Banning Internet Access
A school district in Alaska has blocked students from open Internet access. Websites are off-limits unless they end in .gov or .edu, or unless the principal grants a special dispensation.
I read this news first in a Library Stuff post, and was relieved when I linked to the full Anchorage Daily News article to see that people are at least making cogent arguments against the policy. For example, one parent points out that the “system will deprive students of an essential research skill: the ability to distinguish between useful information and bunk.”
I have two thoughts to add. First, when are kids finding time to surf for porn at school? I can’t imagine they’re able to complete projects if they’re wasting time on the Internet, and wouldn’t that be a warning sign for teachers to investigate? In other words, it seems unlikely that there’s a tremendous amount of truly sneaky porn surfing going on.
Second, the article talks about the district’s existing filtering system, which blocks sites based on text analysis. Kids are getting around the blocks with Web proxies. Once again, it’s clear that text analysis isn’t sufficient in the fight against porn. However, why not investigate the other options instead of banning the Internet altogether?
