the past and not allow the censorship of written material. The only opposition that I can find to the censorship of books would be taking the same mindset on the topic as the Nazis did when they burned all of the Jew’s books. Trying to wipe out an entire race or group of people’s ideas and beliefs should never be done anywhere for any reason.
Duff, White & Turner, LLC “ Schools Should Punish Students for Misuse of Networking sites” (Document D). If Schools have dealt with a number of incidents concerning improper use of internet sites should be banned. I believe school computers should be used only for homework and school purposes. The internet being an open network, which includes big Social Networking sites such as Myspace and Facebook of course students are going to pay more attention to that. Schools should restrict all those websites , although there are ways around in which students use to bypass. Schools around the United States have entered into an education code in which it authorizes to expel, suspend, or removal of school. Even though some students might say the school can't get into what they do after or outside of campus. The school can engage in taking charge of conduct resulted in disruption of the school environment. The school may lawfully discipline any student for such
Tears begin to fall down a child’s face. Her body goes into shock out of fear. Her mother warned her about watching inappropriate content, and there it was, right on her computer screen. This could not have happened though. All she was doing was casually browsing the internet before a pop-up appeared. Although it may seem hard to believe, the major cause of events such as this is the lack of censorship on the internet. Internet censorship relates to the removal of offensive, inappropriate, or controversial content published online. The current problem with the internet is that there are few restrictions on what can be published or viewed. Several sites on the internet only offer a warning about inappropriate content that can easily be
When discussing internet censorship, one of the major concerns is what children can see on the internet. Internet censorship was a huge deal during the 1990’s and early 2000’s and it still is to this very day. The internet back then was much different than it is today. Back then, we could only access the internet from a computer and most people didn’t own one back then. Nowadays, most people have multiple computers and a cell phone that can access the internet. It was easier for parents to control what their children could have access to back then. Now, parents can still put restrictions on the router settings and set a timer for when the internet shuts off but kids can always just go somewhere else that may have internet access to view any
For as long, as I can remember, censorship has been an issue among society’s free thinkers. There are those that abide by the rules, never thinking twice of the repercussions of actions chosen by commanding authorities. There are those that go with the grain of society’s guidance, yet wonder where the line is drawn in the sand, and where it begins. Then there are those that have witnessed the blinding of society and refuse to have White Out cover the novel that are their opinions and belief. Censorship comes in an extensive array of variations, from speech to educational literature, silencing opinions and facts alike. Different degrees of censorship have been attempted throughout the ages by scholars, civilians, and governments alike. Often
The Internet has incurred a tremendous amount of growth and opportunity for the country as well as the world; elevating communication, information, and commerce to a new level. With all this unprecedented innovation, the Internet has also brought controversy that challenges the very foundation of rights that countries like the United States were founded on. With countless websites containing unregulated and objectively offensive content, and the public having an ease of access to this content will result in severe damages to the development of the youth if no censorship is put in place for them to view this content. Additionally, markets are being exploited by piracy which has resulted in billions of dollars being lost by the domestic economy
“Pupils are responsible for acceptable and appropriate behavior and conduct on school district computer networks/computers.”
While at school, has there ever been a great idea for a project or an assignment by a student and they can not wait to start on it at school before they lose their idea? Unlucky for them, their school has web filters set up which inhibit them from finding any quality information on the internet other than the basic, generic sites every other kid gets offered. This issue presents a common occurrence in schools across America and it needs to receive termination all together. The use of the internet persists as a freedom given to almost all Americans, but schools limit student’s first amendment rights by carrying out the use of web filters.
This policy applies to anyone who utilizes any device provided by Columbia Station High School to access the Internet. This includes but is not limited to: students, faculty and staff, and any outside maintenance or persons of authority, i.e. internet service provider personnel, and officials of the law or court system. All users, upon acceptance of this policy, are encouraged to maximize the use of the resources provided to them, and are expected to adhere to all applicable laws and guidelines established in this policy. All persons accessing the technology resources are bound to this policy by through acceptance of this agreement.
Schools should have the right to monitor the internet. If you_Ñére in school grounds the school has the right to monitor what you_Ñére doing because you_Ñére on school grounds. Once you_Ñére on school grounds the rules change. People should already know that they are limited once they_Ñére on school grounds. It is a good thing for schools to monitor the internet to keep everyone safe. It would help prevent people from going on places
Personally, I would say expel the bad kids or suspend them, and leave the internet to be somewhat restrictive, but more lenient. The entire school shouldn’t suffer from the inability to do research to work on a class project just because Joe Schmo decides to watch illicit clips on inappropriate websites.
Teachers need to incorporate the use of firewalls, filtering software and AUP’s into the classroom to practice ethical use of technology in the classroom. Firewalls will protect the classroom and home computers from unwanted viruses. The firewall detects when a virus is being introduced to the network and will take measures to keep the virus from infecting a computer. Filtering software is important because it will not allow students to view unwanted material or websites (Shelly, G, Gunter, G, and Gunter, R 2012). Teachers
The freedom of speech that was possible on the Internet could now be subjected to governmental approvals. For example, China is attempting to restrict political expression, in the name of security and social stability. It requires users of the Internet and electronic mail (e-mail) to register, so that it may monitor their activities. In the United Kingdom, state secrets and personal attacks are off limits on the Internet. Laws are strict and the government is extremely interested in regulating the Intern et with respect to these issues.10 Laws intended for other types of communication will not necessarily apply in this medium.
Some people wonder who came up with the idea of internet censorship. Other people want to know which countries use it. Some ponder over the idea of what really is internet censorship. Internet censorship is controlling what can be viewed, and which sites can be used on the internet. Some things about internet censorship are countries that use it, and who started the idea of it.
When talking about internet censorship in schools, heated debates are always bound to arise on what they should block, how strict they should be, and if they should even be there. The topic of fettered or unfettered internet is a hot topic and can be both good and bad for education.