Con: Web filters for our own good
Bridget Brazil, Reporter
November 2, 2011
Filed under Clashing Comets, Opinion
TOPIC: Are the school web filters too restrictive?
Let it be known that I have found the leading cause of all the prominent issues that plague adolescents today. What is this cause you ask? The internet.
It all makes perfect sense really, just think about it. Why is little Johnny addicted to marijuana? I’ll tell you why, because he saw a picture of it on the internet.
Teens lack the ability to think for themselves, they are merely brainwashed by the things they see on a daily basis. This is the very reason I support the right of the school to block whatever websites they feel threaten the youth of Chanute High School.
It is very clear that every website blocked on the USD 413 network remains blocked for a purpose. Let’s start out with the big ones. Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking sites for example are clearly blocked to keep students from getting distracted during class.
There are some blocked websites, however, that students feel have nothing wrong with them. Oh, how wrong these students are. If only they knew the array of harmful information within these websites just waiting to take over their innocent minds.
Example A: The Huffington Post. Do you know what is on The Huffington Post website? News! We can’t have our children knowing what is going on in the world; we need to keep them as sheltered as possible, knowing only the information the powers that be deem necessary, especially at school.
Example B: The district handbook. Clearly the district handbook is blocked for good reason. Think about it, if the students actually knew all the rules they would be much less likely to break them. Then what would those in charge of discipline do all day? After all, they have a job to do.
Blocking search words is another form of web filtering. One such blocked word is “Nazi”. Now, although a teen may claim they needed to search this word for a project over World War II, it is clear that is not the case. Get that child to a therapist as soon as humanly possible. However, should a teen search for the word “Nazis” their intentions are clearly intellectual, which is why the plural is not blocked.
The prefix “trans” is also a blocked search word. Just the thought of unblocking this prefix makes me cringe. Trans as defined by http://www. dictionary.com means “changing thoroughly”. We don’t want our students to think about trying to change things in the school. We need them to be perfectly content with the status quo at all times.
Thus, I agree with the choices that Chanute High School has made when it comes to blocking websites. Remember, information is power, and we don’t want the students of Chanute High School to have any of that.
